Freddy Krueger is one of the most terrifying, sadistic, brutal murderers in horror movie history, a force of evil that has haunted generations. The depraved demon at the center of the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise is the lowest of the low, stalking only the most defenseless of victims, mostly children and teens, and murdering them through their nightmares. He takes great pleasure in finding new ways to torment his prey and send them off to the afterlife, and his kitschy zingers make his kills even more cringeworthy.

One of Wes Craven’s most horrifying creations, Freddy Krueger has placed himself on the Mount Rushmore of Slashers, leaving a trail of lifeless bodies in his path that rivals the likes of any of the all-time greats, like Michael or Jason. But Freddy’s score isn’t perfect, as a very lucky few have managed to escape his razor-sharp grasp throughout countless films, shows, spinoffs, and video games.

And we tracked one of them down.

Yvonne Miller, played by Hollywood vet Kelly Jo Minter, was the non-believer in A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, casting doubt on her friend Alice’s chilling stories about Freddy, blaming her experiences on hallucinations.

But that all changed one night when Yvonne was relaxing in a jacuzzi and happened to doze off momentarily — a big no-no in the Nightmare universe. Freddy quickly tried to make her pay, infiltrating Yvonne’s dream and attempting to drown her in a vat of boiling water. Thankfully, Alice was there to save Yvonne and together they ultimately defeated Freddy once and for all.

Just kidding, there’s no such thing as once and for all in horror film franchises. [insert sinister laugh]

Kelly, who has appeared in a number of classics from House Party to Martin, also worked with Wes Craven again a few years after Nightmare 5 when they made People Under The Stairs, another chilling classic.

We caught up with the skeptical survivor of Freddy’s wrath to find out what it was like coming face to face with pure evil and living to tell the tale.

Can you tell us a little bit about Yvonne Miller?
Well, she doesn’t die. She lives until the end. She’s hanging out with her friend Alice and they’re concerned, of course. You know, because of Freddy. To be honest, I didn’t even know about Nightmare on Elm Street before I took the role. And I like that you didn’t have to see all the previous Nightmare movies to understand it. It was a great cast, Stephen Hopkins directed it. I never saw Robert Englund until it was actually time to do a scene with Freddy. So, that was cool. My first interaction with Robert was Freddy trying to drown me in the jacuzzi. We shot that right off the 10 freeway on Robertson, at this old Spaghetti factory. It was the first time I got to work with Wes Craven, and then we did People Under the Stairs two years later. Wes is so incredible, so many stories. He made another movie called The Serpent and the Rainbow that was so scary, it’s like The Exorcist to me. And he would just tell us all these crazy stories about how he shot these films. Horror fans are the most dedicated fans, it’s a strong subculture. When I go do all of the conventions, people are lined up around the corner. People plan their whole vacations around going to these conventions. I’ve been all over the place doing them. Who would have thought it would still be cracking 30 years later?

Among the convention circles, I’m sure you run into a lot of the same people from other film franchises. What’s it like being one of the rare people to survive?
It’s so good! Normally, the Black girl gets knocked off first, but nope, I survived that shit.

Of course, the final finished product of a horror movie is scary, but is the vibe much different on the set?
I come from the production side of filmmaking, I used to be a grip. So I’ve seen it from all angles. And it’s amazing what they do with the set and editing. Because it becomes something completely different once it’s on the screen.

Are you a fan of scary movies?
You know what, growing up in the hood, I didn’t even need scary movies. I saw a lot of scary stuff. But I do like them. Not as much as suspense thrillers, those are my favorite. But I’ve been fortunate to be part of so many pop culture horror flicks, like Nightmare, People Under The Stairs, and Lost Boys (even though my part got cut).

Is there anything you like more about working on horror projects compared to other genres?
No, not really. You’re working, and you want to always lay down the best performance no matter what you’re working on.

What are these conventions like?
It’s kids, parents, grandparents. They remember more of the lines than I do. People have tattoos. There’s cosplay. We’re there signing stuff for hours and hours. And we’re getting paid well. But these films capture a time in people’s lives, they grew up with it. Some people are shaking when they meet you. So, I’m honored to be a part of it.

What are you up to now?
I’m a designer and a developer. I design houses and have a few luxury Airbnb’s. I have two sons, who are twins, and they’re gamers and skateboarders and surfers. My next thing is I want to do something with my kids. I don’t want to act in something just to do it. It has to be good. I’m still creative. I’m a painter, I do all kinds of stuff. A renaissance woman. But I would love to do the horror genre again and I probably will. What I really want to do is voice overs in video games. These games make more than the damn movies.

What do your kids think of Yvonne and Nightmare on Elm Street?
[Laughs] They laugh and they’re like, “Mom, look at you!” It’s funny, though. My kids are friends with Kevin Bradley and he did something with Fucking Awesome where they did a Nightmare on Elm Street skateboard, so it never trends out. Freddy is a part of a couple of generations here.

Have you seen any great movies lately?
I’m watching what they’re doing in Korea and the Japanese horror films. Those are all dope. I just saw Lovebird or something like that, with Ethan Hawke. I just watched the first episode, that was cool. I watch a lot of documentaries. I just like eclectic, cool shit. I’m not a big blockbuster person, I like independent films. Being on lockdown, I’m pretty burnt out on Netflix. I’ve seen everything.

It’s been 10 years since the last Nightmare on Elm Street film. Would you like to see them reboot it?
Of course I would, are you kidding me? Hell yeah, I want to do it! Wes was ahead of his time. I say why not? It just has to be well written. There are just some horror characters that always get you and Freddy is one of them.