Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) by Filipeneto — 21 Apr 2021

I really liked this film, as it seemed to me a sequel that honors and resonates with the original film. In this film, Freddy Krueger goes back to attack the dreams of the Elm Street teens, but this time they're able to give him a fight. The film does not disappoint the franchise fans and brings everything that is required, including blood, gore and rather macabre scenes, especially towards the end.

The cast does its job satisfactorily. Robert Englund is impeccable in the role of the iconic villain, Heather Langenkamp is perfect for the protagonist and Craig Wasson, Patricia Arquette, Ken Sagoes and Rodney Eastman secure the most important supporting characters with confidence and reasonable results. It is not an exceptional work, there are failures and moments when the actors sound excessively cliché, but I think that some of those failures may be due to bad lines and dialogues, and not so much to the effort of the actors themselves.

Technically, it is a very well-made film and appears to have a lot of money invested. CGI and special effects are quite good and worked very well, especially the skeleton. Englund's make-up also looks more realistic and detailed than in other older films, and that makes it clearer, more disturbing and impactful. There is some room for pleasant black humor, but the film is genuinely tense and the suspense was built in a coherent and skillful manner. Dark cinematography with strong colors helps, at the right times, to accentuate this tension, and the soundtrack also plays an honorable role.