Subtext as Text: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
Jack Sholder, whether he knew it or not, directed a stand-out in gay horror cinema.
Like any first film in what becomes a long-running franchise, the original Nightmare on Elm Street feels tame and tampered-down compared to its successors. In the same way that Jason isn’t the killer in the first Friday the 13th film or that the first Saw film doesn’t include anything particularly disgusting, this first Freddy movie is very different tonally from the next few. They were never really ones for carnage (until the much-maligned 2010 remake, the body count only ever topped out at six; the original only features four kills), but that first entry is at least very serious.
And scary! Freddy isn’t really the Freddy that people think of now (in fact, they seem to call him “Fred” just as much as they call him “Freddy”), and honestly, that plays to the movie’s advantage. He’s not quite a wise ass yet; he’s the spirit of a burned-up child killer, and he’s as scary as that sounds. And if Robert Englund’s characterization isn’t quite what it’ll become, the practical effects are what really sell it. Everyone remembers Johnny Depp getting sucked through his bed and vomited back out for a reason. Or how about Freddy’s hand appearing in Nancy’s bath in one of the series’ most enduring images? Or Freddy slicing his own fingers off! The dream scenes work because they work in real life - they’re scary!
But it didn’t take long for the series to take a turn. Crammed between the original film, a beloved classic, and the third installment, the favorite sequel of many, the second film, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, often gets a rash of crap for several reasons, largely because it’s stuck between the rock and hard place of two stone-cold classics.
Also because it’s the gay one.
Most slashers follow a female character or a “final girl” - and if that actress is lucky enough to give a beloved performance, she’ll be dubbed a “Scream Queen” and have a job signing autographs at horror conventions for the rest of her life. Freddy’s Revenge, however, follows Jesse, a teenage boy whose family moves into Nancy’s old home from the first movie. It’s definitely different to have a male main character, but there’s obviously nothing particularly wrong with it. It’s what Jesse does that made young gay horror fans take notice. As Freddy haunts Jesse, he can’t focus in school, he gets into fights, and he’s just not himself - all because these nightmares are ruining every aspect of life. And it’s largely centered around the fact that Jesse can’t manage to have sex with his girlfriend, Lisa (Kim Myers, an all-time horror cutie - which makes it all the more egregious), because he has this evil inside him that he just can’t shake.
Freddy’s hauntings lead Jesse to try and stay up all night, wandering the streets and stumbling into late-night establishments. In one scene, he finds himself in a gay leather bar, where he’s caught by his gym teacher, who makes him run laps the next day as a punishment. Sent to the showers, Freddy attacks the gym teacher by ripping his towel off and spanking him with it, humiliating him before killing him in front of Jesse. And those are just a few examples! There’s also the undertoned relationship with his best friend (who he runs to after a hot makeout sesh with Lisa), the oral fixation imagery with the claws on Freddy’s leather glove, and the fact that, oh yeah, lead actor Mark Patton was gay...and closeted.
In 1985, homophobia was career-killing in Hollywood. And since the gay subtext in this film is all but full-on text, Mark’s career soon fell apart. This was it. The film has been reclaimed by Freddy’s gay coalition since, and he has become a pioneer in gay horror cinema, even if he didn’t mean to be. I think the movie is really fun, largely because the subtext stuff is so campy and silly and perfectly pitched for a Rocky Horror-type midnight movie experience.
And Mark has made some peace with it all, as seen in the 2019 documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street. Sure, maybe it’s frustrating that director Jack Sholder claims he has no idea that screenwriter David Chaskin’s very obviously gay script is very obviously gay, or that he seems to be totally unaware that his film ruined Mark’s career, but, as the documentary shows, time does seem to heal. It’s a beautiful film about the reflection of one’s own legacy, as Mark ponders something representative of not only his life and career, but the franchise at large, when he says, “If you don’t face that monster head on, how are you ever going to make a difference in this world?”
I recommend Freddy’s Revenge and Scream, Queen! as a double feature. Mark Patton has such an interesting perspective that so few people share. His insight on the intersection of horror and queer cinema is uniquely his own, and it’s interesting to hear his story, his ups and downs, and how he overcame the struggles the industry forced on him. In a season where most movies are filled with destruction and pain, it’s also nice to watch a movie filled with healing.
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