MovieChat Forums > A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) Discussion > Unfairly Derided, one of the series best...

Unfairly Derided, one of the series best - look again...

posted 10 years ago by Stygian6
34 replies | jump to latest

Always liked this film in the series and was surprised to discover how widely dismissed it is. Nightmare 2 is one the series best - it has the strongest opening of any film in the series that picks up the story with a fast pace, includes a number of genuinely creepy scenes and was the last sequel to maintain some of the spookiness of the original before the franchise descended into quip-kills and FX-mania. There's also some genuine laughs and nice moments between the cast, great photography and score, and some ripper kills....

Mark Patton gives a dedicated if at times over-the-top performance, and Robert Russler is terrifically funny. The 'possession' angle, while not strictly nightmare-focussed, span the story in a unique direction. Sure there's some hokey scenes (exploding budgie??), but the left-field S&M kill and some uniquely weird moments, as nightmares seem to spill into the real world, reflect the Asian and European horror we often laud - so why dislike it in an American setting?

This was also the last time Freddy came close to the menace he was originally imagined to be - the American nightmare, a lurking psychotic who stalks our safe, tree-lined suburbs, driven to steal and murder children. In that context, the pool-party scene where he faces down and dominates a horde of shivering teenagers approaches a genuine horror the series never again touched.

Many horror films also share a strong crossover with the teen genre, mirroring that period of our lives when we're changing inside and out; indeed the doubt, isolation, discontent, uncertainty and occasional dread we feel in that pivotal period often haunts our dreams well into adulthood. The screenwriter later admitted to a gay subtext in the film also; can we assume some of the alleged dislike of this film is perhaps discomfort with some of the undertones?

When I first saw this film I lived at home with my parents. I'm re-watching it tonight as a father with my own young children. Ironically part way through watching it, my young 3yr old son awoke crying in bed and I had to soothe him back to sleep. In his darkened room I asked him "what's wrong?", and sobbing he said "bad dream". As a father now I can far more appreciate the horror of what Freddy was supposed to represent, and Nightmare 2 was the closest he ever came to that again as a character. Take another look with fresh eyes....

[–] Ceephax 9 years ago

Good post.

One of the things I love so much about Elm Street 2 is it's very uniquely 80's summer atmosphere. It's a film that quit fittingly, together with it's cinematography, feels very 'hot'.

I could see the direction they were planning to take with Elm Street 2, to make Freddy powerful enough to enter the real world. And he is pretty menacing in this film.

I only really return to the first 3 films in the franchise, and maybe New Nightmare if I'm very bored. Dream Master went so rapidly downhill it's not even funny, especially as a follow up to the excellent third installment.

I like to think of this entry as being an actual nightmare in real time, nightmares within one big nightmare (which never really happened, if that makes sense), seeing as not much of it makes much sense, and the third installment is the true 'sequel' from the first that's pretty ambitious in it's scope. I guess Jessie and the other kids in the second one were one were all victims of Freddy which was implied in the third (the Elm Street children) who didn't survive, with the lead character Jessie being a teen struggling with his homosexuality.

I think the first three have something great to offer, with the first two sequels offering a fresh perspective on Craven's original masterpiece. By the fourth one Freddy was just a parody and everything from the cast, writers and directors just seemed so incredibly lazy.

[–] strikeback 9 years ago

Unfairly derided my ass, this movie blows and is the worse of the series. Even the Nightmare remake is technically better than this 90 minutes of dreck.

[–] horcrux2007 9 years ago

The movie was cheesy at points, but I felt this was by far the darkest of the series. The possession angle definitely contributed to the atmosphere, especially the scene where Freddy bursts out of Jesse's chest.

[–] ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch 9 years ago

No, I gotta admit even as a kid I found this one difficult to get through. It does come alive only when Freddy shows up. Otherwise it plays like an Afterschool special about some teenage dude struggling with his sexuality.

