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Jesse Walsh | |
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A Nightmare on Elm Street character | |
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First appearance | A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge |
Created by | David Chaskin |
Portrayed by | Mark Patton |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Jesse Walsh |
Occupation | High school student |
Status | Unknown |
Jesse Walsh is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. He was created by David Chaskin and portrayed by Mark Patton. Making his debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge in 1985, Jesse became the first male protagonist of the series. In Freddy's Revenge , Freddy enacts a plan to possess Jesse, using his body to kill in the real world, slowly gaining the strength to manifest his form physically. Outside of the films, Jesse has a main role in the novels. Because of the LGBT representation in a mainstream film, Jesse has developed a large fan base in the gay community [1] [2] [3] and has been called a gay icon. [4] [5] Jesse has been observed by some scholars [6] as a variation of the "final girl" slasher film archetype, and instead a "final boy". [7]
In A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Jesse is a high school student who moves into Nancy Thompson's old house on 1428 Elm Street with his family and begins to have nightmares about Freddy Krueger. Jesse first encounters Freddy in nightmare sequence that takes place on a school bus. Jesse takes his friend Lisa to school and becomes friends with a boy named Ron Grady after they fight. Lisa helps Jesse unpack his things after school and they find a diary from Nancy Thompson explaining her nightmares. Jesse realizes that Freddy wants to possess him and use his body to kill in the real world. Freddy successfully controls him and kills Jesse's coach and attempts to kill Jesse's sister though Jesse is able to resist.
He seeks help from Ron and asks him to watch over him while he sleeps but when Ron falls asleep, Freddy regains control and murders Ron. Jesse retreats to Lisa's house during a party but Freddy again takes control, trying to kill her. Jesse fights back against his control and Freddy instead turns on the other teenagers present, murdering seven before disappearing. Freddy travels to the boiler room where he would take his child victims while still alive. Lisa confronts Freddy and Jesse is able to finally regain control, exorcising Freddy. After this incident while travelling on the school bus with Lisa, their friend Kerry is impaled through the chest by Freddy and the bus careens off the road, revealing Freddy is still alive and has again trapped Jesse. His fate is left ambiguous. [8]
Jesse briefly appears in flashbacks during Freddy's introduction in Freddy vs. Jason (2003).
Jesse is the lead protagonist of the 1992 novelization of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. In 2012, Mark Patton released Jesse's Lost Journal. [9] There are 68 journal entries that span 1982–1985. The first 30 entries closely follow the events of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , though unveil new details not seen on screen (hints that Jesse's father is a pedophile; Jesse's platonic love for Lisa; his homosexual feelings for a classmate; his feeling of Nancy Thompson as a kindred spirit). There is a different conclusion in that Jesse supposedly kills Lisa Webber at the power plant, rather than the film's final bus sequence (although she is later revealed to have survived). The remaining 38 journal entries focus on Jesse's time at a psychiatric ward, his sentencing for murdering Ron Grady and the apparent disappearance of Lisa's corpse, his escape from the institution, and his efforts to build a new identity. Jesse still wrestles with Freddy Krueger in his mind, and enters into a panic when Hollywood begins making the Nightmare on Elm Street films based on Jesse's and Nancy Thompson's journal entries.
In an interview, Mark Patton stated, "I don't think that [the character] Jesse was originally written as a gay character. I think it's something that happened along the line by serendipity." [10]
“Brad Pitt and Christian Slater also came in to read for the role. I had no idea who they were and how many famous people I actually rejected in favour of Mark Patton.”
— Jack Sholder (2010) [11]
Mark Patton beat out actors such as Brad Pitt, Christian Slater [11] and Matt Damon [12] for the role of Jesse and revealed that he based certain aspects of the character on Ally Sheedy's character in The Breakfast Club (1985). [13] In an interview with Attitude magazine, Robert Englund stated "... the second Nightmare on Elm Street is obviously intended as a bisexual themed film. It was early '80s, pre-AIDS paranoia. Jesse's wrestling with whether to come out or not and his own sexual desires was manifested by Freddy. His friend is the object of his affection. That's all there in that film. We did it subtly but the casting of Mark Patton was intentional too, because Mark was out and had done Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean." [14] Yet, in the documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, Patton describes being a closeted lead actor appearing in a horror film with a gay subtext. After Freddy's Revenge, Patton shouldered the negative publicity. His ability to get good roles became limited and he felt increasingly pressured to put up a heterosexual facade in his personal life while being offered homosexual roles in on screen. He eventually became tired of juggling the disingenuousness of the work while watching close friends and a long time partner, Timothy Patrick Murphy, lose his life to AIDS in 1988.
