Greetings, my excellent friends! EvildeadInks is back with my newest review from my fav franchise – A Nightmare on Elm Street. Today, we cover the most popular in the series, Dream Warriors. Released in 1987, this put the series back on track after part two that got mixed reviews… you know I love part two, but lets not get off topic. ‘Back on track’ meaning the rules of the series are enforced more correctly and brings back characters we love, along with introducing new ones we love just as much.
Wes Craven took the story from one teenager dealing with this Springwood slasher to a group of teens dealing with it. It’s strength in numbers, but yet still isolated. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 also introduces the concept of dream powers and how we all have this special, unique ability in our dream world. We get my gal Heather Langenkamp back from part one to lead these kids against what she hopes is the final battle to take Krueger down for good. Freddy is still scary in this film and when we arrive at the Prime Time scene, the series does turn to its comedy. From that scene forward, things shift more and more to the funny, ultimately ending in Freddy’s Dead where it’s basically Looney Tunes.
I personally love the music, the score is awesome in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. It just sets the mood perfectly. I’m also a sucker for the set decoration; It’s something that’s kind of overlooked, but the devil is in the details for me here. We also get the hair metal influence with the ultra rad Dokken theme… who doesn’t love that? Sidenote, I searched for years and finally got that LP on vinyl and it is totally worth it.
The Freddy makeup design is a mix of Elm Street 2 and Robert Englund’s natural looking face. The goal was to seem as the man was becoming the boogeyman. We have also the unique kills for the first time in the series in the style of Willy Wonka almost. In the sense of what your vice is or what defines you can kill you. We see this with Philip and the puppet, Taryn with her drug addiction, and, of course, Jennifer with her TV obsession.
I can’t express how much I love A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and how much its been an influence on me. I do plan to cover the whole series, one by one, so no worries, if you think I’m gonna skip any. I had to start with my top ones first — that’s parts one, two, and three. So I guess that predicts what one gets the treatment next… spoiler.
No doubt that NoES 3 is a 5 star classic. It might be the best part three of any series, it elevates the story and takes it to all new levels. You get scares, you get laughs, it’s all covered here. Freddy even hosted an hour of MTV, when it was released back in the day. That kind of thing doesn’t happen any more. Horror characters don’t really have a life outside of the movies, but this is one that does.
I have heard the occasional rumor of a remake getting done again and it being a Dream Warriors spin. I will take anything Elm Street, personally. I’m not opposed to them trying anything out. So, all in all, this is for sure a film worth seeing by all. It’s just a well-made low-budget movie and worth your time. I know 90 percent of you out there have seen this, but for you 10, do it! The only thing left to say is three words sum it up best — What a rush!