Nightmare on Elm Street 4

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

The Best in the industry (at the time) were responsible for the stunning special effects. The special and practical effects together with the incredible make-up never disappoints in this series.

Several characters from 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3' including Kirsten, Joey and Kincaid return. Joey and Kincaid are once again portrayed by Rodney Eastman and Ken Sagoes, but Kirsten is now played by Tuesday Knight, and unfortunately she wasn't as good as Patricia Arquette.

With Nancy gone and Kirsten not lasting very long, Alice (Lisa Wilcox) becomes the new heroin, having received Kirsten's powers of bringing people into dreams. Alice has a dream-like presence, which works so well for the movie. She has a crush on hunky Dan (Danny Hassel). This film brings an end to the last of the Elm Street children, and having tricked Kirsten, Freddy now has new victims to torment.

The film blends humour and horror amazingly well, without the humour getting in the way of the action or suspense. Ha-ha, and there's a dog named Jason in a Freddy movie!! Classic!

With 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master' having nice characters, a good story, fantastic effects, and being atmospheric, this almost felt like it ought to have been the start of a franchise, and not the fourth film in a franchise. The effects are hands down the best since the original and some of the best yet for an 80's horror movie in general. Made almost four decades ago, the effects are still incredible. This was also the best in the series since the original. This was awesome!

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.

The stage curtains open ...

For whatever reason, this 4th installment in the Elm Street series is my personal favorite. Maybe it's because it was directed by Renny Harlin who has a certain flair for action sequences. Maybe it's because I adore Lisa Wilcox and her character Alice, and the fact that she kicked some butt. Maybe it's because the supporting cast of teens really seemed like a tight knit group of friends having fun making this movie. Maybe it's because of the amazing visuals we were treated to. I don't know why exactly, but I absolutely loved "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - The Dream Master".

Having survived the events of the 3rd film, Kristen has formed a new circle of friends and is back in school with a boyfriend. Sensing that there is something wrong, she finds herself back in Freddy's nightmareland and he draws upon her power to pull in "fresh meat" so that he can start all over again. Alice, her best friend, is the silent, recluse type who is doing her best to hold things together at home. As the friends around her begin to die, she assumes their individual powers, sheds her fears, and faces Freddy for a winner-takes-all battle.

The transformation of Alice in this movie was the compelling story line, and the final confrontation delivers all the goods. Behind tight direction and good editing, we are given some outstanding visuals and memorable scenes. One of which was the movie theater scene where Alice is sucked into the silver screen. The acting in this one was a bit better than the previous installments, and this bunch of teen friends were people I actually cared about.

I highly recommend this movie at a very strong 8 stars out of 10. It is my personal favorite in the series - maybe because it's the perfect blend of everything I mentioned earlier. And as such, it still holds up pretty well since it was first released in 1988. "The Dream Master" is a winner.