A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

R

Released Feb 27, 1987

1h 35m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

68%

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65 Reviews

68%

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250,000+ Ratings

During a hallucinatory incident, young Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) has her wrists slashed by dream-stalking monster Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Her mother, mistaking the wounds for a suicide attempt, sends Kristen to a psychiatric ward, where she joins a group of similarly troubled teens. One of the doctors there is Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), who had battled Freddy some years before. Nancy senses a potential in Kristen to rid the world of Freddy once and for all.

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Critics Consensus

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors offers an imaginative and surprisingly satisfying rebound for a franchise already starting to succumb to sequelitis.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Abysmal, and the only thing worth cheering is special effects work by Peter Chesney.

Jul 27, 2023

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Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

It's the dumbest installment in the series.

Jul 25, 2023

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Bill Briggs

Orlando Sentinel

Drive-In Academy Award nominations for... Robert Englund, as Freddy Krueger, the one and only, and Chuck Russel, the director, for doing a heck of a job.

Jul 24, 2023

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

The end result is a film that, while never quite reaching the quality of Wes Craven’s original work, stands up as a particularly strong sequel – taking up the ingredients of the format and set-up, and remixing them into an entertaining new variation.

Rated: 7/10

Oct 1, 2025

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

It offers more campy fun than it has any right to deliver, though it's still a far cry from something I'd call "good."

Rated: 2/5

Sep 11, 2025

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Full of great special effects and with Freddy's pre-history filled in very satisfyingly, this is a rollercoaster ride from the opening Edgar Allan Poe quotation to the final Ray Harryhausen homage.

Rated: 3/5

May 23, 2025

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Jessica C

It was a fun movie that really held up well for the time period. We really enjoyed seeing this again.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/11/25

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David J.

Loved it. This is the movie that made Freddy a freaking rock star.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

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Rafael S

Very good film, one of Wes Craven's best and for me it's a 10, in addition to having very good and well-explored concepts.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/02/25

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GotRizz237

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 was really great! Very great story and plot to the movie and I liked how they brought back Nancy from the first one.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/24/25

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Luigi M

Absolute cult classic! If you like the original then you should enjoy this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/19/25

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DanTheMan 2

Being the only one of the sequels that Wes Craven had any involvement in, Dream Warriors not only serves as a perfect companion piece to the original, it is also the only sequel I've seen from this franchise post-Freddy's Revenge, something I'm going to change in the next few days. An endlessly stylish and fun slasher flick, the mix of darkly comedic and terrifying in Freddy Krueger is a balance that peaked here, offering an imaginative and surprisingly satisfying rebound for the franchise after the tragic missteps of Part 2. Director Chuck Russell delivers plenty of amazing, surreally imaginative and truly unsettlingly scenes in spades, bringing to life the sort of bizarre images which used to be found only on comic book covers and even manages to expand on the mythology without going overboard, giving us a bit more of Krueger's origin, making him more of a monster than he already was. There's a great mixture of creativity and horror on display throughout this one, with Robert Englund possessing some superb one-liners and a consistent dedication to the role that elevates Krueger above '80s icon and into something genuinely rather terrifying. Langenkamp's return in a supporting role is well executed, effectively utilised, and delivers an excellent performance overall. She plays well with new members of the cast, whilst also receiving her fair share of moments with Englund's return as Freddy Krueger. All of this, plus a kick-ass metal song from Dokken, Angelo Badalamenti's wonderfully unsettling score, and knarly special effects work, marks Dream Warriors out as easily one of Freddy's high points.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/16/25

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Chuck Russell

Director

Heather Langenkamp

Nancy Thompson

Patricia Arquette

Kristen Parker

Craig Wasson

Dr. Neil Gordon

Laurence Fishburne

Max

Priscilla Pointer

Dr. Elizabeth Simms

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Synopsis

During a hallucinatory incident, young Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) has her wrists slashed by dream-stalking monster Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Her mother, mistaking the wounds for a suicide attempt, sends Kristen to a psychiatric ward, where she joins a group of similarly troubled teens. One of the doctors there is Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), who had battled Freddy some years before. Nancy senses a potential in Kristen to rid the world of Freddy once and for all.

Director: Chuck Russell
Producer: Robert Shaye
Screenwriter: Wes Craven
Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc., New Line Cinema, Media Home Entertainment
Production Co: New Line Cinema
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 27, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 30, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.1M
Runtime: 1h 35m

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