A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Terror beyond your wildest dreams.
Country
Production
Budget
$13 000 000
Box office
$49 369 899
Director
Actors
Robert Englund, Rodney Eastman, Danny Hassel, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Ken Sagoes, Lisa Wilcox, Brooke Bundy, Nicholas Mele, Toy Newkirk
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Robert Shaye, Rachel Talalay, Sara Risher, Stephen Diener
Camera operator
Steven Fierberg
Composer
Craig Safan
Artist
Mick Strawn, C.J. Strawn, Rebecca Carriaga
Audition
Annette Benson
Editing
Michael N. Knue, Chuck Weiss, Jack Tucker
Whole Team (96)
Whole Team (96)
Short description
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
What's left behind the scenes
- Renny Harlin can be spotted among the students in the classroom.
- Tuesday Knight not only played a role in the film, but also performed the film's title song.
- Alice and other students are listening to a lecture on the philosophy of dreams. Robert Shaye, the producer of the Freddy Krueger films, played the lecturer.
- Originally, Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner came up with a plot that revolved around time travel through dreams. However, producers Robert Shaye and Sarah Richardson felt that this storyline was incorrect and contradicted the concept created in the first film.
- Ellie Cornell auditioned for the role of Alice.
- Initially, Tibor Takács was offered the direction, but he declined to join the project two weeks before filming began.
- Wes Craven declined an offer from New Line Cinema representatives to rework the screenplay they had written and film it.
- Renny Harlin became the film's director solely due to his persistence. Chuck Russell's "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987) was extremely successful at the box office, and the studio enthusiastically embraced the idea of a sequel, planned for release in August 1988. Harlin, a huge fan of the franchise, repeatedly expressed his desire to direct the future installment. He came to the New Line Cinema office every day and insisted on a personal meeting with producer Robert Shaye. The studio decided not to sign contracts with any of the other potential directors they had been in negotiations with for "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master," and Shaye finally agreed to meet with Harlin, as he was constantly present. However, studio management was skeptical of the "young upstart," especially since he only had experience directing two films that had gone unnoticed. Shaye himself later admitted that he also hesitated about handing the direction of an American horror film to a Finn with highly questionable ideas about the future project. Harlin’s persistence eventually prevailed, and he was also running desperately low on funds. Shaye jokingly claimed that Harlin was hired as director so he could buy new clothes. There was also another reason – with less than a year remaining until the planned release date, Shaye simply couldn't afford to delay the start of filming, and Harlin seemed like someone who could withstand the race against time and meet the tight shooting schedule.
- Brian Helgeland was hired as the screenwriter after being recommended by Robert Englund, as Helgeland had worked on the screenplay for his directorial debut, "976-Evil II" (1988). The film's release date had already been set, but the future project still lacked a screenwriter and director, and Helgeland was hired with the condition that he deliver a script within seven days. Robert Shaye from New Line Cinema told him that there were only seven days to write the script – and not a day more. Helgeland flew home to Massachusetts for Christmas and wrote the script at home in the kitchen, then sent it to Los Angeles by courier. He met the deadline.
- Lisa Wilcox was cast as Alice while on her honeymoon, so she had to cut it short and urgently return to filming in Los Angeles. Additionally, the blonde Wilcox had to dye her hair red so she wouldn't resemble Tuesday Knight, who played Kristen, too much.
- As soon as a contract with Renny Harlin was signed, the 1988 Writers Guild strike began. Less than 7 months remained until the end of filming, and the special effects artists had already begun work on the project (even before the project had a director). Harlin had only 7 weeks for pre-production, and he considered the script raw. Due to the strike, he had to rework the script himself and independently work on storyboards based on incomplete scene descriptions (they hadn't been fully fleshed out yet) and his own imagination. The final version of the script was written in collaboration with Rachel Talalay and Michael De Luca, and some plotlines and dialogue were added during filming.
- When Alice enters the cinema, posters for the films "Reefer Madness 2" (1985), "Hairspray" (1988), and "Prison" (1987) can be seen.
- The diner where Alice works is called “Crave Inn,” which is a reference to Freddy Krueger creator Wes Craven.
