Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) by Brenda B — 31 Mar 2010
"The Dream Master", like the previous film, has some talent behind the camera. Future "Die Hard 2" director, Renny Harlin, makes his U.S. debut, and "L.A. Confidential" writer, Brian Helgeland penned the story and screenplay.
But a screenwriters strike caused the film to begin production with a unfinished script and it shows. This film seems more as a monetary exercise than an inspired sequel. The creepy and intriguing back story of Freddy Krueger from Warriors is abandoned here, and so is any kind of other story development.
The film shuffles along, switching between dream sequence, death sequence and cheesy 80's training montages. The story shifts between nightmare and 80's pop trash, and in so doing any sense of horror is thrown out the window.
It also doesn't help that Robert Englund is bolting off one-liners a mile a minute, nearly making a farce of what used to be a truly frightening horror villain. As he jumps on the screen wearing a pair of gold-rimmed shades, it becomes clear that Freddy has officially sold out and become the star of the series rather than the monster.
This review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) was written by Brenda B on 31 Mar 2010.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master has generally received mixed reviews.
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