Can someone explain the ending for me?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — A Nightmare on Elm Street
Ricardo98 — 9 years ago(November 03, 2016 03:04 AM)
I finally got around to watching
A Nightmare on Elm Street
for the first time and I enjoyed almost everything about it, except for the ending, which I found to be confusing. I've just flicked through IMDB message boards and the web for an explanation on the ending but I couldn't find anything. Could anyone please enlighten and give clarity to the ending for me please?
P.S. I haven't seen any of the other films in the franchise, so if you could avoid any spoilers that'd be much appreciated -
Calypso23 — 9 years ago(November 03, 2016 04:21 PM)
I've always been confused about the ending as well. In fact I came onto this board to ask the same question! The whole idea of Nancy taking control of her mind in order to defeat Freddy Krueger was perfect, but then they had to add the whole scene with her friends and the car roof and Freddy grabbing her mom. The ending seemed forced in order to make room for a sequel (or six sequels, in this case). There are a lot things about it that don't make sense. Apparently Nancy was still dreaming after Freddy disappeared and she got into the car with her friends. This becomes apparent when the roof and Windows close by themselves in the car and Nancy's mom gets pulled through the glass by Freddy. Since Nancy was still dreaming, this meant that her idea of taking control of her mind did not actually work. If this is the case, it means that Nancy's friends did not actually come back to life and Freddy continues to torment Nancy's dreams. The unanswered question is, what happened to Nancy and how did she manage to survive Freddy? She came back in part 3 and maybe this was explained, but it's been so long since I've seen DW that I can't remember if it is ever explained how she escapes Freddy. Maybe someone more familiar with DW can explain it.
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JennaHanson1974 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 02:46 PM)
She came back in part 3 and maybe this was explained, but it's been so long since I've seen DW that I can't remember if it is ever explained how she escapes Freddy. Maybe someone more familiar with DW can explain it.
What is DW? Oh wait, Dream Warriors?? LOL
It wasn't really explained in Dream Warriors, that was mostly about Kristen and how she could bring people into her dreams. That's how/when Nancy comes into the movie.. Kristen pulls Nancy into her dream and then she shows up at the hospital in group. -
michaeluk26 — 9 years ago(November 03, 2016 08:51 PM)
It makes no sense. The ending came about because of a few reasons. Wes Craven wanted Nancy to wake up and the whole movie was a dream. Robert Shaye wanted a last minute scare so he wanted Freddy driving the car. They compromised and had Nancy thinks its a dream only to find out it wasn't. But no theory makes sense trust me. In the final scene we see Nancy drive off to school with her friends even though it goes by itself with Freddys colors on the roof. But the events of part 1 did happen because it part 3 Nancy says all her friends were killed and she barely made it. Its a masterpiece till the end.
Here is one. Nancy took away all of Freddys power and he disappears. She walks through the other door in different clothes so its still a dream. She gets in the car with her friends who were already dead. SO Freddy is tricking her because he cant harm her anymore. However just like every theory, how was Marge killed in Nancys dream?
Haters gonna hate -
NESPlayer — 9 years ago(November 10, 2016 03:58 PM)
However just like every theory, how was Marge killed in Nancys dream?
She wasn't. Marge was killed some minutes earlier when Freddy attacked her in her bed while burning.
The Marge we see in Nancy's last dream is obviously a dream image, just like the friends. Her whole behavior is strange: She suddenly "doesn't feel" like drinking anymore. And she happily waves goodbye, even when Nancy is shouting for help. She's obviously not real.
The only stupid thing is that Freddy pulls her through the door in the end. That was pretty pointless since she was just his creation anyway and Nancy doesn't even see this anymore. It should have ended with Marge continuing to smile while Nancy cries for help. -
lrdcharlton — 9 years ago(January 07, 2017 06:13 PM)
I always wondered why they did that with dream Margie. As you say, it made sense that she happily wave to them as Nancy is screaming. But anything after that is no longer a concern to Nancy as she cannot see him pull her mother through the door. Perhaps if they had him pull her through the door while still nonchalantly waving and smiling IN FRONT of Nancy to let her know that it is not her mother a because she isn't affraid of Freddie.having her scream seems to imply that she had some autonomy, but she was an image not an actual aware person.
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NESPlayer — 9 years ago(November 10, 2016 03:52 PM)
Have a look at my essay. It provides an explanation:
www.denny-r-walter.de/nightmare-ending.html -
PinkPancreas — 9 years ago(December 08, 2016 07:40 PM)
I interpret the ending this way: Nancy brings Freddy out of her dreams long enough for him to murder her mother. He goes back into the dream world once she turns her back on him and "takes away all his power" or whatever she says when she says "I take back all the power I've given you" etc etc. But her nightmares don't end bc she has the nightmare where all her friends ride off in the Freddy car. She obviously wakes up from this nightmare bc she is in part 3. It is in that movie we learn that she started taking a drug to keep her from dreaming so that is how she has managed to escape Freddy. Unfortunately her mom and friends are all still dead. That was all "real" meaning they died in their own nightmares and her mom died bc Nancy brought Freddy out of hers long enough for him to claim her life.
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kuatorises — 5 months ago(October 13, 2025 10:04 PM)
I think back when it came out, it probably made sense. Freddy won. He got Nancy in on of her dreams. But since most of us saw it well after there were many sequels, it makese no sense, especially since it's never mentioned ever again (and Nancy comes back).
I just chalk it up to Nancy having a bad dream.