A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE grossed even more money than its predecessor and guaranteed another sequel on the horizon. Despite its financial success Part 2 is perhaps the most vilified of all the Nightmare films citing the drastic narrative departure from the original. Among the aspects of the film called into question are the apparent "breaking of the rules" set forth in the first film. Instead of terrorizing the characters in their dreams, this time around Freddy chooses to possess the body of a teenage boy and kill people in the old fashion slasher style. On top of that he can apparently use his magic in the real world when doing this. And then there are the "homo erotic" undertones (you know, cause this film focuses on male characters rather than the usual heroine cliches of horror. Meh, whatever).
Even so, the gore effects are top notch and Robert Englund is still on top of his game portraying Freddy. And the story is quite refreshing and unique among the series. You guessed it, I actually really enjoy Nightmare 2 and... oh who am I kidding, I'm the guy who said he liked Cara Delevingne in Suicide Squad... ugh... I'm never gonna live that one down, am I? My credibility is in need of rebuilding and here I am defending the most reviled Freddy film... probably not the best choice...
THE PLOT
Jesse and his family have just moved into a new house on Elm Street in Springwood. Almost immediately Jesse begins having nightmares. Soon his school performance begins slipping. He starts lashing out at his family. And he begins waking up in bizarre places, out on the road or on the other side of town. He dreams of killing people only to wake the next morning to discover those he dreamed about were murdered. Jesse learns that their new house used to belong to the Thompsons and a girl named Nancy previously lived in his room. And Nancy went crazy. Jesse also learns another name, Freddy Krueger, the nightmarish figure haunting his dreams and trying to gain access to the waking world through Jesse's body. Is Jesse's will strong enough to drive Freddy away or will the dream demon get what he wants?
WHAT I LIKED
Freddy. There are two kinds of Freddy's. There's the smart mouthed, one-liner spouting Freddy whom we all love. And then there's the dark, angry, no nonsense Freddy. Same character, different emotional states. There are only a few films with the latter Freddy and Part 2 is one of them. There's still a little bit of mischievousness there but for the most part this is the darkest Freddy's ever come across in my opinion. The scene where Freddy is facing off against Lisa showcases just how angry he is and how scary that version of Freddy can be. And making Jesse nearly kill his little sister is pretty cold too. Then there's the make-up effects for Freddy which look very good this time around. Speaking of the make-up effects...
Addressing the "Problems" with Freddy's Revenge
Breaking the Rules. This film features Freddy engaging in killing in a different way. Instead of killing kids in their dreams, Freddy possesses Jesse thereby physically manifesting in the real world and killing the old fashion way. Freddy is a mortal turned dream demon, right? Well, don't demons possess people? And when in possession of a human host, these demons can still perform feats of magic, yes, like knocking stuff off the wall, slamming doors, moving furniture telekinetically (levitating beds and all that)? Even disappearing completely sometimes. Freddy tried killing people in their dreams and was successful until he was defeated by Nancy in the last film. Now, Freddy is an intelligent character. Wouldn't it make sense for him to try a new way of wreaking his revenge of the children of Springwood if the old method had recently failed him?
And Freddy's Revenge isn't the only film in the series to showcase this power. The element of possession comes back in the later films too. In Wes Craven's New Nightmare Freddy somewhat possesses Heather's son, Dylan, and in Freddy Vs Jason he completely possesses the character Freeburg. Then in Dream Child, the whole focus of the film is for Freddy to find/create a vessel to allow him to manifest on the physical plane, in essence, perfecting what he tried to accomplish in Freddy's Revenge. Rather than taking away from Freddy I feel the whole possession angle makes Freddy more dangerous and scarier, adding to his arsenal.
NITPICKS
Not Enough Kills. Just to be clear, I mean spectacle kills. Freddy's body count in this film is actually the second highest in the whole franchise behind Freddy Vs Jason. But seven of these deaths are en masse at the party. We aren't treated to the up front super graphic death sequences nearly as often in this film as with the others. My only real beef with this movie was that there weren't any more bloodbath spectacles. What we did get was quality but there could've been a little more. Maybe the MPAA had something to do with it. If there is a bloodier director's cut hiding away somewhere, make that available! And give us a director's commentary on part 2 while you're at it! Sheesh!
THE VERDICT
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge takes a decidedly different turn in the franchise. Freddy is darker and angrier than usual, manifesting a new frightening ability: possession. This film is one of those rare horror outings with a male protagonist and is more male centric. There's great gore and another terrifying performance by icon Robert Englund. Many have maligned this film for its departures from original and there is a good argument for that. Ultimately with Freddy's Revenge you can either go with it or lambast the film like so many others. In no way is this a bad film though. I for one find it interesting and different, adding to the mythos and powers of Freddy rather than taking away from them. As a result Freddy's Revenge is rather novel among the sequels, a fresh yet still potent entry in the franchise.
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
(there is some man-butt but man-butt don't count)
Check out these other Freddy films and icons of modern horror if you haven't already.
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