|
 ranted, the phrase, "Man, that just doesn't make
sense" seems to go hand in hand with a horror franchise about a
supernatural killer that haunts and then slaughters teens in their dreams. Then
again, while the previous 3 "A Nightmare on Elm Street" installments
didn't exactly follow logic to the letter, there was a sense that they
knew their own rules. (With, of course, the exception of the Anomaly, aka Part
2.) "NOES 4: The Dream Master" has Renny Harlin at the helm, and the
man who would go on to do "Die Hard 2" and "Deep Blue Sea"
brings a wealth of style to the installment. Unfortunately style is all he
brings, since "NOES 4" is basically devoid of any sort of logic. And
yes, I dare make note of the lapse of logic even in this outlandish horror
franchise.
Although Freddy was supposedly "killed off" at
the end of "NOES 3", apparently all it takes to resurrect the mass
killer is dog urine. Yes, I kid you not. Early on in "NOES 4" a dog
name Jason urinates on the grave of Freddy, last seen buried in the car junkyard
where his bones were re-located. (Gee, was naming the dog "Jason" a
stab at the "Friday
the 13th" franchise? Heh heh, I said
"stab".) Now resurrected by miracle of dog urine (in a dream, no
less), Freddy returns for revenge. In short order, Kristen, Kincaid, and Joey
are dispatched, making room for new Fair Hair Lead Alice (Lisa Wilcox) to step
up to the chopping block. (Oooh, first "stab" and now "chopping
black". My genius astounds even me.)
You see, before Kristen met her untimely (and rather lame)
end, she "transferred" her "dream pulling" powers (I guess
you'd call it) to timid Alice. Frumpy and shy, highschooler Alice is prone to
daydreaming, especially about hunky jock Dan (Danny Hassel), who is friends with
her kung fu obsessed brother Rick (Andras Jones). Rick is also the boyfriend of
Freddy survivor Kristen (now played by Tuesday Knight, taking over for the
non-returning Patricia Arquette; although the other original actors from "NOES 3"
do return as Kincaid and Joey). With the last of the Elm Street kids dead, Freddy
now needs new victims. He uses Alice as a vessel to "pull" her friends
into her dreams, thus allowing Freddy access to them. Man, being Alice's friend
sure sucks.
With five dead teens to its credit, "NOES 4" may
actually be the bloodiest installment in the series yet. Despite common belief,
the series has never really had an impressive bodycount. Compared to a single
installment of any of the other Teen Slasher franchises, the
"Nightmare" franchise looks almost tame. Aside from the five dead
teens, "NOES 4" is noticeably more creative in its Freddy slayings,
although less frightening in every respect. Then again, since the writers
probably spent most of their time thinking of cool ways for Freddy to claim his
victims, "horror" doesn't get much attention here.
It should also be noted that subtlety doesn't exist in the
"NOES" series, and whenever you see or hear a background character
mention a fear of -- or an obsession with -- something, that's usually how
they'll end up dead. It's called foreshadowing, and in this particular
franchise, that particular literary technique is as subtle as Freddy's well-worn
black and red sweater.
The writers credited with this special effects-laden sequel
are Brian Helgeland ("Payback") and the Wheat brothers, Jim and Ken,
who would go on to write "Pitch
Black", among others. Director Renny Harlin hits the screen with loud
'80s pop music (the film was made in 1988) and gaudy clothing and hairstyle.
(Then again, everything in the '80s was gaudy.) With Craven once again out of
the picture, "NOES 4" brings a lot of the elements from the previous
sequel, but of course the writers are forced to find yet another way to
"kill" Freddy. This time it involves showing him his own face via
broken glass. And what gave our heroine this particular inspiration? Why, a
child's rhyme about -- drum roll, please -- The Dream Master!
And yes, "NOES 4" really is as silly as it
sounds. Gone are the scares, or even the attempts at scaring the audience. It's
all about flash, inconsistent storylines, and stuntmen/women stepping in for the
actors. Although I should say that the scene where a character, who has of
course expressed dislike for cockroaches, turns into a human-sized cockroach
herself was very inspired, if just a tad obvious.
As a final aside, despite having survived Freddy in the
last installment, Kristen, Kincaid, and Joey are still remarkably uneducated
when it comes to exercising their "dream powers". You'd think they
would have mastered, or at least learned a bit more, about their dream abilities
by now. But I guess not, since Freddy doesn't even break a sweat offing them one
by one by one. "Dream warriors" indeed!
|
