A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Despite an impressive bag of special effects tricks, old Fred is starting to resemble one of those dead horses that studio execs insist on flogging.

The series here takes a depressing nosedive into zero-degree filmmaking.

Fifth edition of the hit Nightmare series is a poorly constructed special effects showcase.

A flimsily plotted but visually impressive addition to the endless Freddy Krueger saga.

A genre film that won't totally insult your intelligence or your eyes.

As for Englund, he still looks as if he's been working at Domino's too long, and he still sounds as if he's stealing his material from Don Rickles.

The Freddy Muppet Baby is laughable, but give this some credit: It might be the only movie in history to contain references to both M.C. Escher and a-ha.

What "The Dream Child" most successfully carries to term is an empathetic, emotional engagement of teenage trauma and pregnancy. It reflects a decade-ending boiling point in the tension between Hollywood button-pushers and political pencil-pushers.

Dream Child is a series low-point. Any terror or menace from Freddy Krueger is now gone in favor of a failing stand-up comedian. Lisa Wilcox tries her best to carry a lackluster cast of characters whose deaths (almost) all lean into the silly and stupid.

Even though the transitioning into nightmares is still admittedly amusing, the specific scary visions, based on individual fears, are rarely terrifying.