When theres no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] in_my_tree33 9 years ago

Yep 10000% agree love NMOES 2

[–] sjackson547 9 years ago

This is definitely not the best NOES, IMO. It is a decent flick, and I think that if this one had come out first, or if they had continued along the lines, it would have been a lot better. My only real complaint is that it doesn't fit in with the rest of the franchise, primarily the possession/ attacking while vic is not asleep. Creepy? yes. Campy? IMO, yes. Enjoyable? for the most part, yes.

[–] ActionJunkie007 9 years ago

I have to disagree on both counts, as IMO, it IS the best ANOES made and it DOES fit well with the rest of the series. Most tend to overlook HOW Freddy is coming into the real world, and it's still through the power of dreams. What's funny is Wes craven's part 3 actually uses the same logic set in Part 2. Think about the scene with Puppet boy, he is, in reality , walking through the corridors of the hospital, right? But what happens when he comes to the closed/locked doors? The DREAM world superseeds the REAL world and the doors magically can be walked through as if they are not even there, right? How can that be, and hmm, I wonder what the nurse would see if she was watching it happen?

This is how the logic of Part 2 works. Jesse is a sleepwalker and while in his DREAM state, the dream superseeds REALITY due to Freddys powers over him and anyone around Jesse is seeing the NIGHTMARE he's stuck in projected over reality. Another great scene that shows this in Part 3 is when Joey is comatose. How does Nancy see "Come and get him , "b*tch" being carved on his chest? She's not asleep, and does not have the powers Kristen had to be pulled in, right? Well, the reason she can see it is Because Freddy is projecting the NIGHTMARE enviroment to Nancy.

In Jesse's DREAM, Freddy is possessing him, and since REAL Jesse is at the Pool Party, Freddy can PROJECT the Nightmare Jesse's having to the REAL enviroment, which explains why everyone sees Freddy but he can still do things like walk through Fire and disappear(when he leaves the party). It's still all a dream and takes place in the dream world, but it's just projected to those around him.

Make sense? I used to have a very detailed thread on how brilliant Nightmare 2 really is, but alas, it's been so long, I'm sure it's long gone.

You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] ActionJunkie007 9 years ago

WOW, thank you for finding this Xen11!! Close enough!!! I had one in which I started the thread with, but this prety much covers it all! I think I'll use it to start a new thread on the logic of Nightmare 2....Gracias!!!

You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.

[–] justin-mylanson 9 years ago

I agree that Nightmare 2 is a brilliant film! I will never like it as much as Dream Warriors or A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 but your Point of View on the movie is awesome! Next time I watch the first 3 movies I'll keep your theory in mind. It's funny even when I didn't like the film I was starting to "warm" up to it.

I did have afterthoughts like, what if the kids had Nightmares about Freddy after they saw him? It's does explain why Freddy is more powerful in part 3 to. Nancy didn't understand why. This movie adds a lot to the whole mythology that most fans don't seem to get.

Of course back then I found the movie skippable but after watching what future installments did to the character this was a breath of fresh air. Avant Garde Genius! I also think Dream Warriors explains part 2 as you hinted at.

I don't think anything explains parts 4-6 and even if there are good explanations the derailing of what Freddy should mean (scare wise) is far to present.

[–] ActionJunkie007 9 years ago

Thanks Justin-mylanson!!! :)

It's great to see that it has gotten better(and viewed more in line) as the years have gone by. And I agree, after you see 4-6 and what the character became, Part 2 is a masterpiece of horror! haha!

And yes, if viewed as a proper trilogy, they pretty much all fit. I mean, why is freddy's house all run down and in the dumps IN PART 3?? Because after Jesse's family moved out, no one dared move back in! And how come everyone is suffering from Freddy? Because the pool party spread mass fear and made him ridiculously strong.

Funny, these three are actually the ones I own, along with the new remake. Everything else, I enjoy watching for nostalgia reasons, but yeah, they don;t offer much else other than laughs haha.

Oh I travel, a sort of licenced troubleshooter.

[–] 9 years ago

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