We’re always looking for that which scares us here at the ol’ Nerdist, but it’s tough to know what to watch. With all the lovely streaming services out there, there’s plenty to send shivers down your spine or quench your thirst for blood and guts, but how do you know what’s worth a look first? We’ve scoured Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Shudder for the best horror films to stream throughout August.
Shudder
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-6 – One of the most popular and most influential horror franchises of all time. Shudder–which, do you guys have Shudder yet? It’s great–is giving fans all the movies in the initial saga. That means:
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors (1987)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street IV: The Dream Master (1988)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street V: The Dream Child (1989)
- Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Wes Craven created a horror icon for the ages in his supremely enjoyable first movie. That icon became a cash cow with the subsequent films, of which part III is easily the best. But they all have something to recommend them, even if it’s just silliness. In addition:
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) – A terrific and massive documentary on the making of all of the movies in the series. Absolutely essential viewing.
The Love Witch – Anna Biller’s 2016 romantic thriller is love letter to ’70s Euro-erotica and sexy supernatural movies. A stylish witch uses magic to get men to fall in love with her. And it’s so great.
Vault of Horror – One in a cycle of horror anthologies produced by Amicus Pictures in the ’60s and ’70s, Vault of Horror is their follow-up to Tales from the Crypt, both using EC Comics for their stories. Not as good as Tales, Vault nevertheless has a couple of good outings. And Tom Baker’s in one.
All the Colors of the Dark – Maybe my favorite giallo by underrated Italian director Sergio Martino, this one mixes psychedelic imagery and Gothic tropes to create an unsettling, haunting, and, yes, quite sexy film. Shot in gloomy London, Martino cast genre go-tos Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Marina Malfatti, and Ivan Rassimov in one of the standout movies of early-70s Italian horror.
Hulu
Rosemary’s Baby – Whether you believe in the Devil or not, the 1968 movie Rosemary’s Baby is one of the best and scariest films about paranoia and cults ever made. Mia Farrow is haunting as a young wife made to do a lot of gross things in service of someone else’s idea of what she should do with her body. And nobody believes her. It’s truly an upsetting film. And great.
Shivers – David Cronenberg’s first body horror film is still one of his creepiest. Slug-like parasitic creatures infect a fancy new high-rise apartment building. Instead of killing them, the parasite turns the population into rabid, sex-crazed maniacs. Only the lone puritanical guy stands between them and the outside world. So, kind of an allegory to the dangers of free love before the AIDS epidemic, huh?
Final Destination 1-4 – All of the Final Destination movies except the last one. They’re all a bit dumb, but the deaths are hugely inventive. Who doesn’t love Dimension horror from the early 2000s?
Have any other favorite horror movies streaming now? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: Paramount, Warner Bros, Netflix, Shudder, Dimension, TWC
Kyle Anderson is the Editor at Large for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!=”http://www.twitter.com/functionalnerd” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Follow him on Twitter!