I have to start by saying that A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is a bit of an acquired taste. Some people love this movie and I have read so many compelling articles about it over the years. However, if I am being honest, this is one of my least favorite entries in the series. I am not saying it is bad, it just did not click with me the same way it did for others.
How to Download A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was released on November 1, 1985. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Also, check out our review of the first film in this slasher series.
The Movie Review
Wes Craven had nothing to do with this and he has been pretty critical of the script over the years and I kind of agree with most of what he says. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge takes place five years after the events of the first movie. Nancy and her family are gone and the Walsh family have moved in.
Unsettling Dreams Return
The main character is teenager Jesse Walsh. Jessie starts to have dreams about a strange man, no prizes for guessing who! Their house is also ungodly hot and the unpleasant temperature is what Jesse puts his bad dreams down to. We have a solid cast of characters here.
Friendship and Fear
Jesse has a best friend called Lisa. Jesse has the hots for Lisa, but he never acts on it. Jesse also has a good friend called Grady and that makes up our trio of heroes. The two start out as enemies, but they do become close. After finding Nancy’s diary they realize that the dreams they are having are all down to one man, Freddy Kruger.
Freddy’s New Approach
This movie tried to do something different from the first. Rather than just having Freddy stalk the teenagers in their dreams, he takes over the actual body of Jesse. To be honest, I am not a fan of this. It makes for some very unique and well-done special effects, but Freddy using Jesse as a puppet just does not work for me.
Criticism and Controversy
The scene with Freddy killing people at the pool party is just ridiculous, even Wes Craven calls the movie out for this scene! I do not hate A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge by any means, I just feel that it is a massive step down from the first movie in pretty much every regard.
Final Verdict
While I like the three heroes, they are not as likable or as interesting as our group from the first movie. There are some cool Freddy moments here, but none that come close to the iconic stuff that went down in the original. At the same time, I can see why some love it. It has been said for years that there is a homoerotic kind of thing to the movie and to read about that stuff and Jesse being gay is fascinating, but it never actually happens in the movie, it is just people’s theory.
Hey, if I am watching all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, I never skip this one so I have seen it a bunch of times. At the end of the day, it may be my least favorite, but I still do get some enjoyment out of it each time I watch it. Like I said earlier, this is a movie that is an acquired taste as many say it is their favorite and I would certainly not argue with them if they said it was.
