Wes Craven, Horror Maestro, Dies at 76

Pertho · August 31, 2015, 6:10am

Wes Craven, the famed writer-director of horror films known for the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream movies, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76.

Craven, whose iconic Freddy Krueger character horrified viewers for years, died at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced. Survivors include his wife, producer and former Disney Studios vice president Iya Labunka.

Craven was a longtime summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, where he moved permanently three years ago before returning to Los Angeles for work and health reasons.
Craven claimed to have gotten the idea for Elm Street when living next to a cemetery on a street of that name when growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland. His five Nightmare on Elm Street films were released from 1984-89.

Similarly, Craven’s Scream series was a box-office sensation. In those scare-'em-ups, he spoofed the teen horror genre. The movies frequently referenced other horror movies.

Craven’s first feature film was The Last House of the Left, which he wrote, directed and edited in 1972.
Here invented the youth horror genre again in 1984 with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, which he wrote and directed.

He conceived and co-wrote Elm Street III as well, and then after not being involved with the three more sequels, deconstructed the genre a decade after the original, writing and directing Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which was nominated as best feature at the 1995 Spirit Awards. His own Nightmare players, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, played themselves in the film.

In 1996 Craven reached a new level of success with the release of Scream. The film, which sparked the phenomenal trilogy, grossed more than $100 million domestically, as did Scream 2 (1997).

Between Scream 2 and Scream 3, Craven, offered the opportunity to direct a non-genre film for Miramax, helmed Music of the Heart (1999), a film that earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for best actress.

“We had a very difficult time getting an audience into a theater on my name,” he once said about that film. “In fact, we moved toward downplaying my name a lot on Music of the Heart. The more famous you are for making kinds of outrageous scary films, the crossover audience will say, ‘I don’t think so.’”

Also in 1999, in the midst of directing, he completed his first novel, The Fountain Society, published by Simon & Shuster.

Craven again pushed his genre boundaries with the 2005 psychological thriller, Red Eye, starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox. And in 2006 he wrote and directed a romantic comedy homage to Oscar Wilde featuring Emily Mortimer and Rufus Sewell as a segment in the French ensemble production, Paris Je T’aime.

Craven then produced remakes of The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and The Last House on the Left (2009). Craven’s most recent written and directed film, My Soul to Take (2010), marked his first collaboration with Labunka, who also produced Scream 4.

Craven had recently signed an overall television deal with Universal Cable Productions and had a number of TV projects in development including The People Under the Stairs with Syfy Networks, Disciples with UCP, We Are All Completely Fine with Syfy / UCP, and Sleepers with Federation Entertainment.

He also was executive producing the new Scream series for MTV.

Craven had recently written and was to direct the Thou Shalt Not Kill segment for The Weinstein Co.'s Ten Commandments miniseries for WGN America.

He is listed as an executive producer of The Girl in the Photographs, which will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.

Craven has always had an eye for discovering fresh talent. While casting A Nightmare on Elm Street, he discovered Johnny Depp. He cast Sharon Stone in her first starring role, for his film Deadly Blessing (1981), and he gave Bruce Willis his first featured role in an episode of the 1980s version of The Twilight Zone.

Craven was a nature lover and committed bird conservationist, serving as a longtime member of the Audubon California Board of Directors. He penned a monthly column, “Wes Craven’s The Birds,” for Martha’s Vineyard Magazine.

toddler316 · August 31, 2015, 6:11am

Just read this, this is heart breaking.

Some of my all time favorite horror films were Wes Craven works.

R.I.P. master of horror, may you provide endless creative terror in the next world.

Foolinfection · August 31, 2015, 6:16am

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

Abbachio · August 31, 2015, 6:21am

Just read about it, really shitty news.

RIP

Pertho · August 31, 2015, 6:24am

This is a damn brutal sunday. First Oliver Sacks and now this, shit is fucking crazy. Freddie Kruger is still one of the most brilliant things in horror.

