13 Needles of Halloween #4

This scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is definitely reminiscent of the scene in Saw II which I took to task earlier this week, in that their intentions are both to exploit the addiction trauma of a recovering female character; in Saw's case it's Amanda (franchise stalwart Shawnee Smith) while here in Elm Street...

... it's Taryn (Jennifer Rubin) who is both, in case you don't know it already, beautiful and bad. And while I think Dream Warriors is one of the better Elm Street films I don't know that I could make a flawlessly coherent case for why this scene plays better to me than the "Needle Pit" in Saw II does -- they're both gross and exploitative. I mean...

... honestly. (Elm Street's longstanding adoration of little screaming mouths is So Much, you guys.) But Dream Warriors at least genuinely makes us care about the kids that Freddy's tormenting at the Hospital, as well as real hope for their wellness -- the film spends time with them as people, unlike Saw which revels in people as piles of meat. When Freddy arrives and exploits Taryn's weakness...

... it is sad and disturbing because we have gotten to know Taryn at least a little, and seen her struggle. We have seen her be goofy and fight back! And this scene certainly doesn't beat around the bush...

... in that it even reads in its way as a coded rape scene; the way he corners her in an alley and forces himself inside of her. It's a true violation, and it is played as such. These characters are borderline paper-thin but there's just enough there there that makes this moment sting, and its horror still resonate all these years later. "What a rush..."

Click here for all of the "Needles of Halloween" so far!