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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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217 reviews in total

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32 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
The plot was like a cheesy TV series, 11 November 2003

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the fourth installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. I was lucky enough to get the boxed DVD set of Nightmare on Elm Street series and I just finished all the sequels and while the fourth isn't a bad sequel or continuation of the story, it was pretty silly. It was cool to continue on with the dream warriors who were clever enough to defeat Freddy in the third Nightmare on Elm Street. But Freddy's back and he is more ticked off than ever and you know that's not good. But while the story was a good idea, the way it was executed, I wasn't really that into it, just the acting I think is what killed it for me. The way the movie was made was what made it feel like it was more of a cheesy TV show like on the Sci-fi Channel than an actual movie.

We start off where the third installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series left off, the kids from the hospital are now grown up and are all on their own. But they are quickly killed off by Freddy hoping to get Kirsten back to help them, but they are too late. But when Kirsten finds a girl, Alice, she finds out that Alice has the same powers as she does. She has the ability to pull other people into her dreams and of course Alice is scared to find out how to use her powers, but she may just have to use them since Freddy is now after her and other kids too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master was a good enough sequel, but it just could have been better. I liked it, but so far it's not my top favorite sequel. Again, we've got some very cool deaths, don't think I could choose one, I think the water bed one was very cool. But once again, I don't wanna spoil it. Of course if you wanna see the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, this is recommended, but as a horror movie on it's own, it's OK.

6/10

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23 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
Freddy''s Funniest Film, 15 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

This doesn't have the well-known cast of the previous Nightmare 3 movie but the special effects are still good.....each very different and some of them very funny. They make this perhaps the most entertaining entry in the series.

Memorable scenes include a junkyard, a water bed, a classroom, faces in a pizza, a girl bench pressing and faces coming out of Freddy's flesh. The storyline, however, features its usual dumb and ridiculous theology and has its usual share of unlikable obnoxious teens. Their parents weren't pictured as any better, perhaps worse.

In fact, the kids and parents are so bad you wind up rooting for Freddy to do them in. Perhaps that's the idea!

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Well it ain't Dr. Seuss, 10 December 2007

Author: mattressman_pdl from Iowa, United States

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) directs Dream Master, the fourth entry in the franchise about a maniacal dreamstalker named Freddy Kruger. The entry is extremely passable and enjoyable.

The survivors of Dream Warriors are still haunted by memories of Freddy Kruger. But Freddy isn't quite dead as he picks up his glove and takes up where he left off...with vengeance. The only flaw in his plan: a shy outcast named Alice who harbors powers that will enable her to do battle with Kruger as she assumes qualities of past Freddy victims.

Although some of the more interesting characters are sacrificed first, the Nightmare franchise proves to be deeper and more original than any other slasher series around. Some inventive deaths and imagery on display as Robert Englund devours the scenery as Freddy.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Freddy Krueger Is Back, 30 March 2009

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Kristen Parker (Tuesday Knight), Roland Kincaid (Ken Sagoes) and Joey Crusel (Rodney Eastman) are having normal lives and studying in Springwood, Ohio, after defeating the evil Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Kristen is very close to her boyfriend Rick Johnson (Andras Jones) and his sister Alice (Lisa Wilcox) is her best friend. Kristen has a premonition with Freddy Krueger, who has resurrected and is chasing the trio of survivors of the Elm Street. When Freddy kills the three survivors, Kristen transfers her ability to draw other people to her dreams to Alice, and Freddy uses the power of the teenager to gather the souls of her school friends.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street art 4: The Dream Master" is a weak sequel to the classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Patricia Arquette, who performed Kristen Parker in the previous "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors", was pregnant and not able to film this sequel. The actress and musician Tuesday Knight that replaced Patricia Arquette recorded the song "Nightmare" used during the film's opening credits. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Hora do Pesadelo 4 – O Mestre dos Sonhos" ("The Hour of the Nightmare 4 – The Master of the Dreams")

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
"You Shouldn't Have Buried Me...I'm Not Dead.", 25 October 2003

Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

Freddy is resurrected - by flaming dog urine, believe it or not - and in short order manages to kill the three remaining Elm Street children. He then turns his attention to a new group of teenaged bozos, but faces opposition from a girl (Lisa Wilcox) who turns out to be a formidable opponent.

It was with this entry in the series that things changed, not necessarily for the better: Freddy Krueger, and the actor playing him (Robert Englund) became the full-fledged star instead of a supporting player. He became a lot less scary after being given too many lines (including some groan-inducing one-liners) and too many scenes (including some well-lit ones).

Reasonably entertaining; not the least of the Elm Street movies but missing the element of fear needed to make it truly succeed. It really is a lot more amusing than frightening.

Saved from being just average by excellent special effects - including a creative death scene for one poor girl (Brooke Theiss) as well as Freddy's "death" scene.

The short-lived "Nightmare" TV series debuted somewhere around this time.

