I skipped this documentary back in 2019… not because of its gay text, but because I saw Nightmare on Elm Street 2 once on video back in 1985 and hated it. Not because I, as a clueless teen, saw some gay subtext but because it was boring and annoyed me that Freddy wasn’t the dream guy. When he attacked the pool party, that wasn’t the Freddy I’d rented the movie to see.

I’d read and seen things about the gay subtext over the years and it seemed believable to the extent I could remember the film. The conversation about the film was interesting… the actual film was not… so I didn’t jump at the chance to watch this doc.

But spooky season was the perfect excuse to give it a shot. And I’m glad I did. This is a very good film that can also be watched as a companion piece to the Rock Hudson doc All That Heaven Allows. That film was about being gay in Hollywood for an earlier generation. Scream, Queen picks up where that doc left off, giving us the impact of being a working actor after Hudson’s death.

And since Marc Patton is still very much alive, it’s a more personal film. The man can speak for himself, unlike Hudson. And while I expected it to be to be a more “fun” film given the Scream, Queen title, I wasn’t disappointed that it was so personal and and serious.

Much of the film is about Patton dealing with a lifetime of Elm Street fans hating his movie with a subset slandering him for being gay. It also delves into his anger at how the director and writer handled Elm Street 2’s gay subtext as it became known. In fact, the best – and most uncomfortable – parts of the doc are sit-downs between Patton and these two men.

I enjoyed this documentary for its history of a classic horror film, history of ’80s Hollywood, and a look at a man who is still trying to come to grips with his past. It makes me think I should rewatch Elm Street 2, see if I can see something new… or maybe even like it.

Score: 86