Grade:  B+

Director:  Chuck Russell		Released:  February 1987
Writer:  Wes Craven		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Patricia Arquette		Running time:  96 minutes

Ratings Methodology

Hey, the old gang is back!  Craven, Langenkamp, Englund, John Saxon ... this MUST be a Freddy movie!

Part 3 in the Elm Street series is the most fun, the most entertaining, but it's not scary.  It's funny and creative, but it's not scary.  It's got cool effects with an interesting and compelling story, but it's not scary.  When you're talking about a horror movie, that's a problem.  Many folks claim this as their favorite Freddy movie, but to me, it's the first step in the wrong direction.  It's very good and enjoyable, but it's the introduction of Freddy as more than the man who haunts your dreams, he is now a killer who cracks wise and spouts ridiculous puns at his victims, he is now a demon that you need Holy Water to kill, he is now "the bastard son of a hundred maniacs", he is now getting ridiculous, and certainly not scary.

There is some great stuff here though, the puppeteer Freddy who makes one kid jump to his death, the TV Freddy who smashes another kid into the screen, Lawrence Fishburne makes an appearance here and there.  It's all very cool, just not frightening in any way.  And that's because you root for Freddy when you watch this movie (and all subsequent sequels).  If Freddy is the hero, then who cares if all the kids get killed?  This is the same fate that befell the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises ... if the audience is there because the villain is cool and they want to see him kill off the world, there is no suspense or chills to be had.

- crocoPuffs