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

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1987
Running Times: 93 mins (Norway)     96 mins (USA)
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound: Dolby

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: New Line Cinema / Heron Communications / Smart Egg Pictures
Executive in Charge of Production: Gerald T. Olson
Executive Producers: Wes Craven, Stephen Diener
Line Producer: Rachel Talalay
Producer: Robert Shaye
Co-Producer: Sara Risher
Associate Producer: Niki Marvin
Production Manager: Gerald T. Olson
Assistant Production Manager: Rebecca Greeley
Production Coordinator: Patricia Frazier

SCRIPT
Script: Wes Craven, Bruce Wagner, Chuck Russell, Frank Darabont
Story: Wes Craven, Bruce Wagner
Characters: Wes Craven

DIRECTION
Director: Chuck Russell
2nd Unit Director: Dan Perri
1st Assistant Director: Jim Behnke
2nd Assistant Director: Carol Bonnefil

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Roy H. Wagner
1st Assistant Camera: Ed Giovanni
Best Boy: John Doherty
Gaffer: Shane D. Kelly
Colour: DeLuxe

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Post Production Supervisor: Joseph Fineman
Editors: Terry Stokes, Chuck Weiss

MUSIC
Music: Angelo Badalamenti
Additional Music: Ken Harrison, Don Dokken
Songs Written and Performed By: Dokken (Dream Warriors; Into the Fire); Warren Zevon (I'll Sleep When I'm Dead)
Orchestrator: Andrew Barrett, Joseph Turrin
Score Mixer: Ray Niznik

SOUND
Sound: William Fiege
ADR Editor: Steve Rice

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Key Make Up: Christa Reusch
Assistant Make Up: Lou Manigan
Key Hair: H. Wayne Coker
Costume Designer: Camile Schroeder
Wardrobe Supervisor: Donna R. Schultz

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Kreuger Make Up and Effects: Kevin Yagher
Special Make Up Effects Sequences: Greg Cannom, Mark Shostrum (sic)

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Tom Chesney
Special Effects (Dream Quest Images): D. Kerry Prior
Mechanical Special Effects: Peter Chesney, Image Engineering Inc
Effects Sculptor: Joel Fletcher
Stop Motion Animation: Doug Beswick
Stop Motion Crew: Jim Aupperle
Special Effects Animator: Craig Clark

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Visual Effects: Dreamquest Images
Visual Effects Supervisor: Hoyt Yeatman

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Directors: Mick Strawn, C.J. Strawn
Set Decorator: James R. Barrows
Storyboard Artist: Pete von Sholly

STUNTS
Stunt Co-Ordinator: Rick Barker
Stunts: Bob K. Cummings, Gregg Dandridge, Joe Gilbride, Gary Littlejohn, Alison Lowe-Brown, Charly Morgan, William R. Perry, Debby Porter, J.D. Silvester, Tony Snegoff

CASTING
Casting: Annette Benson

CAST
Heather Langenkamp (Nancy Thompson)
Craig Wasson (Dr Neil Gordan)
Patricia Arquette (Kristen Parker)
Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger)
Ken Sagoes (Roland Kincaid)
Rodney Eastman (Joey Crusel)
Jennifer Rubin (Taryn White)
Bradley Gregg (Phillip Anderson)
Ira Heiden (Will Stanton)
Larry Fishburne (Max)
Penelope Sudrow (Jennifer Caulfield)
John Saxon (Donald Thompson)
Priscilla Pointer (Dr Elizabeth Simms)
Clayton Landey (Lorenzo)
Brooke Bundy (Elaine Parker)
Kristen Clayton (little girl)
Sally Piper (nurse #1)
Rozlyn Sorrell (nurse #2)
Nan Martin (nun)
Stacey Alden (Marcie)
Dick Cavett (himself)
Zsa Zsa Gabor (herself)
Michael Rougas (priest in church)
Jack Shea (priest in cemetery)
Paul Kent (Dr Carver)
Mary Brown (neurosurgeon)
Melanie Doctors (girl in cemetery)
Donna Durham (girl in crowd)

Nancy Thompson, the survivor of Freddy Kreuger's first assault on the teens of Elm Street, is now working as a counselor advising young people suffering from sleep problems. When some of her clients are targeted by Kreuger, she helps them to fight back.

The best of the Elm Street sequels, with the best use of the special effects that were to quickly swamp the series. It was good to see Nancy Langenkamp back in the saddle and the presence behind the camera of Wes Craven ensured that Dream Warriors would be a cut above the rest of the films. Sadly, it was downhill all the way after this.

USA
Theatrical Distributor: New Line Cinema
Video Distributor: Media Home Entertainment / New Line Home Video
Laserdisc Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc (ID 5053)

Australia
Rating: R

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -12

Norway
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R

West Germany
Rating: 18

1988
Fantasporto
Critics' Award: Special Mention (Chuck Russell) - winner

International Fantasy Film Award
Best Film (Chuck Russell) - nominated

1987
February
27: USA - theatrical release

June
17: France - theatrical release

July
24: Finland - theatrical release

1988
February
Day Unknown: Portugal - shown at the Fantasporto Film Festival

September
9: Sweden - theatrical release

1991
May
Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Movies)

1996
September
25: USA - laserdisc release (Elite)

2002
January
5: USA - television broadcast (on Sci-Fi)

June
5: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 5)

Sleep. Those little slices of death. How I loathe them.

If you think you'll get out alive, you must be dreaming.

SEQUEL TO
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

SEQUELS
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
New Nightmare (1994)

SEE ALSO
Body Double (1984)
Scream (1996)

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
Critters (1986)

MAGAZINES

The Dark Side no.82 p.26 (UK)
review

Empire November 1998 p.138 (UK)
review, credits

Fangoria Poster Magazine no.1 p.53 (USA)
article

Fear no.5 p30 (UK)
article

Premiere June 1987 p.19 (France)
review (by Jean-Paul Chaillet)

Samhain no.4 p.21 (UK)
review

Samhain no.5 p.5 (UK)
article

Samhain no.6 p.34 (UK)
review

Scarlet Street no.30 p.20 (USA)
review

Shivers no.110 p.27 (UK)
article

Video Watchdog no.36 p.54 (USA)
review

BOOKS

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.264
review, credits

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

skeletons, stalk and slash, dreams, nightmares, teenagers, mental illness, sleepwalking, wheelchairs, group therapy, psychiatry, psychiatric hospital, sequels, hypnotism, nuns

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008