The legendary Wes Craven passed away today at 76 after a battle with brain cancer. The film maker left behind an amazing body of work including the Scream franchise, The Hills Have Eyes, Last House on the Left and of course A Nightmare on Elm Street. He began his career as an English teacher when he decided to try his hand at film. He wrote and directed The Last House on the Left with Friday the 13th creator Sean Cunningham producing. His career sky rocketed when he created Freddy Krueger for 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. While he mainly stayed out of New Line Cinema's signature franchise, he did produce and co-write NoES 3, as well as return to write and direct the franchise's seventh entry, Wes Craven's New Nightmare. His career wavered in the late 80s and early 90s with lackluster films like Shocker and the horror-comedy Vampire in Brooklyn. He returned to the genre with the ground breaking 1996 film Scream. Returning to form put him back on top. He was invited to direct all three sequels to the franchise, the fourth in the series being his final act as a director.
On a personal note, Wes Craven's films had a dynamic impact on me. He made me part of who I am. He showed me and he showed the world that horror was not a man in a mask. Horror was in our own backyard. Whether you lived in the hills, under the stairs or on Elm Street. Evil was in our beds and sometimes even walking among us. He went into the darkness and came back with stories. His mind was one that will never be duplicated and though he lived just over three quarters of a century, I still feel he was taken too soon. May you rest forever in peace, Mr. Craven. You will be missed.
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