Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) by Devin P — 20 Sep 2012

Good: Explores backstory more, good concept for how Freddy returns, acting is better than in the last film-but still sub-par, good Freddy humor.

Bad: Bending rules already set forth by the earlier installments, I liked that they explored the backstory of Freddy's past until it got a bit too weird for the story, I didn't like the ending, not many deaths-and none are exciting, dialogue can awkward.

Just as I thought the series wasn't going to get worse with the last installment, it managed to. I liked the fact that they explored the backstory of Freddy's creation a bit more, although as the backstory became more effective to the current story I disliked it. For instance, TRIVIAL SPOILER AHEAD, why would baby Freddy appear so deformed, when we have seen an adult picture of him looking completely normal. It could be that this was dream world, and so he did not actually come out this way, but I believe it was meant to be taken as the literal world birth. A person from Freddy's past will come into play in this movie, no not the recurring main characters from the last film, and I don't like what happens with her near the end. I like the concept for how Freddy returns to terrorize the town. This film has some good moments of Freddy humor, which like I've detailed before I very much enjoy.

This movie is bending rules set forth by earlier movies it seems, for instance when Freddy can attack, and how the dream world can be entered. I did not like these changes. Freddy's past is explored a bit more, in particular his birth. I did not like how a person from his past is involved in the ending, especially when she tells Jacob what to do. I thought it was ridiculous to just shout out what to do at the moment that Jacob was attempting to surprise someone. Just the ending on the whole I found to be very dull. The acting, while better than in the fourth film, is still sub-par. The movie has few deaths, and none of them are memorable. They are, in fact, quite boring. The dialogue at multiple points is awkward for the actors to say and maybe should have been edited in some manner.

This is my last favorite in the series, if this will be your first film of the franchise, do not watch. Go see the original. To fans of the series, go ahead and watch, but prepared to be faced with bending rules, weird concepts, sub-par acting, few deaths, and awkward dialogue.