A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge is by no means a terrible movie, but coming on the heels of the first Nightmare, it’s not particularly inspired. Overall, the acting is better this time out, and there are some decent scares, but ultimately, Part 2 is a little too much of a retread of the original.
Of course in the world of franchise horror — a subgenre that quickly wears out interesting concepts through repetition — the fact that Part 2 is watchable and occasionally compelling inspired elevates it above much of its ilk.
The plot: five years since the events of the first Nightmare, a new family has moved into the home once occupied by Nancy Thompson, who’s been dispatched to an insane asylum. Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), the family’s teenage son, immediately has nocturnal meetings with Freddy Krueger, whose vendetta against the children of the parents who killed him now has morphed into a mission against the collective townsfolk of Springwood, OH. Jesse develops a relationship with the girl next door, Lisa Webber (Kim Myers), who listens to his tales of terror while others — especially his parents — ignore him. Soon, the couple discovers what happened to Nancy, but things take an ominous turn as Freddy attempts to recruit Jesse into his murderous plans — and escape the dreamworld in the process.
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Despite how little dialogue they’re given that isn’t related to the plot, Jesse and Lisa really seem to be forming a bond, giving Part 2 a poignancy that was largely missing in the first film. In addition, there’s an entertaining subplot in which Jesse and classmate Ron Grady (Robert Rusler) start out as enemies but commiserate out of hatred for their sadistic PE teacher Coach Schneider (played with gleeful malevolence by notable “that guy” Marshall Bell).
Unfortunately, most of the film ends up recycling the plot, the visual motifs, and, too often, the surprises from the first Nightmare. There’s a scene in which the Walsh family’s bird goes on a fiery rampage before exploding into a shower of feathers — and we can’t help but be reminded of a similar effect involving a slashed pillow in the first movie. In another scene, Jesse (like Nancy before him) begs another character to not fall asleep — a warning that isn’t heeded, of course, which results in a gruesome death at Freddy’s knifed hands. (This scene features impressive effects, as Freddy bursts from Jesse’s midsection, but it’s a little too reminiscent of Alien to be truly shocking — and we could see the kill scene coming a mile away). Once again, we get plenty of drama in that infernal boiler room. And the bait-and-switch finale is nearly a carbon copy of the first film’s ending.
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Another drawback is that Freddy’s motivations are uncertain this time out. Why does he want to cross over to the real world? What’s his ultimate goal? What does he have against these kids? Why does he choose Jesse to be his real-world doppelganger — aside from the fact that kid just happens to occupy a particular house? Part 2 doesn’t even bother with Freddy’s backstory beyond what’s repeated from its predecessor. Much discussed among Nightmare fans is the film’s gay subtext: Freddy’s crimes are a metaphor for Jesse’s guilt over his repressed homosexuality. It’s certainly intriguing (and, given the homophobia of the mid-1980s in the wake of the appearance of AIDS, bravely progressive), but what exactly does this have to do with Freddy and his quest for vengeance against the people of Springwood?
Still, Part 2 contains two set-pieces of gleefully malevolent invention. The first is in the opening scene, in which a leisurely school bus ride becomes a nightmarish descent into hell — with Freddy behind the wheel, the bus is piloted into the desert, where the earth splits and the bus is balanced upon a pair of stalagmites over a crevice of fire. Later, a ribald pool party becomes a blazing inferno of slaughter as Freddy charges on a collection of swimsuit-clad teens. Both of these scenes have a sense of perverse glee that’s otherwise lacking in the movie.
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The bottom line is that Part 2 isn’t an embarrassing entry in the series, just a mediocre one. How will the next installment fare? Check in tomorrow for my take on A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, which features the return of Nancy Thompson, along with her brand new compatriots Patricia Arquette and Laurence Fishburne.
Schedule of Nightmares:
