A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
5.546%33%
A new family moves into the house on Elm Street, and before long, the kids are again having nightmares about deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger. This time, Freddy attempts to cause havoc in the real world, and can only be overcome if the kids can master their fear.
KGM SOSA reviewedSeptember 4, 2025
This sequel was a mixed bag for me. I actually liked the cast & characters, & some of the kills were solid. I also appreciated how they tied the story back to Nancy from the first film. However, where it really let me down was in how Freddy operated.
Instead of using his victims’ dreams (his signature & most terrifying trait) Freddy had to possess Jesse & use him to do the killing. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of that choice. What makes Freddy so special is the art of dreamscape kills, tormenting people in their sleep in wildly creative, nightmarish ways. With Jesse as the killer, it loses that core identity & makes it feel more like a standard possession movie rather than a Freddy Krueger film. It also removes the element of Freddy spreading fear in his own name, since to the outside world it just looks like a random kid doing the killing.
This film stands out as the oddball in the series, since it leans on possession rather than Freddy’s dreamscape kills. Thankfully, later sequels quickly course-corrected & brought Freddy back to the dream world, doubling down on the creative, surreal & over-the-top nightmares that fans now consider his trademark.
That said, I respect that the filmmakers tried something different here back before Freddy was solidified as a horror icon & the movie does redeem itself in the final act, when Freddy finally takes center stage. Even though it’s technically still possession, at least the victims are seeing Freddy himself rather than Jesse which makes it play much better.
Overall, it’s still a good watch, but nowhere near the original’s brilliance & not even as strong as the later sequel set in the mental hospital. A solid entry, but ultimately a disappointment.