40 years of Freddy’s Revenge

November 1st 1985, on a budget of $3 million,  Freddy’s Revenge grossed $30 million.

Some people love this movie, some people hate it — but it’s now been 40 years since A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge hit theaters. Over the decades, detractors have always said it doesn’t “fit” the storyline of the original. Meanwhile, others have celebrated it, especially for its place in horror history and the way it unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) introduced the idea of the male scream queen.

For years, many in the LGBTQ community recognized and embraced the movie’s underlying themes .. a hidden subtext that wasn’t widely discussed back then, but is now openly talked about and appreciated today. It’s become a cult conversation piece because of that. And a male scream queen!

But one thing is absolutely certain:
The makeup and visual effects in this film were some of the best in the entire series.
Freddy’s face is incredible. The school bus scene is iconic. And Jesse’s transformation into Freddy remains one of the most memorable sequences in the franchise… disturbing, surreal, and unforgettable.

Forty years later, I still celebrate this film. In my opinion, it’s one of the better entries in the series. And without question — it has one of the greatest VHS cover arts of all time.

Here’s a great behind the scenes video *embed may not work due to age restrictions but here’s a link to the video in case it does not:

Also his a great story from Fangoria back in 1985 about the film’s makeup..