Thanksgiving on Elm Street Part 5

Life is busy, but we must always make time for the things we love. Watching Freddy make bad jokes as he murders teenagers, playing the occasional game of Left 4 Dead 2, and sleeping next to my husband at night are the only things keeping me sane right now. I’m going to be happy when November is over, even though I am enjoying the fall leaves at the moment. It’s the perfect time of year to enjoy…

Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child

Alice, the timid red head from The Dream Master, has now become a blonde hottie (nude scene included) dating the star quarterback. 180-degree character turnaround aside, I always appreciate a sequel that attempts to continue the storyline where it was left off. This may sound simple, but in the world of 80’s slasher sequels, a severe lack of series chronology is not uncommon. The Dream Child has its share of problems in that regard as well. The dream/Freddy metaphysics are toyed with once again, but I don’t really mind. It’s always entertaining to see new ways that Freddy can come back from the “dead.” The canine urine from Part 4 has to be the worst. Not to mention, the amusing methods of dispatching Mr. Krueger that are conjured up.

 

The Dream Child brings us some elaborate set pieces that are quite fun. While I don’t find the kills particularly clever, they are at least memorable and visually engaging. Dan gets turned into Ghost Rider, Greta gets stuffed with food, and Mark battles Freddy in the comic book world. However, that’s only three deaths! Although the movie is by no means boring, the lack of kills is definitely noticed. This movie does bring us more backstory on Amanda Krueger and the “Son of 100 maniacs” exposition. They also throw Robert Englund himself (without the makeup) in the crowd of maniacs. Har har. At this point, you can definitely tell the series is starting to run out of steam, even though I still enjoyed the heck out of the fifth installment. For this edition of Thanksgiving on Elm Street, I thought I would share some interesting trivia once again.

- Jacob (Alice’s little boy) says “School’s out Krueger!” However, the original line was supposed to read, “Fuck you Krueger!” The child’s guardians did not allow him to say the scripted line.

-The original script was completely revised at the last minute. The final shooting screenplay was compiled just days before filming began.

-Director Stephen Hopkins was given the Predator 2 gig as a result of his speedy work with The Dream Child.

-The film was shot in just four weeks and edited in another four.

-Allegedly, Stephen King and Frank Miller were offered to write and direct.

-All of the deaths suffered major cuts to obtain an R-rating.

-It made just $8.1 million on its opening weekend and left the box office at $22.1 million, which made it the lowest grossing Nightmare on Elm Street film.

-Bruce Dickenson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, wrote and performed the song “Bring your Daughter…to the Slaughter” for this film. It was later re-recorded by the entire band and was their only #1 single in the UK.