10 Classic Movie Monsters With Unexpected Origins

5. Freddy Krueger Was Inspired By...A Pepperoni Pizza

Freddy Krueger Pizza
New Line Cinema & Domino's Pizza

The actual genesis of the concept which would become A Nightmare on Elm Street was a 1970s newspaper article Wes Craven read about a Cambodian survivor of the Killing Fields suffering a nightmare so vivid it caused their heart to stop.

But the ultimate design of franchise antagonist Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) went through numerous agonised iterations, and only when special effects artist David B. Miller was chowing down on a pepperoni pizza one night did he finally realise what had to be done.

Miller didn't even finish noshing the pizza: he took it home immediately and used its doughy, torn texture as a reference for Freddy's melted face.

Clearly it was worth the pizza getting cold - but who doesn't love cold pizza? - because Freddy's grotesque countenance is one of the series' most recognisable elements.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.