A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Dream Child | | Cast : | Robert Englund | | Director : | Stephen Hopkins | | Studio : | New Line Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 11, 1989 | | DVD Released Date : | August 22, 2000 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 18, 2005 | | Summary | "Told ya comicbooks was bad for ya!" | Content
 | Yep,and that's what i was thinking while watching this movie. Just a big comicbook. And i'm not talking about Batman or the Punisher, no i'm talking about Archie and Jughead. Freddy's way too much of a comedian in this movie! I like a little humor now and then but jeez! When people think Freddy they're supposed to hide under their bedsheets not burst out in hysterical laughter and tell you how good of pals they are with him. That's the films major downfall. It's not in any way terrifying! But we have to commend Robert Englund for yet another stellar performance as our favorite fear-loving anti-hero. Hey, atleast it was better than Halloween and Friday the 13th part 5! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | A TOTAL JOKE!! | Content
| Unfortunately, like all extended sequels sooner or later, the horror movie series of "Nightmare on Elm Street" became a total joke by the time the fifth movie was introduced. I think that the critical viewer will notice a sad and unfortunate progression of cheesey comedy associated with Freddy that slowly but surely made its way into the series by the time part 4 came around...part 5 is just as bad and in fact, I would argue that the extreme scenes involving the breadth of Freddy's so called powers become quite ridiculous. It's one thing to have a little bit of extreme and radically wild Freddy scenes, but it's another to show this kind of thing exclusively...the result is a diminishing prowess of one of the greatest horror villains of all-time...what a shame. In other words, the orignal "NOES" showed a horrifying and formidable Freddy of great prowess as a horror movie villain, but this movie portrays Freddy more as a joke than anything else. Basically, Kristen kicks Freddy's ass in this movie! Don't buy this trash...stick with parts 1-3, the best of the series. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 03, 2005 | | Summary | A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) | Content
| In 1989, director Stephen Hopkins had decided that it was time for another installment to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. This fifth installment is entitled, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD.
After defeating Freddy in the fourth film, ALICE JOHNSON (again played by Lisa Wilcox) has lived her life happy, although it was tough without her brother, Rick. But Alice has been in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend, DAN JORDAN (again played by DANNY HASSEL), while her father, DENNIS JOHNSON (again played by Nicolas Mele) is seeking help for his alcoholism problem, by going to the AA meetings. The night before their high school graduation, Alice and Dan...sleep with each other.
Alice gets out of bed and jumps in the shower. But the weird thing is, Freddy Krueger sh*t starts happening. The drain to the shower clogs, the water pressure becomes more powerful, filling up the shower. The door opens and Alice is pushed right out. She finds herself in the asylum, where AMANDA KRUEGER (played by Beatrice Boepple) became impregnated with Freddy. The room is full of the 100 hundred maniacs, who raped Amanda. Alice finds herself dressed as a nun, with Amanda's name tag. The staff leaves her there, with the maniacs' eyes starring at her, crucial and hungry for sex. As they reach for her, Alice wakes up, next to Dan. But Dan turns into one of the maniacs. But Alice realizes she is safe at home.
It's Graduation Day. Alice and Dan have graduated with a new batch of friends: GRETA GIBSON (played by Erika Anderson), YVONNE (played by Kelly Jo Minter), & MARK GREY (played by Joe Hurly). They talk about having a pool party, where Yyvonne practices her diving. Yvonne likes the idea, since she'll be the one closing up for the night. Alice can't make it because she has to work.
Dan pulls her aside where he tells her that he has a trip planned for the two of them to Paris for the summer. Dan's parents pull him aside about a scholarship because of his athletic abilities, leaving Alice to herself, wondering her father is. Her father did show up, but didn't want to embarass her.
While on her way to work, Alice slips into a dreamstate, where she being wheeled into a delivery room. As she screams, she looks past the doctors and finds herself standing with the doctors. On the gurney is Amanda Krueger, readying the birth of Freddy. Freddy is born. The disfigured little creature enters the Chapel, where Alice had defeated Freddy before. He finds the clothing and fits right in. FREDDY KRUEGER (again played by Robert Englund) has returned once again. Amanda stands at the doors, trying to Alice how to defeat him again, but Freddy shuts her out. Alice finds herself at the diner, four hours late. Alice had a nightmare, Freddy's back. But how? Alice was not asleep. She calls Dan at the pool place, where he is having a good time with Greta, Mark, and Yvonne.
