Freddy Krueger vs Pennywise

Freddy Krueger vs Pennywise

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Freddy Krueger (Nightmare On Elm St.) vs Pennywise (Stephen King's It) Which of these movie monsters would you LEAST like to deal with? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be sparring Freddy Krueger from the ‘Nightmare on Elm St” franchise against Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King’s “It”. Come along as we evaluate a wide-range of categories to determine which of these reality-bending horror icons reigns supreme. For the record, this is not who would win in a fight, but rather who makes for the more memorable, effective and unique horror movie villain.

Round 1: Origins & Backstory

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It’s hard to believe considering his supernatural abilities (more on those later), but Freddy Kruger was once a mortal man - an impossibly evil one, sure, but he was flesh and blood nonetheless. Krueger was a serial killer who specifically targeted children, taking them to his boiler room hideout and killing them with his bladed leather glove. When he was eventually arrested, he managed to get off on a technicality, which prompted the people of Springwood, Ohio to take justice into their own hands. They burned him alive, but his evil spirit survived to prey on the teens of Elm Street in their dreams. As is often the case with the evil entities in the horror novels of Stephen King, much mystery surrounds the monster known simply as “It”. What we do know, however, is that the form it’s best known for - a TERRIFYING clown named Pennywise - is just one of many forms that he can take. In reality, this monster is ancient and cosmic in nature, originating beyond our universe in the void of Stephen King’s macroverse. This being was carried to earth in prehistoric times by an asteroid, with an insatiable hunger for humankind ever since: first by feeding off of indigenous people, and later the townspeople of Derry, particularly the children. While we love cosmic evil as much as the next Stephen King fan, Pennywise’s background feels secondary to his more immediate threat - he’s the sort of evil that doesn’t really need an origin story. Krueger, on the other hand, for all his supernatural qualities, is grounded by his backstory; the fact that such evil acts can be committed by a monster that was once human… makes him all the scarier. WINNER: Pennywise: 0/ Freddy Krueger: 1

Round 2: Powers and Scare Tactics

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Within the dream world, Freddy’s powers are nearly limitless. He can alter reality as he sees fit in order to better torture his victims, and within this realm he is effectively impervious to harm. His dream-altering abilities also extend to himself, making him a shapeshifter on top of everything else. Armed with his trusty bladed glove, Freddy torment dreamers in the most sadistic way possible before finally taking their lives. Perhaps most unsettling, he can follow dreamers into the real world. Although this trick does cost him his supernatural abilities, making him susceptible to harm or death. Here’s the thing about interdimensional cosmic beings… they tend to be seriously powerful. And as the Losers’ Club learns the hard way, there’s a big difference between defeating Pennywise and killing him for good. As a shapeshifter, Pennywise can take on all manner of lethal forms, which he uses to bring people’s fears to life. The more afraid the victim, the more powerful he seems to become. In addition to shapeshifting, Pennywise has demonstrated psychic and telepathic abilities, as well as the power to create intense and highly realistic illusions that affect all the senses. Pennywise and Freddy are very similar in terms of their powers and their methods. The big difference? Pennywise can do it all in broad daylight, and not just when people are asleep. And for that reason, he takes the round. WINNER: Pennywise: 1/ Freddy Krueger: 1

Round 3: Appearance

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Freddy Kruger is many things, but a sharp dresser he is not. He sports a beat up brown fedora, a torn up striped sweater, loose fitting pants and old work boots. You might mistake him for a homeless man were it not for his two most-defining features: his skin and that fancy glove of his. Because of his grisly fate in the boiler room, Krueger’s face and body is a mess of scar-tissue and burns. Then there’s his weapon, a tool of his own invention made from a thick brown leather glove with large metal blades extending each finger. Freddy’s distinct look has frequently been parodied over the years, but it remains iconic - this is not a face you’d want to have popping up in your dreams and following you into the real world. As previously discussed, Pennywise the Dancing Clown is just one of many forms that “It” can take. Over the course of the two most recent films, we saw him become a woman in a painting, a leper, a corpse, an old woman, a monstrous old woman, a severed head, a terrifying spider, heck… even a giant Paul Bunyan statue. But more often than not, most people will agree that Pennywise is the most disturbing form of them all, even if you don’t suffer from coulrophobia. With his wicked grin, unfocused eyes and deeply unnerving mannerisms… Pennywise is the clown of your nightmares. Honestly… we have no choice but to call this one a draw. Both of these characters have iconic looks that make them among the most instantly recognizable figures in horror cinema. Kruger skews gross and menacing, whereas Pennywise is more disturbing, but both of their respective looks more than get the job done. WINNER: TIE

