Checking in with the Dream Warriors
David Berman
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Mainstream audiences may know Patricia Arquette from her films with such visionary directors as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Tony Scott, David O. Russell, Tim Burton, and Sean Penn, as well as her Emmy Award-winning role as the star of the TV series “Medium” and her recent stint on “Boardwalk Empire.” However, Arquette may be best remembered by horror fans for one of earliest first film roles: the troubled and terrified Kristen Parker in 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. As Kristen, she used her dream power to unite the sleep-deprived teens in Springwood’s Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital in an epic battle against the deadly man who haunted their dreams, Freddy Krueger.
And now, with numerous awards already under her belt for her heart-wrenching portrayal of a single mother in director Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Arquette appears poised to take home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role on February 22nd. In doing so, she would become the first actor or actress from the Nightmare on Elm Street series to bring home the statuette. Her nomination makes her the sixth nominee from the series in an acting category after Nightmare 1’s Ronee Blakely (for “Nashville”) and Johnny Depp (for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and Finding Neverland), Nightmare 2’s Hope Lange (for “Peyton Place”), Nightmare 3’s Laurence Fishburne (for What’s Love Got to Do With It?), and the Nightmare remake’s Rooney Mara (for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
While Arquette has achieved critical and commercial success in a variety of amazing films, what of the other six actors who played the teenage dream warriors? While none has become a household name, they all have impressive (or enjoyable at least) credits to their filmography, and all have appeared in at least one other horror film. Having seen a great many of these films, please allow me to offer some recommendations to anyone looking to see additional works by the gang at Westin Hills.
In order of character demise:
The first to go, Bradley Gregg played Phillip, the friendly puppeteer whom Freddy turns into a grisly marionette before sending him plummeting to his death.
Horror film to watch:
Class of 1999 (1990) – A sci-fi/horror hybrid, Gregg plays the lead in a futuristic film where high school teachers are replaced by murderous robots. Full of fun action and gore, the film features appearances by acting legends Pam Grier, Malcolm McDowell, and Stacey Keach.
Non-horror film to watch:
Stand by Me (1986) – Before he faced off with Freddy, Gregg appeared in this classic coming-of-age drama based on a story by Stephen King. A cavalcade of familiar faces appear in this film, including John Cusack, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton, and a chubby Jerry O’Connell, to name a few. Gregg plays “Eyeball Chambers,” right-hand man to Kiefer Sutherland’s teenage villain.
Bonus:
Gregg made a brief appearance in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), opposite River Phoenix as the young Indy.
Second on the list, Penelope Sudrow played Jennifer, the tragic aspiring actress welcomed to “Prime Time” by Freddy.
Horror film to watch:
After Midnight (1989) – In this anthology film, Sudrow stars in a surprisingly intense sequence about a group of teenage girls (including Judie Aronson of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) trying to survive the deadly threats of the inner city.
Non-Horror film to watch:
Dead Man Walking (1988) – Not to be confused with the Susan Sarandon/Sean Penn film of the same name, this post-apocalyptic drama features Sudrow struggling to survive alongside Jeffrey Combs and Wings Hauser in a small but touching role.
Bonus:
For something a little lighter, catch her as Virginia Madsen’s assertive classmate in Fire With Fire (1986).
As recovering junkie Taryn, Jennifer Rubin ended up at the deadly end of Freddy’s syringe-tipped gloves.
Horror film to watch:
Bad Dreams (1988) – Rubin played the lead in this slasher film about a woman who escapes a deadly cult only to be terrorized the spirit of its demented leader. Similarly to Nightmare 3, the victims are patients in a psychiatric hospital, but the film offers enough twists, gore, and enjoyably over-the-top performances to stand on its own.
Non-Horror to watch:
Rubin had an amazing 1988, so I’m calling it a tie with Blueberry Hill and Permanent Record, two movies in which she got to display her impressive dramatic abilities. In Blueberry Hill, Rubin plays the lead role (she carries nearly every scene of the film) as a teenager coming of age in the 1950’s under a repressive single mother, and in Permanent Record, she appears alongside Keanu Reeves as teenagers grieving the suicide of a close friend.
Bonus:
Outside of Nightmare 3, Rubin is probably best known for vying for Cary Elwes’ affection against an obsessed Alicia Silverstone in The Crush (1993).
Even his zapping abilities as “the wizard master” couldn’t save Ira Heiden’s Will from Freddy’s blades.
Horror film to watch:
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) – An absolutely brilliant horror comedy. Hilarity ensues as Cassandra Peterson’s signature character wreaks havoc in a quaint New England town, and Heiden plays one of the local teens who rally to her cause. If you haven’t seen this film, please stop reading this, go watch it, and come back when you finish.
Non-horror film to watch:
Illegally Yours (1988) – This entertaining comedy from Peter Bogdanovich stars Rob Lowe as a man trying to save his childhood crush from a wrongful murder conviction. Heiden has a featured role as Lowe’s put-upon brother and shares screen time with a fellow Elm Street alum, Nightmare 2’s Kim Myers.
Bonus:
In a brief appearance, Heiden was the recipient of Steve Martin’s angry rant about packaged hot dog buns in Father of the Bride (1991).
After surviving Nightmare 3, Ken Sagoes returned to play Kincaid once again, only to be impaled on Freddy’s glove in an auto junkyard.
Horror film to watch:
Death by Dialogue (1988) – Sadly, I wouldn’t call this a good movie – it’s a low-budget supernatural horror film with a terrible script and awful production values. In fact, the ONLY reason I would ever recommend anyone watch it is to see Sagoes as the lead; he was amazing as Kincaid, and it’s great to see him star in another horror film of that era.
Non-horror film to watch:
Rosewood (1997) – Sagoes appears in this powerful drama about a white mob attacking an African American community in 1920’s Florida. Directed by John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), the cast boasts Jon Voight, Don Cheadle, and Ving Rhames. You can catch Sagoes in a brief role as “Big Baby” toward the beginning of the film.
Bonus:
Sagoes has a small part as a doomed member of a film crew in 2002’s The Backlot Murders, also featuring Nightmare 1’s Charles Fleischer.
As Joey, Rodney Eastman survived being “tongue-tied” by Nurse Freddy, only to be lured into a waterbed death in Nightmare 4.
Horror film to watch:
I Spit on Your Grave (2010) – A well made, albeit brutal remake of the horror classic of the same name. Eastman has a lead role as one of a group of unsavory characters who attack a young woman and leave her for dead, only to have her return and dispatch them one by one in gruesome fashion. Definitely worth a look for horror fans.
Non-horror film to watch:
The Caveman’s Valentine (2001) – Eastman gives a powerful performance in a small but pivotal role (near the beginning of the film) opposite Samuel L. Jackson in this captivating character study/murder mystery.
Bonus:
You can catch him as an uncredited shoplifter in the first few seconds of the awesome film Chopping Mall (1986).
As for Patricia Arquette herself, she did not reprise her role in Nightmare 4, but she did take a dip back into the horror genre with Stigmata (1999). However, I would really like to call attention to the seven years she spent on “Medium,” playing “Allison Dubois,” a psychic who uses the messages she receives in her dreams to help people and solve crimes.
An enjoyable way to watch the show is to imagine it as the continuing adventures of Nightmare 3’s Kristen Parker – Freddy is buried in her past, she has changed her name and started a family, and now she uses her nightmares to make the world a better place.
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