sleep kills.

The next film on my list is yet another Wes Craven masterpiece.  And if you haven't seen the original, hurry up before the remake comes out.  No way will it be as good.  So #6 on my list of best frightening flicks is A Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984).  The plot revolves around several teens being terrorized by the ghost of a serial child murderer, Freddie Krueger, who stalks them in their nightmares.

The film is awesome (and terrifying) because it toys with our perception of dreams versus reality, like the idea that even though Freddie Krueger only exists in the "dream world," he can kill you in the "real world." This film has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomato and has received excellent reviews from a variety of top critics.  According to James Berrardinelli from ReelViews, this film "still stands on its own as an intriguing and chilling example of how horror works best when the characters and the audience don't have to be lobotomized."  I couldn't agree more.

With his razor sharp appendages, and even sharper sense of humor, Freddie Krueger is still one of the creepiest dudes to hit the silver screen.