{"id":3654,"date":"2011-10-17T14:46:51","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T18:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=3654"},"modified":"2014-03-06T13:56:15","modified_gmt":"2014-03-06T18:56:15","slug":"br-nightmare-on-elm-street-ii-freddy%e2%80%99s-revenge-a-1985","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=3654","title":{"rendered":"BR: Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy\u2019s Revenge, A (1985)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to: <\/strong>Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>N to O<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Film: Good\/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\/ DVD Extras: Good<\/p>\n

Label: New Line \/ Warner Home Video\/ Region: All \/\u00a0Released: September 27, 2011<\/p>\n

Genre: Horror \/ Slasher<\/p>\n

Synopsis: Freddy Krueger torments the son of a family who moved into the old Thompson house, using him as a puppet to kill more overgrown teens.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/p>\n

Films: A Nightmare on Elm Street Parts II: Freddy\u2019s Revenge (1985) \/ Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)<\/div>\n
Extras:<\/div>\n
– Part II \u2013 4 Making-of featurettes: \u201cHeroes and Villains\u201d (6:22) +\u201dPsycho Sexual Circus\u201d (3:27) + \u201cThe Male Witch\u201d (2:46) + \u201cFreddy of 8th Street\u201d (5:29) \/ Theatrical Trailer<\/div>\n
– Part III \u2013 7 making-of featurettes: \u201cFan Mail\u201d(:45) + \u201cOnward Christian Soldiers\u201d (9:00_ + \u201cSnakes and Ladders\u201d (6:04) + \u201cTrading 8’s\u201d (4:10) + \u201cThat’s Show Biz\u201d +(2:00) + \u201cBurn Out\u201d (1:13) + \u201cThe House That Freddy Built\u201d (3:03) \/ Dokken: Dream Warriors Music Video (4:52) \/ Theatrical Trailer<\/div>\n

.<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Review:<\/p>\n

For the second sequel in New Line\u2019s lengthy franchise, the script treads into familiar sequel terrain where an innocent family moves into the cursed house (in this case, where Freddy \u2018drove a girl crazy,\u2019 and a mother committed suicide, a plot not all that different from Amityville 2: The Possession<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Director Wes Craven passed on the script by David Chaskin (The Curse<\/strong>) when he realized (as did star Robert Englund, who eventually agreed to appear in the sequel when his price was met by New Line) that the studio broke several rules established in the first film \u2013 having Freddy emerge in daylight & reality, instead remaining in the dream state of his victims; and scaring very tall \u2018teenagers\u2019 at a pool party like a crazy man in an elaborate costume, a week after Halloween had already wrapped up.<\/p>\n

The key novelty has young Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) waking up every night in a cold, thick sweat, wandering the house and later streets. After initially encountering Freddy, he begins to don the deadly glove, and one morning wakes up and discovers news of a recent kill: cruel Coach Schneider (Marshall Bell, really devouring his role with every ounce of menace he can muster). Is Jesse turning into a werewol- nay, Freddy Krueger?<\/p>\n

Jesse marginally trusts his next-door neighbour & hottie Lisa Webber (Kim Myers) and class bully Ron Grady (Robert Rusler), but he remains a conflicted teen, slowly losing his identity as Freddy drifts in and out of his psyche until he physically overtakes Jesse, and wreaks havoc in the real world.<\/p>\n

Or maybe the whole film is a parable for a teen\u2019s personal torment as he struggles to find his sexual preference, initially liking girls, but really liking the school\u2019s biggest jock \/ jerk. The homo-erotica within Nightmare II<\/strong> is often quite surreal \u2013 Jesse wanders into a leather bar, sees coach Schneider, runs laps around the school gym, and during a very naked shower, watches Freddy whip and cut the coach to death \u2013 but as Jesse becomes tormented with his \u2018secret\u2019 he chooses to share thoughts with Ron instead of Lisa, breaking into his bedroom, and confessing his confusion while director Jack Sholder photographs the buffed boys in very provocative angles.<\/p>\n

