Sunday, February 9, 2014

5 Reasons why I Love Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge




Certainly Freddy's Revenge is not one of the best sequels in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, but it by no means is the worst one either.
After reading an earlier article Posted on Horrormovies.ca about how Freddy's Revenge is one of the worst horror sequels ever made I felt compelled to list off a few of the reasons why I actually love Nightmare on Elm Street 2.
Time and time again Freddy's Revenge gets blasted for being a bad sequel but in fact it has great 80s practical special effects, classic Freddy Krueger lines, and even a scene where Freddy gets a kiss from a pretty girl!  I think Freddy's Revenge is one of those films that Horror fans will overlook any short comings because we love a good cheesy film.  And this movie is just that.  Cheesy in all the best ways.
Freddy's Revenge starts out with Jesse (Mark Patton) and his family move into the former home of Nancy Thompson from the first movie.  It isn't long before Jesse starts having nightmares starring the one and only Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).  Jesse wakes up screaming every morning but his parents just claim he is on drugs.  Freddy makes it clear from the very beginning that he is trying to get Jesse to do his dirty work for him, which is quite different from the first movie where Freddy kills the teens in their dreams.
The Elm Street house becomes very hot for seemingly no reason and things start to melt and burst into flame.   Jesse eventually succumbs to being possessed by Freddy and a killing spree ensues.

The opening dream sequence

The opening dream sequence where Freddy Krueger is driving the bus into the desert is a work of cinematic art for a Horror film.  It is scary and suspenseful and reminds me of the first film more than any other scene in Freddy's Revenge.  Perhaps if Freddy's Revenge had more scenes like this one it wouldn't get so much flack for being a bad sequel.  An homage to the bus scene appears later in a horror anthology called Trick R Treat.

Homoerotic undertones

Freddy's Revenge has been scrutinized in the past by some horror fans claiming that it has homoerotic  undertones.  While I agree certain scenes seem quite obvious in hindsight, like the shower scene with the Coach, I am not completely convinced that the writer or director had that intention during filming.  The supposedly gay bar scene where Jesse runs into his coach looks more like a typical 80s Punk bar rather than a "gay bar" to me (even with the two men kissing).  But what do I know?  Even if all the innuendo was intentional, I think that makes the film more interesting and not just another typical 80s slasher.

Classic Freddy Krueger lines

Freddy's Revenge is full of classic lines like when Freddy says to Jesse... "you've got the body. I've got the brains." Also when Jesse finds the infamous glove, Freddy appears and says... "Go ahead Jesse.  Try it on for size.  Kill for me",   And during the pool scene Freddy opens his arms wide as if for a big hug and says... "You are all my children now".    Freddy is still somewhat serious in this movie and hasn't started spouting off all the corny one liners that will follow in later sequels that the character will be better known for.

The oh so 80s dance sequence

80s movies were full of cheesy dance scenes.  I suppose we have Tom Cruise in Risky Business to thank for that.  Jesse starts unpacking and cleaning his room.  Ofcourse he has to put on the radio and some silly sunglasses and dance like he is stripper for this job.  Even if it is cheesy as hell, I am the first to admit that every time I see this scene it makes me smile!

The pool party scene

Freddy finally lets loose with a killing spree when he shows up uninvited to a pool party.  One guy at the party even tries to tell Freddy to "just calm down and relax".  But Freddy doesn't take his advice.  The pool starts bubble and boil cooking the teens in the pool.  Freddy comes to life in this scene and in the real world he is vulnerable.  It is an unforgettable scene and has one of the best Freddy lines in the whole franchise.
To be perfectly honest, even after listing all my favourite bits of Freddy's Revenge, I still have some reservations with the film.  In every scene that Freddy appears in, it is made perfectly clear that Jesse is the one actually doing all the killing.  But my question is: If Freddy can kill in people's dreams why does he have to possess Jesse in order to kill?  And why in the "real world" does he look like Freddy instead of Jesse to all his victims if they aren't dreaming?  And finally there just isn't enough blood in this sequel.  The first film was brutal with its kills.  Unfortunately Freddy's Revenge just doesn't live up to the original in that respect.  Even with all its flaws, I still enjoy this movie thoroughly every time I see it.  There's no denying it is one of the better sequels in the series.