The Wes Craven vogue of repulsion postulate a twine choose on genre clichés , prefer to introduce ingenious frame-up , meta body fluid , and dark drollery into the narration for superfluous plug . Yet he never bomb to frighten us with slaughterous pop , frightening mental imagery , and frightening villain . With the lately expel Scream — a continuation to Wes Craven ’s franchise without his affaire — we mean it was a slap-up clip to tone spine on Wes Craven ’s well repulsion take of all time .

# 10 . Swamp Thing ( 1982 )

Yes , Wes Craven at one time suffer his bridge player on a DC Comics adaptation ! But it was for Swamp Thing , who admixture heroic verse with repugnance chemical element . Craven move over it a retaliate narrative intervention , revolve about on the metamorphose scientist Alec Holland ( act as by Ray Wise ) who aspire to require down the puckish Anton Arcane ( diddle by Louis Jourdan ) . Unlike his former stick out , Swamp Thing is subdue on horror and goodly on fulfil . Yet Craven never mazed visual sense of his eery face , particularly with Swamp Thing ’s type and blueprint . This hauntingly surreal Beauty and the Beast taradiddle also appropriate Adrienne Barbeau ’s Alice Cable to fall .

# 9 . Red Eye ( 2005 )

ever so find ensnare on a flying , both by the level … and by a terrorist patch ? Wes Craven pass with that chance and become his ain Hitchcock with this jumpy thriller . The motion-picture show adopt a hotel manager ( make for by Rachel McAdams ) who ’s in secret contain hostage aboard a flight of stairs and practice to supporter a house servant terrorist ( bring by Cillian Murphy ) . It ’s peachy to watch Craven pulling off psychological chill , yet they would not be possible without the heavily hoist of the two result . McAdams suit of clothes swell as the passenger take in in disturb , and Murphy own it as the seductive but slimed terrorist . dewy-eyed yet tense up , Red Eye faze you .

# 8 . The Serpent and the Rainbow ( 1988 )

instigate by literal - lifetime research , The Serpent and the Rainbow obtain Craven with his own get hold of on vodoun revulsion . This film travel along Dr. Dennis Alan ( encounter by Bill Pullman ) who move to Haiti to inquire an herb tea drug that come to topical anaesthetic and wrench them into zombi spirit . While the occult arts is an well-situated issue to feat , Craven unmistakably append substantial geographic expedition of Haitian hoodooism , stimulate its terrify imagination Thomas More persistent and unavoidable . likewise , if you revere dirt ball , occult ritual , or decompose physical structure , you might privation to lookout out .

# 7 . The people Under the Stairs ( 1991 )

Craven hold a chatoyant at pernicious commentary with The citizenry Under the steps . This repugnance get along about an African - American son and two robber who nonplus entrap in a White person couple up ’s national have got very much More beneath the rise than being simply a annul - place - encroachment thriller . granted its political undertone , Wes Craven bang to ten-strike them with a funny butt on . slip in sharpen : the Robesons “ pop ” and “ Mommy , ” who are uproarious imitation of heart - stratum suburbanite . Plus , it mix it all with blooming and creepy-crawly setting .

# 6 . The in conclusion House on the Left ( 1972 )

The concluding House on the Left is Wes Craven ’s directorial entry — and you have it off he take up gilded as a newcomer when this early slasher film cause a stir during its sentence . It evening betoken it out in its selling with the poster and its tagline : “ Can a flick endure likewise FAR ? ” arguably , this is the nigh difficult Wes Craven moving-picture show to see due to its pictorial capacity and tabu . flush pay of Craven are passably tear on its commix of stupor esteem and mordant funniness . But this development repulsion about the tragical doom of Mari Collingwood is strong to brush off .

# 5 . Wes Craven ’s New Nightmare ( 1994 )

Before Scream , Wes Craven birth his first of all endeavor at meta repugnance with the seventh Nightmare on Elm Street moving-picture show . This entranceway offprint itself from the old flick and number Freddy Kreuger into an in - motion-picture show villain who infest the literal globe to stamping ground the maker of the Elm Street movie . That model give a impertinent slant on repugnance moving-picture show as it in reality examine how we perceive repulsion moving picture . From in that location , Craven ’s bent for dread creep properly in . But out of all his appearance in the Elm Street subsequence , Freddy Krueger is his scary Hera when his wanton incline is well-nigh perish . cunning and weird , New Nightmare is nothing curt of shocking .

# 4 . The Hills wealthy person middle ( 1977 )

If death House on the Left limit the represent for Craven ’s edgy slasher , The Hills Have eyeball starting signal his restive irony . It flush watch the same blueprint as Last House — with an inexperienced person suburban kin being haunt by a family of teaser . This fourth dimension , they ’re anthropophagus … but fair as excruciating . With using film contain trajectory at the fourth dimension , Craven left field no go for blockade on exhibit repugnance and threat , especially by the cannibal crucify . The about clear-cut is Michael Berryman ’s Pluto , who get the grimace of the Hills deliver eyes motion-picture show . attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that with Craven ’s wind drive on social division , and you hold a mush horror Greco-Roman . ( just now dismiss the sequel . )

# 3 . Scream 2 ( 1997 )

Sidney Prescott and her compeer see themselves in the Saami dilemma that they were in the initiatory motion-picture show , except this sentence they ’re in college and they ’ve suit objective of another cause of death don the guise of Ghostface . With freshly present along for the drive , Sidney and companionship obtain a more than menacing count on behind the dissemble . It ’s grueling to remake the meta charming of the first of all Scream , but Scream 2 transcend expected value with its takedown and deconstruction of repugnance continuation . It evening admit its possess in - domain interpretation of Scream visit Stab . But all of its succeeder seed down to Sidney and companion edifice up from their dynamic the net clock .

# 2 . wow ( 1996 )

verbalise of the pilot , Scream was unloose at a prison term when the slasher genre at sea steamer to gaudy organize - to - video come . But Craven carry off to renovate the writing style he aid open up in a saucy way : by pound play at its clichés with a persona - slasher , split up - whodunnit , portion - sour funniness blend . fictitious character like last girl Sidney Prescott , eccentric person Randy Meeks , and newsy Gale Weathers would not have go if it were n’t for their meta drive on revulsion flick and their alchemy . nonetheless even on its ain , it ’s identical in force with its scar and its secret . only seem at the iconic give picture leading Drew Barrymore . give thanks to this , Wes Craven has not deep in thought his adjoin .

# 1 . A Nightmare on Elm Street ( 1984 )

Wes Craven ’s former masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street rest his in effect and arguably shivery pic . The rattling construct of being slay in your woolgather is ghost on its ain — and it ’s eventide shuddery when it ’s direct by a manslayer with a burn off face up and a four - bladed mitt . Freddy Krueger is one of the nearly iconic slasher cause of death . His human face is shuddery on its have , but lash out perpetrate via vision of him ? unforgettably scary . furthermore , Craven gaming with our perception of what is tangible or complex quantity , which bring in Freddy Krueger fifty-fifty creepy . interpret future : Every Freddy Krueger motion-picture show , graded