Warner Bros. Home Entertainment just released the A Nightmare on Elm Street: 7-Film Collection in 4K the first set available where you can relive every Freddy Krueger movie in stunning ultra-high-definition. Beyond that, one uniquely queer film in the franchise is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.We are, of course, talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge the 1985 sequel that was hailed by The Village Voice as a great, gay movie in its original review. If youve seen the film, youll understand just why they said that.While final boy Jesse Walsh (played by Mark Patton before he came out) is never explicitly stated as being gay, the film is layered with hints that might be dealing with his own internalized homophobia. And Freddy, a dream-stalker known for taunting his victims with their innermost fears and desires, flirts with that throughout the film. In fact, theres even a moment where Jesse wanders into a queer leather bar, and another scene where he seeks the safety of his hunky best friends bedroom (Ron Grady, played by Robert Rusler). And lets not forget all those likely intentional Easter eggs such as the Probe board game clearly seen in Jesses closet or the No Chicks sign on his bedroom door.Since its release, the maligned second chapter of the Elm Street saga has gained a cult following and has been analyzed and discussed in blogs, college papers, gay publications, and horror sites for years due to its homoerotic subtext. Robert Englund, the horror icon best known as the nefarious Freddy Krueger, has embraced A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 as a queer classic in recent years, even clamoring for the film to be remade should the franchise be rebooted.Englund was also a headlining participant in 2019's Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, a documentary that examined the life of Patton and the negative impact A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 had on his career. For those who arent aware of the story, Patton, who was not out during the films production, had a decades-long feud with A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 scribe David Chaskin, who vehemently denied the films gay subtext for years. He also blamed Patton's flamboyant performance as the sole reason for the films queer reputation. Not only does Chaskin finally confess to intentionally writing A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 as a gay panic allegory, but he and Patton finally hug it out and bury the hatchet. But throughout the documentary, Englund and some of his castmates doubled down on the fact that the films homosexual subtext was always on the page.While out promoting the A Nightmare on Elm Street: 7-Film Collection, Englund took some time to take a stroll down memory lane and chat with Out about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and all its queer glory. He also examines the sexual fluidity of Freddy Krueger, recalls how he and Patton intentionally accentuated the homoeroticism between Jesse and Freddy, and shares his ideas on how the franchise can be rebooted today. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge (1985).Warner Bros.Out: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is often considered to be one of the weakest entries in the franchise, but I still think it has some redeeming qualities. In your opinion, how well do you think the film has aged and stood the test of time?Robert Englund: Well, I think there's terrific stuff in this Jack Sholder film. Not only the actors, but the supporting characters too. But that whole thing with that family is so great. There are such classic moments in the film. I mean, I probably signed the phrase, You are all my children now as much as Welcome to primetime, bitch! Those are, I think, the No. 1 autograph quotes that I'm asked to do. So obviously, Part 2 has really made a point among the franchise.In recent years, youve been very vocal about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 being a strong candidate for a modern-day remake if they reboot the franchise.If they start doing a reboot of the franchise, I think they can do Part 2 at any time they want. It's standalone, and the culture has moved forward enough since 1985. I think we could really address some of the subtext in that film between the boys and how Freddys manipulating them and Lisa [Kim Myers] as the confidant of Jesse [Patton]. I think there's a way to play with that and his conflicted desires. Because they hint at it, and I think it would be fun to really embrace that in a reboot because it's part of the fabric of that story and it's always been very popular. I understand that people are doing college papers and theses about A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 now. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge (1985).Warner Bros.I'm glad you touched on that because I wanted to talk about the gay subtext in the original script. I recall you always saying that it was always very apparent. Do you remember that moment when you were reading the script and you realized what was really going on in the story? And do you remember your early conversations with Mark Patton about it?It's in the script. But when I got to the set, I saw the camaraderie and some dare call it flirtation between Mark and Robert [Rusler]... you know, in that vital adolescence, or, if you want, homoeroticism, whatever you want to call it. I saw a little bit of that. And Mark Patton was so beautiful. And I'd seen him in Come to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. And he had that kind of James Dean bisexuality look, which is just sort of a generic look and he didn't work it really hard, but it's there. I guess the word would be latent. So I remember talking to Mark about how, when he and I worked together as Freddy and Jesse, that I was going to play that a little bit with him, that I was going to tease him a little bit with that. And he was all for it. We knew what was going on. Robert Rusler knew what was going on, and he was even doing an echo of Johnny Depp from Nightmare 1 with his cutoff shirt, which had also become kind of iconic. Not only did all the girls like it, but all the boys liked Johnny's belly button, too. So we were playing with that.I recall people like director Jack Sholder and actress Kim Myers saying they were kind of oblivious to the gay subtext.I think all that Jack remembers was the clock ticking when you're directing a movie and he's just worried about getting on with his day and getting it done: all the scenes, the