Shudder, the premiere streaming service for horror and suspense is now streaming the documentary Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, which delves into the now-infamous 1985 movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, which has been called “the gayest horror movie of all time.”
The controversy over the film is wide and varied. The movie was written with tons of homoerotic undertones and some very blatant LGBTQ moments (like a visit to a gay bar). However, screenwriter David Chaskin denies deliberately doing so. Secondly, the film’s star, gay actor Mark Patton, was stepping into the role of being the “scream queen” of the film, a role that, at that point in time, was almost exclusively played by women.
The combination of homoerotic themes and a gay star (though he was closeted at the time) during the era of the AIDS crisis turned the movie into a black sheep that was panned by critics and ignored by audiences.
The new documentary Scream Queen! follows the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. From its initial hatred to its newfound status as a cult-classic and LGBTQ favorite. The movie also dives into how the sequel forever changed the direction of Patton’s acting career, how he was blacklisted in Hollywood, and how he learned to live with the past injustices of the film industry.
The documentary was an official selection at OutFest, Frameline43, and Fantastic Fest film festivals, and has been a critical hit, holding a 100% rating on review-aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is now streaming on Shudder, and can be rented on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
