A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Two and three on one disc, but no matter the numbers, he's still coming four you!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 4, 2011

It just wouldn't be a Horror movie without a sequel. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or five. Or however many the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is up to these days. Nope, sequel-itis is an incurable disease that continues to plague stricken studios and their successful films, but much to the delight of genre fans the world over. In this pair of sequels, the indelible and un-killable iconic nightmare hacker Freddy Krueger, what else, harasses a bunch of innocent teenagers because, well, because that's what the scripts call for, and that's what audiences will pay to see. Neither movie is as good as the original, of course, but hey, isn't that what sequels are for, inferior products? Dream Warriors does come close to capturing the same mood and intensity of the original. It's a smart and entertaining picture that's actually a superior second sequel to the admittedly decent but ultimately disappointing first sequel Freddy's Revenge, a movie that just feels like a cash-in rather than an intellectually honest Nightmare movie. Whatever one's opinions of these films are, they're available together for the first time on Blu-ray, and the results are about as-expected of such a twofer catalogue release.

Pull my razor.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Score: 2.5/5

You’ve got the body, I’ve got the brain.

It's been five years since Nancy Thompson defeated the dream killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) following a grueling bloodbath that forever changed the fabric of Elm Street. Now, a new family has moved into Nancy's old house, and teenager Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) is living in her old bedroom. Jesse's not exactly the most popular guy at school, but he's found a friend -- and maybe more -- in the kindly fellow student Lisa Webber (Kim Myers). However, a potential strain is placed on their developing relationship when Lisa learns of Jesse's terrible nightmares. When she helps him unpack his bedroom, they stumble upon Nancy's old diary and learn that not only are the rumors of deaths surrounding Nancy true, but Jesse realizes that he's dreaming of the same burned, finger-bladed nemesis -- Freddy Krueger -- that haunted Nancy. Turns out ol' Fred needs Jesse to act as a surrogate killer. Despite Jesse's best efforts, the power of Freddy Krueger grows stronger by the hour. Can he -- with Lisa's help -- evade the temptations and destroy Freddy Krueger before he can turn his villainous attentions elsewhere?

It walks like an inferior Horror sequel and it talks like an inferior Horror sequel. Freddy's Revenge is an all-around decent Horror franchise vehicle but nothing really more than that, an inferior Horror sequel. It pales in every area compared to the superior and legendary original. That's to be expected; few Horror sequels ever live up to the greatness of the original -- Scream 4 is a recent example to the contrary -- but most of these sorts of pictures are little more than the obligatory cash-in that banks on title and character recognition more than plot and novelty to sell tickets. Nevertheless, Freddy's Revenge is a fair series entry that maintains an air of real Horror and doesn't delve into the absurd Comedy that would define later franchise installments. The picture lacks a more complete feeling of suspense, and the scares are few and far between. The plot is the weakest link; it's at best a serviceable story but the lack of superior character development leads audiences to shrug their shoulders at the fates of even the main cast. The picture is also a bit sluggish out of the gate but picks up a bit of steam once it's lugged its way to the final act. The picture does boast solid production values and highly effective and involved direction from Jack Sholder. Gore hounds should be pleased with the professional level of legitimately creepy and gross-out visuals that run throughout, but audiences who care about more than just how a movie looks will likely pay this one little attention.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Score: 3.5/5

Sleep. Those little slices of death. How I loathe them.

Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) has moved on and become a new rising star at the Westin Hills psychiatric hospital in the several years that have passed after surviving her run-in with the infamous dreamworld killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). She's working to develop a new drug, Hypnocil, which she believes can save children from dying at the hands of the grossly disfigured killer by hindering their ability to dream. Unfortunately, it won't be long until Nancy can test her hypotheses and her drug's effectiveness. The hospital's newest patient, Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette), is believed to be an attention-starved suicide risk, but her recent wounds are actually the result of a run-in with Krueger. As Kristin settles in to life at the hospital, she learns that several of her oddball fellow patients are suffering from visions of and physical attacks from Freddy Krueger. But it's not until Nancy can intervene -- against the hospital's wishes -- that the patients stand a fighting chance against their worst nightmare.

That's more like it. Dream Warriors manages to capture the essence of A Nightmare on Elm Street in a way that Freddy's Revenge just couldn't. It's not only that this film features the return of first-film lead character Nancy Thompson that makes this one a worthy follow-up, but also, and far more important, its adherence to chilling atmosphere, grotesque visuals, hardcore scares, and unrelenting terror, areas that are failures or near-failures in just about every other sequel in the series. The movie proves far more menacing than Freddy's Revenge, and it's also incredibly atmospheric. Maybe even better still, it's well-written and strongly acted, even if there's a certain stiffness to some of the performances. The main cast does well to play its parts with a believable air that makes them feel as if a real part of the world in which they exist. The disconnect between the real world and the dream world is very nicely realized, and their efforts enhance the sense of mystery, dread, and doom that the film oozes with almost every frame, whether in the waking or dreaming world. It's certainly not quite as effective as the original; the novelty of that film is gone, but a strong story, a no-nonsense approach, and a wonderful atmosphere make this the second-best Nightmare film of them all.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Score: 3.5/5

