Here's Where You Can Watch Every A Nightmare On Elm Street Movie

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Although Wes Craven's 1984 film "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is typically lumped in with slasher movies — it came out right when the genre was cresting in popularity — it doesn't quite follow the same structure as its contemporaries in the horror genre. The "Nightmare" movies, because they take place largely within dreams, are slightly more cerebral, bizarre, or imaginative than many of the stalk-n-stab movies that infested theaters at the time. The series also attracted interesting and notable directors who went on to other projects. Chuck Russell ("The Mask," "Eraser," "The Scorpion King") directed part 3. Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2," "The Long Kiss Goodnight," "Deep Blue Sea") director part 4. Stephen Hopkins ("Predator 2," "The Ghost and the Darkness," "Lost in Space") directed part 5. And Rachel Talalay ("Ghost in the Machine," "Tank Girl") directed "The Final Nightmare." 

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" marathons are common around Halloween, and steamrolling through all nine extant "Nightmare" films is an experience the series' fans have likely forced themselves through at least once. Having done it, I can report that there are highs and lows with such an experiment, and it's fascinating to have your own sleep deprivation match the sleep deprivation of the characters on screen. To watch all nine Freddy movies in a row would take 762 minutes, or about 12 hours and 42 minutes. Start at dinner time and the marathon will end at about dawn. 

Can a marathon be arranged via streaming services, though? For those who don't already own a "Nightmare" DVD or Blu-ray box set (as so many Freddy fans do), here's where to find all of the movies. We'll also be sure to mention the "Nightmare on Elm Street" anthology series "Freddy's Nightmares" for good measure.

One cannot say why, but Talalay's "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" is not available on any streaming services. It can be rented through Apple TV, Amazon, the Google Play Store, YouTube, Vudu, the Microsoft Store, Redbox, DirecTV, however, for $2.99, and through Spectrum for $3.99. The same services (except for Spectrum) also offer it for purchase for $9.99, while Redbox offers it for $10.99.

"Wes Craven's New Nightmare," meanwhile, is back on the same services as "Nightmare 1" through "Nightmare 5." That film's meta-narrative and Craven's involvement make it stand out among the others, being genuinely scary and even a little thought-provoking compared to the wild, haunted house, party-like atmosphere of parts 3 through 5. For many years, it seemed like this was to be the end of the series. 

Those looking to stretch their Freddy marathon into a multiple-day affair may be disappointed to learn that the 1988 TV series "Freddy's Nightmares" is not available for streaming, rent, or purchase anywhere. That series lasted for two seasons, turning out 44 episodes in toto. "Freddy's Nightmares" ran concurrently with shows like "Tales from the Crypt," and was presented in a similar fashion with Freddy (Robert Englund) merely introducing short horror stories. The series ran on network TV, which kept the violence to a minimum. 

"Freddy's Nightmares" did see a very limited VHS release back in 1995, with five episodes each getting its own volume. Internationally, eight two-episode cassettes were released in the UK and in Germany. Later, in 2003, a UK DVD was released with only three episodes. On the 2011 Blu-ray box set of the first seven movies, one could find two "Freddy's Nightmares" episodes as a special feature. 

Luckily, enterprising archivists have stored the show's first season and its second season online.