Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) by Marcella C — 27 Mar 2015

This sequel was unfortunately met with a lukewarm response. Whether it was because of Freddy fatigue( im betting that was half the case since this was released less than a year after 4 ) or its less than ideal subject matter among the young audience which was teen pregnancy. For the most part I feel it was indeed a combination of overexposure and a failure to top the more crowd friendly Dream Master.

Taking it as a film on its own though, it is still quite a well done darkly envisioned Nightmare film. The gothic imagery alone in my opinion trumps what was done in part 4. Production design and visual direction were top notch. Freddy returned to the dark foggy shadows, but his jokier shtick doesn't quite gel this time... He still managed to be quite mean spirited with some rather disturbing kills....

The baby element didn't bother me as much as most, because I always felt that this series showcased relatable inner fears among teenagers... Like sexual identity in part 2 or teen suicide in part 3.

Still, the film didn't pack as much cinematic punch as it was expected to, but this is still a worthwhile sequel.... underrated.