R.I.P. Wes Craven

Yesterday, horror icon Wes Craven died after a battle with brain cancer. The 76-year-old filmmaker is renowned for being one of the innovators of the modern horror film, dabbling in 70's exploitation cinemas as well as revolutionizing the slasher genre both in the 80's and then 90's, breathing new life into the genre on both occasions. Despite not branching out into other genres that often, his few efforts that did, including the directorial ensemble film Paris, je t'amie and the Meryl Streep film Music of the Heart were both generally well-received and showcased his talents as more than just a genre director. Within the horror/thriller genre, he created classics such as The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and (his two most well-known films) A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. He had creative input on the first few Nightmare sequels, and directed 1994's New Nightmare, a ten-year anniversary film that is self-aware and features many of the cast and crew of the original playing themselves as Freddy Kreuger finds a way into the real world. The Scream series (all directed by Craven, and three of which were written by Kevin Williamson) followed in the footsteps of New Nightmare by being a self-aware take on the slasher genre, only this time taking it to the extreme by having the main cast constantly interject references to horror films, cliches, characters, etc. He also directed a number of underrated gems, such as Shocker, The People Under the Stairs, Swamp Thing (a campy adaptation of the DC Comics character), The Serpent and the Rainbow (an eerie Bill Pullman film about voodoo), and the thriller Red Eye (starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy), which is the best of his newer films. His most recent films, such as My Soul to Take, were not well-received, which is unfortunate, and I would have loved to see him try and pursue work outside the genre more, and apparently, he hoped to do that, too. Craven will always be remembered for his huge impact on not only horror, but film and pop culture in general.

                                                                         Wes Craven
                                                                  1939-2015 (age: 76)

                                             

                                                              (Image: Wikipedia)