Displaying items by tag: A Nightmare on Elm Street

Yesterday marked the tragic passing of Wes Craven, who was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away at the age of 76.

Since this man and his work affected many of us and was tied to me personally and what I do here at The Bits, I felt compelled to share my bit of history with Wes Craven and maybe get across more firmly why he was such an influence on all of us. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out our last full week of the Hell Plaza Oktoberfest with Dr. Jahnke’s review of John Carpenter’s Body Bags: Collector’s Edition from Scream Factory.  Just four more reviews to go, but Jahnke’s saving a couple real gems for last.

Also today, we’ve posted our in-depth review of a true classic and a very long awaited Blu-ray release: Warner’s The Right Stuff: 30th Anniversary Edition.  Not only is this a great film, but it’s a bit of smart satire that’s also deeply admiring of those the men – test pilots and astronauts alike – who exemplify the film’s title.  And the Blu-ray looks and sounds pretty terrific, so don’t miss it.  [Read on here...]

We’ve got some great news today for you fans of the BBC’s Sherlock: PBS has just announced that Season Three will officially premiere here in the States on 1/19/14 on Masterpiece, following the 9 PM broadcast of Downton Abbey.  This is bar none my favorite show on television right now, so I’m very excited by this.  As before, the season will contain three new 90-minute episodes: The Empty Hearse (1/19), The Sign of Three (debuts on 1/26) and His Last Vow (2/2 – Superbowl Sunday as it happens), eached based on a classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story.  Blu-ray and DVD versions (SRP $39.98 and $29.98) are NOW available for pre-order on Amazon.com (street date is TBA, but our guess with be early Feb 2014)!  You’ll find the temp cover art below.  And of course, the BBC has confirmed that Season Four is already in the works.   Great news all around!

Now then, today’s Hell Plaza Oktoberfest review from Dr. Jahnke is none other than James Wan’s recent The Conjuring on Blu-ray from Universal.  And turns out it’s pretty great.  Don’t miss it.  [Read on here...]

Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep...

A Nightmare on Elm Street was first released in 1984 by New Line Cinema, being written and directed by Wes Craven.  Since its inception, it has spawned seven sequels, a TV series and a remake of the original film.  It has also managed to invoke more fandom and fanaticism than any other horror franchise in history.

As an extremely avid movie geek, I too have been a part of that fandom since I was an eight year old just getting into movies.  I owned all of the films on VHS and bought all of the magazines, posters, comics and soundtracks that I could get my hands on.  Like most people, I also had the obligatory Halloween costume: the hat, sweater and glove combination.  I even went so far as trying to build my own Freddy glove out of soda cans, steak knives and work gloves.  I was later amused to find out that I wasn’t the only one doing these things.  People from all over the world have been constructing Freddy gloves in their basements and garages and selling them over the internet for many years.  There haven’t been too many film franchises that have driven people to this seemingly maniacal and obsessive behavior, and that level of fandom shouldn’t be taken for granted.  [Read on here...]