Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘How sweet... fresh meat!’
- Freddy Krueger

Good versus evil. It is a theme that has been with us since perhaps the dawn of man. And it is one that is so powerful and so dynamic, that it more or less formed the ideological structure of modern mankind. Since we truly believe that good must triumph over evil, and that darkness must be conquered before it can be spread. In fact, this concept has such powerful roots in our everyday lives, that it has also managed to find its way in our finest stories as well.

Because the endless potential of how good and evil interact and conquer one another is something that has ignited the imaginations of storytellers for ages on end, and one genre in particular is the perfect place to explore the nuances of this eternal battle. Because there is something quite fascinating about seeing evil in an unfettered fashion in horror films and it is equally as satisfying to see it be beaten into submission, and it just so happens that this 'eternal struggle', even found its way into the slasher sub-genre back in the 1980s. Since a subtle variation on this theme was woven into the fabric of the biggest film in the Elm Street franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. 

There is peace in Springwood once again. Freddy Krueger has finally been defeated and life has returned to normal. But not for Kristen Parker. For she is still haunted by the events at Westin Hills and she keeps returning to Freddy's old haunts in her dreams, despite the fact he is never there, simply because she is terrified of the possibility of his return. And unfortunately, her worries and concerns are exactly what Freddy needs to pull himself back from the netherworld and go after Springwood’s children once again. Which means that once more, these intrepid teens are going to be locked in a life and death chess game with a monster that relishes in murder. But one of these teens, named Alice, may possess a special gift that will allow for Freddy to meet his match and his maker, at last.

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​So, how exactly does the good versus evil theme relate to a film about a former child murderer that haunts dreams? Because of the fact that Freddy never quite seems to die in these motion pictures. Because no matter how often they ‘kill’ him, the fear of Krueger, and the threat of what he is and what he does is what keeps him alive. Which makes him an evil, immovable force that is always hiding and lurking and for this film, Alice represents the eternal good and innocence of the world that will have to face off against the darkness. Which is a surprisingly cerebral theme to find in a film that seems so simple.  

I say that, simply because this was the flashiest Freddy film of them all. For Renny Harlin, who would go on to direct Die Hard 2, was the man behind the camera for this particular chapter in Freddy’s nightmares, and his work gave this motion picture a big budget look and feel that the franchise never replicated. Plus, it also featured top notch special effects from that hold up well to this day, and it honestly makes sense as to why we really didn’t see that kind of work replicated in future films in this franchise. Mainly because, turning someone into a giant cockroach a la The Fly and creating twisted little meatballs that scream for Freddy to feast upon, takes away from the burned man of the hour, and that’s a problem when he is supposed to be the real focus of every kill.  
 
But another solid reason as to why this movie shifted away from special effects and flashy moments, is that, focusing heavily on those elements, basically removed any semblance of terror from the story. For The Dream Master is one of the few Elm Street motion pictures that is light on the scares. But, it's still an awesome ride. For Freddy is as cool as ever and the movie is an absolute blast and despite the lack of scares, I do give the filmmakers credit for doing something that is super hard to do when it comes to horror and a franchise like this. Because they made Freddy accessible and while this film was full of enjoyable moments, the franchise would face darker days after this one.  

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