A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge: Review By Corey

Wes Craven had created a horror-masterpiece in 1984 and just one year later that statement almost shattered. I've never really looked into what Craven himself thought of what had happened to his character, but he couldn't have been proud or happy with what Jack Sholder had done. The first sequel to Elm Street is only the beginning to what garbage is put out on the sidewalk. Luckily, A Nightmare on Elm Street part 2: Freddy's Revenge (What an ugly title!) is the worst of them all. At least the next few flicks are a fine example of horrible being somewhat fun. This one here is just dull, lifeless, and forced.

When I say "forced" I just mean that the film tries way too hard a number of times to scare the viewers. Does it ever actually work? Not even close. From the opening bus-scene to the horrendous conclusion, the film tries to make a bigger character out of Fred Kruger. Instead of him being scary, twisted, and mysterious the film tries to make him double that. Their outcome, however, feels like a character you'd see in a farce. The evil laugh feels overdone and some of the punch lines are just too cheesy. Believe me, a cheesy punch-line from a villain here and there is okay, but we can all admit that Kruger had some of the worst in movie-cinema. Even though they were hilarious at times, that isn't really the direction you want to go in for a horror-show.

Mark Patton is one of the worst characters in a horror-flick that I've ever laid my eyes upon. His portrayal of Jesse doesn't side with Nancy's character by a long-shot. It's a tough circ*mstance to deal with when you go from characters like Nancy and Glenn to characters like Jesse and Lisa. Jesse, in my own opinion, was a preppy little p*ssy who wouldn't do a damn thing throughout the entire film. Even when Lisa would give him advice to not be scared, he'd be scared. Nancy was strong and she had the chemistry with the evil demon-slayer. Jesse was just....forgettable and laughable, for that matter. For the entire 80 minutes, the character just wasn't doing enough to make himself worthy to the viewers. I remember when I first saw the first film. I was spooked by this Fred Kruger and hoping Nancy would do something to put him down like the sick puppy he was. Part 2: Freddy's Revenge was the first slasher-film where I've ever rooted for the bad-guy. Sadly, even the villain didn't do enough....

Other than hearing a couple references from the first film (which actually wasn't enough), there was no time in this film where it received my ultimate attention. The kill-scenes were splattered all over the place like wet-paint waiting to dry. The kills were crafted poorly and useless. The movie had a lot of potential too with Freddy at the pool party. That could have been thought-out to be a little bloodier for the fans' sake.

Honestly, I pity the man/woman or next person Wes Craven saw after he saw this film because if he approved this movie then something is wrong! Elm Street 2 is without a doubt one of the worst sequels in not the just the horror-genre....but ever. It lacks entertainment, a quality script, and interesting characters. If Freddy's Dead was his official exit to Hell, I'm not sure what took him so long because as far as I can tell the character was murdered here.

Thanks for the read!

-Written by Corey Wood