A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Chuck Russell (no relation)

Starring: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Patricia Arquette, Craig Wasson, Larry Fishburne

From: New Line Cinema

I am continuing the horror movie watching (when I return tomorrow night it'll be with something quite different as a nice change of pace for the month) by seeing again a famous one from the '80's, and thankfully a good one, a film where Freddy Krueger hadn't yet become a catchphrase-spouting buffoon; sure, Dick Cavett and Zsa Zsa Gabor appearing in one scene was highly wacky but this didn't get goofy until the next few sequels. Now, onto the Letterboxd review:

It had been too long since I had watched a Freddy Krueger movie so this month was the perfect time to do so, and I am going in order (slowly but surely) seeing them again and this was the next one up. I was happy to revisit this one, as it's a quality film on its own and it's certainly a rare horror sequel that can adequately be compared to the original.

Ignoring the second film (it's pretty much a wacky alternate not canon tale; I enjoy it for what it is but it's for the best to say it's not canon) this tale expands on the universe created in the first, introducing a bevy of other teenagers who are in a psych ward, all being haunted by Fred Krueger, but no one there believes them... until Nancy Thompson-now being in the field-joins the staff...

This movie proves to be close to the equal of the original; multiple people being involved does help, Freddy utters some wisecracks but isn't a stand-up comedian quite yet-thankfully-there are some great setpieces and much of the practical effects are pretty awesome and CGI just isn't the same and doesn't give you the same feeling. A minor plot point introduced here actually was used for Freddy vs. Jason almost 2 decades later and to a hair metal fan like me, the Dokken songs are pretty bitchin'.

It's a story I enjoyed, how Freddy uses the fears and fantasies of those teens against them to try and kill/terrorize them. The theme of teenage alienation and how parents can't relate to their kids becoming adults is also an important aspect. The script, which had a lot of input from Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell, is well-done, as is the direction from Russell.

I remember that the rest of the sequels don't reach the heights of this and the next few are rather dopey, but at least I can laugh at them. Thankfully the series at least created a sequel that should be seen along with the original.