A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors: Review By T.Clark

Let's erase Part 2 from our memories, shall we? We're going to experiment in some hypnosis. Stare at your computer screen. Start with your toes, and work your way up until every part of your body is perfectly relaxed. Now, I'm going to count backwards from 5, and when I'm done, "Freddy's Revenge" will be long gone from your mind...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Okay, with that out of the way, Dream Warriors is a kick ass movie. Why? Because it takes everything great about the first movie and adds a layer of smarts and sophistication to it, or at least as sophisticated as these movies can get. While the first film is still the granddaddy of the series at this point just for its sheer creepiness, Nightmare 3 comes dangerously close to edging out the first classic slasher film with a developed story and characters you can really like.

Nightmare 3 takes place six years after the events of the first film. Nancy has now become a psychiatrist that specializes in dream therapy, and is assigned to work with Dr. Neil Gordon to observe his patients. The patients have all been having nightmares with the same man haunting them: Freddy Krueger. Nancy and Neil must find a way to stop Krueger from murdering the last of the "Elm. Street Kids" before it's too late.

Nightmare 3 is great because it adds to the story of Freddy Krueger without ever ruining what made him great as a character in the first place. Freddy's origins are touched upon and plays a large role as the "call to action" of the story, as Neil must bury Freddy's remains to finally put him to rest. What's also great about the movie is that it features some pretty awesome death sequences, and no Nightmare movie is complete without them. Whether it's a girl being thrown head first through a TV screen or a man being played like a puppet to his ultimate demise, it's good ol' fashioned Freddy violence.

The characters also play a key role in the movie's success. As mentioned Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy, and it's a breath of fresh air. While her character is less easy to sympathize with(she's not the innocent young girl anymore that she was when we first met her), she's grown into a mature and intelligent woman who saw her dreadful encounter six years ago as a chance to help others who might have the same problem. Neil is an easily likable male protagonist, and the patients are no different. The fact that there is a unique and likable quality to each of them makes the movie easier to watch. If not, then that many frightened, on the verge of madness, teenagers might have been overwhelming.

The only fault the film has(besides acting, of course, but even that is above average for a slasher film) is that it verges on action horror at times instead of pure terror. The first Nightmare got the latter perfect. Nightmare 3 seems a lil' too adventurous at times. This aspect doesn't hold it back from being a worthy direct follow up to the original. It's a smart, kick ass horror movie.

And how about that nurse scene? Sexayyyy.