The fall and rise of the ‘final boy’
Mark Patton on the convention circuit (Photo by Lizz Ellis) Mark Patton’s role in ‘Nightmare on Elm Street 2’ with its gay subtext caused him to end his movie career.
Now, like Freddy himself, the actor has been resurrected in a way GILBERTO R. RODRIGUEZ | Contributing Writergilbertorogeliorodriguez@gmail.com Freddy Krueger became a horror icon after the box office success of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984.
That success prompted the sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge in 1985. Mark Patton was a closeted gay actor in his mid-twenties when he was cast as Jesse Walsh in Nightmare 2.
And, despite being a financial success, the movie suffered a strong homophobic backlash from mainstream audiences when horror fans and critics picked up on the gay subtext.
