Welcome back to The Elm Street Retrospective. Last time, we took a look at the original 1984 classic. It was a solid story that's become a classic for a reason. It unleashed Fred Krueger upon the world. And honestly, it was never the same again. So with the ending of that film still showing that Krueger is still haunting dreams, it made sense that there would be a sequel.
And a sequel there would be. Just for some people at the time not the one that they were expecting. A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge was quickly put together and released in 1985. Honestly, that's a pretty quick turnaround. It's something that we have seen with the Friday the 13th franchise as well as something between Scream and Scream 2.
Originally, there was just one small issue at first. Well, I guess you could say one or two really. Wes Craven would not be returning for the sequel. He was very adamant that he just wished it to be a one and done. He told his story and was ready to move on. Especially as there was some misgivings between him and Bob Shaye concerning the original ending for '84 - it had to have a sequel hook. For the first week of production, Robert Englund wasn't even signed on to reprise the role that he made. How could this be? Well, it's safe to say that the studio had no idea what it had just yet. It was only the first sequel. So they didn't have an idea yet on what an Elm Street film should be. Thankfully, everyone quickly realized that Englund was quintessential to what Krueger would be and he was brought back. The downside though is that there was at least one instance of what I'd like to call Impostor Krueger still in the film.
When the film was released, it was a big success. However over the years, it felt like there were people that couldn't help but bash the film. They couldn't handle the story that was provided. It wasn't their Freddy. It wasn't their Elm Street. To them, I want to say screw you. The story of Freddy's Revenge is pretty bold. It literally took what worked in the first film and then turn it a little on its head. And those people just couldn't handle it. Why on earth would Freddy try to prey upon Jesse, the boy that was the next child that lived in the Elm Street home? If you think about the type of character that Freddy is, it makes perfect sense. There is no favoring one over the other. Freddy preys upon everyone for his own sick demented pleasure. He turns whatever dream or fantasies they may have and flips them upon themselves. So it makes perfect sense that he would prey upon Jesse.
I guess I put the cart before the horse a little bit. The synopsis for the film is as follows: A teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world. This whole concept of Freddy using Jesse as a way of enacting his desires in the real world - it's brilliant. Mark Patton kills it in this film. And no that's not a pun. He literally gives this film his all. He was an up-and-comer and delivered a performance that is incredible. Unfortunately at the time, he was shunned and picked on for it. It's a damn shame. But over the years, his performance continues to deliver everything and prove all those that were ill-speaking of him just how wrong they were. This film literally hinges on his performance.
Now don't get me wrong, the rest of the cast doesn't deliver bad performances. Far from it, everyone brings a solid performance. Englund upped the ante with this take on Freddy. It was a bit more sinister and darker. When comparing performance from Nightmare 1 with 2, I would say that in 2 he's a bit more ruthless. Robert Rusler and Kim Myers are both fantastic as well. I just don't know if the film would work if it had been anyone else besides Patton. Clu Galager is always a delight when see him in a film. And it's definitely no different here in his role as Jesse's Dad. Marshall Bell is the infamous Coach Schneider. Now, this is another performance that could have been very campy. But it's interesting as we begin to see the other side of Schneider. It's a performance with a few different layers to it.
The one thing that I don't know if it worked that well is the 'rules' for Freddy, especially in regards to the pool party. Did Freddy appear because Jesse fell sleep and he possessed him? Was that really Freddy? How did he get the disappear and appear abilities? There's a lot of different questions that could be asked regarding that scene alone. But again, it wasn't really established what Freddy's abilities were or how they worked. This second installment does do a good job of giving us more Freddy though.
There was also the talk for the longest time of 'subtext' with this installment. Honestly, I appreciate the film for all that it does. Cause it does do a lot. And it's something incredible to see that Freddy's Revenge is finally getting the appreciation it deserves.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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