As fans of both gay cinema and horror films, we here at TLA have always enjoyed the subversive charms of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. All subtext considered, it’s not exactly a gay-positive movie, but we’re fascinated by the fact that screenwriter David Chaskin was able to sneak a ‘gay panic’ allegory into a highly publicized blockbuster horror sequel – back in Ronald Reagan’s 1985, no less. While the making of the film has been covered in DVD special features and the heralded A Nightmare on Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again, there’s a new documentary coming that examines not only the making of the film, but the aftermath.
A feature-length documentary focusing on the gay experience in Hollywood horror, Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street explores how that experience has changed in the three decades since actor Mark Patton‘s controversial portrayal of Jesse Walsh, the object of Freddy Krueger’s latent desire in the second film of the Nightmare franchise. Scream,Queen! examines that film’s infamous homoerotic subtext and the special place it holds in the Nightmare franchise as well as the gay film canon. Partly in thanks to evolving social mores, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 – which was considered controversial at the time of its release – is now being looked back upon with a new appreciation and fondness by horror aficionados and fans of the series.