While Wes Craven's 1984 hit "Nightmare" was fresh and creepy, the second installment seemed to already running on fumes. For the third effort in the saga co-writer Frank Darabont ("Shawshank Redemption") and director Chuck Russell (JIm Carrey's "The Mask") added a healthy dose of dark humor, imaginative action and some of the series' most surreal imagery (remember the Freddy worm?). "Dream Warriors" also features the best cast of the series (including Laurence Fishburne, Patricia Arquette, and, um, Zsa Zsa Gabor) and that ridiculous -- and ridiculously catchy -- theme song by hair metal band Dokken.  

- Dave Lewis