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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - The Dream Master

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - The Dream Master

List Price: $14.97
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The 2nd best Nightmare, but tragically flawed nonetheless
Review: This was definitely the second best Nightmare film, next to Dream Warriors. It had a solid protagonist in Alice, a dramatic showdown between good and evil and an excellent beginning(the death of the Dream Warriors) and some cool scenes in between.

There is a real sense of conflict and tension that resonates throughout the movie, but unfortunately, is still a victim of its own willingness to "live down" to expectations, so to speak. Instead of even trying to establish Krueger as a frightening and repugnant antagonist, they basically go the nihilistic route of attempting to make the former child-killer the funny, likeable post-modern hero of the film. It was almost as if they figured ahead of time that they couldn't possibly succeed in making a truly good horror film and therefore shouldn't even try that angle.

Sorry, but former child-killers don't make for likeable comedians. And the stand-up comic version of Krueger really serves to water down the potential "good vs. evil" tension in the film.

But my biggest complaint about this film is the treatment of Dream Warriors Roland Kincaid, Kristen Parker and Joey Crussel. As fellow reviewer Josh has pointed out, these characters that people came to root for in the previous film are discarded like so much trash in "Dream Master".

Far and away, the most interesting part of number 4 is the first twenty minutes or so, when the surviving Dream Warriors are picked off one by one. The idea of Krueger taking the Warriors out individually so that he doesn't have to face them as a group is pretty cool, but it could've--and should've--been drawn out much more than it was. Ideally, I think Krueger could've initially confronted the Warriors as a group and been driven off, at which point Freddy could then go about dividing and conquering. Whatever route was taken, it could been at least emphasized more and not been gone about so casually.

That of course, is assuming that the Dream Warriors should have been killed off in the first place, and I have to say, that group seemed to have "recurring protagonists" written all over them. That of course, would've been stretching the boundaries of the genre a bit, something the screen writers were apparently scared to death of.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very enjoyable ride.But the story is mostly absent.
Review: The Dream Master is the highest grossing Nightmare and while it does not quite deserve it,there's still a lot of fun to be had.First,I say the way Freddy comes back in this movie is ridiculous.On top of that,the story is just like a Friday the 13th.To counter this,we get amazing special effects along with a fun cast to watch.Anyway,Freddy kills the rest of the Elm Street kids.Kristen passes on her powers to Alice.Alice has to kill Freddy because he uses her to kill her friends.Weak plot.Indeed.But the movie has a lot of cool kills.More so than the previous Nightmares.I must also admit I love the way Freddy is in this movie.Okay,sure he now officially scares nobody and he has tons of one-liners but he's so funny.Guess I'm too much of a Freddy freak.I like him weither he's like in part 1 or part 4.The real reason why this movie gets 4 stars is because of the weak plot.Everything else is overall enjoyable and satisfying.More recommended than part 2, 5 or 6 if you ask me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Freddy is Back!!!
Review: This was my first horror movie that I ever saw!!!
Story: The 3 remaining Elm St. kids (Kristen, Joey, and Kinkade) are back and seem to be getting along fine until Kristen starts having nightmares again!!! She tries to tell Joey and Kinkade but they won't listen. Freddy ends up being resurrected again and kills Joey and Kinkade!!! Kristen is the only one left until she acidently brings her friend Alice into her dream! Kristen ends up being a victim to the boiler!!! Now Freddy is after Alice and he wants her to bring him more souls! She can't help it but she ends up bringing her friends into her dreams and they get slaughtered off one by one!!! She now realizes that she is the only one who can stop him and set the souls of the Elm St. victims free!!! This one has a bit more action to it then any of the other films because Renny Harlin Directed it! (Die Hard 2) It is one of my favorites in the series and I hope you like it!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Freddy's BACK!
Review: This has got to be one of my favorites in the entire NOES saga. Robert Englund's role as the maniacal killer, Fred Kruegar has never looked better and the death scenes are possibly some of the craziest to ever witness from a horror film! With the absence of Patricia Arquette, Tuesday Knight takes over as Kirsten (who was one of the survivors from part 3) along with her friends who once again find themselves facing the evil of Freddy Kruegar who's returned from the grave once again! However, there is also another like Kirsten who can pull people into her dreams. This person may be the only chance to defeat Freddy and send him back to the depths of hell from whence he came! Not only was this movie scary, but was also pretty ACTION-PACKED at times. (especially when Alice duels with Freddy himself!) In addition to some of the earlier 'Nightmare' films, this one also uses alot of special-FX that will blow you away! Sure they're a little dated, but heck it's not all bad for an 80s release! The only reason alot of people do not like this movie I believe, is because it sometimes lacks some the horror and suspense that was of the first three. It's also a little silly and twisted at times, but hey it works! I highly reccomend this to ANY fan of the NOES saga old or new. I also reccomend the original "A Nightmare On Elm Street", "Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge", "Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors", and "Wes Craven's New Nightmare"! They are all excellent horror films! BUY TODAY!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pure Evil Never Dies?
Review: It seems that the more movies make money the more they'll be made. This is already the fourth part to the Nightmare on the Elm Street movie. This is good story but it starts to feel odd that even burying Freddy in the blessed ground in part 3 didn't killed Freddy. In this part the rest of the Elm Street kids die and the only hope is Alice who was the power of Kirsten who was the last Elm Steet Kid. In the school is killed more pupils every day because Alice sees dreams where they are and Freddy kills them. Well, he has to fight and free those children. It's a hard job but eventually the good ones win, hopefully? The actors are very good and script is too. This is not so horrible as the first ones. I have seen Freddy many times so why would he scare me? He is like a friend to me. This is probably digusting for all the thing freddy makes the children but nothing else, maybe sometimes funny.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A good installment in the series
Review: After the surprisingly good Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, New Line once again resurrected Freddy Kruger to wreak bloody havoc. The Dream Master finds our three survivors from Dream Warriors all getting picked off by a newly revived Freddy; and introduces us to Alice who now has Kristen's powers and poses a threat to Freddy. Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) upped Part 3's ante with even more elaborate, gorey, and macabre set pieces and deaths; some of which are the best in the series. However, this is where Freddy stopped being scary and became the one liner spewing fiend that he is known (and loved) for; but either way Robert Englund is still a joy to watch as everyone's favorite razor clawed killer. Dream Master also lacks the character development and coherent (well, more or less) storytelling that most of the other installments contained, but on it's own this is a pretty solid horror flick.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "You shouldn't have buried me. I'm not dead." (4.5 stars)
Review: Although this is when the series isn't at its scariest, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" is a very entertaining Freddy flick. Creepy, violent... and even darkly funny at times, this movie is a great edition to the Freddy series. It's not as good as the third, but it's still a terrific Freddy movie.

