This is such a welcome improvement to the franchise already! It’s very easy for sequelitis to set in ona franchise in very little time of things aren’t kept fresh. Luckily A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors brings back the horror and greatly expands upon the established mythology and world building to create an enjoyable, if flawed, supernatural slasher.

I still struggle with a lot of the acting in this series. Most of it is outright bad, and it’s unfortunate. There’s also a mix of humor in this film that is both intentional and unintentional, but the direction and acting isn’t good enough, or consistent enough, to distinguish which is which. That is a hinderance. With that said, lines like “Welcome to prime time, bitch!” Were hilariously awesome. While the original A Nightmare on Elm Street is still a superior film that works much better as a slasher horror, I do feel that the franchise finds a new gear with this entry.

I really love the expanded mythology. The rules are re-established from the first film, and new powers and abilities like dream sharing are believable added to the equation. I also loved the Nun’s backstory and expansion of this institution. While the movies are still not consistent on who Freddy targets, the expansion in these other areas makes the movie much more interesting. Especially when they decide to dream share and take the fight to Freddy. It’s a nice subversion of your expectations, and makes for a satisfying conclusion. It’s a bummer seeing Nancy, our ultimate Final Girl, meet her end; but it felt conclusive and rewarding to the character. Plus, the special and practical effects, as well as stop motion animation, are better than they’ve ever been. I doubt this series can keep up this momentum, but it’s looking good after the entries so far.

“Welcome to prime time, bitch!”

90 Minute Wins
Nightmare on Elm Street
1987
1987 Box Office
2021 First Watches