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Title: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - The Dream Child (2000) Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Erika Anderson (II), Valorie Armstrong, and Michael Ashton Director: Stephen Hopkins Rating: R (Restricted) Runtime: 90 minutes Avg. Score: 3 Submit Comment Hits: 19

Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - The Dream Child

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Comments for A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - The Dream Child

• Posted on 2008-06-20
  Another Freddy movie, another disappointment.
  
  The dream child has and interesting concept.
  Freddy reborn.
  To bad the script stinks, as does the acting.
  Good concept with failed execution, another Hollyweird cash in.
  Freddy is pretty much down the drain after this one.
  Not recommended.
  
  Score: 1
• Posted on 2008-04-02
  This is where they get really bad
  
  The beginning of the very worst of the franchise begins here. Some feel part two is the worst. But I feel different about that. NOES 5 The Dream Child is a very bad horror movie and is mildly entertaining.
  
  Lisa Wilcox returns as Alice and this time Freddy has a new way of entering her dreams. The new idea was clever but I just didn't dig this flick at all. They tried to merge large doses of the dark edge and the comedy. I found it funny when I was about 12 or 13. Now it's just too corny. After the very first torment and death scene, it just fell flat. The very low body count didn't help things either. The plot wasn't interesting and several long scenes just annoyed me.
  
  I felt Freddies return and defeat was cheesy and very weak. I really don't like this movie. But strap yourself in for a very long ride because they only got worst from here.
  Score: 2
• Posted on 2008-03-05
  It is a decent movie
  
  This entry into the NOES series is not even close to as good as my personal favorite, that being NOES 4. That being said, it remains a decent film. Greta is very attractive as the model girl, and Yvonne, the diver girl, looks great in a bathing suit.
  Score: 2
• Posted on 2007-12-17
  The Dream Child isn't a total failure, but it's mostly a dud
  
  After the previous 2 being such huge hits and The Dream Master being the highest grossing installment of the series (excluding Freddy Vs Jason), The Dream Child took a nosedive in the box office numbers; The Dream Child isn't the flop it's made out to be on a 6-million dollar budget the total gross was 19-million, but seeing as the previous part clocked in at 45-million, The Dream Child is seen as a failure. These franchises were running out of steam. 1989 saw all 3 major franchises have their lowest box office numbers as of that year.
  
  After becoming a homicidal bugs bunny, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child attempts to go back and create a darker atmosphere much like the first two in the series. But there are still plenty of comedic moments to be found in The Dream Child, but it is a little toned down overall. The main reason the comedy aspect is toned down is due to the fact the body count is quite low, which is bound to turn off some people. But rest assured when Freddy does kill somebody he has a wisecrack to make only this time it's really not funny.
  
  I think the biggest problem with The Dream Child is the movie was rushed. The original was a surprise hit and the 2nd while actually making more money wasn't well received and the 3rd part was the biggest surprise and was a massive hit, which led to New Line rushing the 4th part. Even though The Dream Master was rushed it served for a good time. The Dream Child was released August 11th of 1989. The Dream Master actually wasn't even a year old since it was released the 19th of August in 88.
  
  New Line Cinema would have been better off taking their time with this one instead of trying to cash in. The Dream Child wasn't terrible, but it clearly needed more work done. The first 2 were very dark with very little comedy and the 3rd and 4th stepped up the comedy angle and it seems the makers of The Dream Child were trying to do both. But this time around it just doesn't work at all.
  
  Apparently the first draft was written by John Skipp & Craig Spector, but they are only credited for the story only Leslie Bohem was credited as the writer. Leslie Bohem really was unable to bring much in the way of plot. The movie mostly focuses on the characters, which would be fine if their was a story for them. The mixture of comedy and horror doesn't work. The comedy really wasn't funny it seemed too forced; it seems like Leslie Bohem was trying to appeal to the fans that liked the darker Freddy, but also appeal to the fans that preferred the comedy. At least in the past 2 Freddy was funny. Here he really isn't.
  
  The script isn't a total failure though. The idea was decent, but needed a touch up. I guess I shouldn't say there wasn't a plot there was it just wasn't all that good and needed more work. The story was almost there, but not quite there yet. The characters are fairly decent, but aren't given much to do and suffer from being too clichéd. Mark played by Joe Seely is the typical geek and Yvonne played by Kelly Jo Minter is the typical unbelieving best friend both characters though were likeable. The death of Dan played by Danny Hassel though serves as a nice plot twist and at least adds to the story and isn't done for only shock value.
  
  The biggest problem with the script is really there was no mystery left to the Freddy character. This is the 5th part and most characters lose their mystery after the 1st part, if lucky you can keep some mystery in the 2nd, but after that we the audience identify with the villain too much and it gets harder to really have any fear. Even with a rewrite I'm sure The Dream Child would probably still be flawed. But more time was needed. Even though The Dream Master was rushed and even had to deal with a writers strike it still worked itself out. Freddy being able to get to Alice while she's awake by going through her unborn child had potential. But it just falls flat. There were some nice touches of drama dealing with Alice being pregnant and it adds to her character.
  
  Director Stephen Hopkins manages to make this better than it should have been, but The Dream Child was still lacking. The only thing this Improves on from The Dream Master is Hopkins attempts to create some suspense something the previous installment was lacking. I've found Hopkins to be uneven in his career. While he has made some decent movies his best work was for the TV show 24 during the first season, but TV is more writing than directing. While Hopkins is able to deliver a decent visual aspect, his scenes mostly lack any tension. Though I do like the gothic like feel the movie has going for it.
  
  The pacing is quite slow and never really gains much speed as the movie goes on. The first act moved at a slow, but solid pace, but after that it just moves too slowly. The lack of action is what really does this one in. With only 3 kill scenes in 90-minutues it can get boring. The original had 4 in 90-minutes, but worked great. But Hopkins and Bohem aren't Wes Craven. I'll give Hopkins credit for making this a little better than it should have been, but at the end of the day his scenes lack the suspense and excitement.
  
  Most fans seem to rate The Dream Child or Freddy's Revenge as the weakest of the series I think I might slightly prefer this one, but it's very hard to make an argument for why this one isn't the weakest link of the series. The Dream Child isn't a total failure, but it's mostly a dud. The only really solid thing the movie has going for it is Lisa Wilcox who delivers a solid performance despite not given much to work with. Without Wilcox this would be a total failure. I always liked Alice slightly more than Nancy, but Nancy had the better parts.
  
  Overall The Dream Child was a decent attempt, but it just doesn't work when all is said and done. Robert Englund is still giving it his all and he's still clearly having fun here, but not even Englund can really make this anything, but an average movie. Too bad this was Alice's last outing she deserved a much better movie.
  Score: 2
• Posted on 2007-10-11
  A sore dissapointment
  
  Freddy [Robert Englund] returns to haunt alice [Lisa Wilcox] and her friends once more. But this time, Alice is pregnant with a boy and Freddy is using her unborn son to haunt her. As this is all going on, Freddy continues his rampage on those around her and it's again up to Alice to find a way to stop Freddy. This is one of the worst movies in the series [Behind only Nightmare 2], Mainly because of the weak storyline. There is, However, A rather insightful subplot which involves Freddy's mother, Amanda Krueger. The film's gothic tone could've been very beneficial to this film [If it only went with a better story!]. The acting is bad and the movie seems as if it has no genuine thrills to offer and therefore, It runs out of steam very quickly. If you want a good Freddy movie, Look elsewhere! Followed by Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
  Score: 1