Kristen and the other two survivors from the third movie have the strangest feeling that Freddy isn't gone for good. They're in a new town with new friends, but something doesn't seem right. Kristen is having the same dreams about the haunted house that Freddy lived in. It isn't long until Freddy's sprit rises from the grave once again, to seek revenge on the three survivors and unleash his bloodlust upon the new batch of teens that he has yet to meet. Kristen's best friend, Alice, may be the key to stop Freddy once and for all, but Freddy might get to her before she even gets the chance to fight.

While it's not the scariest of the set, the fourth movie proves to be very entertaining and creepy. It had a pretty good script, although the acting could've been better in some areas. I noticed that the cinematography in this particular film was pretty outstanding. It was light when it needed to be light, and it was dark when it needed to be dark. And Robert Englund once again plays his role with perfection. This time he has a little more freedom to be funnier than in the past films. He makes the movie what it is, and it would've been a horrible mess if he were not in it.

The DVD doesn't have the most explosive extras, although there is some DVD-ROM content that will make computer fanatics happy. The picture looks great and the sound is really something to hear. You can watch it in Dolby Digital or in the original theatrical stereo mix. There's also cast and crew bios you can check out, as well.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" is really a good Freddy film that doesn't disappoint. It may not be as strong as 1 and 3, but it still has that same edge and touch. And it isn't overly goofy, although it is funnier than the past ones. If you're a "Nightmare" fan, then I recommend you checking it out. Come on, it's Freddy Krueger; what's not to love?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: OK SEQUEL
Review: THIS IS ABOUT AS GOOD AS THEY COULD'VE DONE WIT THIS ONE. IN THIS ONE, FREDDY GETS REVIVED BY FLAMING URINE AND HE FINALLY KILLS ALL THE KIDS OF ELM STREET, AS HE GETS BORED, HE LOOKS FOR NEW KIDS TO KILL. GOOD SPECIAL EFFECTS AND A GOOD ENDING REALLY SAVES THIS ONE FROM BEING MEDIOCRE. UP BY THIS POINT, THE SERIES WAS REALLY BEGINNING TO SHOW ITS AGE.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: gorey fun
Review: very cool a nice mix of humor wit and gore although body counts not as high as usual; its still good

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Visually pleasing
Review: Renny Harlin's direction of "The Dream Master" was visually pleasing. The only bad thing about that is, and it's a biggie, is that it took away Freddy's wickedness (which Wes Craven put some "oomph" back into with "Dream Warriors").

The new Kristen, Tuesday Knight, stunk. She overemphasized emotions way too much and became an annoyance as a result. Thank God that only lasted about a quarter of the film, if that.

I can watch this repeatedly and become more pleased with the visual effects each time. I love the way the movie was shot and how the story became centered around Alice (after the last three kids of the parents who originally killed Freddy were bumped off).


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