"His name is Freddy Krueger. He was a child murderer before he died, and after he died... well, he became something worse."
Freddy Krueger is a character known around the world, I'm pretty sure. He was introduced by the legendary horror director, Wes Craven, in 1984 in his hit movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and since then Freddy's legacy has only grown. In the sequel to "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge," Jack Sholder tried to bring a twist to the series that ultimately, in my opinion, didn't work out to his benefit. While the movie was very fun, the fact that Freddy had his powers in reality confused many. However, with "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," Freddy made his debut back into his known status as the killer of dreams. While "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" is still not as epic as "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was, it is better than it predecessor, which is definitely good. Freddy has always scared many, and in this one, we get more insight into what Freddy was. I really liked that fact. Also we get the return of two very important things. Nancy Thompson and Freddy's glove. I always loved the fact that this movie brought back the heroine of the original film because Nancy Thompson was always a favorite character of mine. While the film has some major ups to it, I can't help but notice how corny some of the movie is, especially dealing with the dream powers. Don't get me wrong with this, I absolutely loved this new twist, but the lack of actors with great acting ability made some of the things said corny. Although this could also be attributed to a bad script, but I'm relatively sure that it's almost half-and-half. At any rate, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," is a great addition to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and it really manages to return some of the characters from the previous movies, as well as spin a new storyline and add more facts to what Freddy Krueger is really about. That together is what I loved so much about this movie. It was very interesting to find out how such an abomination was conceived, and while the story is very gruesome in it's telling, and of how things happen, it's a very enjoyable movie, that I know many will have a hard time tearing their eyes from. With "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," Freddy Krueger brings himself full tilt into one of the most ruthless and disturbing horror-slasher that we've had yet.
Jack Sholder passes the directorial reigns of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series to a man named Chuck Russell, whose directed other such films as "The Blob," "The Mask," "Eraser," "Bless the Child," and "The Scorpion King." Russell is a very well known director to me, as "Eraser," "The Mask," and "The Scorpion King" are all some of my favorite movies, and he's managed his hand very well in those movies. The same can be said of Russell in his directorial debut with this movie, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors." Russell really manages to creat some intense sequences in his movies, and in this movie, he's got some of the most intense sequences that I've ever seen. What I really liked, are some of the angles that Russell comes up with that really add an air of spookiness to Freddy's kills. Most especially, happens when Joey is captured by Freddy and hung over the flames of what I consider to be hell. It's a very intense angle, and it makes you go, "Holy shit!" Which is exactly the reaction you should have with these movies. Also Russell really gives us some awesome filters for the dream sequences. The one that really stuck out at me with this movie was when Nancy and the others are entering into Freddy's lair to save Joey, and they must descend some very rickety looking stares. It's a reddish filter and it really made the scene look hot and disgusting, which is exactly the kind of place that you'd expect Freddy to dwell. It was really a nice effect. Russell definitely manages the director's seat very well with this movie. Russell is also writer of this movie. He works alongside Wes Craven, Frank Darabont, and Bruce Wagner on the screenplay. Craven and Wagner also work on the story of the movie. This was another thing that I thought was intensely awesome. Craven returned to at least the writer's seat of this movie so that he could direct the story into a direction that he thought would be great. It really worked out well, too. You'd think that they had issues with story ideas when you get more than one or two writers in there to work on it, but it might not have been the case here, as the writing of the story really worked out nicely, and brought us back, once more, into the horrible and disturbing world that is Freddy Krueger's menace. It was definitely done very well, and made the movie that much more enjoyable.
The visuals of this movie are definitely handled very well. As I've done in my past two reviews for the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, I'm going to start off by discussing the point of view for our burnt friend. This movie takes a different approach for Freddy. In the last two friends, Freddy was an inigma to the characters. Just a creepy man stalking along in the shadows, and killing people. In this movie, everyone knows who Freddy Krueger is, even though they don't necessarily know him by name. So you see Freddy more clearly in all of his kills, as he is stalking around the place after the children of those who wronged him. Speaking of Freddy, he's back and looking as creepy as ever with his dirty fedora, his burnt skin, and his red and green striped Christmas sweater. What I REALLY enjoyed seeing was the return of Freddy's glove. In the previous installment, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge," Freddy wasn't wearing his glove. Instead his knives were coming out of his fingertips, something that reminded me strongly of Lady Deathstryke from the "X-Men" series. I was psyched to see that they decided, like I did, that Freddy Krueger's glove was much more iconic, and much more frightening, than a bad manicure was. The blood in this movie was used at a larger level, it seemed, than the previous installment, as well, and it was managed very well. Throughout the entire movie the blood looked very realistic, which of course made the kills a lot harder to stomach, which, as you all know, is exactly what they were aiming at when they made this movie. Speaking of kills, they're done just as inventive and disturbing as ever in this movie. The one that really sticks out in my mind, is the death of Phillip Anderson, who is dragged along by Freddy as a puppet, by the tendons in his arms and legs. It's a very gruesome sight before Freddy finishes him off, and it was really handled nicely by the director and such in the scene. Definitely a plus on that one, despite the fact that it is so inherently disturbing. The visuals of this movie are definitely handled very well, and really add a frightening and spooky air to the movie, which is exactly what the movie should have, since it was one that was intended to scare.
