There’s a lot of kerfuffle going on lately because A Nightmare on Elm Street is back in the potential realm of a future new movie. But we’re not going to talk about what might be coming for Freddy Krueger. Instead, as we approach Halloween, we’d like to focus on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master…
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors gets a lot of credit for being one of the best films in the series. And it was one of the best. It was a reinvention of Freddy after the strange but cult-popular Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Wes Craven did what he could with Dream Warriors to bring Freddy back to the table and put our heroes, those sleepless kids, into a position of at least temporary success.
But The Dream Master has been getting some renewed love over the years, it is deserved..
There are two schools of thought when it comes to this movie. On one hand, this was the film where Freddy really became a pop culture phenomenon of the 1980s. He went from being a child killer to being in just about every kid’s bedroom in America! Maybe one day we’ll delve into that strange little side hustle of the Nightmare movies, because when you think about it, it’s pretty remarkable.
Back to the Nightmare..
This was the era when Freddy became funny, offering one-liners and famous little quips.
His makeup was perhaps the finest of the entire series, some would say. It was a pure magical moment, a new burst of energy, with Tuesday Night and other rock music, a decent storyline, and strong actors and actresses playing Freddy’s victims. (It was a memorable soundtrack)..
And, of course, Robert Englund himself. This perhaps was one of the finest films of the 1980s horror genre..
The other school of thought would tell you that this was also the movie that ruined Freddy. Some people believe the funny Freddy should never have replaced the monstrous version. But would we even still be talking about Freddy today if it weren’t for those zany one-liners coupled with bloodcurdling screams and Freddy sticking his glove into meatballs that are talking in his nightmare world?
There’s an argument to be made on both sides.
But as we went back and watched this movie again, and maybe it’s simply because we’re getting older, there was a strange emotion that came over us during the film.
There are two particular scenes that, as a kid, didn’t quite hit the same way. But now, as an adult, they hit very hard.
Especially if you’re someone who has experienced trauma, loss, or perhaps, as a woman, something that violated your personal space and sense of security.
Meet Alice..
Alice, our main protagonist and final girl, experiences something remarkable after her brother Rick is killed at the hands of Freddy.
You see, in this movie, we were rooting for the kids. Just like in Nightmare 3, we wanted someone to take on Freddy and become his ultimate nemesis, much like Nancy was in the original Nightmare on Elm Street. Because back in that first movie, despite Freddy being an epic horror character, we really hated him. And we really loved Nancy.
So in Nightmare 4, as Alice watches her friends perish one by one, something begins to change inside her.
After her brother is killed, she begins working with the nunchucks that Rick used. It’s a small moment, but an important one. She’s taking something from someone she loved, someone she lost, and making it part of who she is becoming.
And then there’s the mirror.
Throughout the film, Alice has pictures of her friends covering her bedroom mirror. As those friends disappear from her life, she slowly begins taking on pieces of their personalities, their strengths, and their humanity.
And in one of the most powerful scenes of the entire movie, she begins removing those pictures.
One by one.
As that epic 1980s music plays, she slowly reveals her own face to herself. And with each picture removed, we see someone different emerging. Someone who looks ferocious in nature. Someone who is ready for battle against evil.
It was a coming-of-age moment.
But perhaps it was something even more than that.
Alice was facing her trauma. She was facing her past. And with bravery and fortitude, she was revealing herself to herself, while still honoring those who were gone before her.
I’m not sure when the makers of this film were creating a horror movie about a burned-up child killer invading people’s dreams that they realized just how much emotional impact something like this could actually have on people.
Maybe adults who watched the movie back in 1988 felt that way, too. But it was the ’80s, and I’m not sure how seriously we were taking all of this at the time. We were probably too busy enjoying Freddy’s latest one-liner or waiting for the next elaborate nightmare sequence.
But now, looking back, these two scenes seem almost visceral. They’re epic moments, but they’re also necessary moments in Alice’s coming of age.
And in a way, what makes them some of the best scenes in the entire movie is that Alice is finally ready for the fight. She’s able to remember and honor her past while becoming something new, something strong enough to take on a future in which she has to put parts of that past behind her.
And isn’t that what we all do in life?
We’re all slowly taking down the nostalgia from the mirrors of our lives. The pictures, the memories, the people who were once there but aren’t anymore. We don’t necessarily forget them. We simply move those memories from the mirror into our minds, where they become part of who we are.
And as those pictures come down, we slowly reveal ourselves to ourselves.
Maybe we don’t always like what we see. Maybe we don’t always recognize the person looking back. But eventually, we have to become that person, because there are battles ahead of us, whatever those battles might be.
And sometimes the strength to fight them comes from the very people and experiences we’ve lost along the way.
Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master was a great horror film in 1988. It had the music, the atmosphere, the humor, the nightmares, and one of the most memorable villains in movie history.
But going back and watching it again, it’s little scenes like these that make it even better.
As time goes on, those scenes become dramatically more important. What once seemed like a simple transformation of a shy girl into a horror movie heroine suddenly becomes something much deeper.
And perhaps that’s one of the reasons Alice was one of the best characters in the entire series.
Freddy might have been the Dream Master.
But Alice was the one who finally learned how to master herself.