It didn’t take too long for New Line Cinema’s marquee franchise to dive headlong into the utterly insane, and while taking a trip to the more outlandish end of the spectrum can often be a sign of desperation for a horror property, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors still ranks as one of the Freddy Krueger’s best-ever outings.
A Rotten Tomatoes score of 72 percent puts it third in the rankings behind only Wes Craven’s all-time classic original and the self-aware and fourth wall-breaking delight that was New Nightmare. As things stand, then, being the finest Nightmare that wasn’t directed by the creator and icon of the genre himself is something to be proud of, so props go to Chuck Russell for picking up the baton.
It may have been over 35 years since Dream Warriors first arrived to widespread adulation and box office glory, but if the consensus derived from a Reddit thread offering that the third entry in the long-running slasher saga “f*cking rules” is any indication, it remains every bit as popular as it ever did.
Borderline psychedelic in nature, Patricia Arquette’s Kristen barely survives her first encounter with Robert Englund’s legendary terrorizer, but her mother completely fails to understand the situation and has her admitted to a psychiatric ward for observation. As it turns out, none other than Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy is one of the doctors, forcing the old and new guard to team up in a delirious battle of wits, practical effects, and outlandish scenarios to make it out of the dreamscape alive.
