A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

This movie was weird. It was weird in a way that when it was good, it was pretty good, and when it was bad, it was pretty bad.

I don't really have too many tiny commentary to make about his film. This was the first time I'd seen it besides bits and pieces on television, and while I had fun when the movie is good, towards the end there were some choices made that I thought were kind of odd.

For one, let's talk about how this film ties into the first. It being a sequel it has to connect back to the first in some fashion. For starters, the main character, Jesse, and his family have moved into the Thompson house on Elm Street. I can't recall off the top of my head if the film gives reference to the fates of the characters from the first, Nancy included, but it makes reference to some aspects of the first film.

Freddy is still around of course, but apparently he can't kill people on his own power anymore. Presumably, we can connect this to the fact that Nancy weakened him in the last movie (defeated him as well) by turning her back on him and not giving into her fear. So Freddy decides to target Jesse, not to kill him, but to corral him into killing people for him. Now, as to how this helps Freddy at all isn't really elaborated upon. Since the series hasn't introduced the remaining Elm Street kids into the picture, we can assume that at this point that Freddy wasn't trying to get Jesse to eliminate them for him. There is kind of an answer to this question, but that will come a little later into the movie. First, let's get back to the set up.

So poor, unfortunate Jesse has just moved into a new town and a new school, and right off the bat he has to deal with a nice girl who has a crush on him, and a dead serial killer dream manipulator who wants him to kill people.

The Temptation of Jesse moments are where this film really shines. The kills are effective enough to keep audience interest, but its the moments that Freddy is mind fucking Jesse that the movie REALLY shines. There's a fantastic scene wherein Freddy literally rips himself out of Jesse's body in order to kill Jesse's new best friend Grady. The SFX are fantastically done, and the nightmarish imagery immersive.

Jesse has the unfortunate luck to keep discovering himself near the site of murder crimes that he has dreamed about, wearing Freddy's glove that he found in the basement. This is where Freddy's motives become clear. He doesn't want Jesse to just kill for him. He wants Jesse to surrender him his body so that he (Freddy) can continue his legacy of killing kids and teens. I guess people like to think that this was dumb, but given the fact that the extent of Freddy's powers at this point hadn't been elaborated upon and the fact of all the shit he can do in the later sequels, this shouldn't be a point against the movie like I always see it is on message boards and the like.

Where the film ultimately fails is the ending. So far, it had done a decent enough job as a Nightmare sequel, and you really feel sorry for Jesse as he is psychologically tormented. But when Freddy takes control of Jesse's body near the end of the movie, its not just Jesse running around with the glove on and a crazy expression on his face. No. It's literally just Freddy.

This is why this is a bad thing: why would taking over someones body make them look like Freddy? It doesn't REALLY make a whole lot of sense, but above all Freddy just running around a pool of screaming idiotic teenagers like he is some spooky mascot at a Halloween event is just the movie going out of its way to ruin the terrifying monster its been building up this whole time. And the fact that SO many people see Freddy who don't get killed off? You'd think the whole town ought to know by the next few films (and I actually partly also blame the next few films for not elaborating on this. I mean, even adults see him, for goodness sakes).

After this, the movie settles back down and is okay. Lisa rescues Jesse from inside Freddy by appealing to Jesse's heart, and he's able to regain control of his body as Freddy disintegrates from all the love. There's a happy en--oh, no wait. Girl was stabbed through the chest on the bus at the end. Well, maybe next time.

This film was decent. But the climax really undermines the rest of the film in a bad way. Apparently there's some homosexual subtext as well. I guess I could see where they are coming from but it kind of seems like they are demonizing it in a way. So Jesse is struggling with his own sexuality, trying not to let it bubble to the surface? Are you saying homosexuality is a bad thing? I'm sure that would offend someone who is openly gay, or maybe not. Maybe the point is not that its bad, but that the movie is trying to give its audience a look into the mind of someone struggling to out themselves. Maybe the movie accurately reflects what it is like for someone who is unsure of just how to express what is inside of them. Regardless, the movie could have done better with a few of its elements. Freddy is still terrifying here until the end, and the nightmare imagery is still fantastic, so that's that.

I give A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge a C+. Better luck next time, Fred.