20th Century Fox Sued For Creating Real Nightmare on Elm Street

A Los Angeles man claims he suffers from terrifying nightmares and even faint noises drive him insane ... all because of a Hollywood movie shoot in his hood.

John Drinkwater claims in a new lawsuit ... 20th Century Fox invaded his Sherman Oaks neighborhood for a few days last March to shoot a TV pilot … but the production became an assault with sounds of gunshots and screeching car chases.

Drinkwater says the film crews may be gone, but not in his head. He says he has debilitating nightmares, describing one as "film companies coming into [my] house at night, making lots of noise and refusing to leave."

Drinkwater says it doesn't end with bad dreams. He says the fear of film crews coming back sends him into panic attacks, whenever he sees "an unknown person who looks like they might be part of a film crew."

Drinkwater claims he now has PTSD ... and his doctor both diagnosed it and traces it back to the FOX shoot.