Post by jasonzson on Jan 27, 2007 0:48:27 GMT -5
Directed by Jack Sholder
Written by David Chaskin
Starring Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Kim Myers (Credited as Kim Meyers), and Robert Rusler
Freddy Krueger's back, quickly stating his intentions with Jesse Walsh (Patton): ("You've got the body, I've got the brain!"). Freddy soon begins to exert his influence on the real world, almost as if flexing his muscles, on those who challenge or otherwise irritate Jesse. Freddy begins to kill by posessing Jesse, and it appears that he can do this either in Jesse's sleep or when he's awake. While this movie has the highest body count of any of the "Nightmare" series, all except for 2 of these kills are impersonal, uncharacteristic for Freddy.
The effects seem to be similar to clay, as compared to CGI or robot effects. There is a heavy, supposedly unintentional homosexual undertone which, if truly unintended, lower the directing credit because it would mean the actors, director, and writer are all clueless. Krueger is kept in darkness, even in well-lit scenes, making the fact that he is intentionally kept there for budget purposes extremely obvious. Some scenes are unnecessary or weird (such as the time the boys are caught insulting Coach Schneider) and could easily have been replaced with more useful ones.
Spoiler below...
When Freddy bursts from Jesse's chest, I am unsure whether to give the director props for using this "Alien" effect in a new way or to scold him for unoriginality.
The effects begin to pick up by the end, making Lisa's fight with Freddy seem like a dream sequence from the other movies, but the rest of the film (the lack of dream kills, for instance) detracts from this. The very ending, with the defeat of Freddy, also looks good, but at this point one is so disgusted with the sniveling bitch the director has made Freddy into that it is difficult to credit this.
Robert Englund did an outstanding job of Freddy, as always. He seemed less witty in this movie "Help yourself, fucker!", but that might be due to the darker, less comical tone of the movie. Mark Patton portrayed Jesse as a complete pussy throughout, which might have been a directoral flaw- the effects of a villain who attacks through the sleep would be far better shown if he was as testosterone-fueled as his sports involvement implied, and became a pussy later on. The expression on Kim Myers' face as Lisa implies that she was either distracted throughout, or high. Rob Rusler portrays Ron Grady fairly well as a homophobe, though it is difficult to tell by his actions that he is supposedly as close a friend of Jesse as Jesse's attempt to stay at his house would indicate.
The first movie is well blended into this, using the same house and making several references to the events of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as they pertained to Nancy. Freddy's glove is in the same location in both movies. However, there is no mention of Krueger's personal history and death, and Freddy's powers have changed drastically. His ability to teleport after posessing Jesse's body comes perilously close to the "no shape-shifting in the real world" rule that seems to have been established in the Nightmare series.
There is also a step away from the first movie, not against continuity, but against repetition. The opening dream sequence is only that: a dream. Jesse doesn't get hurt at all, even though Freddy's m.o. to this point would have left him in a body bag. Jesse also falls asleep in class, remarkable only because he does not have a boiler room-related dream.
There are many possible, conflicting themes in this movie. It gives the appearance of a possibly homoerotic film, based on the following scenes and possibly others: Some of the dressing room scenes, Jesse's dancing in his room, men's wearing of their shirt often either open or off, and the gay bar and homosexual coach. A stronger argument can be made that this is an anti-gay film, with Jesse exploring his sexuality and Freddy representing his gay urges (Freddy interferes with his one attempt at sexual activity with a female) and the statement that he cannot be fought, while Jesse succeeds at fending Freddy off and "gets the girl". It also seems that it may be a film about molestation, with Freddy and Coach Schneider being the molesters and the boys (mainly Jesse) being the victims.
While I may hold some grudges as a fan of Freddy and the "Nightmare" series, the dark portrayal of Freddy as he messes with Jesse's mind and the return of the killer himself make this movie great. All in all, I have yet to meet a person who doesn't agree with this final point: one way or another, there is a homosexual theme in this movie. Director didn't mean it? Maybe the director wasn't the one directing this film...