Wes Craven - gone but never ever forgotten

It is with devastating news that I write this blog tonight. Wes Craven, one of the pioneers of horror, has passed away - losing his battle with brain cancer. He turned 76 earlier this month. There are not many out there who can be called a "Master of Horror" but that is a title that Wes held for a long time, and will continue to hold. And something that horror fans could always agree on. He paved the way for my generation's horror bringing us all of the baddies we continue to love, and continue to reboot and remake.

Wes broke grounds in 1972 with his violent and controversial film The Last House on the Left which tells the story of two young girls who are taken into the woods and tortured by a gang of nasty people. Wes wrote the script and intended it to be much more graphic than it came out. It was edited to a much softer, but still incredibly shocking film. The original script has never been released. It was also well known for it's clever marketing scheme "To avoid fainting, keep repeating 'It's only a movie'..."

In 1977 the famous The Hills Have Eyes was released, Wes again wrote the script and directed. It tells the story of a normal suburban family on a road trip who become targeted by a family of back wood savages.

Of course, in 1984 Wes changed horror forever with the creation and release of A Nightmare on Elm Street. A film that to this day, ranks on everyone's stop ten horror lists, and gave birth to one of horror's vest villains - Freddy Kreuger. The franchise went on to include 9 films, and there's still more in the works. Freddy is a staple of pop culture, and Wes based him all on a strange encounter he had as a child with a stranger on the street. Part of the franchise was of course, New Nightmare which was completely unique as it pushed against the fourth wall and brings the actress Heather Langenkamp (who plays one of the best scream queens Nancy Thompson) into the film playing herself being haunted by Freddy Kreuger.

In 1988 Wes directed The Serpent and the Rainbow, a film where the main character recounts his experiences in Haiti investigating the story of Clairvius Narcisse who was poisoned and buried alive only to be revived as a zombie. 


In 1991 The People Under the Stairs was released, which was written and directed by Wes, and tells a great tale of a man breaking into the home of his family's landlords only to discover a disturbing scenario from which he now must escape.

In 1996 he re-invented the Slasher genre with the release of Scream and immediately after, Scream 2. The Scream franchise has four films and in my opinion, all four of them are amazing. Scream was the film I watched when I was 12 and taught me that horror can be fun and can poke fun at itself while still being scary. The Scream franchise sits very near and dear to my heart.

Another personal favorite of mine was My Soul to Take which was released 2010. This was his first film since New Nightmare that Wes wrote and directed by himself and I fell in love with this strange and sleepy horror film.

Wes has had an extensive career, writing, directing, and doing just about everything. He flipped the horror genre on its' head and remained humble all the while. Only a few of his movies are listed here of course, and I urge you to explore his filmography.

My condolences go out to those who knew and loved Wes, and I'm sure they know how much he is beloved by the horror community. It is a very sad evening for me and I am dealing with it in the only way I know how - watching A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Thank you Wes, thank you for everything you did for horror and for the characters you brought to life and gave us to love. We are eternally in your debt and will continue to honor your great body of work and achievements.