Editorials
30 Years of ‘Dream Warriors’: The Freddy that Almost Was
30 years ago today, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors was released into multiplexes across the nation. New Line was running to the bank with one of the highest grossing films of 1987, and Freddy Krueger secured his place in the pop culture pantheon. “Welcome to primetime, bitch,” indeed. Directed by Chuck Russell (The Blob) in his prime, Dream Warriors is widely considered the best sequel of the franchise. The film also represents a huge turning point, sending Krueger down the path of wisecracking super-villain. The script is credited to both Russell and Frank Darabont as well as Bruce Wagner and Wes Craven.
After the mediocre reception to Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, New Line smartly decided to bring Craven back into the picture to help mold the newest installment. In a first draft screenplay, dated 6/16/86 (seriously, “666”?), Craven and Wagner presented a pretty solid structure that didn’t change too drastically in the finished film. The basic premise is all there. Nancy winds up helping a group of troubled teens in a mental institution who’ve become victim to the dream demon.
Seeing as to this was a first draft, it’s far from perfect as to be expected. There are several odd choices throughout. Suspension of disbelief is put the test with major narrative jumps that manage to defy the already loopy internal logic built into the series. In the amazingly exhaustive doc that chronicles the entire franchise, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Rachel Talalay (series producer/director, Freddy’s Dead) put it best:
There were no rules. Everybody could do everything. So, it was just the kitchen sink thrown in.
It wasn’t long before both Russell and Darabont were brought in to take a crack at the screenplay. Their take, of course, was more to the studio’s liking as their rewrite turned into the film we have today.
So, what would the original iteration of the film have looked like? A lot has been said that Craven’s original draft was much darker than what made it to screens. Freddy’s perverse tendencies are on full display with profane one-liners standing in for the comedic zingers we were given instead. Lines such as “Give Freddy a little head, hm?” during a variation on the “Freddy snake” scene present Krueger as more of a sexual deviant than ever before. The character of Philip is written as a “frail, thirteen year-old”. His death here is similar, except he’s not strung up like a marionette. Here, Freddy physically leads the boy by placing the child’s feet atop his own, marching him unwillingly towards his demise. Phillip asks, “Why me?” to which Freddy responds, like the true dirty old man he is, “Because, I like you.” Pedophilia was only ever assumed in Craven’s original, and this draft provides plenty of moments to back it up.
Despite the ickier bits, there’s also a saccharine sweetness on display, especially in the script’s third act. When the Dream Warriors finally rally together to take the fight to Krueger, there are Spielbergian levels of schmaltz. The scene actually calls to mind the final scenes of Craven’s own The People Under the Stairs where the entire community shows up to support Fool. There’s even more focus on the romance at the film’s heart between Nancy and Neil. A quick love scene is super cringey. Just peep that dialogue below. Sheesh.
Speaking of Nancy, our returning heroine from part one, she is front and center in this first draft. The film opens to the birth of Freddy by a nameless woman, alone in a secluded ranch home. No mention of Amanda Krueger or 100 maniacs here. Nancy, driving cross country on the hunt for her missing father (which leads to a great exchange between her and Neil, seen below), blows a tire and stumbles upon Freddy’s ol’ abode. When Nancy enters the house she’s thrown into a “waking dream”. Yep, as told to us by exposition dump, John (Nancy’s father), Freddy’s home is a literal gateway to the dream-world. No “zzzs” necessary. After escaping the clutches of Freddy’s home, Nancy is rescued by the good samaritan/doctor, Neil, who takes Nancy under his wing. He also ends up taking her on as his assistant where she seems to have free reign of the institution despite having no medical qualifications at all!
It’s also revealed that John wound up locked inside the loony bin too. He got busted trying to burn down the Krueger home after shaving off his eyelids! Relieved to have located her father, Nancy discovers that he’s been on the hunt for Freddy all this time. John believes that Freddy’s home is the source of his power. Burning it down will put the dream demon to rest for good. Somehow everyone involved, the kids, Nancy, her father, have all been unknowingly drawn to this town because they’re “special”; they’re the warriors capable of stopping Freddy. Yep, we’re not in Springwood anymore. The idea that “every town has an Elm Street” is presented for the first time in this script only never to make it to screen until Freddy’s Dead, 5 years later.