The storyline of this movie, as I've touched on a bit already, was definitely handled very well. What I immensely enjoyed about it, was the fact that it returned my favorite character of the series, Nancy Thompson, back into the terrifying world of Freddy Krueger. We find out that the movie takes place a few years after the first, so we also get to find out what Nancy has done wither herself after Freddy's vicious and relentless attack. I also liked getting a glimpse of her father, as well, and what happened to him. Not only did the movie return to Freddy his legendary and iconic glove, but it also returned two of the characters from the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie back to the fans, and I really enjoyed that quite a bit, as I said. I also liked the fact that they decided to take the story away from the house on Elm Street, but simultaneously keeping the movie IN the town of Springwood, where Elm Street lives. Now don't fret about anything; just because the main part of the movie doesn't take place in Nancy Thompson's old house, doesn't mean it's not a big part of the movie. The house is where the children, mainly Kristen, end up in their dreams, and I really liked the fact that they went with a new place, but still kept this legendary house a main part of the series, so as to bring that air of familiarity back to the series. I also liked the whole, mental patient aspect. I know it's been used before in slasher films, like in "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning," but it's still fun to see. It offers up more victims to Freddy, and as odd as it may sound, it gives us a chance to see some more gruesome kills by the main man of the series. With this mental patient aspect, they also introduce something new to the series, and that is dream powers, which help the kids to battle Freddy. I really thought turned out interesting, even if it is a bit lame at times. They definitely managed their hand well in the creation of this movie's storyline, and it really helps to add even more eeriness to the movie, making it another great addition to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series.
The movie begins with a girl, Kristen Parker (Played by Patricia Arquette of "Pretty Smart") as she is building something paper machet and popsicle sticks. As things progress, we see her start nodding off as she is building. She then turns up the radio to full blast, and eats some coffee beans, downing them with some coke, as she builds. It is apparent that Kristen wants to stay awake. Soon, though, her mother, Elaine Parker (Played by Brooke Bundy of "Stewardess School") comes in and asks her what she thinks she is doing. Kristen says that she's just waiting up for her, and her mother tells her to get to bed. Kristen tells her that she doesn't want to sleep because of the horrible dreams that she keeps having. Her mother tells her that she knows what her psychiatrists have said, and that she needs to get some sleep. Kristen reluctantly goes to sleep, as her Mom goes downstairs to her boyfriend, whom she'd rather be spending time with, apparently, than her daughter. As Kristen drifts off to sleep, she finds herself in front of the very house that she was building, a house that is decrepit and boarded up. There she meets a little girl who is riding around on a tricycle. The little girl says that this is where he takes them. When Kristen asks the little girl what she is talking about, the girl rides her tricycle into the house, and Kristen follows her, trying to tell her that she shouldn't be in there. However, when Kristen enters into the house, she finds that the little girl is nowhere to be found. She goes around calling the girl, but then finds steps into the house's basement, where she slowly descends. When she gets down there, she finds the girl on the tricycle sitting in front of the house's old furnace. Suddenly, the furnace bursts into life, and the girl says that Freddy is home. Soon, Kristen hears someone approaching. She picks up the little girl off of the tricycle, and runs, as she enters into the hallway, she sees the man approaching her (Played by Robert Englund of "Dead & Buried"). Suddenly, the little girl says to put her down, that she's hurting her. As Kristen looks at the little girl, she screams, seeing that she's carrying the decayed REMAINS of a little girl. Suddenly, Kristen is awake. She sighs, and gets out of bed, heading into the bathroom to wash her face. As she is turning the knob, however, it comes to life. IT grabs her hand, and as she pulls it out, we see that it's coming with her, as is the other handle, making a set of arms. Soon, she sees the man's face in mirror, and the sink-hand that is holding her, grows claws, and slashes open her wrist. She screams, and soon her Mother bursts into the bathroom, waking her up. As Kristen looks down, she sees her arm gushing blood, and she passes out. From here, we go to a man, Dr. Neil Gordon (Played by Criag Wasson of "The Men's Club"), as he is walking up the halls of the sanitarium where he works. He is greeting the kids that he works with. Soon, he stops at the quiet room, and looks in to see one of the kids, Roland Kincaid (Played by Ken Sagoes of "Death by Dialogue"), who is in there sitting in the corner. Soon, Dr. Elizabeth Simms (Played by Priscilla Pointer of "From the Hip") shows up and tells Dr. Gordon that if this continues, Kincaid will have to stay in there permanently. Gordon tells her that it won't come to that. Gordon asks her about the specialist whose coming to work with them, and says that he doesn't want some higher up coming in and ruining the progress that he's had with the kids. Dr. Simms tells him that she's good in her field, the study of chronic nightmares, and that she might be JUST what they need. Soon, both of them are paged to come down to the examination room. As they arrive, they find out that their new patient, Kristen Parker, is having a fit, and will not let them sedate her. She backs herself into a corner, holding a scalpel, and begins to recite the famous poem about Freddy Krueger. As she gets to 9, 10, someone else finishes for her. Nancy Thompson (Played by Heather Langenkamp of "Nickel Mountain") enters the room, clearly a few years older. She asks the girl where