possible hit. Fleming liked Sall’s suggestion but didn’t think it was as appropriate. Eventually Sall got his way. “I think we licensed it for about five cents,” Fleming said. “And only weeks after did it actually become a hit.” According to Fleming, "Guns ‘N Roses" were also going to do a video that incorporated clips from the movie. “They came in and watched it and were stoked by the movie,” Fleming said. “But then Axl Rose's girlfriend, Erin Everly, said the song was about her. She didn’t want a song about her to have clips from a horror movie in it. So she got her way. We didn’t get a video, but Ralph was right about the song.” Release Box office The film was released theatrically in the United States by 20th Century Fox on April 8, 1988. It grossed $9,797,098 at the U.S. box office. Critical response Bad Dreams received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. It holds a rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a half-star out of four, writing: "I praise the production only to suggest that these people should be better employed in worthier projects. It is not surprising to see a violent teenage film exploiting the lowest common denominator and preaching a message of nihilism and despair. It is not surprising to see the latest special-effect technology supplying lingering closeups of burnt flesh and other horrors. What is surprising, I suppose, is that nice people would want to wade in this sewer." Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a middling review, calling it a "a breezy, bloody kind of amalgam of The Breakfast Club and A Nightmare on Elm Street... It doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense, plot-wise, and it's instantly forgettable. However, it's amusing for as long as it lasts. Also, for a film of this genre, it has a cast of unusually good actors." Home media The film was released on DVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2006. This version is out of print. The film was later released by Scream Factory along with Visiting Hours, first as a double feature DVD on September 13, 2011 and then a similar Blu-ray release followed on February 18, 2014. A UK Blu-Ray was issued by 88 Films in July 2018. See also A Nightmare on