"A Nightmare On  Elm Street 1"  Return to Makeup Effects Index

Designing the original Freddy Krueger character for Wes Craven's "A Nightmare On Elm Street" is perhaps what David Miller is best known for in the makeup effects business.  Wes Craven originally approached Miller in the summer of 1983 to create what he described as a horribly burned, disfigured man who was burned alive by angry parents of the young victims that he had killed.  Miller studied many forensic books with photos of burn victims for inspiration to design the look of Freddy.  Miller found that there are many types of burns and that some of them looked more interesting than others.  Once Robert Englund was cast, Miller was able to create a life casting of Englund and begin to design Freddy.  Miller then created 5 different clay sculptures of various types of burn designs.  He then showed these sculptures to Wes Craven and they both picked things that they liked from each sculpture and combined them for the final look.  Above are rarely seen close-up photos of the original makeup 

Return to Makeup Effects Index

Attention: All of the photographs on this web site are © 2001 David Miller Creations and may be downloaded for your personal enjoyment only.   None of these Photos may be published on another web site or in any publications without permission from David Miller Creations.