I always saw it as more of a warning that he was coming back
And I agree with you, that is definitely the intention of showing the claw marks. But still, it just doesn't make sense in regards to how dream logic works in the series. It's still a cool effect though!
Who's strangling the cat?

I always saw it as more of a warning that he was coming back

Why did we get that visual
It looked cool is really the only explanation for it. No one was dreaming and regardless if Freddy was resurrected or not, he would have been very weak to start off. Every film has him gaining kills and increasing his power, so there is really no way to spin this. (Though it's entertaining to read how others did! And I applaud them for the effort!)
Many things in this film actually don't make logical sense, but Ill make a thread about those haha
Who's strangling the cat?

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I say Freddy was resurrected the second that window exploded in the opening

I always interpreted it as Freddy lurking just on the other side of reality. Kristen is walking through the school and Freddy is right there following her through the hallway in the dream realm, waiting for the moment she sleeps. We also see how close the dream realm is to reality through Alice's daydreams. Freddy is never far.
"We've spent our entire adult lives lying to each other. Why spoil it with the truth now?"

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I enjoyed it visually and it doesn't detract from the movie which I would say may be my 2nd favorite in the series.

True freddy can't come into real life only in dreams and no one was dreaming then, just a cool visual I guess not to be taken seriously that's how I looked at it