A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985)

• Director: Jack Sholder
• Cast: Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Marshall Bell
• Film: 87mins | USA | + Intro
• Event: 23:30 – 02:00 [18+]

Queer Horror Nights turns the Rio into a ‘haunted leather bar’ for our midnight reclaiming of one of the most notorious queer/horror movies of all time, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985). Hosted by Loose Willis, Co Kendrah and Token Homo, this is a costume, kink and fetish-friendly event that’s strictly for adults 18+ only. Part of a limited double bill with CRUISING (1980).

“THE MAN OF YOUR DREAMS IS BACK!”

Teenager Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) begins having recurring nightmares about Freddy Krueger after moving into the former home of Nancy Thompson from the first film. With its queer/coming out ‘subtext as text’, homoerotic thrill-scenes, rubbery transformation effects, and exploding budgerigars, ELM STREET 2 has been dubbed “the gayest slasher of all time” and Patton branded the “first male scream queen”.

However, Patton was unwittingly thrust into the homophobic spotlight of 1980s Hollywood, unfairly outed as a gay actor amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis, and exposed to the wrath of fans not ready for a queered sequel to Wes Craven’s original. The experience ruined his career and changed his life forever. Queer Horror Nights invites you to help exorcise ELM STREET 2 of its homophobic undercurrents to reveal a triumphant queer/horror classic that’s thoroughly deserving of its place at the dark heart of our community.

HALLOWEEN DOUBLE BILL / ‘BRING YOUR FREAK’

Part of a double bill with CRUISING (1980). Purchasing tickets to both events entitles you to a discount, applied automatically when booked together. This is a ‘costume, kink and fetish-friendly’ event: step into your finest Halloween costume, or gear-up to enjoy the film in your kink and fetish attire (just cover your ‘bits’). Regular clothes are fine too.

// QUEER HORROR NIGHTS is an ongoing series of film nights at venues across London. Follow @tokenhomo or visit tokenhomo.com for all the gory details //