Netflix Update: What's Leaving in April 2015

In which I report on the upcoming changes to Netflix's streaming services.

April's going to be another hard month for Netflix subscribers, as a lot of popular and quality titles are leaving the company's streaming service in as soon as the next few days.  We'll have to wait and see what they're replaced with, but judging from the outgoing list, it's not going to be enough.

April is unquestionably hitting horror fans the hardest.  Despite being my favorite genre, even I have to admit that most entries into the genre are terrible.  It's hard enough to find a good horror movie, let alone one that's simply passable.  That's why the wholesale removal of the entire Friday the 13th series comes as such a shock.

Becky and I just finished marathoning them (having to rent the few that weren't available through Netflix) and I actually realized that the slasher series was a far better one than I had ever given it credit before.  They weren't good (or at least most of them weren't), but they were solid, entertaining and mostly better than they ever should have been.

Shadow of the Vampire is another exiting title that will be sorely missed.  It was the subject of a Date Night back in October, and was an intelligently gruesome entry into its genre: a supposed historical biopic about the making of Nosferatu in which actor Max Schreck turns out to be an actual, factual vampire.  Willem DeFoe plays the twisted actor in question and John Malkovich tackles the role of director F.W. Munrau, the movie's desperate director willing to go to any length to complete his film.

In addition to those, both Jeepers Creepers, The Amityville Horror and Paranormal Activity 4 are all leaving by the end of the month.  While they certainly aren't the best of their kind, they are varyingly good to serviceable entries that bolstered Netflix's scant-enough offers in the genre.  It's going to take some real adventurous choices to find anything horrifically worth while in April, I'm sad to say.

Reindeer Games' departure hits me right in my childhood.  While it does suffer from "one twist too many syndrome," it's a surprisingly smart take on the heist genre featuring a young Ben Affleck before he got his street cred.  It's definitely one that you should check out if you have the time.

Good Morning Vietnam is another one that hits close to home.  It's the first Robin Williams movie that I watched following the actor's passing.  My review of it was the very first article that I had posted on Unreality.  While it's far from being either the best or the most memorable Williams movie, it was exactly the kind of movie (and performance) that we grew to expect from him: manically energetic and full of life.

Other notable titles that will be leaving us in April include 1982's Annie (having run its course as a promotion for the remake), the first three Karate Kids, The Cable Guy and three seasons worth of Astonishing X-Men.  That last one - Astonishing X-Men - would have bothered me more if the first season was ever made available through Netflix, as that's the reason why I never watched it in the first place.  The full list of movies and shows that will be leaving are listed below:

April 1st

• 28 Hotel Rooms (2012)
• America Declassified (2013)
• Annie (1982)
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Collection (2006)
• Astonishing X­-Men: Dangerous 
• Astonishing X­-Men: Torn
• Astonishing X­-Men: Unstoppable
• Baby Genius: A Trip to the San Diego Zoo
• Baby Genius: Animal Adventures
• Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern Collection (2008)
• Blue Mountain State (2010-2011)
• Bo on the Go! (2007)
• The Brian Boitano Project (2014)
• Chalet Girl (2011)
• Clue (1985)
• Color Splash Collection: Collection 1
• Coneheads (1993)
• Cousins on Call (2013)
• Cutthroat Kitchen (2013)
• The Dead Files (2011-2012)
• Flea Market Flip (2012-2013)
• Franny’s Feet (2003)
• Friday the 13​th (1980)
• Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981)
• Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
• Friday the 13th: Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)
• Friday the 13th: Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)
• Friday the 13th: Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
• Get Shorty (1995)
• Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
• Guess Who (2005)
• Holmes Inspection Collection (2011)
• Hotel Impossible (2012-2013)
• Income Property Collection (2011)
• Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
• The Inexplicable Universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson (2013)
• Jane Eyre (1944)
• Jeepers Creepers (2001)
• Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
• Les Miserables (1935)
• Madeline (1989)
• Miral (2011)
• Mumfie (1995)
• Murder by Numbers (2002)
• Mystic Pizza (1988)
• Mystic River (2003)
• The Pioneer Woman Collection (2012)
• Pee­wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day Collection (2010)
• Reindeer Games (2000)
• Rehab Addict Collection (2010)
• Restaurant: Impossible Collection (2012)
• Sabrina’s Secret Life (2003)
• Selling New York Collection (2010)
• Sense and Sensibility (1995)
• Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
• Taking Lives (2004)
• The Amityville Horror (1979)
• The Cable Guy (1996)
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• The Karate Kid: Part II (1986)
• The Karate Kid: Part III (1989)
• The Quick and the Dead (1995)
• The Whole Nine Yards (2000)

April 10th

• Sleeping Beauty (2011)

April 12th

• Paranormal Activity 4: Unrated Edition (2012)

April 16th

• The Woman Who Wasn’t There (2012)

So what movies or TV series are you most disappointed with leaving Netflix next month?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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