By Geno McGahee
In 1984, horror history would be made. Wes Craven’s masterpiece ‘A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET’ would bring a new monster to the screen that has spawned seven sequels and one remake. Freddy Krueger became a hit, a marketing sensation, and remains in high demand. To satisfy all of the Freddy fans, we have a new Blu-Ray set coming to the market that features all seven original titles and a boatload of extras.
It is great to see the re-mastered horror gem. It looks great on Blu-Ray and with deleted scenes, alternate endings and several documentaries, this is a must have…and considering that this set comes with every movie of the series, it’s safe to say that this is well worth it.
We begin with Tina (Amanda Wyss) encountering a monster in her dreams and she is not the only one. Many of the teenagers are coming face to face with a burnt man with scissors for hands that wants to do them bodily harm. Tina’s best friend, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is also dealing with it and they soon share the experience, but Tina would soon find out that if you die in dreamland, you die in reality. Her boyfriend, Rod (Jsu Garcia) watches on as his girlfriend is brutally and uniquely killed, but he panics and goes on the run, soon arrested for the murder.
The only one that seems to know what is really going on is Nancy. With a drunken mother, a stern father, and a skeptical boyfriend, Nancy must go this alone. After wrestling with Freddy in her dreams and jolting awake, she realizes that she was able to take his hat through the dream world and into her world. It is one of the coolest concepts in the series. The idea that you can remove Freddy from the dream world and bring him back to this world where he’s vulnerable is very neat and it gives the viewer hope for the would be victims.
The dark history and reasoning behind Freddy’s rage are revealed, leading to a showdown between Nancy and Krueger. Nancy uses her intelligence to take on the killing talents of Freddy and the film just kicks it into high gear, leading to great conclusion.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is rightfully considered one of the best horror films of all time. It has a great atmosphere, score and it all comes to life on Blu-Ray, looking better than ever. It’s an amazing horror experience.
Rating: 9/10
About the Release:
“Don’t fall asleep” — words to live by for Elm Street teens. Not a problem for fans wide awake with fear (and glee) as they experience these 7 Nightmare movies released from 1984 to 2003. Each features Robert Englund’s masterfully macabre incarnation of slouch-hatted, razor-fingered Freddy Krueger, who mixes wicked wit with even wickeder mayhem as he haunts teens when they’re asleep and most vulnerable. A newspaper article about children who died after having fearsome nightmares provided the real-life springboard for filmmaker Wes Craven’s breakthrough series. Perhaps that underlying reality helps make these shockers so unnerving. Or maybe it’s just that we all like a good scare…and that this series consistently, imaginatively delivers some of the best.
All original Nightmares on 5 discs. Plus the new featurette – The Tales and Crimes of Freddy Krueger