A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge Review (1985) Worth Watching?

It's about a guy who Freddy possesses as a way of getting to a new batch of Elm Street kids.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge was directed by Jack Sholder (who also directed 12 Days Of Terror and Arachnid) and stars Robert Englund (from Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street and Abruptio), Mark Patton (from Family Possessions) and Kim Myers (from Hellraiser: Bloodline).

Someone is coming back to Elm Street!

A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 kicks off with a legendary school bus scene that has been forever seared into my long term memory, mainly because I saw it when I was super young and impressionable. A young Freddy, before he was burned up and undead, was a school bus driver dropping high schoolers off after school. Everyone gets to get off the bus without incident except for 3 unlucky bastards who freak when Freddy hits the gas and blasts off the road for some reckless fun. Day suddenly turns to night and some of the cheesiest lightning effects you'll ever see kick in. Freddy's glove makes an appearance and these unlucky students become officially screwed. The ground falls out from below them revealing what I'm guessing is hell itself. The bus teeters precariously on top of a rickety stalagmite as Freddy makes his way to the back of the bus dragging his blades on the bus ceiling.

Then right before he slashes the students, Jessie our new Nancy, wakes up screaming.

80's. B-horror. Gold.

Jessie's family moved into Nancy's old house on Elm Street which is what put a target on the kids back. The nightmares start almost immediately and Freddy makes it clear that he wants Jessie's body. You see, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 took a hard left and went in a completely new direction from the original. Freddy's no longer interested in haunting nightmares, this time around he wants to actually possess Jessie so he can run around town killing wide awakes at-will.

There's one scene in particular where Freddy literally crashes a pool party, chasing and slashing fully awake teens, teens that had nothing to do with his death. I guess he just wanted to collect and kill more random kids like he did back when he was alive.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 is a complete deviation in both style AND concept from the original. No familiar music, no familiar cast and no familiar motives. Sure, Freddy's still slicing up teens but for no apparent reason. They're not the kids of parents responsible for his death. They also tried taking the sleep aspect out completely. Freddy first showed up through a dream but from that point on he could effortlessly interact with the awake world. This sequel is widely regarded to be the weakest of the franchise. But luckily it was only a blip on the radar since everything became much more familiar starting in part 3, the fan fave Dream Warriors.

Worth Watching?

I don't know, this one's an oddball. Most people hate it, some people love it. It's known to be a classic LGBTQ horror movie which puts it on a lot of top lists these days. I remember it being good when I was a kid but not so much now. It's just so different from the rest of the franchise, it doesn't feel like a Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge Review (1985) Worth Watching? - ALL HORROR Tweet it