Gresh854 A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors is actually a solid, competently made sequel that should've been the direct follow-up from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street instead of Part 2: Freddy's Revenge. There isn't anything awfully laughable or cringy in this movie that most horror sequels will often suffer from. It conclusively, offers an exceptional add-on story in the Freddy Krueger saga. All the actors/actresses give strong performances, however, the film suffers partially because of character development. This movie would've really benefited from a more thorough and thought-out script, so I could actually have something to emotionally latch onto throughout the movie's runtime. The film seems to be more dependent on the kills and action set-pieces-especially towards the finale-rather than the plot itself, which is massively holding it back from being "great." That being said, Dream Warriors is still one of the better horror sequels I've seen, and certainly provides some of the most creatively wicked kills (AND THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM!!!) this franchise has had yet to offer. (Verdict: B-) 6.5/10

jfgibson73 I didn't watch these movies as a kid when all my friends were. Even though I had never seen it before, watching NES III gave me a nostalgic feeling. The look and feel are so EIGHTIES that it's almost like watching back something I'd forgotten I had seen. That said, I thought the movie was way more complicated than it needed to be. Freddy became an icon, and part of it was because he started using sarcastic one liners beginning with this film. But even though it was a success at the time, I disagree with everyone who found this a satisfying sequel. Not being a fan of "kills," or Freddy in general, I was looking more for a well told story. The movie built fairly well, but the final sequences were over complicated. It tried to pack too many twists and revelations into the ending, so that it just became a mess. I'm also deducting points because of how some of the characters end up--I wanted it to turn out differently. And it should have--the narrative was heading in the right the direction, but then changed focus in a way that made me loose interest. 6/10.

JP_Shay As a horror fanatic and huge fan of the "Elm Street" franchise, I honestly think Dream Warriors is one of the greatest sequels of all- time. It has everything - great atmosphere, fun characters and Freddy Krueger at his absolute best!!! The story takes place in a mental institution and the patients' dreams while the line between reality and dreamland is blurred and we are not always sure which one we are in. Freddy himself is used sparingly, which I believe was a good idea since he is so effective when he does appear. The cinematography is brilliant and along with the haunting score creates such a nightmarish atmosphere that feels genuinely scary. I was always impressed with how dreamlike the film can be at times. The special effects were done especially well when it came to the gore and dream sequences. The part where Freddy comes out of the ground as a giant snake-like creature and starts swallowing the girl whole looked freaky as hell! But one of the most memorable scenes has to be where the guy is used as a puppet and sleepwalks to his death. All of the sets looked great and helped create much of the film's haunting feel. The cast did very well also, especially Patricia Arquette in the lead role. Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy from the first film and even if her acting is sub-par, her presence helps bridge a connection to the original Nightmare On Elm Street film. Of course, the true star has to be Robert Englund, who is really the only man who should ever play Freddy Krueger. He brings a wicked sense of humor to the role and provides much of the films comic relief without losing the scary. This is an accomplishment in itself since most horror- comedies tend to lean more towards the comedy side no matter how hard they try. What makes "Dream Warriors" great is that it doesn't have to try. It knows what it is and has all the necessary ingredients to succeed. This is a great standalone horror movie and should not go overlooked by fans of the original Elm Street film.

Leofwine_draca The third entry in the Freddy Krueger series still manages to walk the fine line between comedy and horror and pull it off successfully in what is a fun but rather formulaic movie, typical of the late '80s teen horror in that it features lots of cheesy action and close scrapes with the killer, some goofy but amusing one-liners on the part of the villain, and lots of gooey and impressive special effects, with Kevin Yagher and Doug Beswick teaming up to deliver a range of imaginative and often stunning creations for the film. The casting is pretty good too, packed as it is with familiar faces and welcome returns from the first episode in the series (incidentally the first sequel is totally ignored for this one). The setting for the film this time around is a dark and creepy mental asylum in which an assorted bunch of teenage clichés (including the swearing streetwise black guy, the nerdish Dungeons & Dragons player, the scared mute kid, and the pretty blonde victim) find themselves picked off one by one by the killer with steel claws.What this means is that there's a series of staged deaths for the teenagers in gory and usually spectacular ways, followed by retaliation and an overdone conclusion. The film really benefits from the atmospheric and creepy nightmare sequences which highlight some great moments, including my favourite in which Freddy is revealed as a huge, slimy Lovecraftian worm creature who then proceeds to half eat one of the heroines! A later moment involving one sleepwalking boy being used as a puppet with his veins for strings is memorably grotesque, whilst a buxom stripping nurse fantasy turns into a literal descent into the pits of Hell for one victim! The film also benefits from some surprising use of stop-motion animation, including the best skeleton fight seen on film since JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS! To make things even cooler, the man fighting the skeleton is none other than genre icon John Saxon, returning from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. John Saxon + stop-motion skeletons = a darned good time in this viewer's book.Also returning from the first film is Heather Langenkamp giving a fairly matter-of-fact performance as grown-up warrior Nancy, although fans of her in the first will be disappointed that she lacks the same bite this time around. Patricia Arquette does kooky and disturbed very well indeed but her character is somewhat underdeveloped. There's also a key role for the underrated Craig Wasson as an investigating doctor who proves to be a little bit more open-minded than most. Other familiar faces include Laurence Fishburne (still 'Larry') as a hospital orderly and Zsa Zsa Gabor in a hilarious cameo appearance, playing herself as an interviewee who gets attacked by Krueger! Robert Englund returns to his most famous role and once again invests it with a pleasing level of dynamism and enthusiasm. Not to be described as a great film, this is however a good attempt at a much-maligned genre movie and quite watchable. The series went notably downhill from here.