Forty years ago, writer/director Wes Craven unleashed one of the most enduring horror franchises of all time with A Nightmare on Elm Street. With his 1984 film, Craven catapulted actor Robert Englund into horror icon status thanks to his turn as dream stalker Freddy Krueger, and changed slasher films forever. Seven sequels and one remake later, nothing can top the original. To celebrate forty years of Freddy, Warner Bros. is releasing the original film in 4K UHD this October. You can check out a new trailer for the upcoming 4K digital and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release right here:
This new 4K remaster includes both the 1984 theatrical version of the film and an uncut version with eight seconds of additional unrated footage. The uncut version of A Nightmare on Elm Street only had a previous VHS release decades ago. All the special features from the previous Blu-ray are on this new disc. These include Freddy Focus Points, The House that Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror, and Never Sleep Again: A Nightmare on Elm Street. There are also two vintage commentary tracks, both featuring the late, great Wes Craven, along with cast and crew. Below you can see cover art for the standard edition and the limited edition Steelbook.
Hopefully Warner Bros. gives the rest of A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s franchise a similar 4K treatment soon. Especially the third installment Dream Warriors, one of the best slasher sequels ever made. And let’s not neglect Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. That was the iconic director’s first attempt at a meta slasher film, released two years before Scream. Heck, just give us a complete A Nightmare on Elm Street box set. It’s high time that the Springwood Slasher got his proper due on home releases.
A Nightmare on Elm Street will be available for purchase Digitally in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, and on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc on October 15 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.