A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
Short description
Five years after the events of the first film, a new family moves into the house on Elm Street that had stood empty since a series of killings. Their teenage son, Jesse Walsh, begins having disturbing dreams in which Freddy Krueger tries to take over his mind and body so that the killer can return to the real world and continue his work. Jesse's girlfriend, Lisa Webber, is the only one who believes him and tries to help him resist. The film stands on its own within the series, focusing on possession rather than a straightforward return of the killer.
Jack Sholder directed the film, his second feature after Alone in the Dark (1982) and before The Hidden (1987). David Chaskin wrote the screenplay, and Robert Shaye produced. Mark Patton plays Jesse, with Kim Myers as Lisa, Robert Rusler as Grady, and Clu Gulager and Hope Lange as Jesse's parents. Marshall Bell appears as Coach Schneider. Twenty-six cast members and sixty-two crew members are credited.
Released in November 1985, the film was made for about 3 million dollars and took roughly 30 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from around 86,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from just over 2,100 votes. A critics' rating of 4.8 out of 10 from 35 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- This film is the only one in the Freddy Krueger series that lacks the original musical theme by Charles Bernstein or its variation.
- Robert Englund played the bus driver in the opening scene of the film.
- Brad Pitt, John Stamos, and Christian Slater auditioned for the role of Jesse.
- Freddy received significantly more screen time than in the first film.
- The original Freddy glove was stolen during filming.
- Due to the film's abundance of homoeroticism, against the backdrop of the escalating AIDS epidemic and homophobia, Jesse's actor, Mark Patton, left show business and remained out of the public eye for many years.
- The tongue scene was shot by the film's second unit director because Jack Sholder couldn't stop laughing during filming.
- Visual effects specialist Rick Lazzarini created a monstrous version of the Walsh bird. However, it was decided that the bird should look more realistic.
- The Swedish version of the film was cut by 5 minutes.
- Almost all of the bloody scenes were cut from the German video version, making the film, in the opinion of fans, practically uninteresting to watch.
- The film is the second of three parts in which the main character lives in house #1428. In the other films, the house is abandoned.
- The first film in which a male character appears as the Scream Queen.
- Wes Craven refused to work on a sequel as he did not want to make one. However, Craven's ideas for the first film were borrowed for the second. For example, an alternative ending in which Krueger takes Nancy and her friends away on a school bus became the opening scene.
- Former executive producer and head of New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye, appears in a cameo role as a bartender in the sadomasochism club that Jesse visits.
- Initially, Robert Englund was not offered to return to the screen as Freddy. His request for a higher fee was denied, and a stunt double was hired and filming began. Two weeks after filming began, producer Robert Shaye realized this was a mistake. The stunt double was let go, the role was given to Englund, and his fee request was granted.
- Many criticized the episode where Freddy appears to the group in the pool during a party as the most inappropriate and violating the rules established by Wes Craven in the first film of the franchise (Freddy's victims should not be people who are awake).
- When Jesse, played by Mark Patton, transforms into Freddy, the viewer can notice Freddy's eye peeking out of Jesse's open mouth. To film this scene, a model of Patton's head was made with a hole for Freddy's eye. Only a friend of Kevin Yager (who was responsible for the special effects) was able to fit inside this model. This scene became the only one in the entire franchise where Freddy is played by a woman (not counting the times he pretended to be other people in dreams).
- Above Jesse’s bed in his room, a Simple Minds poster for “Don’t You Forget About These” hangs on the wall. In fact, the song is titled “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
- In the original video release, the final credits first feature the song "Touch Me," followed by music by Christopher Young. In the restored version, the credits play Bing Crosby's "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?" and it also appears in the list of songs used in the film.
- This film used the original glove prop from Wes Craven's horror film "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984); it could also be seen by viewers on the wall of the barn in Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead 2" (1987). Similarly, in "The Evil Dead" (Sam Raimi, 1981), "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (Wes Craven, 1984) is shown on television. Raimi and Craven regularly included references to each other's films in their work. When Craven lent the glove for the filming of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (Chuck Russell, 1987), it was accidentally lost. Over time (in 2009), a fan of the franchise discovered the glove and put it up for auction.
- Makeup artist Kevin Yagher replaced David B. Miller in this role, who created Freddy's image in the original 1984 film. To recreate Freddy’s appearance, he had only a few photographs and the first film in the franchise, meaning he had to work almost from scratch. After studying photographs of burn victims, Yagher slightly altered Freddy’s appearance, emphasizing his cheekbones. According to Yagher himself, he wanted Freddy to look like a male witch. To achieve this, he made Freddy's eyes red-yellow, giving them a more “demonic” look.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