6/10

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Deserves more than an average of 4,8/10, 26 April 2004

Author: juliensd

This is the first elm street film I saw and it fascinated me back then. Of course I was only 10 at that time but it still is great. The flick is not scary like the original, but is more grotesque. Robert Englund is excellent as Freddy Krueger because he enjoys playing that character. You always sense Krueger presence with his twisted nightmares. Dark humor is my taste and I always laugh when he pops his quotes: "You shouldnt have buried me; I'm not dead!" "Now how's that for a wet dream?" "Welcome to Wonderland, Alice!" There are a few things that blows; Patricia Arquette should have been recast as Kirsten Parker and the resurrection is a bit lame but then the S/F effects rocks, the director likes action scenes and the music is well above average for a 1998 film.

Definetly recommended

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9 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
NOES 4 commentary on the person who found it a bad movie., 21 July 2005

Author: Jessy Siemons from Belgium

I just think that this part of the NOES series, is just one of the best ever made. I mean , if he stayed only on Elmstreet for the 6 movies, it would get boring. I am just happy that his territory got bigger. And about the resurrection, so what? Haven't you seen the beginning of the movie? Kristen dreamed a lot of that house. And that's why Freddy got resurrected because Kristen BELIEVED that he wasn't dead. It gave him power. NOES 4 is a great movie, the special effects are fantastic and the storyline is OK. It's a classic of the horror movies! I hope that they will make more sequels. I mean , " A Nightmare on Elmstreet " was the beginning of a new epoch for the horror movies. So next time when you give comment on a movie, see it with your full eyes and a lot of attention before you make a comment.

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12 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
After Part 3, this is a let-down., 14 June 1999

Author: G.Spider

It's a pity that Wes Craven's initial idea for another sequel to his film, involving time travel in dreams, wasn't used. Instead of another Craven-directed masterpiece like Part 1 and Part 3 we get this gaudy pantomime instead. The makers of NOES 4 admitted that they designed and filmed all the special-effects sequences and then found some excuse to cement them together. It shows. Freddy is resurrected, though quite how is never explained. Wasn't it fire that killed him, not brought him back to life? Anyhow, he begins another killing spree. There are some interesting ideas - a narcissist being turned into a cockroach, an asthmatic having the air sucked out of her, but the whole thing lacks the tension and nightmarish qualities of the previous film. Early scenes involving the survivors from Part 3 hold promise, but when Freddy appears he's no more than a wise-cracking buffoon, and the ninja-style violence is pointless and unnecessary. The climax, if you can call it that, involves Freddy dying as a result of being shown his reflection. As there's no build-up to it at all it just stands out as an obvious excuse for another special-effects set-piece.

Overall, this film might provide entertainment, but it's just disappointing, badly-acted dross, the sort of thing you watch if you've nothing better to do.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
One of the best - highly imaginative!, 18 November 1999

Author: gridoon

"Nightmare on Elm Street 4" is one of the best entries in the series. Okay, the first is considered a classic, maybe because it had a feeling of poetic surrealism that is indeed lost here. But, come on, it is the FOURTH Freddy film, did you REALLY expect it to be scary? Freddy delivers indeed too many puns, however some of them actually hit the mark. After all, the quality of a slasher film doesn't depend exclusively on how "serious" and "vicious" the killer is - he was more serious in "Part 2", which was an embarrassment, he was less serious in "Part 3", which was an imaginative, entertaining film. As for "Part 4", it has way-above-average acting, a polished look (just compare it to some early "Friday The 13th" cheapies) and some gruesome, stunning visual effects. Above all, the movie exploits more possibilities about the links between reality and dreams than the "classic" original did. It is worth seeing.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Does not hold up well; one of the most disappointing films in the series, 1 July 2009
Author: Rents (Renty_Loves_Christmas) from London, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The series had had a pretty decent run up until this point. The original A Nightmare on Elm Street became an instant horror classic, catapulting Freddy Krueger into the public consciousness and making him a permanent fixture in pop culture and as a member of the "Unholy Three" of horror slashers, Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees being the other two. Freddy's Revenge was a strange film, more remembered for its homoeroticism than for the kills. Dream Warriors was an excellent return to form and remains one of the most beloved entries in the series. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, is an unfortunate misstep and a terrible followup.

This film can be credited as the one that turned Freddy Krueger from creepy horror slasher to "The Man With The Many One-Liners." Perhaps the jokes are somewhat funny, even endearing, during the first viewing, but they certainly don't hold up from the second onward. The whole film is a cringe inducing haven of clichés, and even the visuals aren't as top notch as they were in the previous entries. Renny Harlin (who is more remembered for his tumultuous marriage to Geena Davis than for his films, such as Deep Blue Sea) managed to make one hell of a lousy film, though this still isn't the absolute worst in the series.

The story follows Freddy as he seeks to kill the remaining Dream Warriors from the previous film, as well as a young woman who may know how to defeat him for good (Lisa Wilcox, who came back for the next installment). None of this is really exciting. This film has to be the most boring in the series, because nothing much happens other than the entire cast of characters running around and milling about wondering what to do to defeat the menace that haunts their dreams. Come on! What happened to the kickass state of being that made the previous film so damn fun? Have they all somewhat reverted into a vegetable state?

As you can see, this is quite the disappointing entry. If anything, it should be seen for one disturbing sequence involving a girl who is turned into a cockroach and then promptly stepped on.

Even if this film is an utter crapfest, at least it sported perhaps what is the most memorable death in the series, other than Johnny Depp's infamous kill in the original.

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