via IMDB
Me, to the computer screen: "Let's make lots of money!"
Let's start this post on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge a little differently, with Memorable Music. I'm not giving a point to "Touch Me (All Night Long)" by Fonda Rae, which plays during the infamous scene when Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) finally cleans his room on the orders of his dad, Ken (Clu Gulager). According to Patton, he was actually dancing to "Steel Claw" by Tina Turner, which I'm skeptical about. "Steel Claw," for those who don't know, is a high energy song (it is Tina Turner, after all). I wish they'd have kept it in Revenge, as what could be more "Fuck you, Dad!" than letting your inner homosexual out while dancing to this?
courtesy YouTube
Jesse's antics end when he's caught by mom Cheryl (Hope Lange) and would-be girlfriend Lisa (Kim Myers). Like many contemporary viewers of Revenge, I'm aware that Patton was closeted during production, became dismayed over how screenwriter David Chaskin reacted to his performance and the movie's subsequent reputation as a homoerotic camp classic and ultimately exorcised his demons with the documentary Scream, Queen! I respect Patton, but I'm also not afraid to say that I really didn't like his work in Revenge. My issue isn't with a gay guy playing heterosexual, it's that Patton never gives us an idea of what Jesse is like before his nightmare begins. He's Jack Nicholsoning his way through Revenge. Jesse isn't an everyday kid facing evil, he's an unglued kid facing evil.
Patton, Chaskin, director Jack Sholder ... all bear responsibility for Revenge being the mess it is. Chaskin has interesting ideas, like growing as a person thanks to your friends rather than your parents, but they fall flat onscreen. Once again, I think it would have made all the difference if we better understood the Walshes. Ken just comes across as an asshole, Cheryl is ineffective and Angela (Christie Clark) has no point other than the "Oh my god, is Jesse going to kill his sister?" tease. Gulager and Lange are wasted, ending up reacting to events like a pet's terrorizing spree before eventually getting unceremoniously dumped.
"Don't tell me it's not the gas. Your mother thought she smelled gas."
"Well, Ken, I thought I did. I wasn't sure."
"All right, then. What is it? I mean, bird rabies? It's that cheap seed you been buying."
"Oh, please, Ken. Really ..."
"Well, it could be. There's got to be a reasonable explanation. I mean, animals don't just explode into flames for no reason. Do they?"
With Patton acting up a storm, where does that leave Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund)? The newly-dubbed Springwood Slasher spends most of Revenge as a psychological rather than physical antagonist, seducing Jesse while trying to succeed at possessing him. Revenge is famous for being the only Elm Street movie where victims are killed outside of their nightmares. With the exception of Grady (Robert Rusler), it's hard to care about them. Coach Schneider (Marshall Bell) is an asshole disciplinarian at best and a potential deviant if you believe fan speculation. The victims at Lisa's pool party, including Brian Wimmer as the do-gooder who fails to level with Freddy, feel like they were there to meet a quota. Even Grady and Kerry (Sydney Walsh) only matter because Jesse and Lisa like them, but we're sadly far and away from the friendship dynamic achieved in the first movie.
You see what happens when Wes Craven isn't involved with an Elm Street movie? Okay, maybe that's extreme, but considering it was the second installment, he absolutely should have been kept on board. It's reasonable to assume Craven would have ensured Revenge had structured writing and genuine terror. The jury's out, though, about whether he could have concealed how cheap the movie looked. I will give Kevin Yagher and Mark Shostrom credit for their valiant efforts in designing Freddy and how he emerges from Jesse's body. In the finale, however, Freddy looks way too often like a wax dummy.
As it exists, Revenge is the Season of the Witch of the Freddy Krueger series, a fascinating misfire. The potential just wasn't fulfilled. Like I said, though, I'm glad Patton has apparently reached some peace.
"Jesse, it's okay. It's all over."
*Except it isn't, because Freddy's claw bursts through Kerry's chest as Jesse, Lisa and company ride off to parts unknown.*
Not Recommended.
Thoughts:
-- "If you want to play with animals, Mr. Walsh, join the circus."
-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $30 million on a $3 million budget, this ranked somewhere between No. 2 and No. 4 for its opening weekend (I suspect it would have done better if it opened before Halloween) and came in at No. 30 for 1985.
-- Critic's Corner: "As stomach-turning as might be expected, but it has a lot going for it," Janet Maslin wrote. "(There's) clever special effects, a good leading performance and a villain so chatty he practically makes this a human-interest story." People, meanwhile, felt Patton was acting "with an intensity better reserved for King Lear" and suggested Sholder "be boiled in oil or, worse, forced to watch this tedious, humorless mess three or four times in a row."
-- Awards Watch: This scored a Saturn nod for Best Horror Film, losing to Fright Night.
-- Fanservice Junction: The crown goes to Patton, who spends a lot of time shirtless and often in tighty whities. It's funny to hear Grady refer to Jesse as a pretty boy, though, since he's not exactly slouching in that regard. Grady has the advantage of not spending most of the movie in angst, except for his big underwear scene. Anyway, we've also got Bell's bared butt and Myers' cleavage when Jesse tries to make out with her.
-- According to Elm Street legend, Freddy was first intended as a child molester rather than child killer before his death and subsequent supernatural reign of terror. The pedophilia angle, including Freddy being a school employee, was restored for the 2010 remake. With that in mind, it's interesting to consider Freddy's interaction with Coach Schneider. Is it possible they knew each other?
-- Castmember Connections: Melinda O. Fee, who played Lisa's mom, and Christie Clark, were both castmembers at different times on Days of Our Lives. Fee's character was killed by a serial killer in 1982, the same year Clark's character (initially played by Andrea Barber) was introduced. Clark joined DOOL in 1986. In 1990, her character was briefly a horror actress. In 1995, the show did its legendary possession storyline.
-- Hey, It's the Mid-80s!: Jesse has a Simple Minds poster, including a reference to "Don't You (Forget About Me)" while Grady's got posters for Tina Turner (we can't avoid her!), the Stray Cats and Limahl.
-- Hey, It's ...!: JoAnn Willette and Lyman Ward.
-- "I'm scared, Grady. Something is trying to get inside my body." "Yeah, and she's female, and she's waiting for you in the cabana. And you wanna sleep with me."
-- Next: To Live and Die in L.A. On deck: That Was Then... This Is Now, The Official Story. Coming soon: Once Bitten, Runaway Train.
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