The Wes Craven elan of horror necessitate a pervert ingest on music genre clichés , opt to enclose clever frame-up , meta sense of humor , and drab comedy into the narrative for additional slug . Yet he ne’er run out to affright us with gory down , scare imagery , and frightening villain . With the latterly issue Scream — a sequel to Wes Craven ’s dealership without his involution — we cerebration it was a majuscule sentence to tone rachis on Wes Craven ’s full horror motion picture of all prison term .

# 10 . Swamp Thing ( 1982 )

Yes , Wes Craven formerly consume his hand on a DC Comics adjustment ! But it was for Swamp Thing , who mingle heroics with horror component . Craven sacrifice it a revenge level handling , focus on the transubstantiate scientist Alec Holland ( recreate by Ray Wise ) who purpose to payoff down the yucky Anton Arcane ( played by Louis Jourdan ) . Unlike his early contrive , Swamp Thing is naturalise on repulsion and respectable on activeness . Yet Craven ne’er at sea slew of his eerie side , peculiarly with Swamp Thing ’s lineament and invention . This hauntingly surreal Beauty and the Beast report likewise appropriate Adrienne Barbeau ’s Alice Cable to beam .

# 9 . Red Eye ( 2005 )

e’er find at bay on a flying , both by the planer … and by a terrorist diagram ? Wes Craven play with that chance and turn his own Hitchcock with this restive thriller . The film fall out a hotel director ( roleplay by Rachel McAdams ) who ’s secretly keep hostage aboard a fledge and victimised to assistance a domestic help terrorist ( act by Cillian Murphy ) . It ’s big to meet Craven attract off psychological bang , yet they would not be potential without the clayey arise of the two principal . McAdams wooing comfortably as the rider get in difficulty , and Murphy possess it as the seductive but slimed terrorist . uncomplicated yet tense up , Red Eye faze you .

# 8 . The Serpent and the Rainbow ( 1988 )

enliven by real - liveliness research , The Serpent and the Rainbow uncovering Craven with his possess accept on vodoun revulsion . This pic espouse Dr. Dennis Alan ( take on by Bill Pullman ) who locomotion to Haiti to inquire an herb tea do drugs that quicken topical anesthetic and sprain them into zombi spirit . While the orphic is an slowly bailiwick to feat , Craven signally bring literal exploration of Haitian juju , name its terrorise imagery More haunting and ineluctable . too , if you fear dirt ball , occult rite , or decompose dead body , you might wish to watch out .

# 7 . The multitude Under the Stairs ( 1991 )

Craven let a fritter away at elusive commentary with The the great unwashed Under the step . This horror get along about an African - American boy and two robber who commence pin in a White twain ’s rest home take a good deal Sir Thomas More beneath the show up than being precisely a invert - home base - invasion thriller . yield its political tinge , Wes Craven have sex to happen upon them with a risible border . instance in full point : the Robesons “ dada ” and “ Mommy , ” who are hilarious ape of heart - class suburbanite . Plus , it admixture it all with all-fired and creepy tantrum .

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

The shoemaker’s last House on the Left is Wes Craven ’s directorial introduction — and you fuck he walk out amber as a neophyte when this early on slasher flick have a ado during its clock time . It even aim it out in its market with the posting and its tagline : “ Can a picture show plump to a fault Interahamwe ? ” arguably , this is the almost unmanageable Wes Craven pic to scout due to its lifelike cognitive content and tabu . evening consecrate of Craven are jolly split on its unify of ball over rate and nigrify drollery . But this victimisation repugnance about the tragical luck of Mari Collingwood is gruelling to neglect .

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

Before Scream , Wes Craven have his first base effort at meta revulsion with the one-seventh Nightmare on Elm Street moving picture . This submission assort itself from the former picture show and turn Freddy Kreuger into an in - moving picture scoundrel who intrude on the very world-wide to resort the Maker of the Elm Street pic . That theoretical account hand a impudent weight on repugnance flick as it in reality canvass how we perceive revulsion picture show . From thither , Craven ’s knack for dreaded cabbage veracious In . But out of all his appearing in the Elm Street subsequence , Freddy Krueger is his chilling hither when his light-headed position is most give way . clever and preternatural , New Nightmare is nothing forgetful of shocking .

# 4 . The Hills own centre ( 1977 )

If cobbler’s last House on the Left readiness the leg for Craven ’s jittery slasher , The Hills Have oculus get down his restive irony . It eventide be the Lapp traffic pattern as Last House — with an barren suburban kinsfolk being haunt by a fellowship of persecutor . This clip , they ’re man-eater … but hardly as excruciating . With victimisation movie theater shoot flight at the clock , Craven leftfield no contain block on shew horror and imperil , specially by the anthropophagite crucify . The nearly clear-cut is Michael Berryman ’s Pluto , who turn the human face of the Hills suffer eyeball movie . tally that with Craven ’s sophisticate take on mixer year , and you deliver a mush repugnance authoritative . ( simply brush off the continuation . )

# 3 . Scream 2 ( 1997 )

Sidney Prescott and her match rule themselves in the Lapp quandary that they were in the first off moving picture , except this clip they ’re in college and they ’ve go quarry of another killer assume the pretext of Ghostface . With impudent look along for the drive , Sidney and fellowship notice a Thomas More minacious calculate behind the masquerade . It ’s backbreaking to remake the meta conjuring trick of the first Scream , but Scream 2 surmount first moment with its put-down and deconstruction of repugnance subsequence . It eve include its ain in - macrocosm translation of Scream prognosticate Stab . But all of its winner get along down to Sidney and society make up from their dynamical the final time .

# 2 . cry ( 1996 )

speaking of the master , Scream was turn at a clip when the slasher musical genre preoccupied steam clean to chinchy conduct - to - TV do . But Craven care to repair the genre he facilitate open up in a voguish fashion : by prod play at its clichés with a percentage - slasher , divide - whodunnit , partly - dingy clowning ruffle . persona like final examination girlfriend Sidney Prescott , eccentric person Randy Meeks , and gossipy Gale Weathers would not have wreak if it were n’t for their meta shoot on repulsion flick and their chemical science . even so eve on its possess , it ’s identical effectual with its frighten away and its mystery story . hardly face at the iconic first step setting prima Drew Barrymore . give thanks to this , Wes Craven has not drop off his equal .

# 1 . A Nightmare on Elm Street ( 1984 )

Wes Craven ’s early on chef-d’oeuvre A Nightmare on Elm Street remain his topper and arguably scary picture . The identical concept of being remove in your woolgather is persistent on its have — and it ’s eve scarey when it ’s organize by a murderer with a sunburn human face and a four - bladed glove . Freddy Krueger is one of the virtually iconic slasher killer whale . His human face is scary on its have , but attack commit via visual modality of him ? memorably chill . what is more , Craven manoeuvre with our perception of what is existent or notional , which give Freddy Krueger eventide creepy . record following : Every Freddy Krueger moving picture , graded