Making the lead of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge involved in a gay (pedophilia-ish?) gay love story with Jesse only added to the “scary,” says the film’s writer David Chaskin. But who knew making actor Mark Patton — who is gay — the first male scream queen, who Freddy lusted after, would fly over everybody’s heads? Including his co-stars?
In the four-hour documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Chaskin explains that, yeah, those weren’t just homosexual undertones. Apparently nobody told any of the other actors? ‘Cause they didn’t have a clue. Not even when New Line president Bob Shaye stood in as a bartender at a gay bar. That was director Jack Sholder little joke for the studio chief, but it worked out perfectly for Chaskin’s story.
Then there was the shower scene and all those balls in the locker room and the bedroom dancing scene with all the gyrating. My god, were it not for the hideous disfigurements on Freddy’s face, I could’ve worked one out watching this thing.
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Mike L.
I can say with certainty that I’ve never see this film.
I only saw the first one and the most recent one (not up to par to the first anyway) but I gotta see this one too cool to let pass by.
M
Yes, I noticed it too. Part 2 was pretty gay from what I remember. There was sexual tension between the coach and the lead character.
Roger Rabbit
I’ve been telling people for years that this was a GAY movie from beginning to end – LOL. I love hearing these guys talk about it. Great shots all around, and very voyeuristic!
Jimmi
Quite old news, really. You could get it from just watching the film how queer it was and how cued in it was to Sex=Death (as it was during the AIDS Crisis.) It was one of the best sequels I had ever seen. After that, it began to suffer.
sam
i was eleven, barely knew my own sexuality and could STILL see that it was gay 😛
and jimmi it was a terrible sequel. had nothing to do with established canon and sooo not scary 😛
Ash
I probably saw this one, but I was so young that I don’t remember anything specific about any of the Elm Street movies. All I know is I used to watch them.
I’ve been wanting to re-watch all of them lately…I guess this gives me even more of a reason to do so.
El Brucio
I think I must have been extra oblivious when I watched this in the 80’s. I don’t remember any gay subtext for Nightmare on Elm Street 2. The only remotely gay-ish horror I remember in the 80’s was Fright Night.
Who Cares
I was a teenager when I saw it at the movie theater…and thought the coach was hot…a steamy-hot dad
Chitown Kev
Oh, yes.
I studied this film in a Cultural Theory course that had a section on horror films and heavy doses of Judith Butler (yuck!)
In fact, most if not all horror films have very strong elements of camp to them (and if you want to REALLY go back in the day, Shakespeare doen’t get much more campy than Titus Andronicus; one of the original “horror films”)
And even though Nightmare 2 this has a gay subtext, I think that all of the Nightmare series featured teens that would get whacked and sliced and diced as they were becoming sexual aware;
Chris
Saw it a few years ago and the gay subtext is ALL I saw. As far as I’m aware, it’s the only Nightmare movie that uses the concept of a character BECOMING Freddy Kreuger, and why is that? Because “Freddy” is a metaphor for Jesse’s coming out. It’s an extremely gay movie.
Jayson
I soooo wanted Grady!!!!
____
from http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/interviews/09/19/2007/david-chaskin
The film has become sort of infamous among horror fans for having homoerotic undertones. Are you aware of that, and was that something you had intended? Or was it something that happened on the directorial level?
DC: Yes, there was certainly some intentional subtext but it was intended to play homophobic rather than homoerotic. I thought about the demographics for these types of films (young, heterosexual males) and tried to imagine what kinds of things would truly frighten them, to the core. And scary dreams that make them, even momentarily, question their own sexuality seemed like a slam dunk to me.
If you really wanted to have fun, one might argue that the entire movie is a metaphor — Jesse is, in the end, finally able to control the monster inside him (his latent homosexuality) with the love of a good woman. Maybe they should show this film at one of those evangelical deprogramming sessions where they try to “fix” gay people into regular Americans.
Mo
Anyone know where else we can see this clip? It’s not working :-/
Sal
Already gone. To bad.
Fair Play
I don’t get how when it’s obviously just a clip used for reporting or commentary that these things get pulled? What about Fair Use? It seems the douchebags that whine about “illegal” clips on YouTube would welcome the free publicity. As long as the whole damn movie is up there, why not? It makes one curious to see more of the film. They rent it and you get some royalties. WTF?
Lincoln Rose
Really? I couldn’t get past the movie totally being lousy, outside of canon, and unimpressive.
Jim
Fright Night comes in as a close second. One scene features Amanda Bearse, Roddy Macdowell, and the best friend kid who went on to be a gay porn star. And two grown men who are “roommates” move in next door? The metaphors are flying all over the place.
Tom
It was always a good indication when in the first 5 minutes of the movie (if i’m remembering correctly) there is a great scene between the lead and fellow jock wrestling over some argument (I believe one of them is shirtless) in which one of their pants are pulled down and a gratuitous shot of the guys fine ass in a jockstrap is given. That was enough promise of skin to keep me engaged.
In saying that though, I’m a cinema student, particularly focused on horror and exploitation (I’m an Aussie so Ozploitation and American Grindhouse) and have to say that conservative prudishness (especially concerning male exposure) has waxed and waned extensively over the decades in American film. Unlike the 90’s and early 2000s, there was a lot of focus on male form and interaction in 80s horror… in fact if i remember correctly Kevin Bacon looking mighty fine in some gratuitous shots in Friday the 13th before being impaled or some gruesome death.
Rene
i was obsessed with freddy as a child! i knew i was gay and saw this movie when i was about 9 and caught all the fem and gay undertones but kept quiet. i’m so glad it wasn’t just me, i thought i was sick and weird for noticing 🙂