Post by jasonzson on Jan 27, 2007 0:52:04 GMT -5
Directed by Chuck Russell
Written by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner
Starring Robert Englund, Patricia Arquette, Heather Lagenkamp and Craig Wasson
Dream Warriors begins with Kristen (Arquette) entering a psych ward. Nancy Thompson (Lagenkamp), now an intern, struggles to convince the the staff of Freddy's reality as patients are picked off at a fairly regular pace. They discover together that they all have special abilities in their dreams, giving much of the movie the feel of a Bandai TV show. Nancy returns for a final dream confontation with Freddy while her father and Dr. Gordon (Wassan) fight Freddy's physical remains. Combat ensues on multiple fronts, and at the cost of several lives Freddy is defeated- once and for all?
You can virtually smell the increase in the budget of this movie by looking at the effects. While the first few "Nightmares" focused on individual attacks, they almost seem to be playing with their budget by constantly tearing apart the rooms the characters find themselves in when they doze off. Like the majority of the series, the effects are generally clay, rather than CGI or robotic.
Some good directing is seen in the opening sequence, where the blood splatter display puts Kristen's survival in doubt. The "Wizard Master" effects are generally fake and cartoony, leading you to the impression that they are nothing more than a boy's fantasies and will be useless against Freddy.
The acting is generally pretty good. Englund is nothing less than you would expect as the only actor to play more than one limb of Freddy Krueger, and lends his movements to the skeleton portraying him in the burial fight scene. Some parts could use a bit of work, such as scenes with the woman doctor in the psych ward and Nancy's father.
The continuity in the 3rd film of the "Nightmare" series is a bit better than that of the second. Nancy and her father are both vital characters once again. Freddy's history is mentioned and stuck with, as well as the existing facts (his death) being embellished upon. Freddy's real world powers from "Freddy's Revenge" are transfered to his corpse, though he doesn't use them much. The rat from the end of the second movie, or something much like it, is on a plate in Freddy's house. The only break from continuity in this movie that I noticed is the complete ignorance of Freddy's penchant for posession.