Warner's Blu-ray presentation of Freddy's Revenge is probably about as good as the movie's ever going to look for home mass-media consumption. The transfer retains a light layer of grain, accentuating finer details and providing a solid film-like texture. Faces occasionally appear a slight bit pasty and the image looks rather flat, but neither prove to be debilitating weaknesses. Colors are neither vibrant nor dull; the neutral palette is nicely reproduced on Blu-ray, and while black crush is an occasional problem, darker scenes never truly offend the eyes. The print is in good shape; scratches and dirt are practically nonexistent, and major compression issues are a non-factor, even if both movies and plenty of soundtracks have been crammed onto a single 50GB disc. This is a more than serviceable image. Freddy's Revenge will never look like a brand new movie, but fans will likely be at the very least satisfied with Warner's efforts.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Score: 3.5/5

Dream Warriors features a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer that's pretty much on par with Freddy's Revenge. The transfer retains a natural layer of grain that reinforces a positive film-like texture and ensures that fine details remain. The picture can be a little dark with very slight crush hindering a few shots, but fine detail remains sturdy all around, particularly as evidenced by some of the more comprehensive gore and makeup effects that stand out nicely in 1080p. Colors are fair, a touch dim and dull for sure but this is a movie that thrives on a downtrodden visual tone that emphasizes colder, uncomfortable shades in the hospital and darker and redder hues in the "action" sequences. There's a bit of a soft edge to a few shots, but nothing that severely detracts from the overall quality. Maybe best of all, the print appears to be in relatively good shape, and at the same time, banding, blocky backgrounds, and the like are not causes for concern. Overall, this is a fairly good effort from Warner Brothers.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Score: 2.5/5

Freddy's Revenge tears onto Blu-ray with a fair but problematic DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's an unkempt, rattly, mushy texture to the entire track. Sound effects are generally crunchy and grossly underpowered. The rattling and rolling of the school bus trip to hell in the film's opening minutes never gives listeners much to work with and certainly doesn't immerse them in the moment. The barrage of sporting equipment as heard in the attack on the gym teacher in chapter eleven is also lacking in clarity, directionality, and power. It's a jumbled cacophony of sound that gets the point across but fails to deliver a more satisfactory presentation. Music delivery is fair, adequately spaced and suitably clear, but there's nothing here, either, that will draw in audiophiles or have longtime fans of the film hearing new, distinct notes for the first time. Fortunately, dialogue is grounded in the middle and clear throughout. Like the video, this is serviceable track that gets the job done but accomplishes little else.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Score: 3/5

Dream Warriors' DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack represents a slight improvement over that of Freddy's Revenge, but there's still no room for outright bragging rights. This is a rather indifferent sort of track. It enjoys good clarity and adequate spacing in music, a fair bit of surround use, and tip-top dialogue reproduction, but it's not really all that at the end of the day. Many of the film's primary sound effects are mushy and lack clarity, but then again, it's not as if this was ever a painstakingly mixed soundtrack to begin with; expect jumbles of somewhat distinguishable noise in the action scenes, most of which only make absolute audible sense thanks to the accompanying visual context clues. The track does rock a solid low end in the final act as the warriors enter Freddy's industrial, hellish nightmare world to engage him on his own turf. This is an adequate track that's good enough on the surface, but there's nothing here that's going to sound new to longtime fans of the film.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Score: 2/5

• Heroes and Villains (480p, 6:22): Robert Shaye, Director Jack Sholder, and Wes Craven discuss the film's origins and the varied styles of Horror, notably within the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise context.
• Psycho Sexual Circus (480p, 3:26): Production Assistant Rachel Talalay, Director Jack Sholder, and Actor Robert Englund bluntly discusses the film's problems, the identity of the main character, and the film's homo-erotic undertones.
• The Male Witch (480p, 2:46): Director Jack Sholder and Special Effects Artist Kevin Yagher discuss Freddy's makeup and appearance.
• Freddy on 8th Street (480p, 5:28): Director Jack Sholder, Publicist Jeffrey Wells, and Actor Robert Englund Wells discuss Freddy mania
• Theatrical Trailer (480p, 1:27).

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Score: 2.5/5

• Behind the Story (480p): A grouping of featurettes focusing on various aspects of the production. Included are Fan Mail (0:45), a look at the cost of fame; Onward Christian Soldiers (9:01), a piece that looks at the evolution of the project; Snakes and Ladders (6:04), a recounting of the making of some of the film's special effects props; Trading 8's (4:09), a piece that examines some of the film's famous lines and scenes; That's Showbiz (2:00), a supplement that recounts life on the set with Robert Englund; Burn Out (3:38), a piece featuring the cast speaking on returning to work on part three; and The House That Freddy Built (0:38), a brief examination of the series' success and its impact on New Line Cinema.
• Music Video (480p, 5:05): Dream Warriors by Dokken.
• Theatrical Trailer (480p, 1:36).

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner's two-pack of Freddy films is sure to delight fans. Neither film is as good as the original, but they're two of the better sequels in the lengthy A Nightmare on Elm Street canon. Dream Warriors is the structurally superior of the two, but Freddy's Revenge is not be be entirely discounted, either, for it's a passable genre flick that's entertaining, warts and all. As to the nitty-gritty of the Blu-ray releases, neither movie looks or sounds brand new, but that's to be expected. On both, the video proves superior to the audio, and both feature a fair amount of extras, though neither includes what is these days, it seems, obligatory commentary tracks. Recommended.