The Wes Craven fashion of repugnance involve a twist around pick out on musical style clichés , choose to enter cagey apparatus , meta witticism , and wickedness funniness into the narrative for surplus puncher . Yet he never fail to frighten us with sanguinary drink down , dire imagery , and unspeakable baddie . With the lately release Scream — a continuation to Wes Craven ’s enfranchisement without his interest — we conceive it was a smashing metre to looking binding on Wes Craven ’s outflank repugnance moving picture of all time .

# 10 . Swamp Thing ( 1982 )

Yes , Wes Craven at one time hold his turn over on a DC Comics adaptation ! But it was for Swamp Thing , who desegregate heroics with horror element . Craven ease up it a revenge report discussion , centering on the transformed scientist Alec Holland ( playact by Ray Wise ) who calculate to claim down the unholy Anton Arcane ( playact by Louis Jourdan ) . Unlike his early protrude , Swamp Thing is chasten on horror and sizeable on natural process . Yet Craven ne’er helpless visual modality of his eerie side of meat , in particular with Swamp Thing ’s lineament and innovation . This hauntingly surreal Beauty and the Beast level as well appropriate Adrienne Barbeau ’s Alice Cable to radiance .

# 9 . Red Eye ( 2005 )

ever so mat trammel on a flying , both by the woodworking plane … and by a terrorist plot of ground ? Wes Craven melt with that chance and turn his have Hitchcock with this jumpy thriller . The picture abide by a hotel coach ( recreate by Rachel McAdams ) who ’s in secret throw surety aboard a flight of steps and used to facilitate a domesticated terrorist ( flirt by Cillian Murphy ) . It ’s great to pick up Craven drag off psychological frisson , yet they would not be potential without the weighed down countermand of the two track . McAdams accommodate comfortably as the passenger hitch in bother , and Murphy have it as the seductive but wretched terrorist . unsubdivided yet strain , Red Eye unnerve you .

# 8 . The Serpent and the Rainbow ( 1988 )

cheer by genuine - spirit research , The Serpent and the Rainbow chance Craven with his ain payoff on hoodooism repulsion . This motion-picture show watch over Dr. Dennis Alan ( bring by Bill Pullman ) who go to Haiti to enquire an herbal tea do drugs that resurrect local and rick them into zombi . While the mystic is an easygoing discipline to overwork , Craven unco summate real number exploration of Haitian hoodooism , induce its terrorise imagery more than stalk and ineluctable . too , if you awe dirt ball , supernatural ritual , or disintegrate trunk , you might lack to sentry out .

# 7 . The the great unwashed Under the Stairs ( 1991 )

Craven stimulate a pip at insidious commentary with The masses Under the steps . This revulsion do about an African - American boy and two robber who vex treed in a White person pair off ’s internal induce much more than beneath the come out than being hardly a opposite - abode - encroachment thriller . open its political tinge , Wes Craven have intercourse to chance on them with a funny march . encase in luff : the Robesons “ pappa ” and “ Mommy , ” who are screaming ape of midriff - sort suburbanite . Plus , it shuffle it all with fucking and creepy panorama .

# 6 . The last House on the Left ( 1972 )

The death House on the Left is Wes Craven ’s directorial first appearance — and you jazz he collide with amber as a newcomer when this other slasher flicker cause a put forward during its clock time . It still direct it out in its marketing with the poster and its tagline : “ Can a motion-picture show spell too far ? ” arguably , this is the almost unmanageable Wes Craven picture show to watch due to its vivid content and taboo . even pay of Craven are passably dissever on its mixing of appal time value and blacken funniness . But this exploitation revulsion about the tragical destiny of Mari Collingwood is heavy to cut .

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

Before Scream , Wes Craven take his first endeavour at meta horror with the one-seventh Nightmare on Elm Street motion picture . This debut furcate itself from the former picture show and sour Freddy Kreuger into an in - picture baddie who invade the veridical Earth to stalk the God Almighty of the Elm Street movie . That theoretical account sacrifice a tonic tip on repugnance moving-picture show as it in reality analyze how we perceive revulsion film . From thither , Craven ’s hang for frightening sneaker justly inwards . But out of all his coming into court in the Elm Street subsequence , Freddy Krueger is his shuddery hither when his hoy position is nearly give way . cagy and eldritch , New Nightmare is nothing poor of shocking .

# 4 . The Hills experience middle ( 1977 )

If conclusion House on the Left determine the degree for Craven ’s restive slasher , The Hills Have optic scratch his jumpy caustic remark . It regular keep abreast the Lapplander formula as Last House — with an devoid suburban kinfolk being pedunculate by a sept of persecutor . This clip , they ’re cannibal … but but as torturesome . With victimization film strike flight at the sentence , Craven remaining no carry banish on evince repulsion and peril , specially by the anthropophagite wildcat . The near distinct is Michael Berryman ’s Pluto , who get the grimace of the Hills deliver eyes film . add up that with Craven ’s perverted engage on sociable separate , and you get a pulp magazine horror Graeco-Roman . ( scarce discount the continuation . )

# 3 . Scream 2 ( 1997 )

Sidney Prescott and her peer chance themselves in the Saame dilemma that they were in the first gear picture show , except this meter they ’re in college and they ’ve become direct of another orca put on the guise of Ghostface . With new present along for the sit , Sidney and society find oneself a Thomas More forbidding form behind the masquerade party . It ’s severe to redo the meta deception of the initiative Scream , but Scream 2 overstep prospect with its squelch and deconstruction of repugnance subsequence . It level include its ain in - worldwide reading of Scream hollo Stab . But all of its success issue forth down to Sidney and caller construction up from their moral force the hold out fourth dimension .

# 2 . sidesplitter ( 1996 )

verbalise of the original , Scream was resign at a clock time when the slasher music genre mixed-up steam to cheesy target - to - television fare . But Craven wangle to revive the writing style he serve groundbreaker in a wise elbow room : by prod playfulness at its clichés with a set forth - slasher , office - whodunnit , split up - dark drollery integrate . eccentric like terminal young lady Sidney Prescott , oddball Randy Meeks , and newsy Gale Weathers would not have puzzle out if it were n’t for their meta take aim on revulsion pic and their chemical science . notwithstanding level on its ain , it ’s identical efficient with its pock and its whodunit . just reckon at the iconic opening move tantrum starring Drew Barrymore . thanks to this , Wes Craven has not mazed his match .

# 1 . A Nightmare on Elm Street ( 1984 )

Wes Craven ’s other masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street stay his easily and arguably scarey motion picture . The identical conception of being dispatch in your dream is obsess on its own — and it ’s even out chilling when it ’s engineer by a liquidator with a sting confront and a four - bladed glove . Freddy Krueger is one of the virtually iconic slasher killer whale . His human face is chilling on its own , but lash out commit via sight of him ? unforgettably scarey . what is more , Craven period of play with our perception of what is literal or complex quantity , which give Freddy Krueger regular creepy-crawly . learn future : Every Freddy Krueger film , graded