Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street

Due to its heavy homoerotic subtext and non-traditional use of its male lead, 1985’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge has become a staple of gay horror films and LGBTQIA+ cinema as a whole. In the documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, directors Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen examine the impact of the film from its initial rocky reception to its resurrection as a cult favorite, all through the lens of its star, Mark Patton.

While the doc focuses heavily on the cult status of Freddy’s Revenge, non-horror fans will likely find themselves drawn in by Patton’s personal life story of being a closeted gay actor in the early to mid-’80s. There’s a sincere pain in the now 60-year-old actor’s eyes as he recounts his early rise to fame — including a starring role on Broadway alongside Cher in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, directed by Robert Altman — and eventually his fall from grace in the midst of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2’s brutal critical reception and the violent backlash to gay performers during the AIDS epidemic.

Patton is also refreshingly unsentimental when it comes to his memories of filming Freddy’s Revenge. While more than grateful to the fans it has garnered throughout the years, Patton still has tumultuous feelings about the film’s screenwriter, David Chaskin, and the writer’s response to its modern success as a cult classic for the gay community. This animosity all culminates in an emotionally raw climax in which Patton meets Chaskin face to face for the first time in over three decades.

Scream, Queen! works perfectly when Patton delivers information about his life and sadly loses me whenever it cedes control to overly dramatic narration from voice actor Cecil Baldwin. The score by Alexander Taylor (Arkansas) also proves to be a tad melodramatic at times, but luckily it never undermines the film for too long.

These quibbles aside, Scream, Queen! proves to be a wonderful and passionately made horror documentary that should please fans and non-fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise alike with its fascinating subject and uplifting final message.

Grade: B-plus. Not rated. Available to stream via Shudder, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube

(Photo: The End Productions)