she heard that rhyme, and soon Kristen collapses into her arms, exhausted. We cut to Nancy and Dr. Gordon walking out of the hospital, and speaking. Gordon finds out that Nancy is the dream specialist, and he welcomes her there. Nancy drops her purse on accident, and Gordon sees that she's on Hypnocil, which was prescribed to her. The next day, Nancy goes to Kristen's house to get her things. As she goes to Kristen's room, Nancy sees the model of the house that Kristen was building. She has a meeting with Kristen and wants to know how Kristen knew about Nancy's old house, where Nancy had met him before. Kristen says that she dreamt about it. Soon, Nancy meets everyone she'll be working with. Roland Kincaid, Joseph "Joey" Crusel (Played by Rodney Eastman of "Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers"), Taryn White (Played by Jennifer Rubin of "Bad Dreams"), Phillip Anderson (Played by Bradley Gregg of "Stand by Me"), William "Will" Stanton (Played by Ira Heiden of "Illegally Yours"), and Jennifer Caulifield (Played by Penelope Sudrow of "Fire with Fire"), as well as the night attendent, Max (Played by Larry Fishburne of "Band of the Hand"). As Nancy begins to work with everyone, she finds out that all of them are experiencing the same dreams, about the same man. That night, Dr. Gordon searches up Hypnocil, and finds out that it is an expirmental dream supressant, and wonders what Nancy needs it for. Meanwhile, Kristen falls asleep in her bed, and finds herself, yet again, in the same house that Nancy Thompson once lived in. Soon, Freddy shows up and attacks her. As he is starting to kill her, Kristen calls for Nancy, and somehow brings her into the dream. Nancy attacks the thing killing Kristen without hesitation, and as it rears it's head up and says "You," Nancy realizes that Freddy Krueger has come back, and she hustles Kristen out of there. When they wake up, Nancy realizes what's happening to all these kids, and what must be done. But she needs to convince Dr. Gordon and Dr. Simms of this, to be able to help them. However, as she hurries to rescue the kids, Freddy strikes and strikes, as one by one, the children of the hospital are dying. All of the actors and actresses in this movie manage to get their parts down very well. The two actors that stuck out to me as not-so-talented, however, were Jennifer Rubin and Ira Heiden, who played Taryn and Will. Taryn was a rocker and Will was a nerd, and while they managed somewhat to get their parts down, for the most part their acting was shaky, and most of the things came out as extremely lame. Robert Englund once again does a massively awesome job as Freddy Krueger, pulling out all the scares, and bringing the legendary glove to life, while at the same time, making his legendary jokes and taunts towards the kids that he is killing. Heather Langenkamp once again returns to the series, and does a great job portraying Nancy Thompson, who knows all about Freddy and what to expect, making for the return of one of the most famous slasher heroines. All of the actors and actresses manage to get their respective characters' feelings, worries, emotions, and other such characteristics down VERY well, and keep the movie going strong. DEFINITELY a great job on the casting of this movie.
All in all, this was another great addition into the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and was a definite step up from "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" which wasn't terrible, but definitely wasn't one of the best movies ever. This one manages to bring many elements back from the first few films, and really bring back the scares to the movie. The Director of this movie does a great job at utilizing angles and filters and really bringing to life the dreams and the kills of the movie, and adding a very nice edge of spookiness to the film, that really makes it a fun movie to watch. DEFINITELY a great job on the Directing of this movie. The Writers of this movie are definitely plenty, but with them we see the return of a great writer, as well as the creation of an excellent story and screenplay that really brings back the elements that made the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" so great. DEFINITELY a great job on the Writing of this movie. The Visuals of this movie, as usual, manage to create a new angle for the killer's point-of-view, return Freddy his glove and make him as creepy as ever, and make the blood very realistic-looking, as well as making some gruesome and interesting kills, which really add more creepiness and eeriness to the movie, for some intense scenes and scares. DEFINITELY a great job on the Visuals of this movie. The Storyline of this movie does a great job at returning our favorite character from the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie, as well as giving Freddy Krueger back his glove. It also creates a new storyline and brings us something new, while keeping the old elements that made the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" so great. DEFINITELY a great job on the Storyline of this movie. The Acting ties everything about this movie together. All of the Actors and Actresses manage to deliver performances that are VERY Convincing, VERY Believable, and VERY Realistic, as well as delivering performances as characters you can really FEEL FOR, though I'm not sure how well you could RELATE TO them, on VARIOUSLY different levels. DEFINITELY a great job on the Casting of this movie. So if you loved the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie, and liked "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, then you DEFINITELY need to see this movie. It's better than "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge," and it really brings back all the elements that made the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" so great, making for one very KICK-ASS sequel. So give it a try. I'm almost POSITIVE that you will not get disappointed with it in the SLIGHTEST. I know I didn't!!!!!
THIS CONCLUDES PART 3 IN MY REVIEW SERIES FOR THE "A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET" SERIES!!!!! STAY TUNED FOR PART 4, "A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER!!!!!"
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