Dan gets the call and sets out on his way, where he falls asleep and dreams of Freddy. He crashes though his truck, back into the pool area. He finds a bike, where he is then killed. The truck crashes outside the diner, where Alice passes out. She wakes up in a hospital, where Yvonne works as a Candystriper. She gives the news to Alice, with the support of Alice's father and Dan's parents, that Dan is dead and that Alice is pregnant with Dan's child.
Greta is next in line, where Freddy shoves food into her mouth and chokes her to death. Mark had really liked Greta. Over the next day, Alice continues to see weird things. She goes to the hospital to have Yvonne and her boss perform an ultra sound, to see if her baby is okay. She has been having dreams of her baby, being a few years older. The kid's name is JACOB (played by Whit Hertford). Alice and Mark try hard to explain to Yvonne how true this is, since Mark had dreamt of him two, after Alice accidentally pulled him in. Yvonne storms out, in disbelief, thinking her closest friends are more than just insane.
Yvonne is out for her diving practices. She goes to loosen up first in the jakozee, where she nods off and dreams of Freddy. At that moment, Alice is in the dream as well. She is about to find Amanda's resting place, where Amanda had killed herself and is imprisoned in that spot of her suicide. But Freddy distracts her by using Yvonne. Alice pulls Yvonne away and the two are safe, where Yvonne finally believes Alice. At that moment, Freddy invades Marks dreams and kills him off.
Alice is outside of Mark's house, where the police and paramedics are chomping around. Yvonne pulls up, where Alice tells her to go to the tower in their dream and free Amanda Krueger. Yvonne sets out on her way, as Mr. Johnson takes Alice home. Alice falls asleep, ready to battle Freddy one last time. She finds Jacob, who she now realizes is her kid when he reaches that age. She battles Freddy, but seems to be losing. Yvonne frees Amanda's soul. Amanda now appears in Alice's dream and helps her stop Freddy once and for all. Alice has done it again. Nine months had passed and Alice is now a mommy of little Jacob Daniel Johnson-Jordan.
I was a little lost at times, while watching this one, but this sequel is one hell of a follow-up. It doesn't quite fit in because of how comical it was, but this fifth installment is more than just worthy. Weird and strange, but worthy. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 23, 2005 | | Summary | Somewhat pathetic sequel to great long running series | Content
| A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child is the fifth installment in the series, and let me tell you it is considered by most to be the worst in the long runnin NOES horror saga. The film involves the Child Murderer turned Demonic Killer, Freddy Kreuger, wants to be reborn again into the real world not to long after being defeated in NOES 4: The Dream Master. He's using the dreams of Alice' (the heroine of the previous film) unborn baby to be reborn again to into the real world. It's up to Kreuger's mother to stop him before this happens, and all hell breaks loose again. The film is to dark, there's only kills in the entire film, and Freddy is not terrifying or even slightly scary, in fact he really sucks in this one.
Freddy has made the a complete transistion from being the most Sadistic and evil villian of time, to being a wise-ass comedian in this film. You should see the death sequences in this film, their ridiculous, there not even funny, and the one-liners are beyond idiotic. I think Steven Hopkins, is a great director, I mean directed Predator, which is spectacular SciFi/Action/Horror movies, but suddenly like a year later he directs this garbage, come on Hopkins. There are three ridiculous not-funny death sequences in this film; one involves a wealthy white girl who is this very fancy upscale dinner party event, what she realize though is that one waiters, Fred is actually Freddy Krueger in disguise, she ends up getting her own guts feed to her, and chokes to death, that scene is disgusting, it's not funny, and not scary. Another involves a Alice's boyfriend Dan, who gets his body merged with a motorcycle, not scary, and not funny either, just ridiculous. The last death in the movie is Freddy kills a young man, putting him in a comic book, and then slashing it, the writer of this film expects that to be funny, well it's not. Here's my rating of the worst NOES sequel.