From the bonus interviews with Sholder, the director admits he recognized Patton\u2019s feminine qualities, and he either played up the subtext, or simply enhanced a stealth undercurrent that was already running through the script. Of course, there’s also Jesse\u2019s bedroom unpacking montage \/ cock tease, and constantly waking up half naked in heavy sweat which add to the film’s notoriety when it’s an otherwise flawed and marginally coherent film.<\/p>\n

The special effects are good, and Sholder\u2019s editorial finesse \u2013 evident in his work on The Burning<\/strong> (1981) \u2013 ensures the action & shock scenes are well-rendered, but beyond the film\u2019s fascinating identity crisis, it\u2019s a lesser work that ultimately becomes very dull. The film\u2019s energy kicks in when Freddy appears (Englund owns the role), but the decision to restrain the character\u2019s scenes as well as his onscreen appearances hurts the film.<\/p>\n

Christopher Young\u2019s adds a sheen of elegance, and Sholder makes excellent use of a derelict foundry where \u2018the final identity battle\u2019 occurs, and Freddy is once again banished to Hell, enabling Jesse to burst out from a physical Freddy Krueger shell. (It\u2019s an unusual moment that one suspects influenced a popular United Way campaign,<\/a> where troubled persons of varying ages tear off their shells and emerge as healthy, happy, mobile individuals.)<\/p>\n

There are also a number of tongue-in cheek gags (Fu Man Chews cereal, Sta-Up sleeping pills, non-product placement beer cans actually labeled \u201cBeer\u201d versus blatant Coke cans that are perpetually on Jesse\u2019s night table), plus the opening school bus teaser which ties in to the finale where Sholder pokes fun at \u2018the big W\u2019 at the end of It\u2019s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World<\/a><\/strong> [M<\/a>] (1963).<\/p>\n

The cast includes veteran actress Hope Lang (Hope Lang?<\/em>) and Clu Gulager as Jesse\u2019s parents, and Days of Our Lives actress Christie Clark as Jesse\u2019s younger sister. Producer Robert Shaye has a cameo as a bartender, and there is one pool party shot where there\u2019s an actor bearing a striking<\/em> resemblance to Bill Pullman. (He\u2019s among the guys around the 68:32 mark.)<\/p>\n

Warner Home Video\u2019s Blu-ray (which double-bills Nightmare II<\/strong> with III<\/strong>) transfer is very nice, although the 5.1 mix is rather blah, lacking any major sonic shocks. The 4 making-of featurettes have been culled and ported over from the longer \u201cWelcome to Primetime\u201d documentary that appeared on the Bonus Disc from the 1999 Nightmare Encyclopedia 8-disc set. Not included are cast & crew profiles, Trivia Game, and DVD-ROM script from the 2000 DVD.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Postscript<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of this writing, Freddy Krueger has appeared in the following films: A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/strong> (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy\u2019s Revenge <\/strong>(1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors <\/strong><\/a>(1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master <\/strong>(1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child <\/strong>(1989), Freddy\u2019s Dead: The Final Nightmare <\/strong>(1991), New Nightmare \/ <\/strong>aka Wes Craven\u2019s New Nightmare <\/strong>(1994), Freddy vs. Jason <\/strong>(2003), and the franchise reboot & remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street <\/strong>(2010). The character\u2019s other major appearance was in the short-lived Freddy\u2019s Nightmares, <\/strong>which ran late night on Fox for two seasons between 1988-1990.<\/p>\n

Jack Sholder\u2019s other notable films include Alone in the Dark <\/strong>(1982) and the underrated The Hidden<\/strong> (1987).<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB<\/a> — Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0N to O<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to: Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/ N to O . Film: Good\/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\/ DVD Extras: Good Label: New Line \/ Warner Home Video\/ Region: All \/\u00a0Released: September 27, 2011 Genre: Horror \/ Slasher Synopsis: Freddy Krueger torments the son of a family who moved into the old Thompson house, using […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[304,786,788,789,791,790,787],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-WW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3654"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8030,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3654\/revisions\/8030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}