Stranger Things Season 5 Compares Vecna To This Classic Slasher Villain

Netflix's "Stranger Things" is heavily indebted to '80s pop culture, especially horror movies. So, really, it makes sense that the show's big bad, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), is reminiscent of one of the decade's most popular slasher villains — Freddy Krueger. The deformed appearance? His fondness for tormenting kids in their subconscious states? Don't deny that the similarities between Vecna and the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise's blade-gloved demon aren't obvious. Still, if you need further proof, look no further than "Stranger Things" season 5, which contains the DNA of Englund's sweater-wearing monster.

The moment arrives in "Chapter 5: Shock Jock," in the scene where Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly (Nell Fisher) are wandering through the latter's memories while stuck in Vecna's dream world. The memory shows a random Halloween night where Holly and her friend are watching "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" on the television while Vecna secretly observes them. It's a stark reminder that Vecna and Freddy boast similar abilities and a desire to inflict harm on young people — and you get the impression that this was the Duffer Brothers' intent.

You see, this isn't the only nod to the Wes Craven-created horror franchise in "Stranger Things." In fact, the Duffers are the first to admit that "A Nightmare on Elm Street" has heavily informed their storytelling.

Before he became a child-haunting monster, Vecna was a human being who went by the name Henry Creel. His story is similar to Freddy's Krueger's, as he was also mere mortal before he gained supernatural abilities. Plus, let's not forget that Vecna's dad, Victor Creel, is portrayed by Robert Englund in "Stranger Things" season 4, so the connection between Vecna and Freddy couldn't be more obvious. In an interview with NME, Ross Duffer also listed "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as one of the main horror and sci-fi influences on "Stranger Things," but it wasn't the only one. In his own words:

"The biggest influences would probably be 'A Nightmare On Elm Street One' and 'Three,' Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser,' weirdly 'The Cell,' with Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. There's 'IT' too. The mini-series from 1990 with Tim Curry's Pennywise scarred us, maybe more than anything else, so we talked about that a lot and why that messed us up as much as it did."

Vecna's appearance is quite reminiscent of "Hellraiser's" Cenobites, and his history of psychologically tormenting kids gives him a Pennywise vibe at times. All of the influences that Duffer mentioned are present and obvious in "Stranger Things," but Freddy Krueger and Vecna would probably be best friends due to how much they have in common.