The Top 10 Wes Craven Movies According To IMDB
Sharai Bohannon
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Wes Craven is one of the most beloved figures in horror. His legacy still lives on as it influences some of our current favorite shows, movies, and creators. His impact on the genre is palpable, which is why most of us cannot help but get a little sad around his birthday. The timeline will blow up with Craven mentions as a few of us skip work and watch his movies to honor this late, but never forgotten, icon. So, we turned to IMDB to see what are the top 10 highest-rated Wes Craven films.
It’s no secret that I am one of the many stans of Uncle Wes. Freddy Krueger was as big a staple of my childhood as Saturday morning cartoons and sugary cereal. He was the first imaginary friend that I remember having as a kid. Watching teens get terrorized on Elm Street with my older brother are some of my earliest and fondest memories. While the franchise has its ups and downs, the original film is still easily one of my favorite horror game changers. The first time I watched Freddy walk down that dark alley with extended arms in Tina’s dreams was like being hit with electricity. I instantly wanted more of this, and I knew this was high art even if I was just a preschooler.
Also Read: Wes Craven’s 10 Favorite Horror Movies Of All Time
A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream are tied when it comes to rankings and I’m happy about that because they are both high up there on the list of movies that made me. I remember renting Scream and not being ready for a cool meta-slasher whodunnit that made me want to make films. It was one of the movies that almost elicited tears when my parents had to take it back to Hollywood Video. I found myself again wanting more time in the world that Wes built. Wanting more time with Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers. I wanted this world where final girls are smart, tough, and are going to make the killer put in the extra hours to try to catch them. It is easily another reason I have to admit that I owe Wes Craven so much thanks for who I have become. If I could only love a person as much as I love this movie, my life trajectory would drastically change.
Here are the top 10 Wes Craven-helmed films according to IMDB:
1. Scream (1996) – 7.4 Rating
2. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) – 7.4 Rating
3. Red Eye (2005) – 6.5 Rating
4. New Nightmare (1994) – 6.4 Rating
5. The People Under The Stairs (1991) – 6.4 Rating
6. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) – 6.4 Rating
7. Scream 2 (1997) – 6.3 Rating
8. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – 6.3 Rating
9. Scream 4 (2011) – 6.2 Rating
10. The Last House on the Left (1972) – 5.9 Rating
I also remember watching the hell out of The People Under The Stairs as a kid. Seeing one of my favorite horror directors give me a movie with a mostly Black cast felt like a gift. The poor Black kid watching Fool, who was also a poor Black kid, save the day left me shooketh. Had it not been on this list, I would have made my own list and written a nasty tweet. Even though Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) is not listed, it also felt like another gift to the Craven child in Missouri handing over her last few dollars to get an adult to rent it. Those two movies started this notion that maybe Black people can survive horror movies. So, we can probably thank Wes Craven for giving me that notion that I am now making everyone else’s problem. I don’t know if my horror sensibilities, aesthetic, or love of the genre would be as strong without the work of Uncle Wes. So, while New Line Cinema may be “the house that Freddy built,” I am one of the many horror fans that Wes Craven made.
Let me know what Wes Craven film is your favorite at @misssharai.
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