Max Just Removed So Many Horror Movies

Horror fans browsing through Max's streaming library now have a few less titles to pick from. The streamer's horror catalogue shrunk by more than two dozen titles in December, with everything from the Conjuring Universe to the Scream franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and more taking a hit on New Year's Eve.

One of the hardest-hit franchises last month was The Conjuring Universe, which largely centers around the real-life cases of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The franchise consists of nine films, with five of those departing on Dec. 31 – The Conjuring 2 (2016), Annabelle (2014), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and The Curse of La Llorona (2019). The franchise is the highest-grossing horror franchise ever and also consists of The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), The Nun (2018), and The Nun II (2023), all of which are still streaming on Max, at least for the time being. The Nun's time, however, is extremely limited, with an impending departure date of Friday, Jan. 5

Another franchise to take a massive hit was the Scream franchise. The first three Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette-starring movies – Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) – were on the chopping block on New Year's Eve. All three films immediately made their way to Paramount+ on Jan. 1, where they are now available to stream alongside the franchise's two most recent installments, Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). Scream 4, meanwhile, currently streams on Max.

Max's purge of horror content affected two other franchises last month. Several films of the Final Destination franchise - Final Destination (2000), Final Destination 2 (2003), Final Destination 3 (2006), Final Destination 5 (2011), and The Final Destination (2009) – exited. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) also left. Meanwhile, a collection of Stephen King films – Stephen King's Graveyard Shift (1990), Stephen King's Silver Bullet (1985), and Stephen King's Thinner (1996) – were also on the streamer's departing list.

Unfortunately, Max's purge of horror titles is set to continue into 2024. Following The Nun's exit on Jan. 5, Barbarian will exit on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with Blair Witch (2016), Chernobyl Diaries, Predator, and Predator 2 set to follow on Wednesday, Jan. 31.