A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989)

Alice, having survived the previous installment of the Nightmare series, finds the deadly dreams of Freddy Krueger starting once again. This time, the taunting murderer is striking through ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers:

Wes Craven (characters), John Skipp (story),

Stars:

Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Kelly Jo Minter

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Englund	...	Freddy Krueger / Featured Maniac
Lisa Wilcox	...	Alice Johnson
Kelly Jo Minter	...	Yvonne
Danny Hassel	...	Dan Jordan
Erika Anderson	...	Greta Gibson
Nicholas Mele	...	Dennis Johnson (as Nick Mele)
Joe Seely	...	Mark Gray
Valorie Armstrong	...	Mrs. Jordan
Burr DeBenning	...	Mr. Jordan
Clarence Felder	...	Mr. Gray
Michael Ashton	...	Gurney Orderly
Beatrice Boepple	...	Amanda Krueger
Matthew Borlenghi	...	Jock (as Matt Borlenghi)
Noble Craig	...	Merging Freddy
E.R. Davies	...	Delivery Doctor

Storyline

Alice, having survived the previous installment of the Nightmare series, finds the deadly dreams of Freddy Krueger starting once again. This time, the taunting murderer is striking through the sleeping mind of Alice's unborn child. His intention is to be "born again" into the real world. The only one who can stop Freddy is his dead mother, but can Alice free her spirit in time to save her own son?

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Plot Keywords:

freddy krueger | murderer | nightmare | dream | part of series | 

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Taglines:

Freddy delivers.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Nightmare On Elm Street

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$22,168,359 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Heron Communications, Smart Egg Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lisa Wilcox's name appears on the opening credits, but not on the ending credits.

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Goofs

After Mark is pulled into the comic book, and the whole place collapses a drip of blood falls on his head. In reality blood isn't that thick, and after Mark checks what it is the amount of blood on his cheek changes from the closeup to the wide shot.

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Quotes

Amanda Krueger: Jacob! Jacob! Alice will not triumph! Only you can help her now.
Jacob: [looking like Freddy] Hey, leave her! Let's go! I want to learn stuff from you. She's no fun anymore. Teach me? Heh.
Amanda Krueger: Now, Jacob. Unleash the power he has given you.
Jacob: [looking back at Freddy after he sees that he has fallen into Amanda's trap] School's out, Krueger.

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Connections

Follows A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

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Soundtracks

"BRING YOUR DAUGHTER TO THE SLAUGHTER"
Performed by Bruce Dickinson
Written by Bruce Dickinson
Produced by Chris Bangarides for Zomba Recording Svcs.
1989 Zomba Records LTD
An Original Sound Recording Made By Zomba Recording Corp.

User Reviews

A Nightmare definitely worth watching, flows well within the series

Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child is not the most ordinary Nightmare in the series. The Dream Child is the first Nightmare film to not be written by Wes Craven, however still keeping Robert Englund as the classic Freddy you expect to see.

The story of Nightmare 5 is not as strong as a stand alone film. (unlike the others within the series, such as Freddy's Revenge or Wes Craven's New Nightmare) Although an excellent horror film to watch, I would recommend watching Nightmare 4:The Dream Master. This film was heavily done as a sequel to part 4, using all the surviving characters from part 4, along with a couple new faces.

The effects are solid in this film; The entertaining yet gory 80's horror effects featured in other Freddy films, with a little more fantasy featured throughout. With Nightmare's effects done in this manner, in my opinion, make the film more intriguing and introduces a unique touch that makes you want more. The writer managed to, like in the previous Freddy films done by Wes Craven, capture the decade well. The deaths are very creative, evil, and truly make you question when the character is dreaming, when they are awake, and what kind of grasp Freddy has over their brain.

I would recommend following Nightmare 4 before viewing The Dream Child, as it will help you piece things together as they unfold in this well done, yet somewhat hard to understand installment of the Nightmare series.