Profile Of Wes Craven
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There are few names as synonymous with horror as Wes Craven’s. He not only reinvented the horror genre four separate times, but he also introduced audiences to actors like Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone, and Bruce Willis. He brought heart to the genre in a way that not many directors and writers have, and although he has passed, his work and legacy still live on in modern horror cinema.
Wes Craven was born Wesley Earl Craven in Cleveland, Ohio. His first feature film was The Last House on the Left, which he directed, wrote, and edited for release in 1972. The film is by far his most controversial, and as one of his biggest fans, I would not recommend this film to anyone. The film is a gritty look at what the world can be like for young women, and while the commentary is important, the way that the film was edited makes it an incredibly difficult watch. The film is not only controversial for its content, however, as it also drew quite a lot of criticism for how Wes allowed the male actors to treat the female lead while on set.
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Wes’s next film was the cult-classic The Hills Have Eyes, which he also wrote, directed, and edited. These two films were the first time that the horror genre had been pushed to these limits in films that were made for wide commercial release. In 1984, he would change the genre again when he wrote and directed A Nightmare on Elm Street. Not only did this film reinvent what young adult horror could look like, but it also introduced audiences to a young Johnny Depp. The film was a massive success, and Wes would step aside to allow new directors and writers to create their own visions for the terrifying Freddy Krueger.
Wes would return to the franchise in 1994 to not only breathe new life into this beloved franchise, but to once again turn the horror genre on its head. He wrote, directed, and co-starred (as himself) in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which is my personal favorite film in the franchise. The film not only brought Freddy to the real world, but it also gave horror fans their first look at a new subgenre of horror where some actors played characters while others played themselves to make the horror more real than ever before! Two years later, Wes Craven would go on to direct Scream, which became one of his most successful films. It not only won MTV’s 1996 Best Movie Award, but it also grossed more than $100 million at the domestic box office and spurred one of the most successful horror franchises of all time. He would go on to direct the first four films in the franchise and help to bring Emma Roberts into the horror genre.
Throughout his decades-long career, Wes Craven would create and direct multiple horror icons, but he also worked on some non-horror projects. He directed the 1999 film Music of the Heart, which earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. He also directed the 2005 psychological thriller Red Eye, which starred Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. Wes would also lean into the horror remake craze and produce the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes and the 2009 remake of The Last House on the Left.
Unfortunately, Wes Craven passed away in Los Angeles on August 30, 2015, after a battle with brain cancer. His legacy lives on in the countless filmmakers he inspired, the fan projects that are released almost daily on social media, and in remakes like the upcoming The People Under the Stairs project that is being produced by Jordan Peele.
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