A Nighmare on Elm st - The first 3 Nightmares

(Roadshow Entertainment)

The Nightmare on Elm st movies have a special place in the heart of any 80s horror film fan. With the irrepressible Freddy Krueger, being one of the most memorable villains from an era of film that gave us a huge variety of masked baddies, Freddy stands out, with his signature bladed glove, plastic versions of which were sold en masse to 12yos at my local show in years gone by.

This special edition pack featuring the first 3 films packaged together, is a great way to get collectors into buying a series they might otherwise have overlooked if they were all sold separately (the reminiscing factor will only go so far when it hits the hip pocket). Included is a good selection of extras including interviews with main cast members and featurettes, the one on the GLOVE is especially interesting to any Freddy fan. However as with a lot of films your left wanting more in the way of background. All three films are excellent quality transfers from the original film masters, with sound having undergone some reworking for great effect.

For those not familiar with the Nightmare on Elm st series they center around a killer named Fred Krueger who after killing a number of children while alive was hunted down and burnt to death by the residents of the neighborhood in which he stalked his young prey. However this did not stop Fred, as we see in the first film Fred returns to finish the job he started and seeks to have his revenge upon the parents who stopped him the first time by killing their kids one by one, returning in the form of a demonic killer that inhabits the teens of Elm st’s worst nightmares, which have the power to kill in reality as well as in Freddy’s dream world. Originally conceived by Horror master Wes Craven, Hollywood was rather skeptical of the idea (as we see in the featurettes) but once the first one hit the theatres there was never a doubt of follow ups.

With the first film focusing on the struggle between Freddy Vs Nancy, the daughter of the policeman responsible for tracking Freddy down when he was living. It is a great example of the 80s slasher genre with a twist, introducing great characters with an interesting (if a little dated now) story. The one thing I felt after the first movie was a desire to know more about Freddy’s back-story as he is such and interesting character, far beyond those of Jason Vorhees (of Friday the 13th series) or Michael Myers (of the Halloween films). Unfortunately as Wes was not involved in the 2nd installment in the series, little light was shed on it. Instead it focuses on a young man living in the Elm st house (once inhabited by Nancy’s family) who is tempted by Freddy to resume his killing spree, thereby helping Freddy move from the dream world back into flesh and (lots of) blood reality, via a form of possession.

The third film returns to a concept penned by Craven with the subtitle Dream Warriors, which brings back Nancy, adds a new heroine in a young Patricia Arquette. With a story that includes great ties with Freddy’s back story, very interesting “themed” deaths and the idea of each character having “dream powers” it’s the follow up that number 2 should have been.Some of the more amusing special features such as the “homo-erotic” themes of Nightmare 2 and the hilariously funny 80’s hair metal video clip of the Dream Warriors theme song by DOKKEN will have you chuckling at the past along with the cast and crew. This set is a good start but I have to say I would prefer all the movies in one SUPER DELUXE set with a couple of full DVDs of supplementary material really exploring the 80s phenomenon that was Nightmare on Elm st (anyone remember Freddy’s nightmares series? How about those on DVD too) and specifically its gruesome villain Freddy.

Rating:  4/5

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