Movies
The Ward (VOD)
“The Ward is a disappointing return for Carpenter that forgets to establish exactly what kind of horror it is. The scares are too physical, or even worse, not at all…Carpenter enthusiasts might find solace in his return to the big screen, but ultimately the mass majority of horror fans will be disappointed.”
Editor’s note: Beware of spoilers that I attempted to keep vague
John Carpenter has dominated the horror genre for nearly 30 years, and oddly enough hasn’t directed a feature in almost a decade. After watching so many other greats struggle over the past decade, Carpenter has eluded criticism by avoiding the camera (sans the two awesome “Masters of Horror” episodes) – but now he’s front and center with The Ward, his new horror starring Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker and Jared Harris.
While the entire feature is damaged from poor cinematography, the first act is quite promising as Amber Heard is discovered burning down a house and thus locked in a ward for psychiatric evaluations. She has no idea who she is and almost immediately begins to have weird experiences. Carpenter hones in on his roots with his blocking and eerie sequences (such as a beautiful homage to Halloween 2 where Myers appears out of thin air). The early mystery engages the audience just enough to push them on to the second act, which is where things begin to fall apart.
Beyond the poor lighting and overly staged set pieces (actors even miss a few cues), the real problem stems directly from Michael and Shawn Rasmussen’s screenplay. The biggest offense the story makes is forgetting to establish rules for the ghost. A few examples: How does it obtain a victim, can it touch the victim, and why does it like to use the medical instruments as weapons? Even more frustrating are the completely unlikable (and some annoying) characters, all of which you pray will die. Even Amber Heard has issues as her character is suffering from amnesia, which makes her faceless. Her acting is fine as she carries the movie on her shoulders, but it’s hard to care about her fate when you know absolutely nothing about her.
Spoiler Warning. But the real shocker is the grand finale, an ending so trite that this script must have been circling Hollywood for at least a decade. I don’t want to reference any comparable movies, as it’ll give away the finale, but let’s just say that at one point there’s a character that explains everything in an exposition heavy sequence. What’s worse is that a major lesson we’ve learned over the years is completely neglected forcing an ending that’s on par with “it was all just a dream.” End Spoiler
The Ward is a disappointing return for Carpenter that forgets to establish exactly what kind of horror it is. The scares are too physical, or even worse, not at all (there’s a moment when the ghost is in a laundry elevator shaft with one of the girls, and then when Amber gets in nothing happens). Carpenter enthusiasts might find solace in his return to the big screen, but ultimately the mass majority of horror fans will be disappointed.
It was almost one year ago that Warner Bros. brought the entire original A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to 4K in one massive 7-movie collection, with the limited edition SteelBook version of the set quickly selling out and becoming highly sought after. But we’re happy to report tonight that the SteelBook set is currently back in stock over on Amazon!
While supplies last, grab the Elm Street SteelBook collection for $154.99 right now!!
Orders placed for this re-release are scheduled to begin shipping out September 15, 2026.
[Related] Freddy’s Back: New ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Movie in the Works at Paramount
From New Line Cinema, the collection includes the original seven films – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) – along with the uncut versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Dream Child.
Two BRAND NEW SPECIAL FEATURES for this set include:
- Boiler Room Confessional: The king of slashers, Robert Englund, takes us on a journey through the dream world, sharing what inspired Freddy Krueger, his rise as a cultural icon, and the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street, plus his favorite kills, scenes, and more.
- Freddy’s Footnotes: Robert Englund and original A Nightmare on Elm Street filmmakers revisit iconic scenes, revealing the movie magic and chaos behind our favorite nightmares. Pull back the curtain and relive epic moments through the eyes of those who made them.
Here’s the full breakdown of included Special Features for each movie…
A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Ready Freddy Focus Points
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, Robert Shaye, and Sara Risher
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and Jacques Haitkin
· Alternate Endings – Scary Ending, Happy Ending, Freddy Ending
· The House that Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror
· Never Sleep Again: The Making of A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
· Freddy on 8th Street
· Heroes and Villains
· The Male Witch
· Psychosexual Circus
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
· Behind the Story: Burnout
· Behind the Story: Fan Mail
· Behind the Story: The House that Freddy Built
· Behind the Story: Onward Christian Soldiers
· Behind the Story: Snakes and Ladders
· Behind the Story: That’s Showbiz
· Behind the Story: Trading 8’s
· Dokken Dream Warriors Music Video
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
· The Finnish Line
· Krueger, Freddy Krueger
· Hopeless Chest
· Let’s Makeup
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
· Behind the Story: Womb Raiders
· Behind the Story: The Sticky Floor
· Behind the Story: Take the Stairs
· Behind the Story: Hopkins Directs
· Behind the Story: A Slight Miscalculation
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
· 86’D
· Hellraiser
· Rachel’s Dream
· 3D Demise
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
· Commentary with Wes Craven
· NEW – Boiler Room Confessional
· NEW – Freddy’s Footnotes
· Becoming a Filmmaker
· Filmmaker
· An Insane Troupe
· The Problem with Sequels
· Two Worlds
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Really Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: A Childhood Memory
· Welcome to Prime Time: Sometime in the Early 80s
· Welcome to Prime Time: So It Began
· Welcome to Prime Time: Beauty and the Beast
· Welcome to Prime Time: Making the Glove
· Welcome to Prime Time: Shapeshifter
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Shoot
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Revolving Room
· Welcome to Prime Time: All’s Well that Ends Well
· Welcome to Prime Time: Talalay’s Tally
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Couldn’t Have Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: Alternate Ending Version
· Conclusion: Where Gothic Plots Come From
· Conclusion: Why We Like Gothic
· Conclusion: Sadomasochism
· Conclusion: Freddy vs. Pinhead
· Conclusion: Freddy’s Manic Energy
· Conclusion: Creating Lasting Characters in Horror
· Conclusion: No More Magic Tricks
· Conclusion: Monster with Personality
· Conclusion: Freddy as Sex Machine
· Conclusion: Campfire Stories
The Elm Street collection is available in this collectible SteelBook packaging (exclusive to Amazon) and as a standard 4K collection that’s also available now over on Amazon.
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