Cursed, the new movie from famed horror director Wes Craven, underwent extensive reshoots, was delayed a year and a half from its original release date and hasn't been screened for critics, so chances are it's terrible. But Craven is still a master of the genre, and although his extensive filmography contains more than its share of stinkers, he's made some wonderfully terrifying films, including his most famous: 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. Here are four other Craven classics that'll keep you up at night.
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Paul Winfield
Set in Haiti, this film uses voodoo as backdrop for its horrors. While there are moments of gore and terror, the most impressive thing is the way Craven uses the foreign culture and isolation of his white protagonist (Pullman) to create an atmosphere of dread that has nothing to do with the supernatural.
The People Under the Stairs (1991)
Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie
A sometimes campy take on a disturbed idea of family, it follows a young boy as he infiltrates a house full of the gruesome products of incest. Exposing the horror just below the surface of the nuclear family, the film goes to extremes but is often just as darkly amusing as it is disturbing.
New Nightmare (1994)
Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Miko Hughes
The only one of the many sequels to his original A Nightmare on Elm Street that Craven directed, this is a clever, funny and insightful meta-horror film. A sort of coda to the series, it takes place in the "real" world, where Freddy Krueger attempts to cross over from horror movies and terrorize his creators, including Englund, Langenkamp and even Craven, all playing themselves.
Scream (1996)
Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich
Another meta-horror flick, this one more jokey than New Nightmare, and also a much bigger success. What A Nightmare on Elm Street did for horror in the '80s, Scream did for horror in the '90s, defining a hip, self-referential style that ended up getting pretty tired. Still, as the originator, Scream is sharp, engrossing and genuinely original. Best of all, it's just as scary as it is funny.