Top 10 moments from Dream Warriors.

 Top 10 moments from Dream Warriors.

 This past week one of the most beloved sequels of all time in the horror universe turned 30. This of course being the third entry in the Nightmare On Elm Street series, part 3...Dream Warriors. This sequel basically made up for the lackluster part 2, bringing back familiar faces, as well as introducing a whole new batch of likable characters the audience could root for. Here the script was written by original creator Wes Craven, as well as getting a talented director and amazing effects crew. This sequel added to the all really terrifying storyline, as well as setting the bar very high for the rest of the series, making it a very tough act to follow. I for one still have memories of always looking at the eye catching artwork, and instantly falling in love with this movie the moment I was lucky enough to rent it. Here to celebrate, I decided to post the top ten moments in my eyes from this movie!

1) "This is where he takes us..."

- Dream Warriors starts off with a bang when young teenage Kristen finally loses her battle of fighting to stay awake. When she drifts off, she finds herself in front of the famous 1428 Elm Street house owned by Nancy from the original, and Jessie from part II. Well, it's safe to say Jessie's family has moved out, and the house has seen some better days. Looking like a gothic haunted house, we witness those creepy children clad in white playing in front of the house singing the Freddy song as well as a little girl on a tricycle. Following her in, she wanders down to the basement where the little girl wheels on over. When Kristen asks what is this place? The little girl utters one of the most chilling lines in the entire film. "This is where he takes us..."

2) Nancy and Freddy meet again.

- One of my favorite scenes in the entire movie is when Kristen has been committed to Western Hills, after her supposed suicide attempt. Of course, after being completely exhausted she drifts off in her hospital room only to get trapped at 1428 again. Here she wanders around and happens upon what appears to be a library where suddenly out bursting from the floor is Freddy in the form of some giant worm demon. Here he swallows up Kristen where she shouts out Nancy's name (Having met her earlier, and being comforted by her.) Nancy, now a grad student, working at Western Hills hears Kristen's cries and falls backwards, only to get sucked through her chair (A really cool visual effect.) Here she comes crashing through a mirror, now in Kristen's dream. Grabbing a piece of broken glass, she rams it into Freddy's eye, only for him to vomit Kristen up. The two girls hold onto each other as the worm rises like a giant snake. Here he stares at Nancy and instantly he remembers her. The only person to truly defeat him and escape. Eyes narrowing, he glares at her and says one simple word. "You..." Nancy's expression says it all as she gasps "Oh my God...RUN!" Seeing both hero and villain together again always is a huge treat. Nancy returning was a major plus for this film, and I can't think of a better way to show them again face to face.

3) Philip's last stroll.

- One of the teens staying at Western Hills is Philip, a cute teen who has a talent for making puppets. Being nicknamed "The walker." due to him constantly sleepwalking around the hallways of the hospital. Sadly Philip falls asleep one night, and isn't woken up by his roommate Kincaid, believing he's just sleep walking again. The reality of it is that Freddy came into Philip's dream, and tore out his tendons in his arms and legs, using him as a puppet, walking him off the main floor. Not only is this effect mind blowing, it's pretty gross. Sadly some of the teens watch their friend high up in one of the hospital towers (the security there must be pretty chill) thinking he's sleepwalking. In Philip's dream, Freddy is a massive form in the sky, and laughs before he cuts Philip's strings, causing him to tumble down to his death. Not only is this a pretty creative death, it's also pretty heartbreaking seeing the rest of the kids all watch in complete disbelief after he falls. (I dressed as Philip using bloody jump ropes two Halloweens ago, they dragged everywhere and got tangled. Goes to show me not to cosplay such a hard death.)

4) Jennifer's big break in TV.

- The second death in this movie is even more memorable simply because of the iconic line that Freddy shouts before smashing Jennifer's head into the TV. I really always found this scene instantly creepy. Poor Jennifer is a girl hopeful that one day she'll become a famous actress. One way of fighting sleep is to burn herself with cigarettes. One night following Philip's tragic death, she begs Max the orderly to stay in the TV room for the night. Here she switches through channels (love that she was watching Critters.) before settling on a late night TV show where she drifts off, and watches as the host transforms into Freddy. Walking over to the TV mounted on the wall almost in a trance, two large arms made out of wires shoot out and take hold of her shoulders lifting her up. Here Freddy's head pokes out from the TV (a truly amazing scene and effects trick.) here he tells her "This is it Jennifer, you're big break in TV! WELCOME TO PRIME TIME BITCH!" Before smashing her head straight into the screen. What makes me laugh is how could they say this was an accident. Did she magically fly five feet up into the air? Did she slam dunk her head? Dear lord...

