Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) by Brian B — 31 Mar 2010
With the profitable previous entry , Freddy Krueger was the subject of lunchboxes, commercials and all types of merchandise. He had passed Jason as the undisputed slasher box office champion. But just as quick as Freddy rose to the top, he fell down nearly as hard with the Dream Child.
Released in the summer of 1989, Child took in less than half of the haul of The Dream Master and the reviews were just as disappointing. The script is ambitious with the main idea of Freddy entering people's dreams through an unborn child.
But by this point, Freddy is more or less cliché. He simply lurks in the background, emerging only to dispel some pun-ridden one-liner. For all the jokes and punch lines he bellows out, he may as well be played by Carrot Top.
On top of that, he acts more like a prop than a true character. The film feels more like a coherent attempt at an atmospheric horror film than previous films, but somehow the pieces just don't quite mesh.
At only 90 minutes, it moves along quickly, but as the credits roll there really isn't anything that resonates in the viewer's memory. A better film could have easily come out of this material, but as it stands, this is one of the weaker films in the franchise.
An ambitious but ultimately mediocre foray into Freddy's legacy.
This review of A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) was written by Brian B on 31 Mar 2010.
A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child has generally received mixed reviews.
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