A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Synopsis
This fourth trip down Freddy Lane was the most successful at the box-office, but although it has some impressive visuals, it is mostly an empty film. Credit must go to the effects team for some fine work, but otherwise, this entry from the director of Cutthroat Island (Renny Harlin) is extremely weak. Roland Kincaid falls asleep and awakens in the Springwood junkyard, where his dog -- named Jason in a sad foreshadowing of the film's giggly tone -- pees fire on Freddy's grave. The pyro-urinary baptism causes Krueger (Robert Englund) to reassemble from bones outward in an admittedly impressive sequence. Predictably, Freddy guts Kincaid, then appears in Joey's waterbed as a naked pinup girl (Hope-Marie Carlton) before slicing him to ribbons. And so it goes. The film has a few interesting ideas kicking around, but no real identification points. This is a video game, not a movie, and the characters seem to exist only in order to move the film from one effects sequence to another. There is a lot to be said for special effects, and the ones here are extraordinary and vivid. However, the wonderfully grim mood and subtle performances of Chuck Russell's outstanding third entry in the series are gone, abandoned by Harlin in favor of a splashy, comic book approach which would, unfortunately, dominate the series' later installments.~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Full Credits
- Director:Renny Harlin,
- Writer:Wes Craven, William Kotzwinkle, Brian Helgeland, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat,
- Producer:Rachel Talalay, Robert Shaye,
- Cinematographer:
- Editor:Jack Tucker, Michael N. Knue, Chuck Weiss,
- Executive Producer:Stephen Diener, Sara Risher,
- Cast:Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Robert Englund, Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman, Lisa Wilcox, Danny Hassel,
- Associate Producer:Karen Koch,
- Assistant Editor:Harry Hitner,
- First Assistant Director:Mary Ellen Woods,
- Supervising Sound Editor:Hari Ryatt, Robert Fitzgerald,
- Script Supervisor:Annette Haywood-Carter,
- Boom Operator:Douglas J. Schulman,
- Location Manager:Mark Zetler,
- Production Coordinator:Eric McLeod,
- Property Master:Paul Byers,
- Set Dresser:Bradford Johnson,
- Sound Effects Editor:Ed Fassl, Ed Callahan, James Bryan, Fred Wasser,
- Costume Designer:Audrey M. Bansmer,
- Stunts:Rick Prieto, Danny Epper, Doc D. Charbonneau, Geoff Brewer, Lane Leavitt, Debby Porter, Maria R. Kelly, Paul M. Lane, Dean Raphael Ferrandini, Lisa McCullough, Debbie Lynn Ross, William R. Perry, Rick Kahana, Paula Moody, Kimberly L. Ryusaki, Noon Orsatti, Gregg Dandridge, Jennifer Watson-Johnston, John Sherrod,
- Production Design:Mick Strawn, C.J. Strawn,
- Screenplay:Brian Helgeland, Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat,
- Still Photographer:Gary Farr, Rory Flynn,
- Original Music Composer:Craig Safan,
- Stunt Coordinator:Rick Barker,
- Art Direction:Thomas A. O'Conor,
- Hairstylist:Jay Wellington,
- Assistant Makeup Artist:Laura Gorman,
- B Camera Operator:Krishna Rao,
- Key Grip:Phillip Tuck, Donne Daniels,
- Special Effects:Martin Becker,
- Dialogue Editor:Christine Danelski, Simon Coke, Linda Moss,
- Carpenter:Ella St. John Blakey,
- Foley Artist:Ellen Heuer, Dan O'Connell,
- Assistant Property Master:Jim Landis,
- Set Decoration:James R. Barrows,
- Casting:Annette Benson,
- Production Accountant:Dixie Jones,
- Special Effects Makeup Artist:Screaming Mad George,
- Characters:Wes Craven,
- Post Production Supervisor:Joe Fineman,
- Assistant Location Manager:Lisa W. Strout,
- Music Editor:Earl Ghaffari,
- Foley Mixer:Dean Drabin,
- Transportation Coordinator:Griff Ruggles,
- Assistant Sound Editor:Bobbi Banks,
- ADR Editor:Earl Watson, Barbara Barnaby, Bruce Stubblefield,
- Key Makeup Artist:Suzanne Parker Sanders,
- Gaffer:Bruce McCleery,
- Special Sound Effects:Joel Valentine,
- Production Manager:Karen Koch,
- Unit Publicist:Andy Marx,
- Story by:William Kotzwinkle, Brian Helgeland,
- Steadicam Operator:Jeff Mart,
- Title Designer:Dan Perri,
- Production Executive:Michael De Luca,
- Driver:Ronald Stinton,
- Production Supervisor:Deborah Moore,
- Grip:Cobie Fair,
- Assistant Art Director:Rebecca Carriaga,
Technical specifications
- Rating:R
- Country:United Kingdom, United States
- Language:English
- Release:August 19, 1988
- Duration:99 min
- Genres:Horror, SciFi/Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller