Freddy’s Revenge Was Almost The Most Disturbing Nightmare On Elm Street

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Although the second Nightmare On Elm Streetmovie is often written off as an embarrassing misfire, the premise of Freddy’s Revenge could have made the 1985 sequel the franchise’s most disturbing installment. Although 1984’s original Nightmare On Elm Street featured a questionable original funny ending, the movie was not short on serious scares. Director Wes Craven’s tale of a child killer who invades the dreams of teens and kills them in their sleep was a huge hit with critics and viewers thanks to its terrifying premise and some unforgettable horror imagery.

However, the Nightmare On Elm Street series still struggled to find its feet after this solid start. Although the thirdNightmare On Elm Street movie was well-liked by audiences and explored more of the franchise villain Freddy Krueger’s potential, 1985’s Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was less successful. Cranked out a year after the success of the original and seen by many as a cheap cash-in, Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was largely viewed as an unintentionally funny, poorly plotted mess.

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Although the opening scene of Nightmare On Elm Street 2 nailed the tone of the franchise, the rest of the movie was both too self-serious to be fun and too silly to scare viewers. Largely dropping the dream-invading conceit, the sequel tells the story of Jesse, a misunderstood teen who moves into a Nightmare On Elm Street victim’s house and soon becomes possessed by Freddy. Although this misjudged storyline abandoned a lot of what made viewers find Freddy unique, the plot of Freddy’s Revenge still had the potential to be even more deeply disturbing than the rest of the series.