Freddy Krueger – the demonic antagonist of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise – is arguably one of the most iconic horror villains in recent memory. He’s certainly up there with the likes of the Xenomorph, not to mention his slasher contemporaries Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers from Friday The 13th and Halloween, respectively.
There are likely a number of aspects that make him one of the most memorable fictional killers in movie history, too: his attacks that strike at the very psyche of his audience (offing people in their sleep when they’re at their most vulnerable), his grotesque appearance, his trademark razor glove and, of course, his unforgettable red and green sweater.
What’s with that sweater, though? Why is it striped red and green? Well, the folks over at Screen Rant have now offered up an answer and it turns out it’s not an accident. It might have a garish appearance (not to mention being a wee reminder of Christmas at this time of year), but A Nightmare On Elm Street creator Wes Craven has said in the past that he chose those colours for a reason.
The story goes that the iconic horror director read an article in a magazine that said the combination of red and green are the most difficult colours to view side-by-side, so the striped colour scheme was picked in order to create a sense of unease for audiences.
The shades of the colors aren’t accidental, either. With both the red and green stripes being shown in a darker tint, people watching may not clearly see what colour Krueger’s sweater is supposed to be. It definitely is red and green, but this subtle insistence that it could be something else (some folks say it shows as red and black under certain lights) only adds to the discomfort. Interesting, eh?
And it looks like we may get to see the iconic sweater again quite soon, too, as the much-discussed Nightmare on Elm Street reboot is said to be coming along nicely, with Robert Englund apparently returning to the role. We don’t know much about what to expect just yet, but fingers crossed we get more updates on it in the new year.