A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
BY Ryan LaMarca / 2008-02-09
The "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series has always been my least favorite of the three major modern horror franchises. I've always been more of a "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" fan, rather than one of Freddy Krueger. I always found his films to be more on the grosser side, leaving less to the imagination, with more in-your-face shocks and the like. However, as I've been re-watching some of the earlier films, I'm gradually starting to like the character (as much as you can like a sick, twisted child killer with knives for fingers) in his own right. I think what really got me interested in the series was his team-up movie with Jason Voorhees from 2003. Anyway, the subject of this review is the 1987 sequel "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," which basically retcons all of the events from "Freddy's Revenge," the previous movie. It serves as more of a follow-up to the original film from 1984 and features the return of the first film's protagonist, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), who once again crosses paths with the monstrous Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).
A young girl named Kristen (Patricia Arquette) is having troubling nightmares about a disfigured man with knives on his fingers who attacks her in her dreams, leading her mother to believe she has attempted suicide. She is placed in a psychiatric hospital named Weston Hills where she meets other teenagers who are all experiencing similar nightmares. She also meets the hospital's new intern Nancy Thompson who calms Kristen down after recognizing a nursery rhyme about Krueger. After several group sessions and several mysterious deaths, Nancy is able to convince Dr. Neil Gordon that Krueger is indeed alive and after the children. The two adults embark on two different missions in order to find a way to save the children from Freddy, Nancy through the aid of Kristen and her special ability to pull other people into her dreams, and Gordon through the aid of a mysterious nun who possesses important knowledge about Freddy's past and more importantly what do do with his bones.
I certainly did not know what to expect from this third installment in the franchise, but I did like it, after the disturbing second movie. Robert Englund, as always, steals the show with his performance as Freddy Krueger. The man is Freddy Krueger, and if any new "Elm Street" movies are made in the future, the studio would be foolish to replace him. His delivery of the dialogue is superb and the character always finds a way to insert some humor into his work. Heather Langenkamp returns for the first time since the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" and was refreshing to have someone with some real experience on the case. Her presence works perfectly to balance out the hysteria of the children and the disbelief of Neil Gordon. She is able to calm the children down and teach them how they can fight Freddy, and save each other. However, none of the kids really get too much development before their offed and mainly serve the purpose of being there for Freddy to torture. The only two characters that we have any real insight on are Nancy and Freddy, whose history is put together piece by piece.
What really surprised me with "Dream Warriors" was the amount of actors featured who eventually went on to achieve greater fame. Patricia Arquette plays the young girl Kristen who possesses special dream powers, in her first major role. Her character plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of the movie. Also present is a young Laurence Fishburne (credited as Larry Fishburne) as the orderly Max, who you can tell really cares about the children in the asylum. What's also interesting is the cameos by Dick Cavett and Zsa Zsa Gabor in the film. I won't go into detail, but their appearances mark a very creepy and eerie death scene for one of the children, which is actually quite amusing.
I think what really appealed to me was the fact that this time, the kids are actually allowed to fight back against Freddy, only because of Nancy who convinces Gordon. Typically, the parents or adults always dismiss the kids' claims and the kids end up dying. Well, it won't be a shock if I say a lot of the kids die in this film, but at least the adults try to help the kids devise a plan and try to save them. I also thought the idea of the dream powers was a good addition. It was a break from the norm and allowed the characters to have a fighting chance.
Aside from its connection to the original film, "Dream Warriors" also sets up plot lines and concept that would be explored again in several sequels, especially "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" and "Freddy vs. Jason." The fictitious drug known as Hypnocil makes its debut in this movie. Hypnocil is an experimental medication that acts as a dream suppressant. We learn that Nancy has been taking the drug, and has been safe from Freddy's powers since, although she is roped back into his world in order to help these new children.
The special effects for "Dream Warriors" are quite primitive by today's standards but don't come off looking too fake or outlandish. Most of them are accomplished through claymation and such, and are crucial to the movie, especially the death scenes. And what would any "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie be without the death scenes, in which each movie tries to outdo the last. "Dream Warriors" has some very creative and original ones, including one with a television that sprouts arms and a head.
The DVD for the film allows you to choose between its original widescreen aspect ratio and the formatted full screen version. The picture quality looks surprisingly good and doesn't seem to have any problems. In the way of bonus material, these films have a scarcity. The only real special feature is the theatrical trailer, which is probably scarier than the film. Cast and crew bios are available, as well as a "Jump to a Nightmare" feature which is really self-explanatory.
I almost like "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" a little bit more than the original film in the series. Perhaps its the fact that this time all of the characters at least try to fight back and win instead of just running away in fear. It's certainly a different approach to the series and is very inventive in its own right. Despite all the praise I gave it, it's just still not as good as its "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" counterparts. This series hasn't won me over just yet and I'm still not very thrilled about it. It's a pretty good sequel to an alright series, but overall it's just an 80s horror movie.
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