A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) made Entertainment Weekly's 20 Scariest Movies of All Time list, published as part of a 2009 Halloween Special that also featured Wes Craven: 10 that shook ME up (see below) and the 20 top horror films since '89.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
Directed by Wes Craven
The screen debut of the character who gave striped sweaters a bad name, Nightmare introduces a suburban monster who stalks teens while they sleep. Craven makes the most banal aspects of adolescence hellish, whether it's turning the sanctity of childhood bedrooms into murder zones or a phone into a demonic tongue. Freddy eventually turned into an all-too-jokey shadow of himself — but there's nothing funny about him in this first installment. Bonus: A young Johnny Depp gets eaten alive by a bed.
1. The Shining
2. The Exorcist
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
4. The Silence of the Lambs
5. Jaws
6. The Ring
7. Halloween
8. Psycho
9. Seven
10. Rosemary's Baby
11. Poltergeist
12. 28 Days Later
13. A Nightmare On Elm Street
14. The Thing
15. The Evil Dead
16. Carrie
17. Night of the Living Dead
18. The Omen
19. An American Werewolf in London
20. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Wes Craven: 10 that shook ME up
1. Blow-Up (1966)
2. The Virgin Spring (1960)
3. Psycho (1960)
4. Repulsion (1965)
5. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
6. The War of the Worlds (1953)
7. Frankenstein (1931)
8. Nosferatu (1922)
9. The Bad Seed (1956)
10. Don't Look Now (1973)
I'm a HUGE horror fan, and The Ring was the only horror movie to ever really scare me for more than a day. It deserves to be number one, in my opinion. And the sequel was, surprisingly, great.
But still, the list is great. I'll make sure to watch the ones I haven't alreay..
I love the suspense and the tension of The Shining, but The Exorcist will always belong at the top of any list of horror movies. It is easily the most profoundly frightening and distirbing film ever made. All The Exorcist sequels were garbage but the original film is a masterpiece.