TheA Nightmare On Elm Streetfranchise has seen various characters come and go, among them Kristen Parker, played by Patricia Arquette, and she’s right about one specific thing about her. Back in 1984, Wes Craven terrorized the audience with a one-of-a-kind slasher villain inA Nightmare On Elm Street. The movie introduces Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a child killer burned alive by the parents of his victims. However, that isn’t enough to stop him, and he returns to terrorize the children of his murderers where their parents won’t ever be able to defend them: their dreams.
However, if Krueger kills them in their dreams, they die too. One of his targets, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), goes to lengths to defeat him, but it’s not enough. The success ofA Nightmare On Elm Streetmade way for a franchise with a total of nine movies (including a remake and a crossover withFriday the 13th), though Nancy wasn’t the Final Girl in all of them. The sequel widely regarded as the best isA Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, led by Patricia Arquette, but she’s right about one element of her character, and she deserves another chance.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors’ Kristen Deserved A Much Better In-Dreams Superpower
She Could Have Been A Lot More Powerful
DespiteA Nightmare On Elm Street’s endingnot being clear about whether Nancy and the rest survive or not, Nancy Thompson returns inA Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but she isn’t the Final Girl this time. Directed by Chuck Russell,Dream Warriorsfollows teenager Kristen Parker, who is attacked by Krueger in her dreams. Krueger makes it look as if she has tried to kill herself in the real world, so her parents send her to Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital.
There, Kristen fights the orderlies who attempt to sedate her as she doesn’t want to sleep, which catches the attention of the new intern therapist: none other than Nancy Thompson. Nancy realizes that Kristen and other patients are being haunted by Krueger as they are the last of the Elm Street kids, but she also tells them a big discovery: they have powers in the dream realm.Kristen also has the unique ability to bring people, animals, and objects from the real world into her dreams, which is very useful in their mission to defeat Krueger.
Kristen’s gymnastics superpower is one of the silliest elements ofDream Warriors– luckily, Patricia Arquette is aware of that.
Once in the dream realm, Kristen has the power of professional gymnastics, which grants her great agility and thus allows her to flip off walls, make perfect landings, do flip kicks, and other aerial attacks. It’s well known that theA Nightmare On Elm Streetsequelsget increasingly silly, and Kristen’s gymnastics superpower is one of the silliest elements ofDream Warriors– luckily, Patricia Arquette is aware of that. Speaking toComicBook, Arquette was asked if she would be open to playing Kristen in anotherNightmare On Elm Streetmovie, and she gave a very specific answer.
Arquette asked if she could change her superpower as she never thought that in her dreams she would be a gymnast.Arquette said she could return toA Nightmare On Elm Streetif she could have another superpower, suggesting maybe invisibility or being anti-gravitational. As the most important character inDream Warriors, Kristen was given a very disappointing and boring power in the dream realm, even if it was useful to fight Krueger.
A Nightmare On Elm Street Completely Failed Kristen In The Dream Master
Kristen Got A Terrible Ending In A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Kristen survived the events ofA Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriorsand had the potential to be the new Final Girl in the franchise – unfortunately, she was wasted in the fourth movie. Directed by Renny Harlin,A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Masteris a sequel toDream Warriors, and as such, it sees Krueger reappearing in the dreams of the survivors: Kristen, Joey, and Kincaid. Krueger finishes off Kincaid and Joey, with Kristen feeling guilty.As the last of the Elm Street children, Krueger goes after Kristen and throws her into the boiler.
Kristen was played by Tuesday Knight inThe Dream Master.
Kristen had a very disappointing ending inA Nightmare On Elm Street, and her potential as a Final Girl was completely wasted. Even worse is thatThe Dream Masterestablishes that, before she dies, Kristen transfers her dream power to Alice (the one of bringing people into her dreams, not the gymnastics one). Alice survivedDream MasterandA Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Childand her fate was left ambiguous as she didn’t return in the sixth movie.Alice ended up having the role that Kristen deservedand often appeared in extended media.
Could A Nightmare On Elm Street Kristen Retcon Happen?
A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Future Doesn’t Look Bright
Despite some of the biggest horror franchises coming back to life recently through reboots and legacy sequels,A Nightmare On Elm Streethasn’t been one of them. IfA Nightmare On Elm Streetreturned with a new movie, it could either be a full reboot, a sequel toFreddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, or a sequel to any other installment that ignores the ones that came after. Through the latter,A Nightmare On Elm Streetcould retcon Kristen’s story and give her the time, development, and role she deserves.
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However, the future ofA Nightmare On Elm Streetdoesn’t look very promising. A second remake was reported to be in development in 2015, but in 2019, the film rights reverted to Wes Craven’s estate. The estate was reportedly working on a project to expand theA Nightmare On Elm Streetfranchise, but nothing has been officially announced. It’s unlikely that ifA Nightmare On Elm Streetcontinues it will retcon Kristen’s story, but at the same time, anything could happen.
Source:ComicBook.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors continues the horror saga with young Kristen Parker being targeted by the dream-stalking Freddy Krueger. She is sent to a psychiatric ward, where she joins other troubled teens and meets Nancy Thompson, who aids in the battle against Freddy’s terror.
