The horror genre owes a debt of gratitude to the imagination of one Wes Craven, who never stopped inventing new worlds through his decades-long career. Here are six of his flicks you should check out:

Swamp Thing (1982)

From our review: “This was long before the days when studios would throw millions at a comic-related property and expect to get ‘em all back – Swamp Thing was, at the time, a little-known horror comic with a cult following, and it was budgeted accordingly.”

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

From our review: “But no slasher film of this era began with such an original premise nor got such a dedicated following as Freddy Krueger did. Hated by parents and loved by teens, A Nightmare on Elm Street still holds up as one of the best and scariest of the slashers.”

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

From our review: “All in all, this film plays perfectly on cable, where you can watch it one dark night on cable and enjoy the endless romps of the main hero, a young boy named Fool, under the stairs and through the house’s secret passages, marvel at the odd prayer, dress habits and true lineage of the homicidal couple, and get up for celery and beer during commercials.”

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)

From our review: “Before Scream’s self-awareness, New Nightmare poked fun at its own genre — and a specific, six-film genre at that — while managing to create a pretty darn scary flick.”

Scream (1996)

From our review: “Scream wasn’t freaky because of its jump scares, slow dread-inducing buildups, or brutal attacks (although those helped) — it scared us because it took the time to build up a cast of characters that we cared about.  So many horror films forget to do that, but it’s an essential ingredient.”

Scream 3 (2000)

From our review: “It’s really hard to get emotional over this movie, because it didn’t really stink, it didn’t shine, it was just like a Brady Bunch reunion after 10 years. You know the characters, you know the story… you just don’t give a rip anymore.”