One of the script’s strong suits are the visuals. One finale scene involves a bonus character named Laredo (who ultimately became the wheelchair bound, Will, in the finished film) realizing he has the power to morph into anything he can imagine once up against Freddy. Laredo morphs into a giant gargoyle, Freddy a giant bird. Laredo turns into a net to catch Freddy, only for Krueger to morph into goo in order to slip away. It’s absurd and surely would have played more for laughs, whether intentional or not. Kincaid doesn’t survive this initial draft, and again, the visuals of his death are part ridiculous and part horrific. Kristen, able to pull the warrior from one dream scenario to the next, teleports the warriors from Freddy’s home back to the “reality” of the hospital. Kincaid winds up trapped halfway through a wall. His upper body is screaming for help in the real world while his lower half is fair game to Freddy in the dream world. The punchline involves Freddy’s glove ripping through Kincaid only to pop through the boy’s mouth. The creme de la creme, however, is the final moment of Kristen literally witnessing Freddy’s birth only to battle the evil newborn, bashing it to death against a wall.
It’s some of these insane ideas that probably wouldn’t have worked on screen, but they’re certainly exciting to think about “what if”. Overall, this draft lacks serious character development with Kristen getting the short shrift making way for more screentime for Nancy. There are no group sessions until the end when all the kids prepare for battle. It certainly lacks the emotional heft of the film we know and love. Of course, this was just a first draft, so it’s possible Craven/Wagner could have ironed out these issue before production. What’s more interesting to ponder, would A Nightmare on Elm Street have been the horror juggernaut it was had this script been filmed? Would kids have had Freddy lunchboxes and action figures to play with? Probably not.
The brutal nature of Krueger as written here would certainly please the hardcore set. Freddy disembowels Kristen’s mother and munches on her intestines. Joey actually dies by “seductress Freddy” when their French kiss leads to Freddy’s tongue twisting up into his skull and popping out both of his eyeballs from inside. This script isn’t short on the bloody stuff, that’s for sure. The idea that Freddy isn’t tied to Springfield would have certainly opened up the later sequels to head in different directions. As well, we may have ultimately been given an entirely different backstory for Krueger’s birth.
Nonetheless, this is the reality that we live in. Frank Darabont and Russell were brought in to clean up the original draft and add their own spin to it, and aren’t we happy they did? Nightmare 3 is one of the most imaginative and fun horror films of the 80’s. Yes, this direction did represent the beginning of the series’ downward spiral, but we’ll always have Dream Warriors. Here’s hoping that if a Nightmare reboot ever gets off the ground, they’ll look to this film for the proper balance of fun and horror. So, happy 30th anniversary, Dream Warriors!
For those interested in a complete breakdown of the Craven/Wagner script, check out this 2012 article from Evan Dickson. Is Nightmare 3 your favorite sequel of the series? Would you have preferred this more brutal take on the film?
There’s a lot of reading left to do in 2026, between the glut of summer releases and the approach of fall, when horror titles get a special push from publishers, but this has already been an incredible year for horror literature.
Some of the biggest names in the genre have turned in outstanding work, rising stars have made their mark, and we’re only halfway through the year.
To celebrate the midway point of 2026, with plenty of horror books still to come, we’re taking a look back at the best horror books we’ve read this year so far, listed alphabetically by author.
If you missed any of these books earlier in the year, consider this your reminder to catch up.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
A student running from a crime he may or may not have committed escapes to his father’s country home in Japan, only to find himself haunted by strange apparitions, while in the past, a young samurai tries to find salvation for her family and finds a door to the future instead. Kylie Lee Baker’s Japanese Gothic begins with this dialogue between past and present, and then blossoms into so much more, a cross-time ghost story about old wounds and what it really takes to finally heal them. I got so happily lost in this one that I would have read at least 200 more pages.
