Why Freddy's Nightmares needs to come out on blu-ray!!!

Why Freddy's Nightmares needs to come out on blu-ray!!!

PLOT - Freddy's Nightmares was a weekly television show that takes place in Springwood Ohio where Freddy Krueger was put on trial for the murder of dozens of young neighborhood children. Due to a search warrant not being signed, Krueger is set free creating a lynch mob of furious parents Hell bent on getting the revenge they were cheated out of. The group of parents track Krueger down in an old boiler room in a factory he used to work at, and set him on fire, burning his alive. The parents hide the remains, and swear never to speak of this again. Shortly after, the people involved in Krueger's murder begin dying in mysterious accidents. It appears that Krueger vowed revenge, and now has the ability to live on in people's dreams. If he kills you in your nightmare, you die for real. Here in the first episode he sets his sights on Springwood's original sheriff, one of the men responsible for his death, leaving his twin daughters traumatized. This of course opens up to the burned dream stalker we all know and love from the films. The remainder of the TV series showcases other stories that take place in the same universe as the films. Here each episode, we are shown two stories taking place in Springwood, all of which are connected by the same people. Some episodes showcase Freddy, and the legend he's leaving behind on this once peaceful town. Others show other killers from the area such as the Springwood Chopper, and other twisted individuals that live there.

LOWDOWN - Love me some horror TV series. Let it be Tales From The Darkside, Night Gallery, Tales From The Crypt, Monsters, and Friday the 13th the series. Unlike Friday the 13th the series, they decided to actually stick in the same universe as the movies. Friday the 13th the series shared the same title, but that was about it. Instead of Jason hacking away at teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake, we had three people tracking down cursed objects at an antique store. With Freddy's Nightmares, this was yet another way to cash in on the Freddy craze that was happening at the time in the mid to late 1980's.  A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 The Dream Master had just been released. This was at the time the highest grossing film from that series. The colorful MTV sequel, making Freddy into a household name. Wanting to make more money, they took a page out of the Friday the 13th book, and decided to make a weekly television series based off the red and green sweater janitor. I myself had honestly never heard of the TV series until 2007 or so when Chiller TV first aired. I have written about the glory days of Chiller TV when it first aired. Back when they only had the rights to a handful of movies, including several television series. Tales From The Crypt, Friday the 13th the series, and yes Freddy's Nightmares. If it wasn't for Chiller TV I wouldn't have ever heard about either show. Here I was able to watch a handful of these cheesy, colorful, and tongue in cheek episodes. What really made me raise an eyebrow was the fact that Freddy wasn't actually in many episodes. In fact, I would say there is maybe six or even episodes that actually have Freddy as a character. Instead, Freddy acts as sorta a Crypt Keeper, introducing each episode, and as always cracking jokes. 

What made Freddy's Nightmares so cool was the fact that it expanded on the Nightmare On Elm Street universe. Here we got to see more of the town of Springwood, and actually got to see how truly messed up this town was! Thanks to the Nightmare On Elm Street blu-ray set, we even got 2-3 episodes included onto the set. Seeing these episodes in HD was a huge treat, and made fans begin to wonder of this TV series would be next to get the blu-ray treatment. Sadly so far all we've gotten are those tacked on episodes on the blu-ray set, as well as bootleg copies you can basicaly get at any convention. I myself have owned 3 sets of Freddy's Nightmares (one I gifted to a friend, another one was horrible quality, and the last a slightly better transfer.) This is saying a lot since all of these were ripped off somebody who most likely taped them back in the 1980's off their VCR. To say most of these are blurry and grainy is saying  lot. I think that's the biggest let down, that if these episodes were cleaned up, massive Elm Street fans would be drooling. I mean I bet there is even a huge group of Freddy fans who might not even know about the TV series! For hardcore fans several episodes were released on VHS back in the late 90's early 2000's. I myself own two of them. I'm not completely sure if all of the episodes got on tape, but I know there are Japan versions that feature more episodes. 

Thanks to the killer documentary Never Sleep Again, more fans were able to discover the TV series, and have a good laugh over how low budget it was. Yes, I'll agree, a ton of these episodes...well at least the ones I've seen are pure cheese at it's best. The acting is bad, the effects low budget, and some of the stories leaving you honestly scratching your head wondering what the fuck just happened? Still, there are actually are REALLY great ones. I would say the pilot, directed by Tobe Hooper is a very interesting take of the legendary backstory we all know and love about Freddy. (The shot of him on the stand wearing his red and green sweater always kills me.) as well as the episode that Robert Englund directed Cabin Fever which features actress Leslie Deane from Robert's other film 976 Evil, and of course Freddy's Dead The Final Nightmare. This episode is deeply disturbing, and actually made me do a double take more than once, stunned that this actually aired on regular cable. Killer Instinct, Sister's Keeper, Lucky Stiff, Do You Know Where Your Kids are? and of course Do Dreams Bleed? Which features our very own mascot Damon Martin, a young football star from Springwood who has to battle a new killer in town. The Springwood Chopper! 

The show lasted two seasons, but ran a little over three years. Some episodes better than others, but truly a huge treat to watch. I myself admit I STILL haven't finished watching all the episodes. Which makes me think a marathon is in order soon! These episodes are fun mindless television, and if you are a huge Elm Street fan are a complete must to watch. I really truly hope now with the re-releases of so many horror TV series that we get even a DVD set of Freddy's Nightmares with a slightly clearer transfer. I mean Brad Pitt was a guest star on this for Christ sakes...it deserves to at least see the light of day for fans! 

So let's see our fingers crossed and hope in the somewhat near future Freddy's Nightmares gets the treatment it deserves!!!