- When Dan and Alice are in the hospital, an announcement can be heard over the loudspeaker requesting Dr. Shay to report to a specific room. This is a reference to producer Robert Shay.
- In the cemetery, behind the graves of Kristen Parker and Roland Kincaid, two tombstones can be seen engraved with the names Donald and Nancy Thompson, characters from the films “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” (1987).
- When Alice enters the movie theater, posters for the films 'Marijuana Madness 2: The True Story' (1985), 'Hairspray' (1988), and 'Prison' (1987) can be seen.
- The name of the diner where Alice works is 'Crave Inn,' which is a reference to Freddy Krueger's creator, Wes Craven.
- Renny Harlin can be seen among the students in the classroom.
- Alice and other students listen to a lecture on the philosophy of dreams. Robert Shaye, a producer of the Freddy Krueger films, played the lecturer.
- While Dan and Alice are in the hospital, a public address announcement can be heard stating that Dr. Shaye is needed in a certain room. This is a reference to producer Robert Shaye.
- Initially, Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner conceived a plot centered around time travel through dreams. However, producers Robert Shaye and Sarah Risher felt that such a plot development was incorrect and contradicted the concept established in the first film.
- The directing job was first offered to Tibor Takács, but he declined to join the project two weeks before filming was set to begin.
- Wes Craven rejected an offer from New Line Cinema representatives to rewrite a script they had developed and direct the film based on it.
- Renny Harlin became the film's director solely through sheer persistence. Chuck Russell's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' (1987) had been an immense box-office success, and the studio was enthusiastic about the idea of a sequel scheduled for release in August 1988. Harlin, a huge fan of the franchise, repeatedly expressed his desire to direct the upcoming picture. He went to the New Line Cinema offices every day, insisting on a personal meeting with producer Robert Shaye. For a variety of reasons, the studio failed to sign contracts with all the other potential directors they had been negotiating with for 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master,' and Shaye finally condescended to meet with Harlin, simply because he was always around. Nevertheless, the studio management was skeptical of the 'young upstart,' especially since his only experience was directing two films that had gone unnoticed. Shaye himself later admitted that he hesitated to entrust an American horror film to a Finn with highly questionable ideas for the project. In the end, Harlin's stubbornness prevailed, and by that point, he was completely broke. Shaye jokingly claimed that Harlin was hired just so he could afford to buy himself new clothes. There was, however, another reason: there was less than a year left until the planned release date, and Shaye simply could not afford to delay the start of production. Harlin seemed like someone who could handle the race against time and stick to a tight filming schedule.
- Brian Helgeland was hired as the screenwriter after being recommended by Robert Englund, as Helgeland had worked on the script for Englund's directorial debut, ' Daemon Seed' (1988). The film's release date had already been set, yet the project had neither a screenwriter nor a director, and Helgeland was hired on the condition that he provide a script within seven days. Robert Shaye of New Line Cinema told him he had seven days to write the script—not a day more. Helgeland flew home to Massachusetts for Christmas and wrote the script in his kitchen, then sent it to Los Angeles via courier. He met the deadline.
- Liz Wilcox was cast in the role of Alice while she was on her honeymoon, so she had to cut her trip short and rush back to the set in Los Angeles. Additionally, the blonde Wilcox had to dye her hair red so as not to look too much like Tuesday Knight, who played Kristen.
- As soon as the contract with Renny Harlin was signed, the 1988 Writers Guild strike began. There were fewer than seven months left until the end of the filming period, and the special effects artists had already begun work on the project (even before the project had a director). Harlin was left with only seven weeks for pre-production, and he considered the script to be raw. Due to the strike, he had to rewrite the script himself and work on the storyboards based on incomplete scene descriptions of the future film (as they had not yet been fully written) and his own imagination. The final version of the script was written in collaboration with Rachel Talalay and Michael De Luca, and some plotlines and lines of dialogue were added during filming.
- In the cemetery, behind the graves of Kristen Parker and Roland Kincaid, one can notice two tombstones engraved with the names of Donald and Nancy Thompson, characters from the films 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984) and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' (1987).
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