Forums Horror Movie Talk
Freddy Gets Off on Killing, Not Screwing: A Back-Story 'ANOES' Argument

Again with the Freddy Krueger madness, I know. After the second trailer's release even more talk of the movie is circulating around the web. I'd read a review of someone who had gone to a test screening and was mortified that they've re-introduced the original idea that Freddy's past had some other bodily fluids mixed with that blood. I'd brought this up in a discuson on Facebook that has several NOES fans and cosplayers. The reaction was mixed, with one person agreeing, some blowing it off because in reality it is really just a movie, and others who had asked why anyone would root for Freddy in the first place, whether or not he had molested his victims prior to their deaths. Undoubtedly, I must concede to this point in the context of absolutes. But in my usual drive to get my reasons clearly known and justified, I posted the following lengthy reply, and found it good enough to post about it.

I have something to pose to everyone including myself. Why do we all watch these types of movies despite the main character we go to see is the villain? We go to see slasher films because we know what we're in store for. A body count brought on by a charismatic archetype for the need and pleasure in watching the misfortune of others. With murder, the act is more graphic, phycal, and messy. Thereby making for a lot of eye candy in it's own niche. Sexual abuse toward a child is usually more psychologically damaging than phycally. Especially if the person doing it wants to continue doing it with less chance of getting caught. Even more so, the child in their innocence usually does not know that they are being abused when in that context so I'd think that one would be more terrifying than the other. The damage from sexual abuse can be very long term and the victim would live with what happened in one way or another for the rest of their life. Which in the context of suffering of the innocent, one out weighs the other. Consequentially speaking however, both are wrong.

In the world of horror, I understand the villain is to be vile, horrid, and frightening, with everything posble wrong with them to be present. However, if you plan to make a product out of this, and make more movies with the same character, the vileness must be scaled back or justified in one or sometimes more ways so that there is something to like about the villain that's more than just scary looks and spooky sounds/speech. If the audience does not like the main character, they will not go to see them again. Seeing as it's a horror movie, we want to see deaths. A killer is agreed to be an evil person. So why add fuel to the fire and make them not just sadistic and bloodthirsty, but sexually deviant? Really, what is the point when all it has the potential to do is make the audience turn away in genuine disgust? I understand there are movies made to do that (see "Funny Games") to drive a point to make the audience re-evaluate themselves and society, but a horror movie (especially NOES) is supposed to be more entertainment with potential to drop in a little philosophy for table conversation after viewing. I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but why I like Freddy so much is that he wanted to see blood, and gain power. He's evil incarnate. Yes in the first three stories he was more out for his own fucked up sense of revenge, but what happened in The Dream Master? He finished that job. But he wanted more. His hunger wasn't satisfied. He went after people who weren't assholes just asking for it. And he, like his victims, is smart.

Finding and exploiting their weaknesses no matter how well they fought. Plus, his method requires the mind anyway. anybody can run from a phycal entity, but there is no escape from one's own mind, and we ALL have to sleep some time. He's charismatic, he's smart, he's inescapable, and he wants to enjoy killing you. That's why I view Freddy as superior to any other horror icon. If for no other reason, I'd say that making him a molester is just unnecessary to his evil. With that said, I'm glad to see the ultimate evil return to the screen, and I'm going to be first in line donned in all of my Freddy swag at the opening midnight screening"

P.S. This is the only way he likes to get 'em from behind.

SkarrKrow Saturday 10/29/2011 at 11:07 PM | 86099
you realize the original script depicted him as a full blown molester right? The script was changed due to the sentivity issue surrounding an ongoing factual case of child molestation that was occurring during the same time period the film was in production. In order to ease the backlash and appear more tasteful, rewrites were made, and the definitive motive behind freddy's killing was slightly shifted.

He was originally written to be a full blown molester and murderer.
Matt_Molgaard Sunday 10/30/2011 at 05:39 AM | 86109
that may be, but that's not how it ended up. most movies go through rewrites, so looking at a movie only how 1 attempt at a script was seems sort of narrow. while it is a fun fact, the general public has lived 27 years seeing him as just a child killer, so changing it now seems unnecessary.
kissfreak09 Sunday 10/30/2011 at 06:21 AM | 86111