RensDad666’s review published on Letterboxd:
This franchise was meant to be enjoyed, and (hopefully) fawned over with friends, and that’s exactly what I got on a Sunday Night discord watch party. A Nightmare on Elm Street has quietly become my favorite mainstream horror franchise over the last couple years, and its fifth entry, The Dream Child keeps pace with that distinction. There isn’t another franchise that provides this level of amusement five films in, let alone another that hits its high points this far into the series. Dream Warriors, The Dream Master and The Dream Child play like their own special trilogy, and it’s superbly bookended with Alice’s final Freddy battle and an all too adorable Krueger Devil fetus.
Per usual in Elm Street tradition, there are industry pacing phenomenal practical effects executed in all types of creative manners, this time around from KNB’s super team. That first motorcycle kill was something straight out of Tetsuo: Iron Man, and on its own could be one of my favorite ever. There’s a feeling of ambitious one-upsmanship coursing through the veins of The Dream Child, with its execution however, falling just a little bit short at times, especially after the highs of that first twisted metal motor-murder. There are still some S-Tier, surreal slasher kills that to me, still tower over most any other horror canon.
From an acting and story perspective, this is the bit that Stephen Hopkins’ canonical fifth entry loses a little steam. Lisa Wilcox returns as Alice with an even more middle of the road performance, and we get what feel like less time with Freddy than I was anticipating. Still riding high after watching with my favorite Nightmare on Elm Street Stan, and we are getting closer to franchise completion. Helluva time.
🛌🥱💤💭🩸🏍️🦸🏼♂️🔪
