A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Starring: Robert Englund, Tuesday Knight, Rodney Eastman, Lisa Wilcox, Ken Sagoes
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
1988

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After the Dream Warriors defeated Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), they returned back to their normal high school lives. However, Kristen (Tuesday Knight) begins to suspect that the monster isn't actually dead. When her friends start to die one by one, she turns to Alice (Lisa Wilcox), a gifted woman who may possess the power to destroy Krueger for good.

Review:

Tim: I was interested in seeing where Renny Harlin would take the Nightmare on Elm Street series in its fourth outing. The previous film actually was an improvement over the first sequel, so I had a bit of hope for this movie. Unfortunately, this film doesn't live up to its predecessor, as is a far cry from the original. This is just another silly sequel that has a few good moments, but mostly fails to live up to expectations. It is a disappointment any way you look at it.

Typically, I am not a fan of recasting roles in the middle of a franchise. It is a disruptive, annoying process. However, I actually didn't mind Tuesday Knight replacing Patricia Arquette. I am not a huge Arquette fan in the first place, plus I thought Knight did a fairly decent job in the role. She doesn't do enough to make herself very memorable, but I enjoyed watching her on screen. The rest of the cast is surprisingly good, with survivors Ken Sagoes and Rodney Eastman once again appearing. I also liked the addition of Lisa Wilcox. Again, her performance is not great, but she does at least a decent job in the horror movie heroine role.

Unfortunately, this film seems more interested in going for cheap laughs than real legitimate thrills. Freddy's resurrection is fairly impressive, although I wonder if the dog was really necessary? That is emblematic of the larger problem with these movies- they are just stupid and silly. There needed to be less absurd humor (like Freddy wearing sunglasses... I mean, really?) and more actual frights. Freddy Krueger delivers some absolutely ridiculous one-liners that are mostly cliches or tired turns of phrase that are meant to be funny, I imagine. They only make him look like a moron. This just greatly hurts the film.

The whole Dream Master concept is a holdover from the previous film and the dream warriors idea. I liked the concept in the previous film because it was new and different, but it is taken a little too far here. I had a much harder time believing in the idea here, and it does afford an over-the-top moment near the end.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is not a wholly unwatchable film. However, we are not talking greatness here, or even very-good. While this fourth entry is better than the forgettable second film, it represents a drop in quality from the previous film. Horror fans (especially those of cheesy, silly horror) will probably enjoy the more ridiculous moments here, but more than anything else, this film made me lament how far Freddy Krueger has falled from his truly scary beginning.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Scream trilogy, Halloween, Friday the 13th