Aside from the readily apparent similarities between Vecna and A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, such the burnt and decayed face, the razor-sharp claws, and the fact that both stalk their victims in their dreams, Stranger Things took more inspiration from Krueger than what is immediately apparent on the surface.
From a horrific backstory to how they stalk their prey and the victims they target, these are all shining examples of how the showrunners of Stranger Things took inspiration from the dream invader of Elm Street to create Vecna/Henry/One. For the sake of this article, we will stick with Vecna. Here are all the similarities and parallels you might have missed between Vecna and Freddy Krueger.
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Evil in Life, Evil in Death
Netflix
While Vecna and Freddy Krueger are both supernatural undead beings, they did not start off that way. Both men have a past. Both men were born with evil in their hearts. Vecna started out as a young boy named Henry (played by Jamie Campbell Bower). Henry was a “misunderstood boy,” so his parents thought, but they could never have imagined the truly horrific nature of their offspring. In season four of Stranger Things, we learn that it was Henry who haunted his family using his psychic powers (similar to the power Eleven possesses). Using his powers, he kills his mother and sister, leaving his father to be framed for the murder. He was torturing them with visions of their past, he took great pleasure in torturing animals, and, one night, he decided that his family needed to go.
Eventually, Henry ends up with Dr. Brenner at Hawkins Lab. Brenner realized he could not control Henry, so he tried to recreate him. Dubbing him “One,” he kept Henry at the lab his entire life. With the unwitting help of Eleven, Henry regains his full power and uses it to murder every single patient at Hawkins Lab. He tries to kill Eleven, but Eleven overpowers him, sending him to the Upside Down. It is there that Henry/One undergoes his transformation and becomes, as outlined by Screen Rant, the undead dark wizard known to D&D fans as Vecna.
Let’s take a look at Freddy Krueger’s backstory. First off, he was a child murderer. He would take the children of Elm Street to his boiler room and then assault, torture, and murder them sexually. Krueger was eventually arrested for his crimes, but was set free due to a legal loophole. The victims’ parents decide to take justice into their own hands, finding Krueger in his lair and burning him alive. Krueger is then visited by dream demons who offer him the ability to invade and kill people in their dreams, provided his victims are afraid of him. So, both Vecna and Freddy were rotten from the inside out before they obtained supernatural abilities.
Stalking Their Prey
New Line Cinema
Both Vecna and Krueger seem to take great pleasure in tormenting their victims with visions and other forms of supernatural oppression when they are in a dream-like state. They both invade the minds of their victims as well. Here, however, we start to see some differences between the two. Vecna can essentially invade anyone’s mind at will. He just has to go through a process of oppressing them to the point that they are just absolutely terrified, and then he finally kills them in the most gruesome of ways: the victim rises into the air, and their bones begin to snap out of place — arms, legs, and jaws. The victim’s eyes appear to cave inward, and they collapse.
On the other hand, Freddy Krueger has to wait until his victims are asleep to torment them. He stalks his victims, usually leading them on a chase that inevitably ends them up right where he wants them (typically in his boiler room). He then uses his infamous razor claws to give the victim an agonizing death. Both of these monsters like to “play with their food before they eat it.” As disgusting as the metaphor is, it rings true for both undead psychotic serial murderers.
One particularly gruesome death in season four of Stranger Things might remind audiences of a similar gruesome murder in, you guessed it, A Nightmare on Elm Street. In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger murders a girl in her sleep, as her boyfriend watches her levitating and being thrown across the room. When Vecna takes his first victim, the cheerleader Chrissy, she is seen hovering in the air as her bones snap and her eyes and jaw are essentially crushed. Eddie Munson, a new addition to the team in season four, sees this happen and is then blamed for her murder. The two scenes mirror each other in a variety of ways and is a shining example of the parallels between Stranger Things and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Dead…or Not
It is a common horror trope to leave the film “open-ended” as to whether the killer is actually dead. From Michael Myers to Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger, they are all “killed” in different movies, but manage to come back for the next. This is a trope that Stranger Things also used in season four, leaving us with the question: is Vecna really dead? After being blown up and blasted with a shotgun, Vecna’s body was not on the ground when they looked out the window through which Nancy shot him. This has been done so many times in horror films, whether to tease a sequel or leave the audience guessing. It is a wonderful tool for writers in the horror genre. Nonetheless, per Looper, the first Nightmare on Elm Street film ended with the protagonist thinking she killed Krueger, only to see him return in the final scene.
While we do not see Vecna return at the end of season four of Stranger Things, it is safe to assume that he is out there somewhere, regaining his strength in order to fulfill his mission (Will essentially confirms that in a conversation with Mike). Season four ended with what appeared to be the Upside Down “bleeding” into Hawkins, with the ashy rainfall and ominous red sky approaching Hopper’s cabin as the group stares out in terror. With the supernatural power of being in the Upside Down for so long, it is very likely that Vecna is alive and recovering and will be the villain going into the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. Only time will tell, but Vecna is the most fascinating villain Stranger Things has presented to audiences, and we want to see more of him.
While this is not necessarily a parallel, more of an Easter egg, it is worth noting that Robert Englund, aka the original Freddy Krueger, had a small yet vital role in season four of Stranger Things. He played the role of Victor Creel, the father of Henry Creel, who was hospitalized in a mental institution for his son’s heinous crime. The scene is incredibly tense when Nancy and Robin visit Creel. It gives off Silence of the Lambs vibes as Victor tells his story (from his perspective) as Nancy and Robin desperately attempt to find something in Victor’s past that can help them stop Vecna. It is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire season, and Robert Englund hasn’t lost a step, being just as creepy as ever and fitting the role perfectly.
