It's a pity that Wes Craven's initial idea for another sequel to his film, involving time travel in dreams, wasn't used. Instead of another Craven-directed masterpiece like Part 1 and Part 3 we get this gaudy pantomime instead. The makers of NOES 4 admitted that they designed and filmed all the special-effects sequences and then found some excuse to cement them together. It shows. Freddy is resurrected, though quite how is never explained. Wasn't it fire that killed him, not brought him back to life? Anyhow, he begins another killing spree. There are some interesting ideas - a narcissist being turned into a cockroach, an asthmatic having the air sucked out of her, but the whole thing lacks the tension and nightmarish qualities of the previous film. Early scenes involving the survivors from Part 3 hold promise, but when Freddy appears he's no more than a wise-cracking buffoon, and the ninja-style violence is pointless and unnecessary. The climax, if you can call it that, involves Freddy dying as a result of being shown his reflection. As there's no build-up to it at all it just stands out as an obvious excuse for another special-effects set-piece.
Overall, this film might provide entertainment, but it's just disappointing, badly-acted dross, the sort of thing you watch if you've nothing better to do.
Overall, this film might provide entertainment, but it's just disappointing, badly-acted dross, the sort of thing you watch if you've nothing better to do.