10 Horror Movies You Didn't Realise Stupidly Broke Their Own Rules

10. Pain Can End A Nightmare... But Only For Nancy - A Nightmare On Elm Street

The Rule

Early on in Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street, it's established that protagonist Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is able to wake herself up from a nightmare by burning herself on the hot pipe within it, the implication being that a searing, painful physical sensation is enough to break Freddy's (Robert Englund) hold over someone.

The Breaker

Basically the entire rest of the franchise contradicts this, because the pain of Freddy attacking and striking his victims should surely be enough to wake them from their nightmares, right?

Why does Tina (Amanda Wyss) suffer a horrifying, prolonged death at Freddy's hands without the possibility of escape while Nancy is able to easily free herself?

Elm Street has admittedly never professed to have a vice grip on its own internal logic, and this is evident from the jump. If you want to fudge an explanation you can perhaps suggest that the injury must be self-inflicted in order to escape, but it's a reach.