Sat. Feb 15th, 2025

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) – 3.5 Burnt Fedoras

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) – 3.5 Burnt Fedoras

Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors by Ben Dover

Ah, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors! It’s like a buffet of horror tropes where the main dish is a generous helping of Freddy Krueger—the guy who’s scarier than my last trip to the dentist. Just when I thought the slasher genre had run out of ways to make me fear going to bed, along comes “Dream Warriors” to prove that sometimes, the third time’s the charm – if your idea of charm is a char-grilled child murderer with knives for fingers.

Freddy Krueger’s back, folks, and he’s brought more puns than a dad joke convention. Robert Englund chews the scenery like it’s made of bubblegum, cackling his way through dreamscapes more twisted than my arthritic spine. It’s like watching a homicidal Bugs Bunny with third-degree burns.

The Plot

Freddy picks up where the previous nightmares left off, diving into the minds of teenagers in a psychiatric hospital. Because nothing says “well-adjusted” like a group of troubled teens battling a dream demon. The plot revolves around Nancy Thompson, played by the lovely Heather Langenkamp, now all grown up and armed with a PhD in dream analysis. who returns to take on Freddy, now sporting even more cheesy one-liners than ever.

The teens each have their own “dream powers,” which is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine when Freddy’s involved. We’ve got a kid who’s a wizard (a wizard!), another who’s a kung fu master, and one who turns into a human Mohawk. It’s like the X-Men, if the X-Men were perpetually sleep-deprived and terrible at staying alive.

The death scenes are more creative than an art school on LSD. We’ve got puppet veins, TV-eating heads, and a giant Freddy-snake that would make Freud reach for the smelling salts. It’s gruesome, it’s ridiculous, and it’s more fun than it has any right to be.

Key Points:

  • Dream Warriors: A motley crew of teens armed with their imaginations—because that’s how you fight a dream demon.
  • Psychiatric Hospital: A great setting for teens to bond over their shared trauma while trying not to get sliced and diced.
  • Freddy: More puns than a stand-up comedy night gone wrong.

The Characters

The characters in this movie are about as relatable as a talking refrigerator. You’ve got your classic stereotypes: the jock, the goth, the nerd, and of course, the girl who thinks she can solve everything with a magic trick. Patricia Arquette plays Taryn, the punk rocker with a heart of gold and a serious case of bad decisions. And then there’s Kincaid, who’s basically the “tough guy” who’s tougher than a two-dollar steak.

Character Highlights:

  • Nancy: The Final Girl who just won’t quit—like that door-to-door salesman.
  • Taryn: I think her main job was to look cool while making bad choices.
  • Kincaid: The tough love character who would probably win a “yelling contest” with a brick wall.

Special Effects

Now, let’s talk about the special effects. This movie was released in the era of practical effects, and boy, did they take full advantage of that. Freddy’s glove slices through dreams like a hot knife through butter, and the visuals are both grotesque and fascinating. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, they throw in a giant puppet worm that could give anyone nightmares for a week.

Special Effects Summary:

  • Practical Effects: The unsung heroes of the film—better than a CGI disaster.
  • Visuals: Both creative and cringe-worthy, like an art project gone haywire.
  • Overall Impact: Guaranteed to make you question your sanity more than your life choices.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a wild ride through the twisted landscape of teenage angst and dream demons. It’s like someone threw a horror movie, a therapy session, and a rock concert into a blender and hit “puree.”

Is “Dream Warriors” Shakespeare? Hell no. Is it a rollicking good time? You bet your sweet bippy it is. It’s got more imagination in its little finger than most modern horror flicks have in their entire runtime. Plus, it’s got a young Patricia Arquette screaming her lungs out, which is always a bonus.

The movie walks a fine line between horror and comedy, often tripping and falling face-first into absurdity. But you know what? It works. It’s like watching a circus act where the clowns might actually murder you – terrifying, but you can’t look away.

So, if you like your horror with a heaping side of cheese and don’t mind feeling like you’ve been huffing paint fumes for two hours, give “Dream Warriors” a watch. Just maybe skip the warm milk before bedtime.

Final Rating:

  • Out of 5: I’d give it a 3.5—mostly for the nostalgia and the sheer audacity of it all.

So, if you’re in the mood for a horror flick that’s as entertaining as it is ridiculous, grab your popcorn and dive into this dreamscape. Just remember, don’t fall asleep! Or you might find Freddy waiting for you with a punchline and a blade. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make sure my dream catcher isn’t actually a portal to hell. After this movie, you can never be too careful. Sweet dreams, kiddies!

Notes:

Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
Gross worldwide: $44,793,222
Budget: $4,500,000 (estimated)

Film debut of Patricia Arquette and Jennifer Rubin. Also features a young Lawrence Fishburne.

It’s hard to even say how bad the audio mixing is, cant hear dialogue but super loud Fredy scenes

Claymation Freddy is cool as anything I have seen in a horror movie.

I like how they call Freddy the bastard son of 100 maniacs.

My brain wont process the junkyard scene where the adults fight Freddy as they are all awake.

When Taryn is first seen in the hallway, she’s wearing a Dokken shirt. Dokken wrote and performed “Dream Warriors” for this film. On the VHS release, the music video for Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” appeared after the credits. The video contains many scenes from the movie and ends when the band vanquishes Freddy, causing him to wake up from his “nightmare,” and ask, “Who were those guys?”

Quotes:

Freddy Krueger: Welcome to prime time, bitch!

Title Card: “Sleep. Those little slices of Death. How I loathe them.” – Edgar Allen Poe

Critics Consensus:

Critics 67% Audience 68% Rotten Tomatoes

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors offers an imaginative and surprisingly satisfying rebound for a franchise already starting to succumb to sequelitis.

Trailer:

Photos:

By Michael

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