A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger is a legendary slasher, but he loses in every movie, and has been defeated in some really strange ways. Freddy, as played by Robert Englund, is a truly iconic figure in the annals of horror history, dominating the 1980s slasher movie boom to the point of becoming an overall pop culture pillar. Everyone at least knows who Freddy is, whether they love his movies, or dread the thought of watching them. As Heather Langenkamp says in New Nightmare, Freddy is like Santa Claus.

Well, at least in the sense that he might sneak down someone's chimney and surprise them, although it's likely to be a gift of finger knives instead of a PS5. Sadly, it's been way too long since Freddy graced the big screen, having not appeared in a film since 2010's woeful Nightmare on Elm Street remake, in which a game Jackie Earle Haley tried valiantly to save things, and the effects were somehow worse looking than in 1984.

Related: Nightmare on Elm Street: Every Character Who Survived Freddy Krueger

While it remains to be seen when Freddy will stalk dreams again, fans still have nine films to look back on and watch again and again. Okay, maybe not the remake. Anyway, every movie found some crazy way of killing off Freddy, at least until he was resurrected for the sequel.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

a nightmare on elm street englund langenkamp

Like many supernatural slashers, Freddy Krueger was killed prior to his screen debut in A Nightmare On Elm Street. After killing dozens of children, Freddy was burned to death by the angry parents of Springwood, then returned in their surviving kids' dreams to get revenge. At the end of the film, Nancy defeats Freddy by pulling him into the real world, turning her back on him, denigrating him, and taking away his power over her. Which would be fine and all, were it not for the nonsensical final scare that is sure to leave first time viewers confused.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

Mark Patton as Jesse Walsh and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Freddy's Revenge

New Line got lazy right away with Freddy, not even explaining his return at full strength in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, which has little connection to the first movie. This time, Freddy's modus operandi has changed to wanting to possess the living, in this case Jesse Walsh. He succeeds, but is literally defeated by the power of love, with Jesse's love for girlfriend Lisa driving Freddy out. Again, a nonsensical final scare muddies things.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors poster

Freddy's return in Dream Warriors is again unexplained, but most at the time wanted to forget Freddy's Revenge anyway. Freddy's back, and more powerful than ever thanks to harvested souls of victims, while Nancy is back as well to fight him again. While she gets killed off, Dr. Neil Gordon is able to lay Freddy to rest by burying his remains in hallowed ground. These movies got really religious all of a sudden.

Related: The Nightmare On Elm Street Movie With The Highest Body Count

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - Alice Johnson and Freddy Krueger

Proving that explanations can sometimes be worse than mystery, The Dream Master resurrects Freddy by having Kincaid's dog pee fire onto his grave while in the nightmare world. One assumes Wes Craven did a facepalm when he found out about that. In Freddy's weirdest defeat yet, Alice is able to knock him off by forcing him to look at his own hideous face in a mirror, somehow causing the souls inside him to break free and rip him apart.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - Chef Freddy Krueger

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 managed to be a bit less silly than the extremely over the top fourth movie, but was still pretty silly. This time Freddy is brought back through the dreams of Alice's unborn baby. It's not exactly clear how he does it, but it's not a bad plot device. Alice needs a little help to defeat Freddy for a second time, first from a manifestation of her son Jacob, and second from the spirit of Freddy's mother Amanda.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

freddys dead the final nightmare freddy as father

Freddy's Dead finally allowed fans to see Freddy as a pre-death person, and he's as creepy as one would expect of a serial child killer. Too bad what's surrounding those scenes is basically a Looney Tunes cartoon. Freddy's return is left completely unexplained, but he's managed to wipe out nearly every teenager in Springwood. His long lost daughter Katherine, aka Maggie, ends up pulling him into the real world and blowing him to smithereens.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

Freddy Krueger raising his blade glove in Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Freddy's creator returned for New Nightmare, which was meta before meta was cool, and paved the way for Craven's own hit Scream. An ancient demon was trapped inside the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and now that they're done, he's escaped into the real world, as an even more evil take on Krueger. Nancy actress Heather Langenkamp, as herself, is able to roast him inside an oven in the dream world, Hansel and Gretel-style.

Related: Scream Wouldn't Have Been Possible Without Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

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Freddy vs. Jason has the best explanation for Freddy's return yet, albeit ignoring the out of continuity New Nightmare. After Freddy's Dead, Freddy was trapped in Hell, as was Jason after Jason Goes to Hell. Freddy awakens Jason by impersonating his mother, sends him to Springwood, and uses the fear Jason generates to power himself enough to escape Hell's confines. Lori and Will manage to defeat Freddy via decapitation in the real world, with more than a little help from Jason.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Nightmare On Elm Street Remake Close Up

As it was happy to settle for being a lame retread, it should come as no surprise that the 2010 A Nightmare on Elm Street remake ends very similarly to the original. Nancy - and her now still living boyfriend - pulls Freddy into the real world, although this time she attacks and burns him alive again, and his remains disappear. There's even another nonsensical final scare that leaves it entirely confusing as to Freddy's actual status. The least the remake could've done was find a way to make more sense, but alas, no such luck.

More: Why Wes Craven's Rejected Dream Warriors Idea Became New Nightmare