A Nightmare on Elm Street, five sequels, and its 2010 remake left Netflix on July 1st. The iconic franchise has sat dormant for over a decade, along with most of its genre. Slasher movies were one of many horror trends but faded like the rest. Almost none of the classic killers lived on into the modern era. Netflix subscribers who love Freddy Krueger must move fast to enjoy it. We all woke up from Freddy’s terrible dream on July 1st, but he’s still worth tracking down.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Snuck Away From Netflix this July
I had a unique relationship with Freddy Kreuger when I was young. I was too young to access horror films, but the other kids around the schoolyard loved nothing more than describing them in detail. Before streaming or on-demand entertainment, my ability to see something like It would be dependent on cable showtimes. Freddy terrified me in concept, but all my fear of him went out the window when I saw Freddy vs. Jason. Today, any kid with access to Netflix can consume as much horror media as they could ever want. I could have driven myself mad watching Freddy gradually shift from an icon of terror into an overcooked clown with knives on his hand. Now, I see this franchise for what it is. A Nightmare on Elm Street is still excellent, even as its sequels became comical.
A Nightmare on Elm Street and its sequels take up almost fifteen hours of binge-watching. The first entry is a classic, exploiting the unique terror we face in our sleep each night. The second film captures something special by accident, but its quality remains considerably less impressive. Many defend Dream Warriors as a worthy successor, but the fourth and fifth entries push the franchise far beyond its welcome. The less said about the 2010 remake, the better. Freddy lays dormant now, as do most of his former rivals. Jason has been quiet even longer. Michael is still around, but he’s a shadow of his former self. Chris Nash’s In a Violent Nature demonstrated a return to form and a unique deconstruction of the genre. While it resurrected elements of Friday the 13th, it’s more of a lesson in why these projects can’t work like they used to.
For all of Freddy’s silly jokes and comical cursing, the Nightmare on Elm Street series is sincere. It spits out horrific tales of abuse and addiction right next to absurd lore details about demons and dream magic. Krueger does gags, but the results tend to be horrific. Only in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and Freddy vs. Jason did the franchise resort to wholehearted irony. Go back to a simpler time with A Nightmare on Elm Street. You can’t find it on Netflix, but it’s still worth tracking down.
