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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Play trailer Poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master R Released Aug 19, 1988 1h 33m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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55% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Grotesque Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) gives some more suburban teenagers something to dream about.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

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Critics Consensus

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master marks a relative high point in this franchise's bumpy creative journey, although the original remains far superior.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" is by far the best of the series, a superior horror picture that balances wit and gore with imagination and intelligence. Oct 5, 2018 Full Review Karen Krizanovich Empire Magazine Surprisingly watchable for the third sequel and despite its general predictability it's entertainingly inventive. Rated: 3/5 Apr 5, 2010 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Consistently watchable and inventive. Apr 5, 2010 Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh The embrace of inherent absurdity might have worked for the last installment, but it doesn't work here, as it doubles down on anything even remotely horrific in the promising franchise. Rated: 1/5 Sep 11, 2025 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times Marlin puts a fresh spin on the recurring nightmare cliché and there's a marvellous scene where Wilcox is flung into the on-screen action from a cinema balcony. Rated: 3/5 May 23, 2025 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Director Renny Harlin can only do so much with a frequently silly story that finds Freddy brought back from the dead by, uh, fiery dog piss. Rated: 2/4 Oct 20, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Munchie A Dream Master is tied for second best sequel with #3 and is the second movie of the Dream Warriors arc. This one is more polished, has better effects, and creative cinematography. A really good entry in the series. If you had to watch only three Freddy movies watch 1, 3, and 4. They all tie together nicely. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/13/25 Full Review Khaliel P Following the success of the third film, The Dream Master arrived less than a year later, written in just a week and shot in two months. Picking up directly after Dream Warriors, it awkwardly replaces Patricia Arquette’s Kristen with Tuesday Knight, confusing viewers since her name is never mentioned. Freddy returns through one of the franchise’s silliest resurrections—a dog literally urinates fire on his skeleton—before using Kristen’s successor, Alice (Lisa Wilcox), as a gateway to more victims. Yet Alice proves unique, inheriting the abilities of her fallen friends and growing stronger with each death. From here, the series rests almost entirely on Robert Englund, whose sarcastic, quip-filled Freddy dominates the screen. While unintentionally campy, The Dream Master works thanks to Englund’s performance and the dark humor that would become the character’s trademark. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/21/25 Full Review Joshua H. I was surprised by how much I like this one! Fun and action packed with a very cool death for Freddy Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/06/25 Full Review Jason H This isn't the best of the series, but it's my favorite. I'm almost embarrassed by the amount of times I've seen it. Action packed, with some amazing effects. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/30/25 Full Review Kasondra S Action packed, on the edge of your seat thriller. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/09/25 Full Review Jean R Its pretty good not that fun though if I remember correctly I like all the kills in this movie definitely that bug one super gross i love it Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/02/25 Full Review Read all reviews
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

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Cast & Crew

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Renny Harlin

Director

Robert Englund

Freddy Krueger

Lisa Wilcox

Alice Johnson

Rodney Eastman

Joey Crusel

Danny Hassel

Dan Jordan

Andras Jones

Rick Johnson

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

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Movie Info

Synopsis Grotesque Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) gives some more suburban teenagers something to dream about.
Director
Renny Harlin
Producer
Robert Shaye, Rachel Talalay
Distributor
Image Entertainment Inc., New Line Cinema, Media Home Entertainment
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 19, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$49.3M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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