Teenage Melodrama In 1980's Horror Films

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When most people hear the term melodrama they generally consider it a bad thing, with critics and everyday audience members normally attaching it with a poorly done drama film. What most people don’t seem to understand is that melodrama is not just tied into the genre of drama, in fact it’s a concept that has transcended the form of genre and is much more a mode or making films. Practically any genre can feature melodrama in it and a prime target would have to be the horror genre. With the growing popularity of the slasher genre in the 1980’s, horror cinema saw a growing number of characters in the teenage demographic (perfect for the audience normally viewing the film) which is why many horror films from the 1980’s are perfect examples of the teenage melodrama. One of the better examples of teenage melodrama from 1980’s horror movies comes in the form of a much disliked sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part II: Freddy’s Revenge (1985). Perhaps the reason why this is such a good example comes from the film focusing on high school drama and an evil killer lurking behind every…show more content…
As stated earlier Jesse’s mother and father think something is wrong with him and Jesse even starts to think something is going on, which makes him push away the people her cares about in his life. The trauma Jesse goes through in this movie drives him mad, including a scene when he visits his best friend and tries to explain what is happening to him, he acts like a lunatic (although to be fair he did just start to feel like Freddy was going to come out of him). The film builds this up in a nice way by making Jesse seem like a nice guy who just doesn’t fit in, until he is literally driven to the breaking point. Paranoia and being unsure of yourself ca lead to some very compelling drama that is rarely a focus in 80’s slasher

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