In the mood for a franchise? HBO Max thought so. The streamer is killing the horror game right now and has a surprising number of complete (or almost complete) iconic horror franchises available to watch right now. So if you’ve been meaning to cross a complete franchise watch of A Nightmare on Elm Street off your list, or immerse yourself in the world of Godzilla, now you can with ease! As a note, I defined a franchise as containing three or more movies. So series such as Gremlins didn’t quite make the list.
Without further ado, here are all the horror franchises you can watch now on HBO Max!
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Grab some popcorn and a can of your favorite soda and spend a night with one of the best slasher villains to date, Freddy Krueger. HBO Max has all of the films in Freddy’s universe, sane A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (which is a definite bummer). But, you can still binge-watch the eight other films! That does include the dodgy 2010 remake and the iffy Freddy Vs. Jason.
Godzilla
Thanks to their relationship with Criterion, HBO Max has a massive catalog of classic Showa-era Godzilla films, from the original 1954 film to Destroy All Monsters. The streamer’s offerings will get you acquainted with all of the iconic kaiju and show you just why this series has endured through so many decades.
Final Destination
In the mood for a slew of creative kills where teenagers’ heads roll, bodies are crushed, and skulls are impaled? HBO Max has all five Final Destination movies available for your viewing pleasure. Yes, mileage may vary on certain franchise entries. But there’s no denying the mind-blowing (pun intended) creativity poured into the series’ set pieces.
Mimic
Cockroach horror? That’s both a resounding yes and no thank you from me. But Guillermo del Toro directing the first Mimic film pushed me more into the “yes” camp. Audiences are torn on these films, but if you want a creature feature that’ll make you squirm, HBO Max has got you covered.
Underworld
Perhaps it’s the bisexual in me, but Underworld scratches a certain itch. I mean, Kate Beckinsale being a badass vampire in leather and fighting angry werewolves led by Martin Sheen? What’s not to love? Now, HBO Max only has the first, third, and fourth film so it is a bit piecemeal. Regardless, if you want warring factions of creatures fighting on your screen, you can’t go wrong with this series.
The Conjuring
Not only does HBO Max has all three films from James Wan’s terrifying franchise, but it also has quite a few of the spin-off films. The streamer has both Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation, as well as The Curse of La Llorona (that one is for Conjuring universe completionists). If you’re looking to get immersed in a ghost and demon-filled world, HBO Max has you covered.
Blade
Wesley Snipes as the vampire-human hybrid is iconic, to put it simply. The first film oozes sex appeal between Snipes and a young Stephen Dorff. Then, the Guillermo del Toro-directed Blade II serves us a creature feature and buckets of body horror on a gorgeous silver platter. Yeah, Blade Trinity is a definite misstep, but hey, it’s still vampire fun. Plus Ryan Reynolds is in it!
I Know What You Did Last Summer
We’re huge fans of urban legend horror at Dread Central, so we’re of course stoked that all three films in this franchise are readily available. As it goes with franchises, some entries are stronger than others. But you can’t deny the pure 90s power of the original film written by Scream’s Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr.
IT
If you’re trying to fight your fear of clowns and want to dive into Stephen King’s epic IT, HBO Max has both iterations to choose from. There’s of course the classic mini-series from 1990 starring the impeccable Tim Curry as Pennywise. Then, you can jump right into the two-part film event from Andy Muschietti where Bill Skarsgard does a surprisingly amazing job filling Curry’s clown shoes.
