A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987)

  • 73% of critics liked it
    (33 reviews)

  • 68% of users liked it
    (283,602 ratings)

The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a… More

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R,
Directed By
Written By
Chuck Russell, Frank Darabont, Wes Craven, Bruce Wagner
Genres
Horror
In Theaters
Feb 27, 1987 Wide
Media Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Debuting director Chuck Russell elicits poor performances from most of his thesps, making it difficult to differentiate between pic's comic relief and unintended howlers.

  • , Time Out

    A creepy score and Russell's sure grasp of the skewed logic of nightmares helps to sustain the ambiguity between the 'real' and 'dream' worlds, while Englund's Freddie now fits like a glove.

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    The film's dream sequences are ingenious, and they feature some remarkable nightmare images and special effects.

  • Richard Harrington, Washington Post

    While it's better than its predecessor, it's still not quite up to its inspiration.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    This is filmmaking by the numbers, without soul.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Nicki M


    Pretty lame, in all honesty. Was looking forward to this one as it brings Nancy's character back in, but it still wasn't that good. Maybe my expectations were too high, but pity help me, I still have three elm movies left in my box set!

  • AJ V


    Alright, that's it, this is the last Elm St. movie I ever want to see! Here I thought that after that horrendous second movie this one would be worse, but no, it was terrifying, and I went back to my nightmares with Freddy. The original scream queen Langenkamp, who played Nancy… More

  • Jason C


    This is probably my favorite entry in the series. "Dream Warriors" thankfully rebounds from the ridiculous "Freddy's Revenge", and actually advances the concepts presented in the original. The most notable creative progressions are the dream sequences. The… More

  • jd c


    Tied with New Nightmare, this is my second favorite in the series. This is where Freddy Krueger becomes the comedian we grew to love. It displays some of the most inventive kills in the series. Part 3 is bloodier than part 2, but not bloodier than the original. But the death scenes… More

  • Jeff "


    This is a redeeming sequel to the weaker Freddy's Revenge. What makes this film a better, more entertaining film is a strong cast, some terrific directing, great script writing and the involvement of Wes Craven. Dream Warriors is one of the best Nightmare On Elm Street sequels… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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Trailers & Clips