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

Memorable, crazy movie

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Although billed as pure horror, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors strays into fantasy as well and is a pure blast of fantastically diabolical special effects when it's working in either genre. Around the middle of the franchise marks the place where Freddy Krueger began to turn into more of a cartoonish wise-guy from his original mainly silent phantom, but he's still pretty foreboding here, as Robert Englund puts energetic work into both his funny and frightening sides. The cool thing about this flick is it's 'Goonies' style aesthetic; several youngsters, committed to a mental facility for their insomniac 'delusions', do dream battle with Freddy, and it's one of the few instances in a slasher film where victims get to fight back in some capacity, and as a unit. Patricia Arquette is wonderful as Kristen, leader of the pack and a fiercely vulnerable spirit, while a young Laurence Fishburne plays the kindly head nurse. It's also a treat to see Heather Langenkamp return as brave Nancy Thompson, still out for Freddy's head. The effects are dazzling, from Freddy's remodelled syringe needle glove in one scene, to a giant pac-man version of his head attempting to eat a live person whole in another, it's just imagination run wild in dreamland. The kills are still sufficiently gory too, if punctuated by his now classic growling one liners ("Bitch!"). It's safe to say this is the best in the franchise barring the first film, it's quite a bit of fun. Oh, and for a good hearty laugh, nothing beats the Dick Cavett/Zsa Zsa Gabor cameo featuring a priceless interruption from Freddy.

This film is fun to watch like the death scenes are underrated and creative. Most people say "all the Nightmare on Elm Street sequel sucks" like some but this one is underrated including the second one and New Nightmare. This is a really good movie it deserve a watch.Score: 8.5/10

I didn't really care for the original Nightmare movie. It is actually okay but for a concept that imaginative I feel as though the final product was lacking a little bit. However I have a brother who insisted that this is the best in the series mainly for the dreams being surreal and Freddy's kills made to look like suicides. Looking at this for myself? I agree. This is the best in the series. The plot is that teens are in a mental institution and each have their own different troubles sleeping. All of them are being scared in their dreams by Guess Who but he quickly finds boredom with that and things become a lot more drastic. Nancy from the first movie is in this however and tries her best to help the kids from Freddy and after talking her colleague into believing them gets Nancy's father to destroy what's left of Freddy so he can't do this anymore. This does sound like standard slasher fair and it is but there is quite a bit going for it. Robert Englund as Freddy is always fun to watch, the dreams are appropriately weird and I like the idea of fighting Freddy using the powers of their dreams. I'd say if you're interested check it out, out of what I've seen this probably is the best slasher sequel ever made.

a nightmare on elm street 3 is a film that manages to solidify its villain as a memorable anti hero/icon. the original nightmare on elm street was an excellent film in terms of scaring the living hell out of audiences with a truly demonic villain. this film on the other hand takes its source material and stays true to it while at the same time opening up a new direction for the character. the comedic one liners add a really nice touch to a series that could have easily grown tiresome after a few sequels. the comedy isn't exactly straight comedy but is black comedy which works very well for the character of Freddy. his character still remains scary in terms of how devilish and evil he truly is and the creative ways in which he chooses to kill the teens of the film. mostly using their fears, past experiences and lifestyles against them. very creative and entertaining to watch. this is an important aspect to keep in mind when trying to understand what makes this film as well as the original work so well. the acting is by no means great but the cast does do a solid job. I don't really have very many complaints in the acting department, john saxton returns and gives us a good performance. heather langdenkamp (I believe that's how you spell it) returns as well and gives a decent performance. here and there some of her dialogue seems a little forced and unnatural but I think she did a good job in the grand scheme of things. the rest of the cast all do well in their roles, they are after all just teenagers and aren't meant to be the most complex characters in the first place. and last but not least Robert England of course does an amazing and captivating job as Freddy. the script is honestly great! the concept of the characters all having a dream power to fight back against Freddy is interesting. it did feel slightly rushed but I don't think it really affects the film. what we get is good and I can't complain about that. we also get a bit of backstory on Freddy and his birth which is welcome, it adds to the mythos of the character and I think it makes him that much more of a dark character. chuck Russell does an excellent job directing. his way of bringing the dream sequences to the screen is great and I found myself and still find myself thoroughly entertained. it isn't world class direction like say the likes of fincher or Hitchcock but it does the script justice and is not in any way bad directing. the gore and special effects all look so good, you can tell the effects team put a lot of heart and effort in, it definitely showed. I am to this day still wowed by the effects and wish more horror films from the modern age would use practical and organic effects like the ones used in this film. all in all the film is truly great, not only is it a good slasher film, and a good sequel but it really is a great film in general. I would recommend it to anybody who likes a good time or horror films. 9.5/10