10 Horror Movie Franchises That Stupidly Killed Off Their Best Character

In A Nightmare On Elm Street 3, the series' original Final Girl, Nancy Thompson, is working at a psychiatric ward, helping people who have been tormented by Freddy Krueger. When Freddy begins preying on her patients, Nancy stalls the sass-mouthed maniac, while her allies look for a way to defeat him.

Despite being left mortally wounded by Freddy, Nancy impales him with his own bladed glove, giving the others enough time to send the dream demon back to Hell. In her final moments, Nancy was relieved to know the nightmare that plagued Elm Street was finally over.

Now, Nancy's death would've worked if this was the last instalment. The idea that she sacrificed herself to defeat Freddy once and for all is the perfect send-off.

Unfortunately, the series continued, with a far less interesting protagonist, Kristen Parker. As Kristen can control dreams like Krueger, she can go toe-to-toe with the the fedora-sporting sociopath. But because the character isn't an underdog, it diminishes the threat that Freddy originally posed.

Unlike Kristen, Nancy relied on her wits. Watching Nancy defeat a supernatural entity by outsmarting him is far more fascinating than Kristen Parker beating him with dream magic. As such, killing off Nancy Thompson was a bad move.