Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water

Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) experiences a new kind of obscene phone call.

Welcome to his nightmare!

Freddy’s Nightmares (1988–1990) was an anthology television series with Freddy hosting (and sometimes appearing in) stories set in the franchise’s town of origin, Springwood, Ohio. A Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares (2005) was a reality game show, also hosted by Englund as Freddy, in which contestants were challenged to confront their real worst fears.

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INSIDIOUS

FILMDISTRICT DISTRIBUTION, 2011

Dreams aren’t the only unconscious state of mind that can allow dark forces to intrude. In Insidious, a family moves into a new house, and something in the shadowy attic frightens young Dalton (Ty Simpkins) so badly that he falls into a mysterious, intractable coma. When hospital treatment is ineffective, the boy comes home and sets off a barrage of paranormal phenomena. The family flees the house, but the haunting follows them to their new home. Director James Wan reportedly chose Insidious to counter the reputation he had earned as the creator of the eight grisly Saw films (2004 to present), the highest-grossing independent horror franchise of all time but also criticized as one of the most violent. The much tamer but no less chilling Insidious franchise thus far comprises four films that build their shocks with psychological indirection rather than grotesque set pieces.

J. LaRose and Rose Byrne