(Reviewed by Eminem4569) - “Sleep. Those little slice of death. How I loathe them.” -Edgar Allan Poe (Also film’s tagline)

Look at that title. They do not name them like they use to. In a day and age where everything is MIB II, M-I 2, and X2, this title is a breath of fresh air. Anyways…

If Michael Myers and Jason are the silent bad boys of modern day horror then Freddy Krueger is the unholy spirit. The first film of the series, Wes Craven's truly intelligent and chilling film, was so hugely successful it spawned 7 sequels, each pretty much thinning the originality and horror of its entry before. Still, there's a certain enjoyment in the sequels, especially this one.

Dream Warriors is fast paced with a certain fun flair and glare. The film features many up and comers that are now some of Hollywood’s biggest heavyweights. Directed by Chuck Russell (The Mask, Eraser, The Scorpion King), written by Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) and Frank Darabont (Shawshenk Redemption, The Green Mile) and starring a very young Patricia Arquette (True Romance, Bringing Out the Dead) and Lawrence Fishburne (The Matrix, Higher Learning.)

Picking up where the original Nightmare left off, the sole survivor Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) has grown up and become a psychiatrist specializing in dream therapy. She meets a group of children at a local sleep ward facing Freddy Krueger, the same demon she once encountered in her sleep. One of them is Kristen (Patricia Arquette), who has the power to draw other people into her dreams. Working with the hospital employees Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson) and Hospital Assistant Max (Lawrence Fishburne), Nancy helps the kids realize their special abilities within the nightmare world.

Patricia Arquette does a great job portraying Kristen, upstaging Heather Langenkamp with her acting ability and showcasing her lungs screaming capacity. The other kids in the film are likeable as well, but also pretty generic and cardboard. There is Phillip, a sleepwalker, Roland Kincaid who throws violent fits and spends most of his time in a padded room, Will Stanton who is contained to a wheel chair, Joey who does not seem to speak much anymore, Jennifer who dreams of one day being an actress and Taryn who is a junkie street punk. Dr. Elizabeth Simms (Priscilla Pointer) keeps the group in order and disciplined.

This entry is the last in the series before Freddy Krueger becomes a Bugs Bunny like comedian. It is the first to have pop influenced soundtrack, featuring some 80’s hair metal group Dokken, a great band that has a knack for pretty catchy tunes. Later sequels would feature the Iron Maiden, Fay Boys, Tuesday Night, Dramarama and Sinead O’Connor.

In the first film, Freddy was a fixture in the background and was mysterious and dark. Here he is still dark, yet he seems to mess with the children first and throw out dark humored witty one-liners. This seems a bit out of character, yet is still better than some of the later sequels, where he would sport sunglasses while murdering.

A customer at the video store I work at once called the Nightmare on Elm Street series as a high-class rent answer to the Friday the 13th saga and this third entry really showcases the idea. It has a little sleaze and cheese, yet still has some brains.

The slick film shocks, screams, shows some teen angst and follows the formula. I enjoyed this film and is one of the best of the horror genre. Though it seems to be overlooked just because of it’s sequel ness.

***1/2 3 and a half stars