Classic Horror Franchise On Netflix Deserves Binge Watch From Fans And Newcomers

Starting things off is the movie that started it all, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). The movie focuses on a group of high school friends who are being murdered in their sleep by a horribly scarred man with a glove covered in razor-sharp knives. That man is Freddy Krueger (Robert England), a child murderer also known as the Springwood Slasher.

One night a mob of parents from the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio get together and burn Krueger alive in the boiler room of the school where he worked as a custodian. As a result, Krueger is now stalking the children of the parents who killed him and violently picking them off one by one…in their dreams.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)is considered a classic in the slasher genre and I highly recommend streaming it on Netflix as soon as you’re done reading this. On the plus side, the movie introduces Nancy (Heather Langankamp), the best final girl of the ’80s, and features some creative kills that still hold up today. On the negative side, if you’re looking for prime, one-liner Freddy, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

The first Nightmare features a meaner, nastier Freddy Krueger than the one who would host his own gameshow in the mid-’00s. That, plus the goofy Home Alone ending, keeps the film from being the best in the series. With that in mind, it’s still a solid 4/5 for me.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) is easily the weirdest movie in the series. It’s not exactly a bad movie; it’s just different. Mark Patton stars as Jesse, the only final boy in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and possibly all of Netflix.

Jesse has moved into Nancy’s house on the titular Elm Street, and now Freddy Krueger has decided to possess his body so he can kill people in the real world. The movie doesn’t follow the formula of any of the other movies and is actually a thinly veiled analogy for being gay and closeted.

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When viewed as a Nightmare on Elm Street movie, it’s not great, but when viewed as a movie about being gay in the ’80s, it’s quite effective. Either way, I still suggest you stream A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, if only to make up your own mind about it. 3/5

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) is the best movie in the series and will single-handedly make your Netflix bill this month worth it. This is where Freddy Krueger really becomes the Freddy Krueger we all know and love. The kills are spectacular—the “Welcome to Primetime” kill is particularly memorable—and despite his increased wit, Freddy is still scary.

Dream Warriors is hands down my favorite Nightmare on Elm Street film. If you only stream one movie from this list on Netflix, it should be Dream Warriors. It’s a solid 5/5.

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I’m going to open myself up to a lot of hate here, but I don’t really love A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988). Dream Master is the first time in the franchise that Freddy goes from being the villain to the main character. This Krueger is officially too funny to be scary, and the kills, while still amazing, have become Alanis Morisette-style ironic ( the girl who hates bugs becomes a cockroach, etc.).

Of course, you should still stream A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, but don’t expect the same quality as number 3. 2.5/5

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Okay, now I’m really going to get some hate, but I love A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989). Yes, I know it’s the one where Freddy hopes to be reborn through an unborn child. Yes, I know it’s the one that implies that Freddy’s mom was assaulted by a hundred different mental patients, making him what she calls the “bastard son of a hundred maniacs.” The whole movie is cheesy, and yet I wholeheartedly enjoy it more than number 4.

If you also enjoy A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, do yourself a favor: after you watch it on Netflix, look up the uncensored kills on YouTube. You’ll thank me later. 3.5/5

The sixth A Nightmare on Elm Street movie, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), is the only one not streaming on Netflix. That’s okay, though, because as much as I have a soft spot for it, it’s not a good movie. Like, at all. It’s basically a comedy with a ton of celebrity cameos and very minimal horror. It barely even earns its R-rating.

If you’re a completionist, it’s available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

But you know what A Nightmare on Elm Street movie is streaming on Netflix? Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) This movie is one of the first meta-horror films, predating even Scream. Basically, New Nightmare takes place in the “real world,” where the Nightmare on Elm Street movies exist as movies, and Robert England, Heather Langenkamp, and even Wes Craven play versions of themselves.

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It turns out that Wes Craven really only makes Freddy Krueger movies because that’s the only way he can contain this non-specific evil entity who masquerades as Freddy Krueger throughout the movie.

Some fans hail it as a meta-masterpiece, but the movie has always been too up its own behind for my tastes. If you like high-concept horror movies you should definitely stream Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Just don’t expect any of the ’80s slasher fun of its predecessors. 2.5/5

The last A Nightmare on Elm Street available to stream on Netflix is…A Nightmare on Elm Street! This 2010 remake of the original film replaces Robert Englund with Jackie Earle Haley and upgrades Freddy Krueger from a child murderer to a child molester/murderer. Despite his best efforts, Jackie Earle Haley is simply no Robert Englund, and CGI burn scars will never trump old-school horror makeup.

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Still, it’s not the worst horror remake out there, and there’s nothing for fans of the originals to be outright offended over. It’s pretty much the definition of mid, as the kids say. On the other hand, if you want to be a completionist, you’ll want to stream A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), too, but don’t expect too much. I’m feeling generous, so 2/5.

Overall, the Nightmare on Elm Street series is a fun slasher franchise, and I’m glad that (almost) all of the movies are streaming on Netflix. Wes Craven gave the horror community one of the all-time great movie monsters with Freddy Krueger; we will always be grateful for that.