A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street is the first installment in the long-running supernatural slasher horror, written and directed by Wes Craven. (Scream) The story involves the child killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), burned alive by a group of adults after being acquitted for his crimes, who is now stalking and killing the children of the people who killed him through their dreams. Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), daughter of the local sheriff, is the first to realize that recent deaths of her friends are linked to Krueger and that her circle of friends have been seeing the same man in their dreams. Naturally, the adults, although they have been keeping a horrifying secret for years, do not believe Nancy when she says who the killer is.

Craven’s film lays the groundwork for all the mythology and imagery of this franchise from the beginning, from Krueger’s burned flesh, dirty sweater, and razor blade gloves to some of the one-liners he uses that would become even more prominent as the franchise matured. This first entry is a bit slower and had a much lower budget for special effects, being produced for under $2 million, but raking in over $25 million at the box office. Subsequent films would increase the budget and the dazzling effects. The series would really hit its stride by the third entry, but this one remains a solid entry and a more confident one than the first Friday the 13^th.

Purchase A Nightmare on Elm Street 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com

The Video

I guess this is the way the world is going, because this new Warner Bros. 4K restoration of A Nightmare on Elm Street, presented in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) HDR10 encodement on 4K disc, looks eerily like it has been through that Peter Jackson AI process. The grain comes and goes from scene to scene and at times some of the skin textures look a little waxy. I would not say it looks as bad as the James Cameron restorations of, say, True Lies or Aliens, but there is something odd and off with this at times. That being said, the HDR10 grading is stunning. The finale with Freddy in flames really pops off the screen and on my G3 OLED had me squinting. The nuance in the flames created an almost three-dimensional appearance. That is how the highlights look throughout the film.

The Audio

The new lossless Dolby Atmos remaster sounds exceptional as well. It spreads a lot of ambience around the room and raises some of the score up over the base channels for some excellent height awareness. Low end is not going to be floorboard rattling, but it is quite good for a film from this era.

The Supplements

A Nightmare on Elm Street comes with a Movies Anywhere digital code and a heavy dose of alternate takes. Additionally, there are two audio commentaries from 2001 and 2006 respectively, plus alternate endings and more archival featurettes.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentaries (Theatrical Only)
  • 2001 Commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Sxon, and Jacques Haitkin
  • 2006 Commentary with Wes Craven, Robert Shaye, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Ronee Blakeley, Sara Risher, Jacques Haitkin, John Burrows, Charles Bernstein, Rick Shaine, Patrick McMahon, Jim Doyle, David B. Miller, and David Del Valle
• Focus Points (1080p/60; 00:18:13):
  • Alt Take Glove Construction
  • Alt Take Freddy Chases Tina
  • Alt Take of Rubber Ceiling
  • Tina and Worms
  • Alt Take of Freddy on Alley
  • Wes on Glove Sparks
  • Alt Take of Freddy in Alley 2
  • Alt Take of Freddy Cuts Fingers
  • Alt Take of Freddy Face Peel
  • Dave Miller on Tina’s Chest Ripping
  • Alt Take of Freddy in Tina’s Death Scene
  • Alt Take of Stunt Double Falls
  • Alt Take of Tina’s Death
  • Miller on Maggots
  • Al Takes of Freddy Chases Nancy
  • Alt Take of Bathtub Scene
  • Alt Take of Bathtub Scene 2
  • Freddy and Feathers
  • Sleep Clinic
  • Marge Discusses Freddy
  • Nancy and Unused Phone Line
  • Alt Take of Phone Scene
  • Alt Take of Blood Pours from Bed
  • Robert on Freddy’s Voice
  • Ronee Talks About Her Dummy
  • Alt Take of Dummy in Bed
  • Haitkin Talks About Camera Effects
  • Alt Take of Freddy Comes Out of Bed
  • Alt Take of Nancy and Freddy
• Alternate Endings (1080p; 00:04:58):
  • Scary Ending
  • Happy Ending
  • Freddy Ending
• The House that Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror (1080p/60; 00:21:52)
• Never Sleep Again: The Legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1080p/60; 00:49:54)
• Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares (1080p/60; 00:15:33)

The Final Assessment

A fun and still scary opening salvo from this classic Wes Craven franchise. The new restoration will be controversial for sure. Some people will love how shiny and new it looks while other will lament how unnaturally shiny and new it looks. The Atmos audio mix is top notch.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray October 15, 2024 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Purchase A Nightmare on Elm Street 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R
• Studios & Distributors: New Line Cinema | Media Home Entertainment | Smart Egg Pictures | The Elm Street Venture | Cinema ’84 | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: Wes Craven
• Written By: Wes Craven
• Run Time: 91 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: HDR10
• HDR Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 995 nits
  • MaxFALL: 198 nits
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible)
• Secondary Audio: Original Theatrical English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono | French DD 1.0 (theatrical only) | German DD 1.0 (theatrical only) | Italian DD 1.0 (theatrical only) | Spanish (Castilian) DD 1.0 (theatrical only) | Spanish (Latino) DD 1.0 (theatrical only)
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | German SDH | Italian SDH | Spanish (Castilian) | Spanish (Latino) | Dutch | Danish | Finnish | Norwegian | Swedish