A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER
SYNOPSIS
This film follows straight on from NOES3: Dream Warriors and is about the survivors of the first film. Soon after Kristen (from NOES3) finds out she has the power to drag other sleeping people into her dreams and soon after Freddy has supposedly been set to rest by Dr Nick giving Freddy a proper burial, the last of the Elm Street children start to have nightmares about Freddy Krueger and 1428 Elm Street once more.
Joey, Kincaid (the survivors of NOES3) and some of Kristen's other friends are killed by Freddy in very gruesome ways but in them dying, Kristen finds out a previously unknown skill. As Joey, Rick and Kincaid are killed by Freddy, Kristen finds out that she can inherit their dream powers used in NOES3, such as Kincaid's strength.
With this combined power, Kristen believes she can kill Freddy once and for all and she falls asleep. In the dream, she is on a beach when she sees a shark fin approaching in the sea. The shark fin turns out to be Freddy's knives put together and carries on up the shore through the sand! Kristen runs but gets caught in quicksand and sinks into Freddy's boiler room. Using her own dream power and also the rest of the dream warriors' powers, she nearly defeats Freddy but is quickly thrown into his boiler.
Has the last chance to kill Freddy died? No. Kristen's friend, Alice, has Kristen's power passed onto her after she is killed and they can still communicate with each other. Alice is told what she must do and as more Elm Street kids are killed by Krueger, Alice has inherited enough power to take on Freddy. After being in a car crash caused by Freddy, Dan is put under sedation and Alice enters his dream. After a short fight with him, Dan gets cut and is woke up by the paramedics, leaving Alice to fight Freddy alone.
After another fight, Alice's future looks bleak and she is badly hurt. As Freddy shows his chest to her, covered in the squirming souls of all his victims, Alice picks up a shard of glass and lets 'evil see itself'. By doing this, a ray of light reflects off the glass and blasts Freddy. All the souls on his chest start to fly out of him, surging upwards. These souls rip Freddy apart and he is sent back the dream world once more.
TRIVIA
Because Kristen was the last of the 'Elm Street kids' Freddy had to use her power to enter other people's dreams. Because she pulled Alice into the dream, Freddy could use her as a conduit to other people after Kristen was dead.Freddy once again uses his power to influence the world while not in someone's dream (like the tongue-phone in NOES1). After Kristen dies Alice looks at a photo in her room and Freddy causes it to burst into flames.
For the effect with Freddy's chest of souls John Carl Buechler's company Magical Media Industries wanted to take the concept further than in the previous film. There were 12 animated faces and one fully articulated gripping hand on the self contained prosthetic chest. One of the faces was made to look exactly like Alice. Instead of using cables to control the whole thing, cable controls were standard at the time, they used radio controls. Instead of about 24 cable animators who would be needed they needed only 3 remote control operators. Also instead of having Robert Englund have 24 cables being dragged behind him he had a backpack housing the radio controls.
The Pizza of souls also featured radio controlled meatballs that were made to look like the heads of Freddy's victims. For the close-up of Rick's head they build a huge appliance that looked like a pizza and had a hole for actor Andras Jones to stick his head through.
BEST QUOTES
Freddy (to Kristen): Elm Street's last brat...FAREWELL!
Freddy (to Sheila): Wanna suck face?
Freddy (to Debbie): No Pain, No Gain!
Freddy (to Alice in a dream): Welcome to Wonderland, Alice!
Freddy (to Alice): I am eternal...
Freddy (to Alice): You think you got what it takes? I've been guarding my gate for a long time, bitch!