Patton discovered his own positive HIV status in 1999 and later relocated to Mexico to start a new life. The documentary addresses Patton's grudge against screenwriter David Chaskin for his denying that gay elements were purposely written into the script. [2] [15]
In his book Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, Harry M. Benshoff [16] references Jesse, stating the following:
In The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television, Claude J. Summers [17] stated:
In Hearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film, Updated Edition, Tony Williams notes that Jesse is a victim of a "dysfunctional family situation." [18] Jesse and Freddy's relationship is intended to have a homo-erotic subtext with Freddy representing Jesse's fear of 'coming out'. Commentators point to the lack of interest Jesse shows in Lisa and his retreat to Ron's bedroom after a failed attempt at kissing her, implying Ron is the object of Jesse's affection. At one point in the film, he also ends up in a gay S&M club where he is confronted by his homosexual gym teacher, Schneider. This plot is not made obvious in the film though Krueger-actor, Robert Englund and writer David Chaskin both admit to the concealed subtext, indicating that the casting of openly gay actor Mark Patton to play the role was intentional. [19] [20] [21] In Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies, Jim Harper describes Jesse as "the main victim of the film." [22]
In Remaking Horror: Hollywood's New Reliance on Scares of Old, James Francis Jr. dubbed the character as a "final boy" and noted the parallels between Jesse and Nancy Thompson, stating:
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American supernatural slasher media franchise consisting of nine films, a television series, novels, comic books, and various other media. The franchise began with the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), written and directed by Wes Craven. The overall plot of the franchise centers around the fictional character Fred "Freddy" Krueger, the apparition of a former child killer who was burned alive by the vengeful parents of his victims, who returns from the grave to terrorize and kill the teenage residents of the fictional Springwood, Ohio in their dreams. Craven returned to the franchise to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write/direct Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). The films collectively grossed $472 million at the box office worldwide.
Freddy Krueger is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a child killer who had been burned to death by his victims' parents after evading prison. Krueger goes on to murder his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and seemingly invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled back into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, dirty red-and-green-striped sweater and brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed, brown leather, right hand glove. This glove was the product of Krueger's own imagination, having welded the blades himself before using it to murder many of his victims, both in the real and dream worlds. Over the course of the film series, Freddy has battled several reoccurring survivors including Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson. The character was consistently portrayed by Robert Englund in the original film series as well as in the television spin-off Freddy's Nightmares.
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Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.
Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology television series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, each episode is introduced by Freddy Krueger, and features two different stories, with eight of them throughout the series actually having Freddy Krueger as the main antagonist. The pilot episode was directed by Tobe Hooper, and begins with Krueger's prosecution on child-murdering charges.
Mark Patton is an American interior designer and actor. Beginning his professional acting career in 1982, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the dramatic film Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and as Jesse Walsh in the 1985 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, a role for which he is touted as the first "scream king" in modern cinema.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 American fantasy slasher film directed by Chuck Russell in his feature directorial debut. The story was developed by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner and is the third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Larry Fishburne, Priscilla Pointer, Craig Wasson, and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Nancy Thompson, now a psychiatrist, and Kristen, a patient who can bring others into her own dreams, team up with other kids to launch a daring rescue into the dreamland and save a child from Freddy Krueger.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American fantasy slasher film and the fourth installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and stars Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, and Danny Hassel. Following the death of Nancy Thompson, Krueger reappears in the dreams of Kristen Parker, Joey Crusel, and Roland Kincaid. After completing his revenge against the families who killed him, Krueger uses Kristen's best friend, Alice Johnson, to gain access to new victims in order to satiate his murderous needs. The film is a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). The Dream Master is often popularly referred to as "the MTV Nightmare" of the franchise.
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Kristen Parker is a character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. She is a co-protagonist and final girl of the third film of the series A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and the false protagonist in the following film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and has appeared in various merchandise as well. She is played by actress Patricia Arquette in Dream Warriors and Tuesday Knight in The Dream Master. She is the central member of the titular Dream Warriors, seven teens who have to learn to fight as a group in order to survive their spectral tormentor, enigmatic murderer Freddy Krueger, and has the ability to bring others into her dreams as well as being an Olympic-level acrobat in her dreams.
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Alice Johnson is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. She first appears in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) as a teenager that inherits dream superpowers from the victims of enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she was portrayed by Lisa Wilcox—who reprises the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989).
Christina "Tina" Gray is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. She was created by Wes Craven. The character was portrayed by Amanda Wyss in the original film and Katie Cassidy in the 2010 film. Julianna Damm also portrayed the character as a preadolescent in the 2010 film's flashbacks and dream sequences. A high school student whose death is the catalyst for the events of the series, Gray is the false protagonist of the 1984 original film. She also appears in the novels, Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), 2010 reboot, merchandise based on the films, and a claymation version of the character is shown in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010). The imagery featuring Gray in the body bag during the dream sequences have been regarded as iconic.
1428 Elm Street, also known as [the] Elm Street House, is a fictional residential house and street address in Springwood, Ohio, and is an important location in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, where it has been the home of Nancy Thompson and her mother, later Jesse Walsh and his family, and finally Lori Campbell and her father, throughout the film series. It has also been implied to have been Freddy Krueger's home at some point before the events that take place in the films. It appears in some form in nearly all the films, as well as literature, comic books, toys, and music videos. The house, like Freddy Krueger, Nancy Thompson, Tina Gray, and Kristen Parker, were all conceived by Wes Craven.
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen. It examines the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, the second installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, and the life of the film's lead actor, Mark Patton. In particular, Freddy's Revenge has garnered a reputation for its homoerotic themes and subject material, which affected Patton, who was closeted at the time of the film's production.