Matt’s Walk Down Elm Street #4
Dream Master
Written By: Matt Parks
October 4, 2017
October 4, 2017
Dream Master
Written By: Matt Parks
October 4, 2017
October 4, 2017
Out of all of the reviews I’ve written on Freddy’s reign of terror, this film will be the hardest to cover. Other than a few wild deaths, Dream Master really doesn’t have much going for it. It’s not as bad as Freddy Vs. Jason, but it really isn’t good at all. I hate to open a review with such negative views, but this movie is just plain bad. However, as your humble reviewer, I shall do what I can to make this as interesting as possible.
Kristen Parker returns to this film from Dream Warriors however Patricia Arquette does not return to play her. The characters of Joey and Kincaid both return, they’re written to be a lot ruder and obnoxious so that you don’t miss them when they bite the dust ten minutes in. It’s really a shame because both of them were so likable in Dream Warriors, and dispatching them so soon is really a kick in the nuts to people who liked the predecessor. Pretty glaring inconsistency in Joey’s death. When he dies, we see him shirtless, and the words “Come and get him, bitch” aren’t scarred into his chest from Dream Warriors, but whatever.
Kristen Parker returns to this film from Dream Warriors however Patricia Arquette does not return to play her. The characters of Joey and Kincaid both return, they’re written to be a lot ruder and obnoxious so that you don’t miss them when they bite the dust ten minutes in. It’s really a shame because both of them were so likable in Dream Warriors, and dispatching them so soon is really a kick in the nuts to people who liked the predecessor. Pretty glaring inconsistency in Joey’s death. When he dies, we see him shirtless, and the words “Come and get him, bitch” aren’t scarred into his chest from Dream Warriors, but whatever.
Kristen Parker also dies continuing the trend of killing of the predecessor’s final girl to be replaced by a new one. The new edition is Alice, a shy quiet girl.
Written By: Matt Parks
September 1, 2017
When Kristen dies, Alice learns that she has taken Kristen’s smoking habit. She realizes it in a weird scene where she pulls out a cigarette to smoke, but realizes she doesn’t smoke. It begs the question: if she doesn’t smoke why does she keep cigarettes on her? It was just a strange scene that I thought was worth bringing up. Along with Alice is a new cast of characters that Kristen had befriended before getting Freddied, Sheila Kopecky, a nerd with asthma and Debbie Stevens who works out and acts tough. She also hates bugs. Kristen is dating Rick Johnson who is Alice’s brother. The characters in this movie are paper thin, and they only have traits so that Freddy can kill them based on them. Debbie hates bugs and exercises, so she turns into a cockroach, Sheila has asthma so Freddy sucks the air out of her.
What is mildly interesting is as each character dies, Alice inherits any abilities that they had. Her boyfriend did martial arts, so naturally she became the Karate Kid. She gains Sheila’s brains, and Debbie’s “toughness”. This comes into play in the final fight between Freddy and her, but before we get into that, let’s talk about the plot.
As previously stated, it returns with Kristen and other characters from Dream Warriors, but they kill them instantly, so it seems pandering. We meet Alice who is quiet and shy, and we are introduced to a nursery rhyme called The Dream Master. Freddy is back (because when isn’t Freddy back), and now he’s just doing it to kill kids. Freddy imprisons souls to become more powerful, and at this point the revenge plot is gone because all of the descendants of the people who killed him are dead. Now he’s just blood thirsty, which makes sense from a character point of view, but doesn’t explain why he’s still around when he’s served his purpose as a ghost. Damn, I’m really nitpicking. Essentially, Alice gains abilities as her friends start dying, and becomes strong enough to take him on head to head. The movie ends in a battle between the two which is written and directed like the finale of every cheesy 80’s action movie ever. She dresses up and prepares in a montage set to action music. She gets in a martial arts style action sequence with Freddy, and she finishes him off by quoting The Dream Master. Freddy is dead… Just kidding he’ll be back for that good sequel money… I mean murder or whatever.
There really wasn’t much to cover with this movie. It’s not entertainingly awful like Freddy’s Revenge, it’s not conceptually intriguing like Dream Warriors, and obviously doesn’t touch the original at all in quality. Dream Master is bland, silly, and generally boring. Out of the canonical sequels of the movie, it’s probably the least interesting. It’s the definition of a conveyor belt horror sequel. Nightmare 4 gets a 4/10.
There really wasn’t much to cover with this movie. It’s not entertainingly awful like Freddy’s Revenge, it’s not conceptually intriguing like Dream Warriors, and obviously doesn’t touch the original at all in quality. Dream Master is bland, silly, and generally boring. Out of the canonical sequels of the movie, it’s probably the least interesting. It’s the definition of a conveyor belt horror sequel. Nightmare 4 gets a 4/10.