A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

Starring: Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Kim Meyers, Hope Lange, Robert Rusler
Directed by: Jack Sholder
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
1985

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A teenager (Mark Patton) begins having terrible dreams from which he wakes up screaming. While in his room, he discovers the diary of a girl who used to live in his house. The diary explains the terror she experiences while dreaming of Freddy Krueger- the same horrific figure he is dreaming about!

Review:

Tim: This first sequel represents a big step down in quality. Much of what made the original film good is absent or changed here. I did like that the film tries to pick up where the first movie left off, and incorporates that plot into this film. However, the movie itself is weak in very many ways. There’s not much else to say, except this film is a disappointment.

One of the biggest flaws of this film is the forgettable cast. The cast of the original worked much better. All the actors here are weak and make it difficult to believe in them or the situations in which they find themselves. It is hard to root for anyone involved in this film, because they are either jerks, cowards, or just weird. The entire cast is underwhelming.

This film seems to trade in some of the creepy atmosphere of the original for more blood and gore. This is a bad move, especially considering how awful the special effects look today. I didn’t count that against the movie, but even in 1985, it is hard to believe Freddy Krueger is going to pop out from inside a guy’s chest. In the original, I loved the often repeated “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…” song, but it wasn’t used nearly as effectively here.

Freddy Krueger himself started to be a bit of a weak caricature of himself in this film. The absurd pool scene is the low point of the film, with him running around “scaring” people. Eventually he does actually hurt some people, but he just looks ridiculous running around a pool party. By the time the film moved into its big climactic battle between Freddy and our heroes, I had lost almost total interest in the film.

A Nightmare of Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is significantly worse than the original. It isn’t quite back enough to derail the franchise (as the seemingly dozens of sequels will testify to), but it tarnishes the fearful legacy of Freddy Krueger a bit. Diehard horror fans will want to see this, but everyone else should leave it alone.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Scream trilogy, Halloween, Friday the 13th