PLOT: The plot actually pretty good, and it's really the only thing I like and find interesting about this film. NOES 5, is one of the most dramatic films in the series, but it doesn't come close to the Dream Master, or Dream Warriors. 7/10
GORE: Not very much gore at all in this Film, if any gore at all. Freddy is much more of a pervert in this film, instead of being a sadistic ,terrifying ,dark ,demonic ,horror slasher murderer, like he was in the previous entries. His kills in this film are not entertaining, their disgusting, and downright lame.
3/10
BODY COUNT: Lowest in the series, Freddy only kills three victims, in this film, did I mention this film really sucks. 2/10
NUDITY: There is no nudity in this film
OVERALL RATING: 5/10
Not a great rating for a NOES film, but that's what this film deserves, it sucks, am no saying Steven Hopkins is bad director, he's not, but he should have done a different not this one. Really don't buy this film, unless you planning to collect the whole NOES series, because this film is not worth your money, it's the worst film in the series, by far. If want a really want and entertaining Freddy film, and worth your money by Dream Warriors, The Dream Master, The Original Nightmare on Elm Street, or New Nightmare, these are the best Freddy films. The picture quality of this film is excellent, of course, and so is the sound. This is the worst entry in the series, PERIOD. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 15, 2005 | | Summary | A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (Three and a Half Stars) | Content
| This review refers to the edition found in New Line Cinema's "The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection" boxed set.
THE WHO'S WHO: Starring Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Kelly Jo Minter, Danny Hassel, Erika Anderson, Nick Mele, Joe Seely, Valorie Armstrong, Burr DeBenning, Clarence Felder, Ted Nugent, George P. Wilbur (Stunts). Score Composed By Jay Ferguson. Co-Produced By Robert Shaye. Directed By Stephen Hopkins. (R) For Mild Violence, Very Mild Gore, Profanity, Brief Nudity and Very Mild Sexual Content; 89m.; 1989.
WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?: Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox) thought she had rid Springwood of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) for good after their climactic showdown in the abandoned dream church. But now the dreams have started to come back, although they've taken a new form. Alice is surprised to find she doesn't have to be asleep to witness the rebirth of Freddy. It seems that Freddy has invaded the dreams of her unborn child. Now, almost completely defenseless, Alice and her newly graduated friends have to face the terror and find a way to ensure Freddy won't harm anyone else. While this is a good entry into the long running series, things did begin to fall apart. Robert Englund returns to the role he made famous and it's clear he still relishes portraying Freddy. He's seen once again without the Krueger make-up as well, this time as one of the asylum inmates in Alice's first dream. The new teenaged cast members play their parts admirably, but they can't hold a candle to the ones from either "Nightmare 3" or "Nightmare 4". Erika Anderson seems a bit distracted in her role as Greta Gibson. Kelly Jo Minter doesn't have the screen presence or the acting chops to successfully play such a pivotal role as Yvonne. She's just not believable enough as Alice's best friend and confidant (although she does fill out a swimsuit quite nicely). Joe Seely is the best of the new bunch, playing the half sarcastic, half sweet comic book artist Mark. Other new cast members include Beatrice Boepple as a young Amanda Krueger, but she's nowhere near as convincing in the role as Nan Martin was as the aged Amanda in "Nightmare 3". It's unfortunate that such a bland actress plays such an integral part in this film's bizarre finale. Then there's the youngster of the group, child actor Whitby Hertford, who plays Alice's unborn son Jacob. He turns in a fine performance but other child actors have shown much more promise, including Miko Hughes who would play Heather Langenkamp's son in "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" five years later. Returning actor Danny Hassel hasn't grown in his role of Dan Jordan which leaves the viewer feeling a little cheated when compared to Lisa Wilcox's brave, deepening understanding of her character Alice. Another hindrance to the film are the death scenes. There seem to be fewer of them and they're spaced dramatically farther apart than they were in previous "Nightmare" movies. They're too over-the-top to be fully enjoyable, ostensibly the filmmakers were trying to out-do previous entries and weren't concentrating on creating solid entertainment. One death scene, however, is a great mock-up of "Nightmare 4"'s comic book approach to the series. The specific death scene actually transports one of the teenagers into a real life black and white comic book. A final drawback to the film are the overly symbolic sets and the lack of Freddy's innate brutality. Too many religious and birth-related designs and an exceedingly talkative Freddy hurt "Nightmare 5" more than anything else, but at least it doesn't denigrate itself to the level of "Freddy's Revenge". On the plus side, Jay Ferguson delivers a wonderful score that remains true to the dark underpinnings of its source material and Stephen Hopkins' direction keeps things at a brisk pace. Trivia buffs take note: there are two noteworthy happenings in Mark's room over the course of the movie. The first one finds the camera passing a television which is showing an interview program. One of the people waiting to be interviewed is rock star Ted Nugent. The other occurrence arrives when the camera pans across a line of comic books on the floor, which create a trail leading to a stretched out Mark. Look very closely and you'll see that one of the comic books has a fiery orange cover with a brown monstrosity on it. It appears to have been the inspiration for the "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" video cover. Overall, this sequel weakens under its attempts to be bigger and better than its two predecessors. Fortunately, there are still enough stylish moments to warrant a few repeat viewings and true Freddy fans will relish the opportunity to see their favorite slasher hacking his way through another sequel.
