A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Simplistic and straight to the point, The Dream Master is decidedly way more tongue-in-cheek, completing Freddy's turn from a figure of real menace to a sardonic, wisecracking anti-hero, quickly dispensing of the surviving cast of the previous film and getting right back into the swing of things. It may have been the film to signify the franchise's downfall into self-parody, but I'll be hard-pressed to say I didn't enjoy most of it. Directed by Renny Harlin with just the right amount of B-grade flair, Harlin manages to put a fresh spin on the recurring nightmare cliché and ultimately delivers some truly awe-inspiring visuals for such a short turnaround. He very much makes Freddy Krueger the star of the show, with all the characters and set pieces existing solely to service his on-screen energy. Robert Englund, receiving star billing for the first time, is delightful, delivering his gag lines with relish and making the grisly proceedings funny. However, the rest of the cast is ill-served by a script that was barely finished in time, and characters who have little depth beyond their defining traits. That all being said, the effects work is all suitably gruesome, with plenty of creative ideas being thrown around, and Craig Safan's score is effectively haunting. Topped off by a soundtrack chock full of incredibly catchy 80s power ballads, The Dream Master may lack the inherent absurdity the last instalment so readily embraced, but it's a damn fun time if you can buy into its level of goofy idiocy. This is the one where a dog pisses fire after all.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the fourth installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. I was lucky enough to get the boxed DVD set of Nightmare on Elm Street series and I just finished all the sequels and while the fourth isn't a bad sequel or continuation of the story, it was pretty silly. It was cool to continue on with the dream warriors who were clever enough to defeat Freddy in the third Nightmare on Elm Street. But Freddy's back and he is more ticked off than ever and you know that's not good. But while the story was a good idea, the way it was executed, I wasn't really that into it, just the acting I think is what killed it for me. The way the movie was made was what made it feel like it was more of a cheesy TV show like on the Sci-fi Channel than an actual movie.

We start off where the third installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series left off, the kids from the hospital are now grown up and are all on their own. But they are quickly killed off by Freddy hoping to get Kirsten back to help them, but they are too late. But when Kirsten finds a girl, Alice, she finds out that Alice has the same powers as she does. She has the ability to pull other people into her dreams and of course Alice is scared to find out how to use her powers, but she may just have to use them since Freddy is now after her and other kids too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master was a good enough sequel, but it just could have been better. I liked it, but so far it's not my top favorite sequel. Again, we've got some very cool deaths, don't think I could choose one, I think the water bed one was very cool. But once again, I don't wanna spoil it. Of course if you wanna see the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, this is recommended, but as a horror movie on it's own, it's OK.

6/10

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) directs Dream Master, the fourth entry in the franchise about a maniacal dreamstalker named Freddy Kruger. The entry is extremely passable and enjoyable.

The survivors of Dream Warriors are still haunted by memories of Freddy Kruger. But Freddy isn't quite dead as he picks up his glove and takes up where he left off...with vengeance. The only flaw in his plan: a shy outcast named Alice who harbors powers that will enable her to do battle with Kruger as she assumes qualities of past Freddy victims.

Although some of the more interesting characters are sacrificed first, the Nightmare franchise proves to be deeper and more original than any other slasher series around. Some inventive deaths and imagery on display as Robert Englund devours the scenery as Freddy.

Freddy is resurrected from the dead when a dog takes a pee on the ground in the scarp yard in which he was buried! That kind of sets the tone for the fourth instalment. When this first came out on VHS I was blown away by the special effects & it quickly became my second favourite in the franchise, after the first film. This was mainly due to the special effects (impressive at the time) and gimmicky way in which people die. However, 30 years on and in my opinion the film has lost some of that initial positivity, I know think that part 3 is a far better movie. There were splashes of humour in part 3 but it still managed to also be a dark, scary horror film. But in Dream Warriors Freddy is now more of a comic, spouting corny one-liners, which is something that I personally wasn't so fond of. The special effects are the real star here. It's still a fun movie to watch but I think it was the point where the series started to go down hill. Linnea Quigley has a nice little topless part as one of the souls coming out of Freddy's body, worthy of a freeze-frame!

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is directed by Renny Harlin and written by Brian Helgeland and Scott Pierce. It stars Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman and Brooke Theiss. Music is by John Easdale and Craig Safan and cinematography by Steven Fierberg.

Freddy Krueger (Englund) is back again to finish off the last of the Dream Warriors, but when he enters the dreams of a new girl, Alice Johnson (Wilcox), he gets more than he bargained for...

In spite of part three being something of a return to form for the Elm Street franchise, it still signalled the point where Krueger as a character started to become more fun villain than a terrifying presence. By the time this fourth instalment rolled around, Krueger was iconic for sure, but also he was a marketing tool for merchandise, even getting his own spin-off TV show. Where once was this vile child murderer invading the dreams of children and killing them, now is a guy selling dolls and someone more known for a quip than a kill.

Dream Master follows the basic Elm Street formula, Krueger returns to kill more kids in their dreams. The methods range from the icky (insect) to the impressive (pizza), and the effects work is mostly enjoyable. The tying up of loose ends shows some modicum of thought in the writing, while the big finale is actually worth the wait. However, the acting away from a perky Wilcox is pretty poor and familiarity of formula does indeed breed contempt. It's just about above average as a whole, thanks in the main to the inventive kills, but as this third sequel coined it in at the box office, with that comes the basic fact that Kruegerville is a town built only for cash purposes. 6/10