Persona by Aoife Josie Clements
In this tale of shut-ins, sex workers, artists, and the horrors they both summon and recoil from, Aoife Josie Clements weaves something that feels less like a story to be experienced and more like a psychic wound to be endured, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Evocative in its prose and nightmarish in its imagery, Persona is a story of the masks we wear, and the understanding that not all of our masks are particularly pretty or even easy to breathe through. It’s a dense, literary, unnervingly vicious book, and while it’s already attracted an audience, it deserves a much bigger one.
Dead First by Johnny Compton
Johnny Compton’s latest novel opens with a throwing down of the gauntlet, a sequence that made me instantly think “How on Earth is he going to top this?” It’s a story that begins with a billionaire hiring a private investigator to determine why, despite trying in many brutal ways, he cannot die. That premise, and the scene which sets it all off, is so alluring and delightfully gruesome that you almost can’t believe it’s the way a book begins, and then Compton just keeps going, delivering a supernatural mystery that I could not put down.
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
A woman grieving for the life she wanted visits a mysterious island renowned for the healing salt its residents harvest and sell, seeking renewal and relief. What she finds instead is a strange cult with a twisted history with surprising resonance in her own life, and a people who are more than willing to grant the relief she wants, for a price. Laced with beautiful prose and moments of profound realization alongside folk and even cosmic horror, this is vintage Sarah Gailey.
Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus
If you love horror film history and analysis, Partially Devoured is an essential. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Daniel Kraus, the book is a deep dive into his favorite movie of all time, George A. Romero‘s Night of the Living Dead, complete with exhaustive research into the making of the film and passages of deeply moving memoir woven in. If you’ve ever wanted to know what the eerie music that opens the film is called while also bursting into tears at how horror movies can save your life, this is a must-read.
Wretch by Eric LaRocca
Our reigning King of Extreme Horror, Eric LaRocca weaves books of uncommon beauty out of the most nightmarish parts of humanity, and Wretch is no exception. The story of a grieving man who longs for relief and searches for it amid a strange support group that might be a cult, Wretch is a brutal journey into the darkest part of us all, and explores what salvation we might find when we get to the rotten core of the world and peel back its layers. LaRocca’s on a tear of great work right now that few other genre writers can match.
Headlights by CJ Leede
A mystery, a serial killer horror show, a tribute to Stephen King‘s The Shining. All of these things describe CJ Leede’s Headlights, and yet they don’t begin to cover the full breadth of horror awaiting you in this novel. The story of a former FBI agent drawn back into the cold case that haunts him most, it’s a shocker brimming over with vivid moments that’ll live behind your eyes. CJ Leede has now published three novels, and they’re all bangers, so it’s time to get on board if you haven’t already.
It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo
Cynthia Pelayo has been one of our finest genre writers for years now, but It Came From Neverland is my favorite thing she’s written, and it’s not even close. A dark take on Peter Pan from the perspective of an adult Wendy Darling living in World War I-era London, Pelayo’s book works as both a satisfying horror narrative and a rich exploration of what it really means to never grow up. The horror never loses its potency, but it’s the search for the meaning behind the Peter Pan phenomenon in our own lives, and what we can do about it, that sticks with me most.
Filth Eaters by Ito Romo
Ito Romo’s Filth Eaters is a slim volume, one you can read in just a couple of hours if you’ve got the inclination, but it has the feel of a generation-spanning epic. The story of a breed of vampires born in Central America, the European vampires who encounter them, and the offspring they eventually produced, it spans centuries and packs loads of juicy lore into its pages while never losing its grip on character and narrative drive. I would read hundreds more pages of this world, but I’ll settle for this uncommonly grand-scale novella for now.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay
A former pro gamer gets a job at a tech company to pilot a brain-dead human body across the country, and so Paul Tremblay’s sci-fi-horror juggernaut begins. Indebted to Philip K. Dick, the primal snarl of Harlan Ellison, and the quirky comedy of The Big Lebowski, and yet wholly original, this is a towering and ambitious novel by one of horror’s most respected voices. What starts as a high-concept tech thriller soon becomes a startling meditation on the value of stories, who gets to tell them, and what happens when we cede too much control to machines we don’t understand. It’s a stunner.
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