Horror at Home: A Nightmare on Elm Street

Horror at Home is a new segment here at Horror in Retrospect, where I pick a movie that has had a dvd/blu-ray release and I talk about it. The dvd/blu-ray may have been recently released or it may be a dvd/blu-ray that I have found that I think deserves a second look. It all depends on the week.

This week's focus is Nightmare on Elm Street on blu-ray. Let me tell you folks, this is one quality release. Warner Bros./New Line has always been known for giving us the best picture and sound and with this release, they have given NoES a proper blu-ray debut. I have never seen NoES look so good and unlike some other horror movies released to blu-ray, this release doesn't suffer from excessive DNR. The color palette looks natural and there is a great amount of detail in each scene.

The sound doesn't suffer either. I wouldn't go as far to say that the sound is robust, but the surrounds are used nicely and the dialogue is clear and crisp.

And for any Nightmare fan, all of the extras from the outstanding 2-disc, released a few years back, are present and accounted for, except for the trailer. This is my only gripe with this release. WB/NL always gave us the trailer for the movie, even if it was the only special feature, but it seems like lately they have been slumming when it comes to the trailer.

Overall, though, this release is top notch. My only hope is that the studio seems fit to give the rest of the series the hi-def treatment, even if they are released in the double features that Warners seems to like so much. You owe it to yourself to get this release.