A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may know the way to defeat him for good.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Wes Craven (character), William Kotzwinkle (story),

Stars:

Lisa Wilcox, Andras Jones, Rodney Eastman

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lisa Wilcox	...	Alice Johnson
Andras Jones	...	Rick Johnson
Danny Hassel	...	Dan Jordan
Rodney Eastman	...	Joey Crusel
Tuesday Knight	...	Kristen Parker
Ken Sagoes	...	Roland Kincaid
Brooke Bundy	...	Elaine Parker
Nicholas Mele	...	Mr. Dennis Johnson
Toy Newkirk	...	Sheila Kopecky
Brooke Theiss	...	Debbie Stevens
Robert Englund	...	Freddy Krueger
Jacquelyn Masche	...	Mrs. Crusel
Hope Marie Carlton	...	Pin Up Girl
Richard Garrison	...	Doctor
John Beckman	...	Coach

Storyline

Following up the previous Nightmare film, the dream demon Freddy Krueger is resurrected from his apparent demise, and rapidly tracks down and kills all three of the surviving Elm Street kids. However, Kristen (who has the ability to draw others into her dreams) wills her special ability to her friend Alice before her demise. Afterwords, Alice soon realizes that Freddy is taking advantage of that unknown power she now wields to pull a new group of teenage children into his foul domain.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | freddy krueger | nightmare | elm street | demon | 

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Taglines:

The Name's Krueger...FREDDY KRUEGER [UK]

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Nightmare On Elm Street

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Hora do Pesadelo 4: O Mestre dos Sonhos

Filming Locations:

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery - 1831 W. Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$49,369,900 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Heron Communications, Smart Egg Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 99 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film in the series where Robert Englund receives top billing in the opening credits.

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Goofs

Obvious double when Alice is using the nunchucks in front of her mirror. The actual person is a man or a woman of different build wearing a cheap wig.

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Quotes

Kristen: God, I hate dreaming.
Alice Johnson: Mmm, I love to dream. I just hate the ones about my dad.

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Crazy Credits

A text before the opening credits reads as follows: "When deep sleep falleth on men, fear came apon me. And trembling which made all my bones to shake" -Job IV, 13-14

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Connections

References Hairspray (1988)

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Soundtracks

"In The Flesh"
Performed by Blondie
Available on "Best Of Blondie"
(played on jukebox in diner)

User Reviews

After Part 3, this is a let-down.

It's a pity that Wes Craven's initial idea for another sequel to his film, involving time travel in dreams, wasn't used. Instead of another Craven-directed masterpiece like Part 1 and Part 3 we get this gaudy pantomime instead. The makers of NOES 4 admitted that they designed and filmed all the special-effects sequences and then found some excuse to cement them together. It shows. Freddy is resurrected, though quite how is never explained. Wasn't it fire that killed him, not brought him back to life? Anyhow, he begins another killing spree. There are some interesting ideas - a narcissist being turned into a cockroach, an asthmatic having the air sucked out of her, but the whole thing lacks the tension and nightmarish qualities of the previous film. Early scenes involving the survivors from Part 3 hold promise, but when Freddy appears he's no more than a wise-cracking buffoon, and the ninja-style violence is pointless and unnecessary. The climax, if you can call it that, involves Freddy dying as a result of being shown his reflection. As there's no build-up to it at all it just stands out as an obvious excuse for another special-effects set-piece.

Overall, this film might provide entertainment, but it's just disappointing, badly-acted dross, the sort of thing you watch if you've nothing better to do.