Initially, it might appear that Scream, Queen! would only appeal to a limited audience. That’s not the case.
When A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was released in 1985, I was senior in high school. I remember having a conversation with a schoolmate about the movie on the Monday following its release. We both said we were a little disappointed with it compared to the first one, but we didn’t think it was terrible. And that was probably the last time I talked to anyone about it for years.
Flash forward to 2010. I watched Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, the massive 4 hour documentary about the Nightmare on Elm Street movie series. When subject of Freddy’s Revenge came up, the focus was on the homoeroticism and gay subtext of the film. Not having seen the film in 25 years, I didn’t remember any of that. But after seeing clips of the film in the documentary and listening to the cast members and fans talk about it, I couldn’t believe how it had gone over my head.
Flash forward to 2020. Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, a new documentary, tells a side of the story regarding Freddy’s Revenge that Never Sleep Again didn’t. Mark Patton, the actor who has shouldered what some consider the “blame” for the film being called the “gayest horror film ever,” steps out of a self-imposed exile from Hollywood to confront that film’s legacy. At the time he was making Freddy’s Revenge, Patton was a closeted gay actor. As Scream, Queen! effectively illustrates, times were much different in the 1980s than they are now. Due to the recent discovery of and subsequent panic surrounding HIV and AIDS, being outed as gay meant the end of an actor’s career. Or, at the very least, being pigeonholed in gay roles.
The documentary lays out a chronological account of Patton’s life leading up to being cast in Freddy’s Revenge. Of course, it talks about that fateful Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, but it also gives Patton a chance to talk about the events leading to his disappearance from Hollywood.
Scream, Queen! also concentrates on the renewed interest in Freddy’s Revenge because of its homoerotic subtext. Many gay horror fans are interviewed and praise the film for showing them a male character to whom they could relate when they were growing up. Patton has become a hero of sorts to them for being the first male “scream queen.”
Directors Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen frame the film with Patton’s conflict with Freddy’s Revenge writer, David Chaskin. Patton is angry that Chaskin denied that the gay subtext of the film was intentional. Chaskin initially blamed it all on Patton’s performance. As the film nears its conclusion, Patton gets the opportunity to confront Chaskin face-to-face. However, it is a conversation Patton has with director Jack Sholder that ends up being the most surprising.
Initially, it might appear that Scream, Queen! would only appeal to a limited audience. That’s not the case. As it unfolds, the documentary not only provides insight into the treatment of gays in cinema but also an eye-opening perspective of gay horror fandom. For A Nightmare on Elm Street fans, it offers additional insight into one of the series’ most unusual entries. Patton’s blunt and honest revelations about his path through life are what I found to be the most interesting. Well-worth a watch.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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