Today's Horror Choices 02/27/17 - Stay Unwoke

Dear readers, it seems I've hit a bit of a snag this morning. You see, it's No Brainer Day, which almost certainly isn't an Illuminati smokescreen designed to slowly and subtly condition us into mindless slaves. In the spirit of not using my brain, I can't actually do much in the way of research or analysis, and instead I just have to go with the all-too-obvious topic of the day.

See? No brains required.

30 years ago today, one of the most popular big-name sequels of all time was released in the form of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors. Personally, it's not one of my favorites in the series as I actually prefer the melodrama and homoerotic "undertones" of the prior film, but I can see why many fans were glad to see Dream Warriors go in a different direction. It's got some cool scenes here and there, and most of the kills are now considered to be among the best in the franchise. I just felt like this was the exact moment when the writers started focusing too much on fun and not enough on fear. Freddy is in full-on Seinfeld mode here, cracking wise at every opportunity and becoming just a tad bit too likeable for child murdering dream demon.

If you're left wanting more, try screening the third entries of other major franchises. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is an underrated gem as long as you know going in that it's not directly tied to the rest of the series. Friday the 13th Part 3 was the establishing film for Jason Voorhees in which he finally acquires the iconic hockey mask he would forevermore be known by. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is... well... just barely good. It's a true tipping point for the series with the strongest start and the weakest everything else.