For Monica Keena, playing Lori Campbell in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason meant getting to fight back against the horror villain who’d frightened her so badly as a child that her mom took her to a doctor.
In an interview with Nerd Reactor, reported by BANG Showbiz, Keena recalled being in second grade when she saw 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, her first horror movie. She recalled losing weight afterward. Her teachers suspected she was being abused at home, while her mom couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
At the pediatrician’s office, Keena struggled to explain what she feared. She recalled telling him: “You’re not going to understand. You’re not going to believe me because he doesn’t show himself to grown-ups.” Eventually, she named Freddy Krueger, and the doctor explained things to her.
Her mom also went to the Brooklyn Public Library and found a newspaper clipping about Robert Englund, the actor behind Freddy. She used it to show Keena that the man terrifying her was playing a character.
The experience helped inspire Keena to become an actress, though she’d made herself a promise: “When I grow up, I’m going to become an actress and I’m never going to make movies that scare little kids.”
Years later, she starred opposite Englund in Freddy vs. Jason, with Ken Kirzinger playing Jason Voorhees. Her character took on Freddy with Jason’s help, giving Keena a chance to confront the villain she’d feared as a child.
Keena said: “But the whole point is, then it was really cathartic because I got to kill him. I finally got to kill him.”
