A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge 1985

The man of your dreams is back!

5.8 / 10   1757 vote(s)
R
Horror

Jesse Walsh moves with his family into the home of the lone survivor from a series of attacks by dream-stalking monster, Freddy Krueger. There, he is bedeviled by nightmares and inexplicably violent impulses.

Release Date 1985-11-01
Runtime 1h 27m
Directors Jacques Haitkin, Jack Sholder, Christopher Tufty, Matia Karrell, Whitney R. Hunter, Joel Soisson
Producers Stephen Diener, Stanley Dudelson, Robert Shaye, Sara Risher, Michael S. Murphey, Sara Risher
Writers Wes Craven, David Chaskin

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge is the runt of the Elm Street litter. It was unfortunate to be the sequel to a landmark horror film, a film that birthed one of the ultimate horror icons whilst having at its core a terrifying premise. A premise that was superbly executed by all involved in the first film. Part 2 bravely tried to advance the bogeyman story to another level, to one of possession, which in hindsight was a mistake.

There's also the mixed tonal flow and confused intents that hamper the pic. Whilst the young members of the cast are too blank to garner the required amount of sympathy to get us to care about their plight, especially lead lad Mark Patton as Jesse Walsh. However, there is still a lot to like here, some striking imagery grabs the attention and it is not without some unnerving scares.

The debates about what metaphors the makers were going for still exist, and that homo-erotic sheen is never going to go away, but even though it's an average Elm Street movie, it's not as dreadful as it was first painted. 5/10

John Chard

Freddy's Revenge deserves redemption. If you don't expect a film about Freddy, you can appreciate this sequel for what it is, instead of begrudging it for what it isn't. The argument for a gay reading--the idea that Freddy is symbolic of the protagonist's repressed homosexual desires--isn't entirely convincing but even without it, the movie's a lot better than many credit it. This is a Nightmare on Elm Street story that uses the creature to explore what it feels like to grow up. It's confusing and scary and transformational. Tonal shifts and plot mistakes only contribute to the overall intent.

tmdb15214618

The nightmare that started it all. Made us all scared to go to to sleep. My favorite horror series next to Friday the 13th. Love this movie.

Andre Gonzales

My least favorite out of the series. Didn't like this one because Freddy wasn't really killing any one until the end. He used a live human to kill for him. So it was kind of dumb.

Andre Gonzales

My least favorite out of the series. Didn't like this one because Freddy wasn't really killing any one until the end. He used a live human to kill for him. So it was kind of dumb.

Andre Gonzales