Round 4: Catchphrases/One-liners

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When you’re a horror movie monster in human form, you generally subscribe to one of two philosophies. Either you’re the strong and menacing silent type like Michael Myers, or you’re more of a chatterbox.; Pennywise fits squarely into the latter category. He’s mastered the art of speaking in a way that is at once both oddly appealing and deftly menacing. To see him chatting up the unsuspecting kids of Derry and pandering to their good-nature, naivete and sympathy is to watch a supernatural predator in its element. And once he reveals his true nature, he always has just the right sinister thing to say “we all float down here”. To say that Freddy Kruger is less subtle than Pennywise the Clown is the understatement of the year. This guy doesn’t bother with trying to pretend to be a friend or misfit in need - he goes straight for the jugular, both with his blades and his words. Kruger is a nasty, potty-mouthed one-liner spouting machine. At night he stalks people in their dreams, but during the day, we can only assume that he sits around with a notebook coming up with situation specific taunts. They’re all cheesy as hell, but honestly, they’re a bit part of what makes Kruger such a one of a kind horror movie villain. Pennywise is certainly blessed with the gift of gab, but he simply can’t compete with the sheer volume of infinitely quotable lines of dialogue that have sprung from the mouth of Kruger across his many films. And so with that, Freddy takes the round! WINNER: Pennywise: 1/ Freddy Krueger: 2

Round 5: Motives

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Every evildoer needs a motive - even cosmic beings from the dawn of time. In Pennywise’s case, his motivation is simple, straightforward and without end; he feeds on fear. Every 27 years or so, this extradimensional force of evil rises to sate its hunger for fear and human flesh. The thing is, like most appetites, the hunger that drives Pennywise can never be satisfied in any sort of enduring way, and so the cycle continues. One could argue that what Pennywise does is a matter of simple survival - it needs to feed to sustain itself. Buuuuut it’s also clear that this being takes great pleasure in the hunt. To figure out what drove Freddy Kruger when he was a mere mortal would take far more time than we have. How can one even begin to comprehend what would compel a man to kidnap and murder children? His motivation post-death, however, is far easier to grasp. He’s punishing the residents of Elm Street for what they did to him, feeding off of the fear that he continues to instill in new generations of children and, most simply, continuing to satisfy whatever sick and twisted urge caused him to become a killer in the first place. If we’re being totally honest, neither of these characters are particularly well-armed in the motives department. With that being said, we’d like to argue that Pennywise’s need for sustenance in the form of fear and flesh is more compelling than that which drives Freddy to commit his crimes. And so Pennywise takes the round to tie it up. WINNER: Pennywise: 2/ Freddy Krueger: 2 Round 6: Creativity At the end of the day, a movie monster is defined by one thing above all else - the way in which they deal out death. Horror filmmakers are always looking for thrilling ways to kill off characters, and given its ability to alter his shape and craft elaborate illusions, Pennywise is an ideal subject in this regard. In 2017’s “It” and 2019’s “It: Chapter 2”, he proved many times over just how sadistic and revolting he can be, conjuring up all manner of monstrous forms for himself, not to mention cruel jokes and gross-out experiences to haunt his young prey. What can we say, this is a Clown who takes pride in his work. Freddy Kruger is a monster through and through, and nowhere is this more evident than in the joy he takes in finding creative new ways to kill the teens of Elm Street. You know that notebook of one-liners we hypothesized about earlier? Well we think he has an entire binder full of ideas for how to kill future victims. He is to the dream world what Jigsaw is to elaborate death machines. From that bloody fountain in the first film and his chestburster imitation in the sequel, to his puppet act and lethal injection kills in the third film, Freddy is always expressing himself in new and disgusting ways. Pennywise isn’t afraid to think outside the box when attempting to instill fear in his potential victims, but when it comes time to actually kill them, he’s usually fairly direct about it. Freddy Kruger, on the other hand, can only be described as a “murder artist”, always attempting to one-up himself and find ridiculously over-the-top new ways to take a life. And for that reason, he takes the round, and the competition. WINNER: Pennywise: 3/ Freddy Krueger: 2 Did we pick the right horror movie monster? Be sure to debate it in the comments and of course, don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo for more entertaining versus battles.