10 Most Iconic Villains In Movie History
7. Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare On Elm Street
The unkillable slasher movie franchise player is hard to get right. The silent but deadly likes of Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees are great in the short term, unknowable and all the scarier for it, but they get a little dull over time. Not so Freddy Krueger, the loquacious dream fiend whose capacity for quipping never dissipates the fear factor.
Kruger arrived fully formed in the inaugural Nightmare On Elm Street, with every element bang on the money. His eyesore of a jumper, his gnarled, burned skin, and most importantly his razor glove - it was sure to be a go-to Hallowe’en costume for years to come.
The backstory - child murderer turned dream stalker by vigilante parents - is grizzly but simple and logical, and the whole “killing you in your sleep” MO is the stuff of, appropriately, nightmares.
Best of all is the performance. Robert Englund is gleefully evil, slipping from banter to barbarism with verve and aplomb. Freddy could easily be cheesy and stupid, but the fiendishness is always present. The movies aren’t always great (though there are fewer duds than in other horror franchises), but Freddy is always a welcome presence.