Beautiful boys! A weird S&M shower scene! Gym pantsings! Awkward makeouts at pool parties! And MURDER!

Rushed into production following the rampage success of the first film and its star, Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was ready so fast that it actually beat the original film to foreign markets! But Nightmare 2’s timing was disastrous, arriving in theatres during the fever pitch of the AIDS – it performed well at the box office and securing the franchise’s unkillable legacy, but something undoubtedly queer was going on.

The film’s subtext is unmissable – and, screenwriter David Chaskin eventually admitted, intentional: meant to prey on eighties adolescent homophobia, the Reaganite fear that dangerous, predatory homosexuals might be everywhere, might infect you with their disease or seduce you to their party. Fey hero Jesse must fight Freddy’s attempt to “possess” him with an illness that will infect everyone he loves.

But despite this design to prey upon America’s homophobic anxieties, Nightmare 2 is instead often a joyous celebration of queer joy, brimming with affectionate snapshots of the thrill and terror of growing up gay – including dance montages, screwy camp flirtation, and cinema’s gayest final “girl”!

(less...)