Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Okay, what is it tonight?
Please just tell me what the hell is wrong?
Do you want to eat?
Do you want to sleep?
Do you want to drown?
- Dramarama

The Nightmare marathon continues with the 4th installment of the series: The Dream Master. And I hate to say it, but this is kind of the one that jumped the shark. I mean, if you disregard Part II (and many people do) NOES wasn't doing too badly up until this point.

It's not that Part 4 is extremely bad. It's just not that good.

We begin with Kristin, who has changed so much that she's actually morphed into another actress.  She's having those dreams again. You know, those dreams. And she wants Kincaid and Joey to believe that Freddy is back. Luckily all the suicide attempts are behind them and they all go to the same school which is convenient. With the surviving trio are Kristin's new friends - mousy Alice, Alice's brother Rick, slutty Debby, brainy Sheila and dreamboat Dan.

The main character becomes clear a bit later in this sequel as the friends start dying in droves and daydreamy Alice begins to take on the characteristics of each one. And she uses all those traits to take on Freddy. Of course.

So where to begin with this one?  The characters are okay I guess but they were just there to die essentially. The movie actually gets rid of the surviving three pretty early on, which is sort of bitter sweet because I actually liked Kincaid and Joey. Tuesday Knight as the new Kristin though was off. Yeah, Patricia Arquette's acting was a bit wooden at times but she had a real presence. This girl was just...there. Alice is okay but she's no Nancy. Same for the rest of the cast. They're okay. Their acting isn't bad, just okay. The whole thing was just...okay.

The dreams? Well, they showed creativity. A little too much creativity. Debby turns into a partial roach with roach arms inside of a roach motel. Rick takes on an invisible Freddy in a martial arts fight. I mean, they're okay to watch but no one really dreams like that. And each dream is telegraphed ahead of time. Okay, you have asthma? Guess how you die.  You don't like roaches? Guess what. Meh.

And okay, as I always ask, what about Freddy?

All of the time I was watching this movie, I knew there was somebody Freddy reminded me of and then it hit me. Freddy was the Wicked Witch of the West. No, seriously.  His features are much more angular than before, he practically rubs his hands in glee at every evil thought. Heck, he even cackles every time he kills a victim. And believe me,  a line reminiscent of "How about a little fire Scarecrow" follows each and every death.  Freddy is more like a comic book villain than an actual threat. And without the fear, Freddy really isn't Freddy.

I knew what Renny Harlin (in his first feature directorial debut) and the writers were going for but they just didn't get it. Part III had shown that Freddy could be funny AND frightening.  Here, he's reduced to the class clown. Yeah, you may laugh at him a bit, but you know he's capable of so much more and that makes one sad.

Sadly,  I think this was the beginning of the end for the franchise. But we'll see with Part 5....

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Oh Joey, don't you ever learn? Dames ain't nothing but trouble.
• Robert Englund in drag. Who looks like one thing. And that is Robert Englund in drag.
• That awesome Dramarama song.
• Alice and Dan's loop de loop dream and the feeling they'd done this before.... 

Fun Facts Kids!

• The opening song "Running from this Nightmare" was sung by Tuesday Knight.
• The martial arts sequence was supposed to be longer and more involved but they ran out of budget.
• The diner Alice works at is the Crave Inn. Get it?
• Toy Newkirk's mouth to mouth with Robert Englund was her first onscreen kiss. And his Freddy dentures fell into her mouth on the first take.
• One of the naked souls in Freddy's chest was played by horror favorite Linnea Quigley.

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Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

We're the dream warriors
Don't wanna dream no more
We're the dream warriors
Maybe tonight you'll be gone
- Dokken

Ask Nightmare fans which is their favorite of the series and without a doubt you'll generally hear "the first and the third." There's a good reason for this. The first movie was an instant classic with a series-ready monster and a creative storyline. Dream Warriors plays off the original beautifully with a welcome return of a familiar character, imaginative dream sequences, a return of the iconic theme music, and most of all, a wonderful cast featuring likable (and relatable) kids.

