Nightmare On Elm Street: How A Dream Warriors Deleted Scene Went Too Far

A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most beloved horror franchises and, while it’s known for getting particularly wild and surreal, one scene from Dream Warriors was deemed too weird even for Freddy fans.

Wes Craven has an extensive filmography in the horror genre and outside of it, but his work on A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and creation of the character Freddy Krueger have become synonymous with the director’s name. The original Nightmare on Elm Street is instantly captivating and one of the most acclaimed slasher movies of all time, so it’s understandable to see how the film’s success launched Craven’s most iconic franchise.

There are eight Nightmare on Elm Street movies, including the crossover epic Freddy vs. Jason, before the reboot was released in 2010. The quality of these sequels and spin-offs tend to be all over the place, and Freddy Krueger largely loses his way, becoming just a slasher with witty catchphrases and a scary, finger-bladed glove. Despite the contrasting quality of the Elm Street sequels, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is often held in the highest regard; some fans even consider it to be on par with the original. Dream Warriors introduces some great characters and scenes that have since become instantly recognizable, but one sequence had to be heavily altered for the movie’s final cut because it was considered too extreme for even the Elm Street crowd.

The cult classic, Dream Warriors, looks at a bunch of troubled teens in the psychiatric ward of a hospital whose weaknesses are all preyed upon by Freddy’s power. The sequel even brings back final girl Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) from the original movie, as it ties back to the first film, but also allows her character to pass on the torch. Out of all of the teens that are subjected to Freddy’s terrors, it’s Joey Crusel (Rodney Eastman), who’s the most vulnerable. Joey is the youngest of the group, and he’s so traumatized that he’s become mute. One of the ways in which Freddy toys with Joey is through the nurse that he has a crush on. The nurse comes onto Joey, and her tongue is used restrain Joey to the bed, forcing him to face the fires of hell. It’s an effective scene, but initially the nurse’s transformation into Freddy was much more gradual.

The original version of this scene actually features a twisted moment before everything falls apart where the topless nurse has Freddy’s face, which leaves Joey with a very conflicting image. The Dream Warriors production team went so far as to put the nurse from the scene in full-on Freddy make-up, but this midway point in the transformation just looked too disturbing in its final form. This weird take on Joey’s torment proved to ultimately be too effective. The theatrical version of the scene doesn’t so thoroughly intermingle sex and Freddy Krueger, but manages to still be very effective. The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise sequel goes to so many outrageous places that it’s nice to see that there’s still a line that’s too far for the murderous, glove-wielding Freddy Krueger.

About The Author