THEY SAY THEY'RE SPECIAL BUT...: As with other entries in New Line's "Nightmare on Elm Street Collection" boxed set, this film has a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer. This one is a bit darker than its predecessor, but that doesn't make it any less clear or enjoyable. Though slight remnants of grain appear from time to time, the cumulative effect is stunning. The color tones for this film are more reminiscent of those used in "Nightmare 3" which adds to the artistry of the film. The accompanying 5.1 surround sound is less veracious than the classic "Nightmare 4" surround sound. Instead of being all encompassing, it feels more like an afterthought. Its booming tension seems to have very little resonance, serving only to deafen rather than define. This disc also includes the original stereo audio track for the film and easy to read English subtitles which are placed within the frame of the movie. New Line had an affinity for paper cases in the early years of DVD and this title is no exception. The front cover is a miniature version of the original theatrical poster. The rest of the case is devoid of any artwork. The inside of this case displays a list of the special features and the twenty-three chapter stops for this ninety minute movie. The DVD itself has been painted with a backlit photograph of Freddy Krueger holding up his razor-tipped glove. Special features include the now standard "Jump to a Nightmare" option. There's also an in-depth cast and crew section taken from the original theatrical press kit. DVD-ROM users are also treated to an interactive screenplay, the fifth installment in the "Dream World" trivia game and up-to-the-minute weblinks.
THE YOLK'S ON YOU: New Line Cinema has packed their boxed set so well that they don't need to place hidden easter eggs on the separate discs. You're more likely to survive a reading of the "Nightmare From Hell" comic book than you are of finding easter eggs on this one.
THE LEWD AND NUDE ALERT: In the opening moments of this film, we are treated to Alice Johnson's character nude behind a glass shower door (which partially obstructs the view). Unfortunately, the body doesn't belong to beautiful Lisa Wilcox, only to good-looking body doubles. Although, fans of Lisa's beautiful buns will be pleased to see she spends the majority of the film in tight fitting jeans with ample camera angles devoted to displaying her delectable derriere.
THE GORE REPORT: In an early dream sequence from the film, Freddy uses some bad champagne to burn his arm off. He then uses that detached limb as a seatbelt in Dan Jordan's truck. To go along with that fairly gory moment, there are only three potentially intriguing death scenes. Sadly, they're all overblown and don't feature anything that would qualify as substantial gore.
SAY AGAIN: "It's a boy!" - Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) upon being reborn.
THE FINAL SAY: Yes, I recommend buying this DVD. As a part of the "Nightmare on Elm Street Collection" boxed set, it's a welcome addition. Separately, there's still enough titillation for horror fans to get their rocks off. While it will never equal the legacy of the original film (or parts three and four), this is still a valid entry in the series.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM: "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" Performed By Bruce Dickinson. "Heaven in the Back Seat" Performed By Romeo's Daughter. "Can't Take the Hurt" Performed By Mammoth. "Savage" Performed By W.A.S.P. "Now I Lay Me Down" Performed By Samantha Fox. "Let's Go" Performed By Kool Moe Dee. "Word Up Doc!" Performed By Doctor Ice. "Livin' in the Jungle" Performed By Schoolly D. Soundtrack Available on Jive Compact Discs, Cassettes and Records. Score Available on Varese Sarabande Compact Discs, Cassettes and Records. |
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