A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

  Yes. It’s “the gay one”! I made my husband watch this one with me (he doesn’t care for horror films) and we made several knowing glances toward one another at several points during the film. Though the troubled history of the film is well-known and the intention behind the homoerotic overtones are debated, it’s hard for me to believe that they weren’t intentional.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was written by David Chaskin (The Curse) and directed by Jack Sholder (The Hidden). It was made on a budget of $3 million, made $2,865,475 upon opening, and went on to make $29,999,213 worldwide. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was released on November 1st, 1985 and received mixed to negative reviews. Through the years it has seen a bit of a revival as a cult classic.

Five years after the events of the first film, Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) and his family move into Nancy Thompson’s house. Jesse soon finds himself dreaming of Fred Krueger (Robert Englund, The Mangler) and comes to believe that Krueger is possessing him in order to commit more murders.

Freddy’s Revenge is the outlier of the series (New Nightmare aside) not just because of the homoeroticism, but also in how Krueger operates. The film largely eschews the “he kills you in your dreams” concept for the less original possession concept. The fact that the possession concept is never revisited in future installments (to my memory at least) only makes it stand out more.

The cast is strong across the board. Englund is characteristically excellent, and Mark Patton brings a sympathetic vulnerability to Jesse. Over the years Chaskin has derisively blamed the film’s queerness on Patton’s alleged inability to “act straight” and it’s outrageously unfair (especially since Chaskin has finally admitted that he wrote it into the script deliberately). In the supporting roles Kim Myers (Hellraiser: Bloodlines) and Robert Rusler (Vamp) are fun, though Rusler is severely underused. 

The film has some standout set pieces, particularly Grady’s (Rusler) death scene and the party rampage, but there are some sequences that are just ridiculous like the inexplicably exploding birds and Lisa’s (Myers) overwrought final confrontation with Krueger/Jesse. Speaking of that climax, if we’re working under the impression that Krueger represents Jesse’s repressed homosexuality then Jesse’s ability to defeat him by embracing Lisa’s love is more than a little problematic. Of course this was 1985 so it's not shocking.

There’s things to like about Freddy’s Revenge. It has some interesting set pieces, likeable characters, and the homoeroticism at least provides fodder for discussion. However, it’s complete disconnect from the rest of the franchise makes it a little hard to invest in the story.

Rating: 3 school buses out of 5

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? One of the Walsh family’s lovebirds is killed by the other which, as mentioned above, explodes for some reason.

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: Grady’s death is really good.

• There is a documentary about Patton’s experience making the film called Scream Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street. It’s very good, although I think Patton let’s Chaskin off the hook for his shitty behavior (though I understand him wanting to put the resentment behind him).

• My husband got very annoyed with me while watching because I kept calling Lisa “Not-Meryl-Streep”. I mean seriously, the resemblance is uncanny.

• “You’re all my children now.”

Next Week: We’re going to be covering Rosemary’s Baby!