History Film / ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge

* NonIndicativeTitle: Freddy returns, but he isn't getting revenge on anyone. Nancy, the only survivor of the [[Film//ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 original film]] is not in this one, [[spoiler:and she didn't even beat him then, prompting no actual revenge.]] There is also no hint that the kids' parents in this film were responsible for killing Freddy; Jesse's parents in particular only recently moved into the neighborhood.

* BroadStrokes: The events of this movie are seemingly ignored in productions that followed - but elements introduced in that, such as Freddy retaining possession as a power and the Springwood Slasher nickname, appeared in the rest of the franchise, and ''Dream Warriors'' even follows the timeline set by it (''Freddy's Revenge'' is five years after the original, ''Dream Warriors'' is six). Scenes from it are also used in the montages featured in ''Freddy's Dead'' and ''Freddy vs. Jason''.

* NonIndicativeTitle: Freddy returns, but he isn't getting revenge on anyone. Nancy, the only survivor of the original film is not in this one, [[spoiler:and she didn't even beat him then, prompting no actual revenge.]] There is also no hint that the kids' parents in this film were responsible for killing Freddy; Jesse's parents in particular only recently moved into the neighborhood.

* NotMyDriver: In Jesse's first nightmare at the start of the movie, Freddy replaces the bus driver just before the bus careers off into the desert. (The original driver is played by Robert Englund ''sans'' Freddy makeup.) [[spoiler:The same thing happens at the end of the movie.]]

* ReReleaseSoundtrack: On the VHS release, tracked-in music from Christopher Young's score replaces Music/BingCrosby's version of "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?" over the end credits.

* TheDogBitesBack: Averted and Downplayed: Ron Grady doesn't get to get back at Coach Schneider. And while Jesse Walsh does manage to get back at Coach Schneider, he doesn't do it on his own will. It's Freddy Krueger who possesses Jesse by making the gym/sports equipment come to life and beat Schneider along with two jump ropes with which Coach Schneider planned to rape Jesse that wrap around his wrists, drag him to the locker room showers where they tie him to the shower pipes, and cusing towels to whip his butt after he is stripped naked and before he is killed by Freddy Krueger.

* TheDogBitesBack: Averted and Downplayed: Ron Grady doesn't get to get back at Coach Schneider. And while Jesse Walsh does manage to get back at Coach Schneider, he doesn't do it on his own will. It's Freddy Krueger who possesses Jesse by making the gym/sports equipment come to life and beat Schneider along with two jump ropes with which Coach Schneider planned to rape Jesse that wrap around his wrists, drag him to the locker room showers where they tie him to the shower pipes, and cusing towels to whip his butt after he is stripped naked and before he is killed by Freddy Krueger.

* AllGaysArePedophiles: The only canonically gay character is Coach Schneider, who goes to gay bars. When he's there, he picks up Jesse, forces him to run laps around the gym, and then seems to be about to assault him when Freddy kills him. There's the added element that Jesse himself is AmbiguouslyGay and he spends a lot of time being possessed by a child molester and murderer.

* {{Diary}}: Lisa finds Nancy Thompson's (previously unseen) diary while helping to clean his room, and they start reading it.

This movie is pretty divisive among fans, and it's pretty weird even by franchise standards: it doesn't bring any of the characters from the previous movie back (except for Freddy, obviously), something that would rarely happen in the franchise. It is also the only film in the franchise that has a male protagonist. And most of all, Freddy does not try to kill anyone in dreams, preferring to possess Jesse's body to kill in the real world and still have his powers.

Critical reception was negative at the time, but the movie was a box office hit, keeping the franchise alive. However, the events of this film are not mentioned by almost any of the sequels. The movie also became CultClassic more recently, partly because of its HomoeroticSubtext, and also because it still features a monstrous Freddy Krueger who rarely speaks or make jokes.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Jesse Walsh. There's a romance subplot with the GirlNextDoor Lisa, but there's even more subtext with his best friend Grady and Coach Schneider. The actor who portrayed him came out of the closet a few years later.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Jesse Walsh. The actor who portrayed him came out of the closet a few years later.

* AllegoricalCharacter: This version of Freddy is a representation of Jesse's sexuality and personal struggle with defining himself.

* AllGaysArePedophiles: While Jesse himself is very AmbiguouslyGay, the only canonically gay character is Coach Schneider, who goes to gay bars. When he's there, he picks up Jesse, forces him to run laps around the gym, and then seems to be about to assault him when Freddy kills him.

* AdultsAreUseless: Played straight with Mr. Walsh, subverted with Mrs. Walsh and Lisa's parents. Jesse's mom has more common sense and realizes Jesse needs help, and while Lisa's parents are locked in their bedroom during most of Freddy's rampage at the party, the moment they get out there, Mr. Walsh tries to kill Freddy with a shotgun.

Critical reception was negative at the time, but the movie was a box office hit, keeping the franchise alive. However, the events of this film are not mentioned by almost any of the sequels, and it would take almost two decades for the franchise to officially consider it part of the canon. The movie also became CultClassic more recently, partly because of its HomoeroticSubtext, and also because it still features a monstrous Freddy Krueger who rarely speaks or make jokes.

* ThemeMusicAbandonment: The film doesn't use the series main theme by Charles Bernstein. Later sequels picked it up again.