Like we did for the original Halloween on 4K, we’re going to skip over the traditional film review of A Nightmare on Elm Street since there’s not a lot that can be said about it critically that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseam over the years. If you’re truly curious, you could always tune into our Blood and Black Rum Podcast episode about it below. Instead, we’ll jump right into the details of this new UHD release, since A Nightmare on Elm Street has had a number of past problematic Blu-ray and home video releases and this marks the first time this has received a UHD release with 4K scan.
4K UHD
Warner Brothers has given A Nightmare on Elm Street a UHD release with presumably some 4K scan of the film elements, though the details of the actual source are not available. The film has had a couple of previous Blu-ray releases all with their fair share of issues; sometimes those involved compression or encoding, or the omission of particular audio cues, but there’s never been a perfect representation of the movie for high-definition viewers. Here, we get perhaps the best offering we are likely to receive for our current technology, though not without a couple of issues.
Overall, the new 4K transfer looks surprisingly crisp, with exceptional visual clarity that’s aided by extremely fine grain. Suspiciously fine grain, to be exact. It’s no secret that Warner Brothers and other larger studios have often been heavy-handed with digital grain reduction in the past, and while A Nightmare on Elm Street does not suffer from widespread DNR issues or very noticeable meddling, one would suspect that there was at least a bit of artificial grain reduction used throughout to present such minimal grain scale. While this is often not particularly apparent, there are a few instances where skin tones in particular appear a bit too smoothed. That’s not to say that they’re taking on the infamous waxy appearance, but that they do tend to seem a bit tweaked.
With that said, the rest of the video quality is exceptionally good, with strong background details that are enhanced by the HDR representation here. The film has a lot of great hues including a particular blue lighting technique for certain dream sequences, and these look expectedly contrasting to the usual lighting. Also of note are daylight sequences especially outdoors, which present a nice luminescence as well as vibrant overall color grading. Black levels are quite deep and sometimes a bit overly dark, but in comparing previous release it seems that has been the case for some time – whether that’s accurate to the original presentation is not clear. The uncut and theatrical cut offerings are also virtually the same in terms of image quality. Overall, Warner Brothers’ transfer is quite satisfying despite a few hiccups, and it is certainly the best depiction of the film we’ve seen thus far.
For audio, we are treated to both a Dolby Atmos remaster as well as the original DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono theatrical mix. In the past, there has been much discussion about missing audio cues on various releases, and while it does appear there are still a couple of areas missing, these new mixes restore a number of cues. With that said, there is a noticeable drop in quality as though these have been culled from other sources. The Atmos track itself features a pretty good overall mix, with front-centered dialogue along with the score and some ambient effects ported to the satellite speakers. There’s also a nice rumbling bass presence. The Atmos effect isn’t necessarily very prevalent, but it does sound quite good as a robust mix. The original theatrical mono also sounds nice with good structure, offering an authentic experience regardless of missing a couple of other cues. English subtitles are also included, as well as various language tracks for the theatrical cut.
For extras, this new release collects previously available featurettes such as a look at the film’s legacy, a short making-of piece, and a look at where the idea for Freddy started. Both a 2001 and 2006 audio commentary are ported over for the theatrical cut, as are the alternate endings and focus sequences. It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that there are no new supplemental features.
Extra Features
- NEW 4K transfer with HDR10 on both uncut and theatrical cut
- NEW Dolby Atmos remix
- 2001 Audio Commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and Jacques Haitki
- 2006 Audio Commentary with cast and crew
- Focus Points sequences (1080p; 18:13)
- Alternate endings (1080p; 4:58)
- The House That Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror (1080p; 21:52)
- Never Sleep Again: The Making of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1080p; 49:54)
- Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares (1080p; 15:33)
Verdict
For fans clamoring for an ultra high-definition release of A Nightmare on Elm Street that fixes some of the major flaws on previous offerings, this Warner Brothers UHD certainly hits many of the right notes. While not a perfect release, it may be the best we are likely to see – possibly ever.
