A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Someone ought to have realized that a bad way to start off a sequel is by having a character say, “Oh no, not again.”

Maybe “Oh no” is too strong. The fourth installment in the franchise really isn’t all that bad; it’s just, all in all, “business as usual.” This movie is not only your standard A Nightmare on Elm Street, but essentially your standard slasher flick. The movie’s whole reason for being is watching teenagers die in interesting ways. While the same could be said for all the prequels, the script dishes out the deaths and the one-liners with almost nothing on the side.

The film pretty much picks up right where the last one left off. The three survivors of Freddy’s rampage last time, Kristen, Kinkaid, and Joey, have started back into normal life (at least as normal as can be after being terrorized by a wisecracking, dream-stalking maniac). Despite Kristen’s paranoia about Freddy returning and her tendency to drag her friends into her dreams, they’re all pretty happy, until Kinkaid has a dream where his dog Jason (get it?) pisses flame on the site where Freddy’s bones were buried (!!!). In the most bizarre excuse to bring back a franchise villain ever, flaming dog piss is just what the doctor ordered for Freddy’s resurrection (a friend of mine had a theory that, in the “real world,” a dog had urinated away the holy water that was sprinkled around Freddy’s bones in Part 3 and this event-and Freddy’s consequent return to the dream world-was “broadcast” into Kinkaid’s dream...yes, my friends and I really do worry about things like this!).

With his usual glee, Freddy picks up right where he left off from Part 3 and guts the last original Elm Street survivors, but not before Kristen is able to confer her power to pull people into dreams on her boyfriend’s sister Alice (it took me three tries to make all that into a coherent sentence.) Unfortunately, Freddy’s ready to exploit that power to go into the dreams of Alice’s friends and murder them, while capturing their souls that gives him strength or some such.

Now, if you think that makes little sense, try watching the movie. The biggest weakness of Part 4 is without a doubt the story. One of the things that made the original a classic was its simplicity: the ghost of a sociopath burned alive by a group of vigilante parents now returns to avenge himself on their children at their most vulnerable, in their sleep. By Part 3 and this one, too many things are thrown into the mix: that damn origin story with the nun and the thousand maniacs and all that; the idea of someone being able to pull others into their dreams (and somehow be able to pass that ability on to others); Freddy’s taste for the souls of his victims; and so on. Things have become so muddled by this point that nothing in the plot makes sense. Why the hell did Kristen give Alice the "dream master” ability if it just made things easier for Freddy? Doesn’t the spirit of Amanda Krueger have better things to do than give cryptic warnings to people? Why does Freddy even need Alice when he’s had no “access” problems before? (except arguably in Part 2, but let’s not even go there) Was he restricted to just the Elm Street kids and, if so, why does this no longer become a problem in the sequels? With this kind of sloppy plotting, you’d think Chris Carter was at the helm.

(Now there’s a thought that will give you nightmares; an X-Files/Freddy Krueger cross-over. I’m sure some fanboy is typing it out as you read this.)

As you might expect, all the characters-and the actors that portray them-are decent, but nothing more really than your average slasher movie fodder. The one thing that pulls A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 just an inch above horror movie mediocrity is the direction, which is surprisingly creative. The scenes where Kinkaid finds himself trapped in a junkyard (or rather, his dream of one); where Kristen is drugged by her mother and the camera does a remarkably realistic POV shot from Kristen’s perspective; and where we have a shot of a decrepit theatre awash in a sickly neon green complete with a creepy ticketmaster (what is it with this movie and green lights? There’s almost enough for someone to start a drinking game), are all pretty well-done and add some life to an otherwise unremarkable sequel.

Well, of course, there’s also Freddy and his whacky antics. They’re out there in full force (I particularly liked the gratuitous Jaws reference and the dream revolving around the theatre and the diner) and fans of the franchise shouldn’t be disappointed.
Choice Quotes:

"I'll see you in hell."
"Tell 'em Freddy sent ya."

-Kinkaid and Freddy