GreyFoxx · August 31, 2015, 6:49am

Damn 2015 making sure it takes all the treats right before Halloween!

Rhio2k · August 31, 2015, 6:56am

Damn…isn’t it always cancer?

po_pimpus · August 31, 2015, 7:04am

Didn’t realize Wes Craven was so accomplished outside of the “Nightmare” films…

A truly great film mind has been lost to us.

Geese_Pants · August 31, 2015, 7:07am

Damn…RIP Craven.
Gave me nightmares as a kid.

XthAtGAm3RGuYX · August 31, 2015, 7:17am

ssshhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

crucades · August 31, 2015, 7:52am

RIP to this legend. Also he loved the black community so he defo was one of the rare ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofjQsLqwV6E

jimmy1200 · August 31, 2015, 8:39am

RIP, he wrote and directed a lot of my favorites growing up.

2 favorites he directed that completely missed some people, one that completely missed a generation.

Contrary to that gif, cursed has the third best looking werewolves in a movie ever imo. First is vanhelsing, followed by underworld, then cursed. Other scenes have better werewolf scenes, that one was just funny. lol

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NDV84JHHL.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y45VMSP9L.jpg

The_Damned · August 31, 2015, 9:00am

(As I already said in the lounge and at least one previous celebrity death thread this year, 2015 can burn already.)

I wasn’t aware he had brain cancer, though that’s not surprising since I don’t follow celebrity news at all. Still, that’s a rather horrible way to go.

May he rest in peace.

…

…There’s so much I want to say about what I put in bold (even though I just realized you said “best looking”, not “best”), but instead I’ll just agree with you that Cursed is quite the good movie in general, especially among werewolf movies. It struck a rare balance between having the werewolf aspect be genuinely threatening while also still having fun with the subject in question when it could. Most other werewolves are pretty through-and-through dead serious and thus often far more down-beat, which normally doesn’t bother me–it was just nice to have a good fun one rather than one that’s purely dark comedy at best like Dog Soldiers.

Intuitive2011 · August 31, 2015, 11:02am

Wow…where should I begin to start with my fascination with Wes Craven. Firstly, let me say RIP to one of the greatest Horror movie creators of ALL TIME. Your legacy will continue to scare many for an age to come.

Now, back to me. When I was growing up, I remember an older cousin showing me Freddy Krueger when I was a child. Needless to say, he scared the life out of me. But when I hit my teens, I gained a tad bit more courage and I was able to actually watch and enjoy a whole NOES movie. Yes, there was a decline in the NOES series, but Wes’ creation, Freddy Krueger was just so awesome to me. Hell, I even wanted to buy MK just to main him.

Now please don’t let me see you in my nightmares…

Goodbye, Wes Craven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raz1lNvzIYM

AYO · August 31, 2015, 11:54am

First Christopher Lee, then Dusty, then Roddy, and now Wes Craven?!

2015 can go to hell. Seriously you are hitting all of my fandoms hard.

RIP, Wes Craven will be missed and his impact on the Horror genre and film in general will always be regarded fondly. I think this is a good week to go back and watch NOES with a beer or two.

Easilyn · August 31, 2015, 12:12pm

Woah.

petran79 · August 31, 2015, 7:14pm

Patricia Arquette as well

makmak · August 31, 2015, 8:56pm

Motherfucker made me so scared with his movies when I was a kid I pissed my pants. Watching the first elm street movie while I was a kid=no sleep for me for days.

Loved him since then. RIP.

Looks like 2015 ain’t done yet.

DTJB · August 31, 2015, 9:02pm

I remember being obsessed with the Nightmare movies for a while when I was a kid, another one of the best has passed on.

SoVi3t · August 31, 2015, 10:49pm

[

are you out of your fucking mind?

Howling, American Werewolf in London, Dog Soldiers

I like Vampire in Brooklyn, but that’s probably because I still believe in Eddie Murphy.