All franchises reach the point where they run out of steam. It might be the first sequel (Ghostbusters II), or the sixth in the series (Saw VI), but at some point the loyal mass audience that kept a franchise alive will realise they've seen this shit before, and abandon the latest sequel. That's what you have in the case of A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 - The Dream Child, a movie that tries to desperately convince you that it has something new to show you, and a compelling story to tell...but it's really just doing the same old shit.
It doesn't do everything wrong. Robert England's on cracking form as Kruger and the producers wisely bring back the surviving cast members of Part 4, thus providing a sense of continuity and an upping of the stakes, as we're emotionally invested in those characters already. Just like the hiring of Chuck Russell and Renny Harlin for the previous movies, Stephen (Predator 2) Hopkins is snared to bring a now mandatory MTV flair to proceedings.
But the film has several major flaws. Hopkins, although constantly inventive, is perhaps too distracted by the effects and photography to bother about the characters. So it ends up looking arguably the most stylish of the series, yet the audience feels distant and detached from the plight of the teen heroes. And story wise, it's a bit of a let down. It's the first Elm Street movie that feels like a Friday 13th feature; monster finds a cunning way to resurrect itself, goes on a murder spree, then is killed once again by another devilishly inventive plan. It's adds nothing new to the mix...it's just rehashing the predictable formula. The ending too, is a let down, as heroine Alice, her dreaming, unborn child(!!!) and the spirit of Freddy's Nun Mommy team up to entrap the dream monster. Frankly, I have no idea what was going on.
A good film to look at, but one that is quite difficult to watch in one sitting as it has the least engaging plot of the franchise so far. I say, "so far", as the next franchise entry was Freddy's Revenge....
1 comment:
Watched this one a week or so ago. It was the first time since seeing it in the cinema back in '89.
ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD is not great and all your criticisms do indeed stand up.
BUT...kudos to Stephen Hopkins for making what is arguably the most visually interesting of the ELM STREET movies. It's full of weird shot compostions and dutch angles and has nicely dark, moody photgraphy with some decidedly gothic/German Expressionist imagery. Plus I'm a fan of Lisa Wilcox's Alice and it is good to see her given another go here. She is by far the best lead and hero of this franchise. I like how she really does win in the end. And seeing as how she doesn't feature in any more of the films, I like to think she gets to live happily ever after.
So, no, THE DREAM CHILD ain't great, but it's an interesting failure where they were at least trying to do something weird and creative.
I watched ELM STREET 6: FREDDY'S DEAD on Sunday. Jesus H Christ! Now THAT is a complete and utter piece of shit. By comparison it makes THE DREAM CHILD look like CITIZEN KANE.
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