A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge

Part of our Rainbow Reels Film Talk Series!

Schedule:

7:00pm – Introduction to the film by host Laura McVey

7:15pm – Film screening

9:00pm – Post-screening discussion and Q+A

10:00pm – Event concludes
*Times are approximate

Initially tossed aside as a dashed-off follow-up to a surprise horror hit, this slasher sequel was often kept in the closet of the Freddy Krueger franchise. But what audiences missed in the mid-80s is that Freddy’s Revenge functions as a fascinatingly entertaining take on teenage angst filtered through the lens of homo-existential panic. Much to the chagrin of fans of the original classic, Freddy (Robert Englund) transcended beyond the dream world in Freddy’s Revenge, frequently possessing the body of new-to-town Elm Street resident Jesse Walsh (the now proudly-out Mark Patton). The deliciously queer subtext is so thinly-veiled that it often becomes the text in marvelously absurd ways – from a hazy trip to a downtown S&M bar to a twink-trolling leather-daddy gym teacher and more. Similar to its protagonist, Freddy’s Revenge was considered an “outsider” within the series, but has since developed a reputation as a queer cult gem.