A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Summary

“I have had some experience with pattern nightmares.”

Last year, Warner Bros. pleased one of the most devoted group of horror fans when it released Wes Craven’s seminal horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street onto the 4K format. Long considered one of the best and most frightening horror films ever made, it made great sense that Craven’s film would be given a 4K release on its 40th anniversary. One year later, Warner has chosen to give the entire film series a 4K upgrade, so I plan to review one film a week in the series until I have finished the whole series off. This is going to be fun for me, because I have not seen every entry in the series since I was a kid (and I am not sure which entries I have seen, and which I have not.)

One year after Wes Craven’s masterpiece, New Line Cinema released A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. The film was considered by many to be one of the worst horror sequels ever made. There was no involvement by Wes Craven, and the film was a rush job that inserted Freddy Krueger into a totally unrelated script. The film has its share of defenders because it is a very gay picture – intentionally or not. It was obvious that the series would need to have its course corrected if the series would continue to be financially viable. With 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, New Line Cinema brought Wes Craven back to write a screenplay. He worked on a premise for the film and a  screenplay with Bruce Wagner. That screenplay had a lot of elements that New Line liked, but it was still largely unfilmable. The next step was bringing on writers Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell to doctor the script. Chuck Russell impressed New Line enough that he was also given the job of directing the film. The resulting film goes back to many of the elements that worked in the first film, abandons everything about the second picture, and adds interesting new elements that all work. It is not surprising that many consider Dream Warriors to be their favorite of the Elm Street series. 

Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) is having terrible nightmares. She has been eating coffee grounds on top of drinking Diet Cokes with hopes of staying awake. One night, when she falls asleep, she has a dream where she meets several of Freddy Krueger’s child victims. She runs from the boiler room in her dream and finds herself face to face with Freddy in the bathroom mirror in her home. Freddy slashes her wrists. Kristen’s mother walks in to her bedroom just in time to see her pass out from the wounds. Kristen is admitted to a psychiatric facility on suicide watch. When they try to make her go to sleep, she attacks Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson) and an orderly named Max (Lawrence Fishburne.) That is when Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) arrives. She immediately calms down Kristen because she knows the end of the rhyme that Kristen sings from her dream. Nancy is an intern starting out at the facility. Max takes her around to meet the numerous patients. All of them share a common delusion of a boogie man in their dreams. Nancy realizes that all of them are being terrorized by Freddy and that they are in actual danger. She also realizes that Kristen has a unique gift. Kristen is able to bring her friends into her dream world. Kristen and her friends will need to band together to survive.

Dream Warriors is a great horror sequel. The screenplay manages to keep the best elements of the first film, directly continue the story of that picture, while expanding the possibilities of what the series can do. Dream Warriors is not as frightening as the first film, but very few horror pictures are as frightening as the first film. Dream Warriors is very creative. Benefitting from a larger budget than the first picture, Chuck Russell was able to craft some really interesting dream sequences and kills. Dream Warriors is much more surreal than Nightmare pictures that preceded it to its benefit. The picture also introduced the element of teamwork as Kristen recruits Kincaid, Joey, Taryn, Nancy, and others to help her defeat Freddy. The only blemish on this really interesting sequel are a few moments in the last part of the picture where Freddy can seemingly do a few impossible things outside of the dream world as well.

On top of the solid screenplay, the picture benefits from a solid cast of young actors and veteran cast members. Robert Englund continues to embody the role of Freddy. He is great in the movie. The version of Freddy here has some great one-liners, but he is not so funny as to lose his edge. Heather Langenkamp’s return to the series is enjoyable. Craig Wasson does the best that he can with the character of Dr. Gordon, but the role is overshadowed by the young cast members that are much more memorable. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen. This was her first film role, and despite only appearing in this one Nightmare picture, she is a series favorite. It would be impossible to think of this movie without immediately thinking of her role. Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman, Jennifer Rubin, and Bradley Gregg play Kristen’s ragtag group of misfits that band together with her in her dreams to fight Freddy. Laurence Fishburne and John Saxon also have roles in the picture.

Thanks to the bigger budget ($4 million,) the filmmakers had a better chance to make a visually exciting picture. The cinematography by Roy H. Wagner is capably rendered and the picture is much more stylish than the prior films. The score was composed by the brilliant (and now recently deceased) Angelo Badalamenti. The practical effects are very well conceived. Overall, Dream Warriors is definitely one of the high points in the Elm Street series. I liked this movie a lot.

Video

The new 4K HEVC/H.265 transfer from Warner Bros., is a big improvement over the 2011 Blu-ray release. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors benefits from a larger budget, and Roy H. Wagner does a very solid job on the cinematography. Chuck Russell put every penny of the budget onscreen, even making non working practical effects come to life. This 4K UHD upgrade makes the film look much better than it ever has before. The HDR makes the colors in the film pop, and this picture in particular has great use of color. Detail is very good. Fans are going to love the work that has been done here.

Audio

Warner Bros. have provided a brand new Atmos track for this release alongside the prior DTS HD-MA 5.1 track from 2011, and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track. The Atmos track respects the original sound design while adding immersion when possible. The score by Angelo Badalamenti is very well composed and adds a lot to the film. I wish that brilliant composer was still alive. Clarity is very good. Purists will be excited to have the Mono track to listen to as well. 

Supplements:

The 4K carries over the supplements from the 2011 Blu-ray, minus the trailer

• Behind the Story
• Dokken Dream Warriors Music Video

Overall Scores: 

Video – 4.75/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is considered to be one of the best films in the Elm Street series. The film dives into surreal nightmare and dream sequences that would not have been possible with the slighter budget of the prior films. The picture is not as frightening as the very first picture, but it is a strong return to form after Freddy’s Revenge. The film has a fantastic young cast including Patricia Arquette in her first film role. The script by Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell expands upon ideas from a script by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner that takes the series into a very clever direction. Chuck Russell takes over directing duties and capably brings the script’s ideas to life. This is one of the Elm Street films where I completely understand the replay value. I really enjoyed this movie. Fans of the picture will be elated by the great work that Warner put into this 4K release. Warner Bros. has given the film a beautiful 4K UHD upgrade with a great looking 4K transfer and an extremely competent Dolby Atmos upgrade. This release is currently only available in Warner’s comprehensive Nightmare on Elm Street 4K Collection, which comes highly recommended for fans of the series.