Thursday, September 19, 2019

RW290 - A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)





In this episode of our A Nightmare on Elm Street Rewatch, Cory and Nathan want the body and the brain as they discuss "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge."

Trailer:

Our Favourite Trivia:

In 1985, the film opened in 614 theaters, making $2.9 million in its opening weekend, coming in fourth place. In the US, the film made $30 million on a budget of $3 million.

Wes Craven refused to work on this film because he never wanted or intended to have A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) become an ongoing franchise (and even wanted the first film to have a happy ending). He also didn't like the idea of Freddy manipulating the protagonist into committing the murders. 

Rather than continue the story of the first film's sole survivor Nancy, this movie focuses on the new residents of Nancy's old Elm Street house, joining a grand tradition of horror sequels which ignore the survivors of the prior installment for what would appear to be cost-control reasons. Langenkamp told the Never Sleep Again documentary that she was never actually offered a chance to do this movie, and the film's Line Producer couldn't recall if there had ever actually been any internal discussions at New Line Cinema about bringing her back. It has been hypothesized that David Chaskin and Jack Sholder's new concept of Freddy (possessing someone in the real world vs. killing them in their dreams) seemed so different from the first film, that bringing Nancy back wouldn't make a lot of sense

Had this film failed, New Line Cinema might not have survived. The movie hit big enough to finally give the studio some cash flow, and in the following years, New Line Cinema rode the Elm Street train to further success, had a hit with another horror franchise (Critters (1986)), cranked out John Waters' movies, and turned into both a respectable and profitable mini-major during the 90s. However, all of that was uncertain back when this film was being made. Studio head Robert Shaye micromanaged every aspect of the production, regularly confusing crew members by stepping over the line and offering orders which should have come from the director. That led to an understandably uneasy relationship between Shaye and Jack Sholder. On top of this, the production was remarkably rushed, slotted for a November 1, 1985 release date, when the first film had only been released on November 9 of the previous year. As a result, tensions were high, the hours were long, and the work was hard. There was no real time to stop and second guess the direction of the franchise. In the Never Sleep Again documentary, Robert Englund recalls several moments during filming, such as the pool sequence where Freddy appears to teenagers outside of their dreams, where he struggled with playing the part, because so much of it felt like it was going against the rules set in the first instalment

This film takes place in 1986, 5 years after the original. Though filmed and released in 1984 the original takes place in 1981, the year Wes Craven wrote the script. 

This film is famous for having undertones and themes that many perceive as homoerotic, and the events of the film are often seen as an allegory for Jesse's closeted homosexuality. While the makers of the film initially denied that this subtext was intentional, Screenwriter David Chaskin eventually admitted that the subtext was intentionally written into the script, in order to give the characters more depth. 

The film was extremely well-received in Europe, as residents of those countries caught (and loved) the sexual overtones. This overseas popularity is what convinced producers that they had a profitable franchise on their hands. 

Mark Patton, an openly gay actor, has amusingly stated that he sees himself as the "first male scream-Queen", due to a combination of factors, including the film's homoerotic subtext, the fact that he was often depicted on-screen screaming "like a girl", and because he viewed the character as a closeted gay man. 

The dance scene was meant as an homage to Risky Business (1983). Sensing impending embarrassment, Mark Patton didn't actually want to do it, forcing the production to repeatedly postpone the filming of the scene. It was initially stated in the Never Sleep Again documentary that Patton figured out his own choreography, told the filmmakers to roll the camera, and he'd give it his best shot. Patton later changed his story, telling WithoutYourHead, "There's nothing I do in that movie that's not written in the script. If you look in the script, it says, 'Jesse bumps his ass against the door three times and gets on the bed and pretends to masturbate.' It's all written in the script. I didn't make that stuff up." While the scene has haunted some of the involved parties for years, Patton says it enjoyed an extended popularity at gay clubs at the time, and he no longer finds it embarrassing. 

Michael J. Fox was considered for the role of Jesse Walsh, but was unable, due to his commitments to Back to the Future (1985) and Teen Wolf (1985). 

New Line Cinema originally refused to give Robert Englund a pay raise, and an extra was cast as Freddy at the start of production. After two weeks of filming,Robert Shaye realized this was a terrible lapse in judgment, and met Englund's demands.  

In the opening sequence, the bus driver is Robert Englund without the heavy "Freddy Krueger" make-up and his signature clothing. 

Robert Englund has stated that Freddy's Revenge is his least favorite Nightmare On Elm Street movie. 

Robert Rusler auditioned for the role of Ron Grady on the last day of shooting Weird Science (1985). Robert Downey, Jr. drove him to the audition. 

This is the only film in the series not to use Charles Bernstein's original theme, or a variation of it. 

What's Next?

Up next, Cory and Nathan chase down Freddy in "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors."

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