Narrated by Cecil Edward Baldwin
Directed by Roman Chimienti And Tyler Jensen
Mark Patton: "I wasn't an out gay actor. I was a gay person and I was living in terror. My lover was dying. People were going through our trash and my agent was waiting to see if I could play straight."
As you may know, I've always had a soft spot for A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Yes, it's always been the odd one out in the franchise but over the years, it's also been reassessed over the years.
Over a decade ago, there was a four hour documentary called Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy that essentially covered the whole franchise. This documentary on the other hand lasered in on one particular movie and it's leading man, Mark Patton. It's a fascinating look at both but mostly, the latter.
Mark Patton's certainly a fascinating person to watch as the documentary looked into his childhood, his family and his early acting career. Prior to playing Jesse Walsh, Patton played the role of Joe Qualley in the 1982 Broadway production of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. It was a role he'd reprise in a theatrical movie that had Cher, Sandy Dennis, Karen Black and Kathy Bates as co-stars.
His career also included having scenes with George Clooney in Hotel where he also punched the latter. Of course as the documentary went on, Patton talked about the pitfalls of his career and the advice he was given to be a character actor. Then there was his sexuality as well.
When Patton was filming his infamous role of Jesse Walsh, he wasn't out to the public. His career stalled after turning down a CBS series where he would've played gay but would've had to pretend to be straight publicly. A past relationship with another actor from a soap was addressed along with Patton's current relationship with Hector Morales Mondragon. The documentary also took a frank discussion on Patton's battle with HIV and AIDS.
Circling back to Freddy's Revenge, it's been a role that was a mixed bag for Patton. There's scenes where he confronted the director, David Chaskin over the more blatant homoerotic subtext in the movie (the S&M club, Jesse being a closeted metaphor, Coach Schneider getting whipped, etc). Those scenes were rather tense but there's levity with a festival screening of the movie and Patton himself recreating the dance.
- The documentary got nominated at the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.
- Many of the cast members from Freddy's Revenge, including Robert Englund appear throughout this documentary.
- Standout music: Skeleton Head's Split Second.
- Chronology: The documentary premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival on April 5th 2019 before it got a limited theatrical release on February 27, 2020.
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street was a fascinating look into the making into Freddy's Revenge but more so, a much better look into Mark Patton as a person. I'd highly recommend watching this one.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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