Horror heads the Netflix stream for September

Above : Sarah Paulson stars in the Netflix series “Ratched.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the only way Netflix movies came to our houses was through the mail. Considering all the controversy that involves the postal service these days, we Netflix subscribers are lucky that technology developed to the point where streaming became possible.

These days, of course, there are nearly as many streaming services as there are companies that manufacture televisions. But Netflix is still the highest-rated service, at least according to U.S. News & World Report.

“It’s easy to see why this service currently has more subscribers around the world than its rivals,” reported Sarah Shelton and Rudi Greenberg. “Netflix revolutionized the on-demand streaming service with its straightforward, easy-to-search platform.”

So what will the service be offering in September? Well, among its original programming is a little horror study titled “Ratched.” If that title sounds familiar, it may be because you either read Ken Kesey’s novel or saw the movie adaptation of it: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

The series, which premieres on Sept. 18, is a prequel to the late Kesey’s novel. Sarah Paulson portrays the title character, Nurse Mildred Ratched, who is just beginning her tenure at the mental hospital that eventually will house Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson in the movie).

By the way, Milos Forman’s 1975 movie adaptation starred Louise Fletcher as the nurse. And her performance won her a Best Actress Oscar. Paulson will be familiar to those fans of the FX Network’s “American Horror Story.”

Netflix will be offering a whole lot more original programming, of course, along with its standard lineups of movies, both well known and obscure.

The “Back to the Future” trilogy is available as of today. As is “Glory,” “Red Dragon” and a number of others.

And the best news? You won’t have to wait for those DVDs to arrive in the mail … this is, if you don’t want to.

Or worry about returning them.