Awesome Fan Edit Is the Freddy Krueger Origin Story We Deserve

By John Squires on June 11, 2016

Jason and Leatherface are getting origin stories. Should Freddy be next?

The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise was admittedly run into the ground in the years since Wes Craven brought Freddy Krueger to the big screen, as the once terrifying dream demon became a kid-friendly joke and the sequels, well, they weren’t so great as the series got longer in the tooth. But despite the fact that the franchise includes, to date, seven installments, one “versus” spinoff, and a remake, as well as a mostly unrelated television series, there’s still relatively new ground to cover.

Throughout the years, the Elm Street franchise has only briefly dipped its toes into Freddy Krueger’s pre-Dream Demon origin story, with films like The Dream Child, Freddy’s Dead, Freddy vs. Jason and the 2010 remake notably touching upon it. Of course, Craven essentially fed us the whole story in the 1984 original, relaying that Freddy was once a child murderer who was burnt alive by the parents of Springwood, but we’ve still never gotten a full-on examination of his “Springwood Slasher” years.

Oddly enough, it was the pilot episode of TV series “Freddy’s Nightmares” that delved deepest into that period in Krueger’s life. Directed by none other than Tobe Hooper, the episode (titled “No More Mr. Nice Guy”) premiered on October 8, 1988, and it told the story of Krueger’s arrest and subsequent release on a technicality. Though Englund (as Freddy) mostly served the role of Cryptkeeper-esque host throughout the series, he was the star of the show in the premiere episode, which served as a really nice little origin story that the film franchise never quite gave us.

Partially using footage from that episode, one fan recently took matters into his own hands and edited together a short film titled Freddy’s Origins: The Beginning, which collects together every little bit of origin story that we’ve gotten over the years. Running 18-minutes long, the fan edit tracks Freddy Krueger from birth to his rise as the Dream Demon, touching upon his early childhood, teenage years, and days as the so-called “Springwood Slasher.” If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ve seen all these clips before, but seeing them strung together paints a complete picture that feels fresh and new.

Check it out below and let us know if you want to see a Freddy origin story on the big screen!