A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

 

Sequels are usually not easy to do. Either they stick too close to the first one and become a rehash, or they try something different and that can also go both ways. This sequel does try something different, but it is so bizarre and off kilter that nothing makes sense if you take the lore of the original into account. 

Props for trying, though. And the cool practical effects.

Jesse Walsh and his family have moved into Nancy's house (from the first one). It has been about 5 years since those events and because it is in essence a murder house, the family got it cheap. But they haven't settled in yet and already Jesse is having really disturbing dreams. Together with the help of his almost but not quite girlfriend Lisa he tries to find out what is going on and discovers that the spirit of Fred Krueger is trying to take him over. 

See, this time, there is not that big a link to Krueger killing people in dreams. No, this time he actually possesses Jesse and wants his body for his own. Nice touch and change of pace. So Jesse actually kills several people (including his friend Grady) but he isn't truly aware he is doing it. 

Maybe the power of love can overcome the evil spirit? Not the Huey Lewis-song, alas. But Lisa's love for a boy who is clearly more smitten with his friend Grady than anyone else. 

Yes, this film leans very heavily and sometimes bizarrely into queercoding and s&m. Bet you didn't see that coming in a horrorfilm, right? 

Disclaimer: of course there's nothing 'wrong' about that angle, it's just really strange to see this so shoehorned into this plot. If the many close-ups of guys' whitie-tighties wasn't an indication, the character of the coach and the obvious sexual tension between Grady and Jesse and Jesse's almost dismissal of Lisa adds up to that angle. 

Even 'Top Gun' wasn't this overtly gay and I have no idea if the director wants to use this as either a metaphor or something else. Somebody please get back to me on this one.

In any case, eventually Freddy erupts, chaos ensues and there's a sort-of climax in the factory where he was originally killed. It's a bit anticlimactic, actually. Also the fact that Freddy can now completely jump into our world instead of operating only through dreams feels off. 

'Freddy's Revenge' is a very mixed bag of a film. The core idea that Krueger wants to take over a person's body is neat, but in execution and scares this film is sorely lacking. The first one was genuinely disturbing at times, this one focuses more on awkward sexuality (no really, no one acts normal when confronted with nakedness or affection). Anyway: definitely not the best in the long-running series, but as an oddball entry, it's fine.