Like sand through the hourglass, movies drip from Netflix regularly. Pretty soon, some classics from the 1980s will no longer be available to stream, including two of the most iconic horror movies. Let’s see what’s leaving just before Halloween so everyone can plan their viewing habits accordingly.
Why Do Movies Leave Netflix?
Content on Netflix comes and goes. The streaming giant licenses shows and movies and those agreements eventually come to an end. Per the official Netflix website, expiring shows and films are considered for renewal if rights are still available, how popular the show is, and how much it costs. These reasons give Netflix enough plausible deniability to remove any media once the license expires.
Horror Classics On Their Way Out
On September 1, two ‘80s horror classics from masters of the genre will be leaving Netflix. We wouldn’t be surprised if these came back in October for Halloween, but only time will tell.
From the mind of John Carpenter, Christine is a 1983 supernatural horror movie starring Harry Dean Stanton, Kelly Preston, and Keith Gordon. Based on a Stephen King novel, it’s about a killer car. Mind you, that’s not to be confused with the King film Maximum Overdrive that’s also about killer cars.
Christine didn’t make quite as significant an impact as other Carpenter films from this era. It’s not quite reached the heights of Escape from New York or Big Trouble in Little China, but it’s earned its status as a cult classic.
The other major horror film leaving Netflix is the one that launched New Line Cinemas: A Nightmare on Elm Street. The horror classic stars Robert Englund as the demonic Freddy Krueger who haunts the dreams of teenagers. Heather Langenkamp and a young Johnny Depp also star.
Few films have made as big an impact on popular culture as Nightmare of Elm Street has. Without it, you don’t get Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight or The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Were it not for the success of Nightmare, the studio would have folded long before it could distribute the Peter Jackson trilogy, and history would just be a tad different. New Line is now a subsidiary of Warner Bros, so we would expect A Nightmare on Elm Street to land on HBO Max before too long.
What Else Is Leaving?
If you’re in a holiday mood, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is also leaving Netflix on September 1. The first, second, and fourth Mission: Impossible films are leaving alongside Michael Clayton and Goodfellas. If you’d like more Martin Scorsese, The Departed is leaving soon as well. Content comes and content goes, but these titles will be missed.