special effects, the fire stunts, all the different locations. So he's not really worried about highlighting or accentuating any potential gay subtext that was in there. It was there. I mean, he probably knew it when he cast it and he probably knew it when he staged some of it. I don't know how anybody can talk about the bar scene in that. And Bob Shaye, who's the producer, obviously knew what was going on because he could have played any part he wanted in the movie for a cameo. And he decided to be the bondage bartender. Behind the scenes on set while filming A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge (1985)Warner Bros.Mark Patton told his story in the documentary Scream, Queen!: My Nightmare on Elm Street, which you all participated in. When you saw the finished documentary, did it change your perspective on the film, and were you surprised about how the movie actually impacted him and his career?What really impacted me about Mark's documentary was I didn't know about the tragic things he went through with his own health and his friend's health. When Mark was living down in Puerto Vallarta and he had a gallery down there, I'm regretting to this day that I just didn't go down there. [My wife] Nancy and I would have gone down there and just slept on his couch and hung out with him because it must have been so wonderful. And also just to cheer him up because I didn't know he had gone through all of that. So that was my takeaway from that.I remember, probably a year or so after the film came out, Bob Shaye shared with me that people were writing papers in college about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 as the so-called gay horror movie. And Bob loved it. He had a couple of copies. I remember reading one. And of course, when you get academic about it, it kind of takes the fun out of it. And people want to read stuff that may or may not be there in some sequences. But there's definitely a subtext in that film that's going on. We use animal references a lot of times when we act, and one of the animal things that I used as an actor was the cat with the mouse just before he kills it. I always say that Freddy is toying with the mouse. He is literally toying with the sexuality of Jesse in that film. He's playing with it. And that's how I always saw it. And that's in the script, too.What are your views on Freddys sexuality beyond A Nightmare on Elm Street 2? We know he torments his victims by getting into their psyche and toying with their fears and desires. Just to use a scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as an example, Freddy had no issue shape-shifting into a nude female nurse only to end up tongue-tied with Joey. Would you say that Freddy is ultimately sexually fluid when he needs to be?I think Freddy Krueger is asexual, and I think that's probably one of the things that fosters his anger and his revenge and his original crimes. Freddys not a pedophile I never played him as a pedophile. I never understood him to be a pedophile. Freddy is a child killer. And child killer, those very words are almost a dark, punk-rock poem: Child Killer. It almost sounds like a song by Jim Morrison. You know what I mean? As someone who played with his sexuality fluidly, I think of Freddy as a punk thing. Freddy is a dark, dark poem. Freddys anger may be in that he never was able to express his sexuality, whatever it is or whatever it was, and that's why he's killing children because children are the future and Freddy hasn't figured out a future for himself. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge (1985).Warner Bros.Warner Bros.I'm really glad you clarified that because you always hear fans just casually label Freddy as a pedophile or a child killer interchangeably. They're two completely different things. In fact, in the entire series, you never hear the word molester or pedophile uttered at all.When we made the original, there was a huge scandal going on at a child care nursery down in the South Bay of Los Angeles. Famous, famous case. I think there's been documentaries made about it. And I'm forgetting the name right now. But it was so big and it was so public in Los Angeles when we were shooting it that Wes Craven made a conscious decision to just completely stay away from any hint that Freddy was a pedophile. Is there some sexuality with Freddy and Nancy, or Freddy and Alice, or Freddy and Jesse? Yeah, but it's Beauty and the Beast. Do you know what I mean? It's the Beast thing. And it's Freudian and Jungian in that way.I know you retired from the role, but given the advancements of motion capture and CGI, if there was a feasible way for you to do high-quality mocap performance, would you consider playing the part again?I think if they're going to reboot the franchise, they are going to need another actor. Because you've got to go the distance. I would love to voice an animated series if they got the right animation team. I think that would be very interesting. And I think that would work because I've seen such great graphic novels and comic books and illustrative work over the years. Reimagining Freddy would be fun to do, and I could do that. I would like to be invited back if they do Part 3. I would love to do a cameo as one of the doctors, perhaps. That would be fun. But I think they really do need to get a new actor. I don't think Freddy should be CGI or motion capture. I think there's so many great effects you can do. There's so many enhancements that I'm all for. With CGI and stuff, if you had to have Freddy melt or something like that. But there's so many great ways to do that. But I still think you need an actor. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge (1985).Warner Bros.I love your idea about a cameo. If they reboot the franchise, I think starting with Dream Warriors is the way to go. You can do Part 2 as a standalone. And then from there, you can do Four or Five, which is Alice's story. With Freddy's Dead, I think you can do a whole new version with all the surviving characters coming back and teaming up to take down Freddy.Well, if you're going to reboot Part 6, I think it has to be about today's culture, messing around with cellphones and things like that. But I think I would start with Dream Warriors, because it has that great previously on A Nightmare on Elm Street thing. Then you go into the story of Alice. Then I would go back and reboot Part 2 as a standalone and really do it modern and really deal with the culture today.A Nightmare on Elm Street 7-Film Collection is now available in 4K UHD for purchase on digital retailers.