The movie begins by wisely disregarding Part II as we are quickly introduced to Kristin (a haunted Patricia Arquette) who is having simply awful dreams. Her 'rich bitch' Mother doesn't understand and refuses to take her seriously until a failed suicide attempt (actually a Freddy attack) which winds Kristin up in a mental ward with other kids who are mysteriously having nightmares as well. Turns out, they're the last of the Elm Street children and Freddy wants to finish what he started. With the assistance of a helpful doctor and a new wunderkind grad student, the kids must use their dream powers to stop Freddy once and for all while wrestling with their own personal demons. Not an easy feat.

Oh and the grad student is Nancy! Nancy's back! Yeah!

Okay, let's start with the cast. So, generally in my horror reviews, I'm focusing on the monsters, rather than their victims. In fact when doing my F13 Marathon Review, I pretty much glossed over the characters. But this ain't no Friday movie. Dream Warriors follows the formula of the first one, with literally no weak kids in the cast. Aside from good girl Kristin, we have tough guy Kincaid, mute Joey, sleep-walker Phillip, ex-druggie Tarin, wheelchair bound Wil, and Jennifer, an actress wannabe whose looking for her big break on TV. And boy does she get it. And of course, there's Nancy, who has seen this all before and knows what the kids are going through. She has matured a bit during her time away, and has an almost motherly influence on the teens who don't really know what they're up against. All of these characters are smart and well-acted with individual characteristics and all have a touchingly human side usually lacking in horror movies.

Also like the first movie, NOES 3 uses the kids to make Freddy even more horrifying as he preys upon their fears and weaknesses in malicious, sadistic and frankly twisted ways. Case in point, I DARE you not to wince during the vein puppet scene. It can't be done. I tried. But seriously, because the audience empathizes with the characters so damn much, every single death scene packs a powerful punch. This is what some of the other Nightmares forget, you shouldn't want the kids to die. In fact, the movie also plays cleverly with the audience's emotions by killing off some characters you don't expect to die, and saving others you did. The fact that the "horror movie rules" are thrown to the wind adds some tension to the whole proceedings and makes Freddy more frightening and even more unpredictable.

So yeah, yeah the kids. Nancy. We get it. What about Freddy?

Well Freddy is back with a vengeance in this one - although he definitely has a stronger sense of humor now, with clever quips and the warped sense of humor that the character has become known for. But unlike some of the following sequels, it's done with just the right amount of balance between comedy and horror. As for Robert, well, Robert is awesome as usual and while he may not look as scary as he did in the first or second one, the character is still just as frightening. The way Freddy has learned to toy with his victims is the stuff nightmares are made of. He must have been taking courses during his downtime.

So yes, this is why many people say "the first and the third" and as a "first and third" girl myself, I totally understand. It ain't perfect and the movie loses a tiny bit of steam at the end, especially when it focuses on Dr. Gordon, who is one of the weaker characters in the cast. Also I could have done without Freddy's skeleton prancing around. But I guess the writers had to come up with an ending somehow, and it doesn't really distract from what is overall, a pretty solid film. So I'll let it pass.

Oh and Nancy. Sob, sniff. RIP babe. You did it! You beat Freddy once and for all!  Well....until Part 4....

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Nancy's back!
• Any of the death scenes really but the vein puppet and "Welcome to Prime Time bitch!" ones definitely top the list.
• Group therapy where the kids realize they're in a dream and find their dream powers.
• Gah Kristin! Why don't you listen to your Mother's decapitated head!!!!
• Nancy's Dad's Back!!
• Joey finally finding his "voice."

Fun Facts Kids!

• Patricia Arquette's first film.
• The "Freddy snake" was originally pink but the color made it look too "phallic" so he was painted a darker color.
• Dick Cavett requested to interview Zsa Zsa Gabor in the TV dream sequence because he told the director she was one of the stupidest people he'd ever known and wanted her to be killed.
• The sexy nurse who tempts Joey was originally supposed to turn into Freddy Krueger, with her head on the actress's topless body. The effect not only looked incredibly silly but the director realized no one could play Freddy other than Robert and the idea was scrapped.
• The pig on the dinner table who roars at Kristin was an actual pig carcass the special effects guys had bought and let rot to get the proper effect cheaply.
• The car that contains Freddy's bones is supposed to be the same car from the end of the first NOES.
• The movie poster was created before casting was completed, which is why the characters in the poster don't resemble the actors.

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