FILM FRENZY

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger (Photos: Warner Bros.)

By Matt Brunson

A movie monster for a more modern age, Freddy Krueger needs about as much introduction as Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, two other slasher-style villains who have spent approximately the last half-century bloodily carving up high school and college-age kids as well as those adults who foolishly get in their way. Warner Bros. had already released the first film in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise on 4K Ultra HD last October, but only now is Freddy realizing his dream of more UHD appearances. A Nightmare on Elm Street: 7-Film Collection has just been released in a 4K + Digital Code edition (a SteelBook is also available), offering the seven theatrical features released between 1984 and 1994 (not included are 2003’s Freddy Vs. Jason and the 2010 remake of the first picture). Here, in plenty of time for Halloween, is a look at the septet.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is the film that first introduced the iconic character played by Robert Englund. A child murderer who himself was killed by angry parents, Freddy (Fred in this installment) Krueger has returned in the nightmares of various teenagers for some somnambular revenge. Freddy can only kill people in their dreams while they sleep; consequently, they die in real life as well, a revelation that slowly dawns on high school student — and Elm Street resident — Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) as her friends start meeting gruesome ends. A Nightmare on Elm Street was always popular with audiences but, contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t considered an instant classic by critics or, really, anyone at the time (a far cry from today, when impressionable online fanboy reviewers feel they must automatically give it four stars). There was a reason for its middling response back in the day. While writer-director Wes Craven has come up with an ingenious premise, sloppy plotting (mostly involving the vigilante parents) and a dopey ending blunt much of its impact. Still, like most dreamy movies (everything from Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut), there’s ample material to analyze and interpret (whether deeper meaning was intended or not), and it’s interesting to see Freddy as a somewhat more menacing figure rather than the wisecracking buffoon seen in the sequels. Genre veteran John Saxon and Nashville Oscar nominee Ronee Blakley headline as Nancy’s parents. while Johnny Depp makes his film debut as Nancy’s none-too-bright boyfriend.

Rating (out of four): ★★½

To his credit, Craven wanted nothing to do with A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), which basically chucked out the rules established in the first film and seemingly made things up as it went along. Whereas Freddy was previously a dream demon who could attack people in their sleep, here he’s able to not only manipulate a teenage boy (Mark Patton) into committing his murders for him, he’s eventually also able to pop right out in broad daylight and start hacking up kids at a pool party. The homoerotic touches (particularly involving a high school coach who dresses in S&M gear) seem to belong in another movie, and they’re only slightly less risible than the appearance of a killer parakeet.

Rating: ★½

Easily the best film in the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) clicks on virtually all cylinders. Craven, Chuck Russell (who also directed), and The Shawshank Redemption’s Frank Darabont are among those contributing to a screenplay that finds Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), the only surviving teen from the first picture, now working at a mental facility housing several teens who have trouble sleeping. The staff can’t figure out how to help them, but Nancy knows that many of their problems come from Freddy actively trying to kill them. Imaginatively directed by Russell (who would later score a massive hit with the Jim Carrey comedy The Mask), this features the best plotting, the most distinguished cast (Craig Wasson, Larry Fishburne, and Patricia Arquette, among others), some fiendishly clever set-pieces (including one where The Dream Master basically turns into The Puppet Master), and a stirring finale.

Rating: ★★★

Dream Warriors grossed a then-series-high of $44 million, a record that was quickly cracked when A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) earned $49 million the following year (to date, they’re both still the most profitable aside from 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason and the 2010 remake). Manning one of his first features, Finnish director Renny Harlin (who would later helm the nailbiters Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger) can only do so much with a frequently silly story that finds Freddy brought back from the dead by, uh, fiery dog piss. This time, Freddy attempts to polish off the last few Elm Street teenagers so he can move onto “fresh meat,” but he meets a formidable opponent in the withdrawn Alice (Lisa Wilcox).

Rating: ★★

At this point, it’s clear that the suits at producing studio New Line Cinema were merely going through the motions, attempting to keep a dying franchise on life support. Case in point: Whereas the earlier films at least had the kids believably trying to stay awake by downing gallons of coffee, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) finds a character dozing off at the dinner table as a cue for Freddy to get his game on (because, yes, falling asleep while chewing food and chatting with a half-dozen guests happens so often). Having defeated Freddy in the previous film, Alice (Lisa Wilcox) now finds that the literal man of her dreams is trying to strike at people through her unborn baby. The Freddy Muppet Baby is laughable, but give this some credit: It might be the only movie in history to contain references to both Dutch artist M.C. Escher and Norwegian pop group a-ha. Bonus points for also including the imaginatively named song “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” on its soundtrack.

Rating: ★★

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) proves to be the low point of the series, an abysmal horror flick that suffers from Freddy’s endless (and awful) puns, useless cameos by Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, Roseanne Barr, and Tom Arnold, and a hideously misguided (read: slapstick) approach by Rachel Talalay, making her directing debut after working in various other capacities on the previous installments. In this one, we find out that Freddy has a child who’s now grown up and being dragged back into his life — is this A Nightmare on Elm Street or Days of Our Lives? In theaters, the final 20 minutes were presented in 3-D, meaning that audience members had to don spectacles at the same moment as Lisa Zane’s character (who’s laughably told it’s the only way to see Freddy). So if any home viewers wonder why characters suddenly start waving pointy objects at the screen, just look into this collection’s case — you’ll find a pair of 3-D glasses and can now high-five Freddy’s clawed glove yourself!

Rating: ★

Returning full-time to the series he created back in 1984, Craven wrote and directed Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), which takes the unusual step of merging the real world with the reel world. Actress Heather Langenkamp, from the first and third films, plays a fictionalized version of herself, gradually coming to realize that the evil represented by Freddy Krueger on film has begun to manifest itself in our world — and it has its sights set on her little boy Dylan (Miko Hughes). Craven, actor John Saxon, and New Line CEO Robert Shaye are among those playing themselves, with Englund performing double duty as himself and Freddy. It’s a cool idea as far as it goes, which is to say, it doesn’t go far at all, as an initially intriguing premise gets tossed aside for a lot of meta archness and a distressingly formulaic third act. And true to form for Craven (he of The Last House on the Left notoriety), notice how the most graphic violence is directed toward the lone teenage girl (Tracy Middendorf) in the film. Nevertheless, this captured the fancy of many critics, which gave Craven free rein to create the self-referential crock Scream.

Rating: ★½

(This 4K set offers both the theatrical and uncut versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Extras on A Nightmare on Elm Street include audio commentary by Craven, Langenkamp, Saxon, and cinematographer Jacques Haitkin; audio commentary by Craven, Englund, Langenkamp, Blakley, producer Robert Shaye, and co-producer Sara Risher; a making-of featurette; and alternate endings. Extras on the sequels include making-of featurettes; an archival interview with Craven; other cast and crew interviews; and the music videos for Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” and Fat Boys’ “Are You Ready for Freddy?”)