Overall rating 8.5/10 
This film and the original Halloween are my favorite slasher films of all time. This movie has an interesting plot, decent character development (for a slasher), and some really cool special effects. The film brings back Nancy, the final girl from the first Nightmare on Elm Street. She’s now an adult and trying to help the last of the Elm Street children who have all been locked in an institution because of various mental problems and sleep disorders.
This film doesn’t really follow the basic structure of a slasher. Nancy and Kristen (played by a young and appropriately haggard looking Patricia Arquette in her first role) share the duties of the final girl. And at the end of the movie three of the core group of kids survive so we never really get the long intense final girl sequence. There are also a fair amount of adults who are willing to help the kids and don’t conform to the usual slasher genre trope of adults are useless. Nancy, and another male doctor, and an orderly played by a young Lawrence Fishburne are not the usual clueless authority figures. Of course there are some who refuse to see what’s really happening, but hey, you have to advance the plot somehow, right?
Another point in favor of this film, there are several important black characters – and they all live! My favorite is the sassy black patient. In his dreams he’s strong. And dresses kind of like Mr. T. And has some amazing red high tops. He’s awesome. Lawrence Fishburne’s character also lives and there is a black nurse in there somewhere for a minute.
Like all Nightmare films this movie has more special effects than blood and guts. There are some really good scenes in here, and some silly ones. The bloodiest is the infamous tendon-marionette death scene which is one of the most skincrawling deaths ever (it’s also super long). I have a really hard time watching it, it creeps me out that badly.
It’s really nice that they brought Nancy back from the first film. She’s supposed to be a grad student in this, even though in real time only three years have passed. She’s got a pretty awesome mid-1980’s glamorous wardrobe in this and they gave her a total 80’s mom haircut to make her look older. It doesn’t really work but she looks good. She dies but we’ll see her again in New Nightmare. There is also some set up here for the next film – Freddy’s nun ghost mom appears – which I remember being really bad but I’ll try to come at it with fresh eyes.
If you’re going to watch one slasher film, well, watch Halloween. But if you’ve already seen that then watch Nightmare 3.
Continue reading for list of victims and final girl.
Final Girls 