A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A Horror icon tears into Blu-ray with great picture and sound.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 17, 2013

New Line has released a boxed set of all seven 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' films to Blu-ray. Previously released entries include a standalone disc of the original classic and a double feature of 'Freddy's Revenge' and 'Dream Warriors.' In this set, the first film again finds itself on its own disc and the second and third films share disc two; both appear to be identical to their previous releases. New to this set are two Blu-ray discs, one with 'The Dream Master' and 'The Dream Child,' the other with 'Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare' and 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare.' A fifth disc, a DVD, contains a few unique supplements reviewed below.

This isn't Child's Play. Or Halloween or Friday the 13th, for that matter.

Please click through the following links for reviews of each film in the series:

• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
• A Nightmare on elm Street 4: The Dream Master
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
• Wes Craven's New Nightmare

A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Please click through the links above for video reviews.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Please click through the links above for audio reviews.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

If there's a problem with this set, beyond the lack of new extras, it's the terribly disappointing packaging that offers nothing unique like the standout DVD box from years ago in which the spines of all the individual titles formed Freddy's figure. There's no pride of ownership with this set from a physical collection standpoint, no real reason to display it in any place of prominence, a shame given the massive appeal and popularity of the series. Below are the supplements found on the extra DVD disc; click through the links above for a look at each film's individual supplements.

DVD Disc: (with optional Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai subtitles).

• Fear Himself: The Life and Crimes of Freddy Krueger (SD, 31:03): Reflections on the character's qualities; his lasting power; appeal; the history of Horror and Hollywood's evolution of the Slasher; the 1980s Horror landscape and Nightmare's influence on the genre and decade; Wes Craven's character design; the films' style, violence, themes, and structure; casting Robert Englund as Freddy and the qualities he brought to the role; the Krueger makeup evolution through the series; the trademark bladed glove; the series' sexual undercurrents; Freddy's meteoric rise in popular culture status; Freddy-themed merchandise; continuing the series with New Nightmare; and Englund's status as a Horror icon.
• Freddy's Nightmares Episode 2: It's a Miserable Life (SD, 1.78:1, 47:02): The second episode from the television spinoff series. Original air date: October 15, 1988.
• Freddy's Nightmares Episode 3: Killer Instinct (SD, 1.78:1, 45:53): The third episode from the television spinoff series. Original air date: October 22, 1988.
• Welcome to Prime Time (SD, 49:29): Robert Englund discusses the influences that helped him shape the character, Craven's difficulty in getting studios to take on his project, casting the lead roles, character dynamics and the actors' acceptance of the series' deeper themes, designing the Freddy Krueger glove and costume, the series' special effects and makeup and how the makeup "liberated" Englund's performance, plot structure and story themes, the shooting process, set design and special effects creation, Paramount's rejection of the first film, the series' commercial success, and alternate endings.
• Conclusions (SD, 17:09): A detailed examination of the series' sadomasochistic elements, its style, the new digital effects landscape, the importance of story and novelty in Horror, the importance of the villain's personality, and the series' mythos and importance in teenage culture.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, it's been a run for the books, particularly given the series' overall quality and the unforgettable character born of Craven's imagination. This is the Horror series at its most iconic, surpassing the other 1980s Slashers in terms of overall series strength and besting any of the new wave Horror franchises on quality of idea and general on-screen execution. They don't make 'em like this anymore, but maybe they should; here's hoping Wes Craven has another new nightmare that might finally make its way to the screen, starring everyone's favorite razor-fingered madman. New Line's Blu-ray release of A Nightmare on Elm Street Five-Disc Collection is fantastic. Great movies, excellent video and audio, and a good number of extras (albeit older supplements) make this a must-own for genre buffs and even casual film fans. It's too bad the studio didn't do more with the physical packaging presentation. Otherwise, highly recommended.