By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Many have mixed feelings on Nightmare on Elm St Part 2, but it has become a cult classic. The homo-erotic subtext that David Chaskin admittedly wrote into the screenplay has created a small sensation and interest in the film.
Perhaps if the movie came out today, Jesse (Mark Patton) may have been openly gay. Sadly, though even in this day and age, I have yet to see the main character in a mainstream film be homosexual, unless the movie plot is completely oriented around homosexuality. There are a lot of great movies where the main character is a homosexual. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Latter Days (2003), and La Cage Aux Folles (1978) are just a few examples. They are great films in their own right, but homosexuality plays a large part in each movie.
It would be nice to see a movie where the main character is gay but the plot of the film doesn’t surround his sexual orientation. I believe that was the intent of Chaskin and for that I do have a certain respect for the film.
Looking at Nightmare on Elm Street 2, there are some very memorable scenes. Here are the top 5.
5) The Bus into Hell: Jesse is sitting on the bus with 2 girls, when it’s revealed that Freddy is driving the bus. He brings the bus into what can only be described as hell. Lava rocks surround the area. It’s a cool scene and a great introduction into the film.
4) The Death of the Gym Teacher: Jesse has a dream where his gym teacher is in a gay bar. He goes back to the school with him and does laps. In the showers, an invisible force ties up the teacher, takes off his clothes and begins whipping his rear-end. Freddy shows up and finishes him off and then in the real world Jesse is found wandering the street naked. The next day he finds out the gym teacher is dead which is the first real indication that Jesse is becoming Freddy.
3) Freddy Gets a kiss: I always wanted Freddy to have a girlfriend. I loved the character and just thought it would be cool if some chick was into him. Though, that isn’t the case here, we do get to see Freddy get frenched. Lisa (Kim Myers) is desperate to get Jesse back as Freddy has now taken over. She tells Freddy/Jesse she loves him and kisses Krueger with the hopes it will make Jesse fight to come back.
2) Jesse dances while cleaning his room: This is most certainly a guilty pleasure. Jesse’s dad tells him he has to clean his room which he starts to do…only in a very odd way. He puts on a hat and gold sunglasses and then dances in the craziest and most bizarre manner. I’m not sure why this scene is in there…maybe it’s just filler, but it’s fantastic!
1) Freddy Crashes the Pool Party: Legitimately a great scene, Freddy busts Lisa’s pool party. He murders a man who tries to reason with him and then widens his arms and states, “You are all my children now.” It’s an amazing scene and one of my favorite in the series
I think this movie will always be remembered for the subtext though I do think there is something more within the film. Though it may not fit into the Nightmare on Elm Street canon as well as some of the others, it does provide an interesting element. Watching Jesse lose control of his instincts and his inhibitions, while Freddy takes over, may not be the most subtle manner to explore one struggling with coming out of the closet, but it definitely has some intellect behind it.
I’ve watched the movie 20 times and will watch it 20 more. It’s enjoyable and though I wish Freddy was in it more, the story really is about Jesse.
About the Release:
“Don’t fall asleep” — words to live by for Elm Street teens. Not a problem for fans wide awake with fear (and glee) as they experience these 7 Nightmare movies released from 1984 to 2003. Each features Robert Englund’s masterfully macabre incarnation of slouch-hatted, razor-fingered Freddy Krueger, who mixes wicked wit with even wickeder mayhem as he haunts teens when they’re asleep and most vulnerable. A newspaper article about children who died after having fearsome nightmares provided the real-life springboard for filmmaker Wes Craven’s breakthrough series. Perhaps that underlying reality helps make these shockers so unnerving. Or maybe it’s just that we all like a good scare…and that this series consistently, imaginatively delivers some of the best.
All original Nightmares on 5 discs. Plus the new featurette – The Tales and Crimes of Freddy Krueger
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