Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is a documentary about how Mark Patton’s life and acting career were negatively impacted after he toplined A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), and how that ultimately led him to becoming a positive voice for a new generation of horror fans, gay and straight alike.
A young closeted gay man trying to make a name for himself when AIDS made headlines and claimed the lives and livelihoods of gay men, Patton disappeared from the public eye for decades and blamed Freddy’s Revenge writer David Chaskin for being a major reason why he chose to do so. Scream, Queen! is a poignant journey from Patton’s childhood and his decision to leave home and take a chance on an acting career in New York City to his rather sudden rise to becoming a Broadway star and the lead in Freddy’s Revenge, to his being discovered living an anonymous lifestyle in Mexico by a documentary film crew, to his resurgence as a beloved celebrity and true horror icon that he currently enjoys.
The film also allows Patton the opportunity to confront Chaskin about how he feels the screenwriter damaged the actor’s career by not being honest with the public and press about how blatantly homosexual the content of Freddy’s Revenge was meant to be from the get-go, and blaming Patton’s performance for having it perceived as what many call “the gayest horror film ever made.” This encounter is not the strongest part of the documentary, though; Patton’s coming to terms with a fame he didn’t know he had and how he now uses that fame to be a teacher and an advocate by helping today’s young gay men appreciate the struggles of those who helped pave the way to where things are today is one of the more touching and impressive points of the film.
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Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is now available on Shudder in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
