A Nightmare On Elm Street 7-Film Collection 4K UHD Review
Freddy in 4K.
After “A Nightmare On Elm Street” was previously released on 4K as a stand-alone release (and reviewed here: https://dvdcorner.net/2024/10/11/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-4k-uhd-review/), WB has at long last released all 7 Elm Street films in a 4K box set (horrendous remake thankfully not included. Allow me to breakdown all the films and extra features for you.
Having already reviewed the first film, I’m not gonna devote too much time to this entry. You all know the story. A group of teenagers (including Nancy) are terrorized in their dreams by the dead burned child killer Freddy Krueger. If Freddy kills them in the dream world, they die in the real world. What more needs to be said about the first entry? It’s a true horror classic and easily the best of the entire franchise. It cemented Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger as a horror icon that continues to endure (and scare people across generations). It’s a freaky, smart, and haunting tale about dreams from one of the masters of horror, Wes Craven.
“A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” is a strange sequel. In the second entry, a teen (Jesse) is haunted in his sleep by Freddy after moving into Nancy’s former home. Jesse later begins to transform into Freddy and wreak havoc. The first half is full of potential, but the second half really falls apart. The problem is that it’s too much of a weird retread and lacks anything resembling horror. The film does boast two likable performances though by Kim Myers (Lisa) and Mark Patton (Jesse).
“A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” is far and away the best sequel. The story takes place at the Western Hills Psychiatric Hospital where Kristen and other patients are being preyed upon by Freddy in her dreams. She gets help in the form of a new intern psychiatrist- Nancy. Yes, Heather Langenkamp’s heroic character returns! This third installment has everything you could want from an Elm Street. Not only does it take full advantage of the premise, but it ups the ante on creepy dreams. On top of that, the special effects are more creative and Freddy’s personality comes into view here. There are so many memorable visual moments including the Freddy snake, the puppet, the Freddy TV, the hall of mirrors, and the junkyard. ‘Dream Warriors’ also has the best cast with Patricia Arquette and Laurence Fishburne having sizable roles.
The Renny Harlin directed “A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” is rather uneven. Continuing where the third film left off, Kristen (now played by Tuesday Knight), Kincaid and Joey are now out of the hospital and Nancy has been killed offscreen. Freddy is seeking revenge against the trio and is looking to collect new souls from a new batch of characters including Alice. The new characters are frightfully dull and the story has little to offer in terms of originality, but there are several fantastic sequences including the meatball soul, the waterbed death, and Alice being sucked into a B&W movie.
“A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” is the series’ low point. The plot involves a now pregnant Alice, Freddy’s past, and a future version of Alice’s son. It’s a truly messy script that shows the franchise was running out of ideas. The B&W comic book sequence is one of the series best though.
“Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” is a bizarre and cartoony finale in which Freddy has wiped out all of the teenagers in the town of Springwood minus one- an amnesiac teen who winds up at a youth shelter. The teen’s therapist (Dr. Maggie) takes him to Springwood hoping that his memories will return. 3 teens from the shelter tag-along and, well, you can guess what happens next as Freddy starts killing yet again. While the film certainly deserves props for at least looking and feeling entirely different, it is a poorly edited and sloppy sequel that suffers from far too much comedy and bizarre elements (dream demons?). The 3D gimmick (a 3D glasses bit is even in the movie) makes it even goofier. There are a few nuggets here though including more about Freddy’s past, the Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper cameos, and the video game sequence.
“Wes Craven’s New Nightmare-” sees the titular filmmaker return to the franchise with a different sort of Freddy film. The meta first half-hour is splendid and acts as a precursor to “Scream.” The inside Hollywood aspect with a new Freddy film in the works was a great concept and seeing Heather Langenkamp, Wes Craven, Robert Englund and others as themselves was a smart choice. Unfortunately, the film falls apart as it becomes a tedious bore filled with countless scenes of Heather trying to protect her son (Dylan) as he begins to act very strangely. The Freddy Entity storyline is also rather underwhelming.
EXTRAS REVIEW
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How do the films look? Fans will be happy to know that the transfers for all 7 films are nothing short of incredible. The films have never looked better and you are able to notice so many more little details from Freddy’s makeup to the production design.
Audio Tracks: Dolby Atmos and Original Theatrical. How do the tracks sound? The remastered Atmos tracks are divine and the and Original Theatrical tracks are also stellar if that appeals to you more.
Extras:
* 3D glasses for “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.”
* Theatrical and uncut cuts of “A Nightmare On Elm Street” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child.” “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” 2D and 3D cuts are also included.
* “A Nightmare On Elm Street” Extras: A 2001 theatrical cut commentary by Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon and Jacques Haitkin and a 2006 commentary on the theatrical cut by Wes Craven, Robert Shaye, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Ronee Blakley, Sara Risher, Jacques Haitkin, John Burrows, Charles Bernstein, Rick Shaine, Patrick McMahon, Jim Doyle, David B. Miller and David Del Valle, 3 alternate endings, “Focus Points” (29 extras featuring special effects, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and more), “The House That Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror” (a documentary on the history of New Line Cinema and how horror and Freddy were a big part of the company’s success), “Never Sleep Again: The Making Of A Nightmare On Elm Street” (a making of featurette), and “Night Terrors: The Origins Of Wes Craven’s Nightmares” (a featurette on dreams).
* “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” Extras: “Freddy On 8th Street” (about Freddy’s popularity), “Heroes And Villains,” (title says it all), “The Male Witch” (a featurette on the makeup), and “Psychosexual Circus” (covers everything from Jesse to the homoerotic undertones).
* “A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” Extras: “Behind The Story” (7 featurettes about dialogue, special effects, Robert Englund and more) and “Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” music video.
* “A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” Extras: “The Finnish Line” (Renny Harlin discusses the test screening and premiere), “Krueger, Freddy Krueger” (a featurette on Freddy and the franchise), “Hopeless Chest” (about the special effects), and “Let’s Makeup” (an interview with make-up artist Howard Berger)
* “A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” Extra: “Behind The Story (a series of 5 featurettes involving the special effects, direction and more).
* “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” Extras: “86’D” (Robert Shaye talks about the franchise), “Hellraiser” (Clive Barker interview), “Rachel’s Dream” (about Rachel Talalay’s direction), and “3D Demise” (about the use of 3D).
* “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” Extras: Commentary by Wes Craven, “Boiler Room Confessional” (about Robert Englund and the series popularity), “Freddy’s Footnotes” (favorite moments discussion), “Becoming A Filmmaker” (Wes Craven interview), “Filmmaker” (another Wes Craven interview), “An Insane Troupe” (Craven talks about horror), “The Problem With Sequels” (Craven talks about horror sequels), “Two Worlds” (Craven talks about ‘New Nightmare’ and horror films), “Welcome To Prime Time” (a fantastic all-purpose 50 minute extra), and “Conclusion” (a featurette on the story, themes, mythology and more).
* Digital copies of all 7 films.
* 3D glasses for “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.”
No comments yet.
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
Leave a comment