5) "Let's dance!"

- Taryn a troubled youth staying at Western Hills with a history of drug use gets separated by the rest of the group and finds herself in an old dark alleyway she used to score at during her using days. I never truly got Taryn's power. Yeah we get it, she's beautiful and bad...but how is that going to help you? Besides some tiny switch blades she wasn't any match for Freddy. Still, she was pretty cool looking. (I dressed up as her back at school for a 80's movie character party. I remember falling asleep pretty wasted with my mohawk and waking the next day to have it all hardened and stuck to one side.) Her death of course is completely bad ass and still grosses me out when all of her old needle marks open up and begin opening like tiny little mouths before Freddy's hands turn into needles. Just another reminder on how every single death in this movie was very original, and very cool. In fact just recently my father even remarked on this death and how gross it was. This is coming from a man who seriously can't remember anything from a movie, so you know it must of had a lasting impression on even him.

6) "It's a door.."

- One of the coolest visuals in the movie is when Nancy, Kristen, and Kincaid finally find each other in Freddy's labyrinth of a dream world. The epic score swells up when a large steel door suddenly appears, leading to Freddy's boiler room. I always loved the slow pan around as the three characters stare at the door that has seriously just appeared out of nowhere. I love the lines "It's a door..." "But it doesn't go anywhere..." "Yes it does..." as the characters slowly one by one climb inside knowing they are risking the reality of actually dying now. 

7) The junk/grave yard.

- One of the coolest things about this movie is the rich backstory given on Freddy.  We first learn that Freddy came to be back in the 1940's when a young nun was accidentally locked in the criminally insane ward back at Western Hills over the Christmas holiday. Here she was raped hundreds of times, and when they found her she was barley alive and pregnant. Her child was Freddy. Nicknamed the bastard son of 100 maniacs. Later in the film, we also learn one of the only ways to truly stop Freddy is to stop his spirit by laying it to rest. Here, another character from the past Lt. Thomson, now a washed up security guard with a pretty heavy drinking problem helps Dr. Gordon and his daughter Nancy by showing them where Freddy's remains were put all those years ago when the parents of Elm Street killed him. Here Dr. Gordon and him go to a local junk yard, and open up the trunk of one of the old crushed cars. There are some pretty decent scenes that are beyond creepy in this set. I love how they hear the sounds of the cars starting and Thomason yells "Bury the fucking thing!" as well as Freddy's skeleton coming to life to try and stop Dr. Gordon. In my eyes Freddy's death in this and in part 4 are the most fitting and epic.

8) The souls of children.

- A huge reveal in this movie is how Freddy got so strong? Well, it appears that all of the children he's killed are giving him strength. All of the souls are trapped inside of him, suffering, feeding his fuel to transform and appear in whatever form he wants in nightmares. This element is build onto in the 4th film, but the first reveal is always the best. Here we see the latest victims all trapped screaming in pain. A great visual indeed. 

9) "I'm going to dream you into a beautiful dream..."

- The most heart breaking moment at the end of Dream Warriors is of course the death of our original hero Nancy. Freddy being the complete and utter asshole that he is, tricks her and catches her completely by surprise. As Freddy is put to rest by Dr. Gordon in the real world, his spirit burns out before Kristen and Nancy's very eyes. It always guts me that Nancy was able to hang out just long enough to see him vanish before finally dying. When Kincaid and Joey break down the door they find poor Kristen rocking Nancy's body back and forth crying "I won't let you die! I won't let you die! I'm going to dream you into a beautiful dream, forever and ever..." kissing her forehead, and stroking her hair, listening to her helpless cries always kills me. One thing that really hit home was the amazing fan film Don't Fall Asleep where you see where Nancy went in the afterlife. As a huge Dream Warrior fan, that moment at the end of the short film gave me complete nerd chills.

10) The ending.

- My heart always breaks at the very ending of this movie. Not only do we learn that the nun who helped Dr. Gordon and knew so much about Freddy was the spirit of his mother. The last shot (yes i know this photo above isn't from it.) shows Dr. Gordon asleep in his apartment with Nancy's dream doll, as well as a finished model of the house. The music that plays is beautiful, and it shows one of the windows lights up. For some, they claim this is a sign that Freddy isn't really dead. For me, and for some very strange reason I always believed this was a comforting ending. That the light going on in the model house maybe was Nancy's spirit (would have worked out better if the light went on in her bedroom, but still I have always seen it as Nancy's spirit living on. still awake, and keeping watch over Neil.) Hey, maybe it's just me.

So what are your favorite scenes from Dream Warriors?