A Nightmare on Elm Street II got horrible reviews & is shunned by fans, which is a shame. It was the last film to take Freddy seriously & put him in a dramatic context.

It's also a brave social commentary on the modern adolescent male & how he relates sexually to some of the important people around him. You've got the Mentor, the Sibling, the Traditional Love Interest & the Best Friend. The mentor & best friend are killed (ie. excluded with prejudice as being viable sex partners), the sibling left in peace & a classic love/hate with the TLI.

The climax is a horror retelling of Stand By Your Man. A woman's love will conquer all the ingredients (like the immature wildman) that can kill manhood (as the faithful breadwinner) before it starts.

It drags in places, but is intriguing considering the casting of an effeminate male as the lead. I wonder if that, &/or any of the other subtext I see, was intentional or if it's all as unintentional as the symbolism in Night of the Living Dead