What’s the first horror movie you ever saw? If you’re over 25, there’s a chance Wes Craven was behind it.
Don’t believe me?
In the next few days, you’re going to discover exactly how influential Wes Craven really was.
My first nightmares featured Freddie Krueger. On the playground, we taunted each other with rhymes from Nighmare on Elm Street. High school was filled with Scream references and conflicting feelings about Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich (I guess that series was easier on people attracted to women). When I lived in the desert, jokes about The Hills Have Eyes were just considered part of life.
What I am saying is: look at the man’s IMDB and tell me you’ve never seen anything he’s made. He was the Tim Burton to Robert Englund’s Johnny Depp. The man made movies on top of movies, then he made more movies – and what most directors can’t say is, they were all important (Music of the Heart wasn’t exactly a horror movie masterpiece, but your mom probably loved it).
If you’ve seen a recent American horror film, that director grew up on Wes Craven.
Scrolling through his writing and directing credits is a study in the most recognized horror films of the time. The People Under The Stairs? Wrote it. Last House on the Left? Directed it. Freddy-fucking-Krueger.
Talking about what he put his name to is only part of the story, though. As news of his death spreads, horror writers, filmmakers, scream queens, and actors are going to come forward to tell you how Craven inspired and influenced them. You’ll see the most respected names in the business line up to share how his work touched every part of American horror cinema and fiction.
Think about it, this man brought us a monster that could kill us in our nightmares. Do you really think your favorite horror aficionados didn’t lie awake at night terrified or titillated by that thought? Craven had the balls to satirize his own genre, and a generation of horror lovers lined up to buy tickets. Drew Barrymore’s relevance gained another five to ten years because she showed up just to die in the first Scream movie.
Your friends are going to flood social media with memories about the movies he was a part of that kept them up at night or woke them up to the possibilities of horror film. But remember – this isn’t just hype. So many celebrity deaths blow up and fade away on social media, but if you didn’t like Whitney Houston’s music, her death probably didn’t hit you. If you’re a horror fan, though, and you don’t know Wes Craven? Get to know Wes Craven. Now. Because you can’t know horror without knowing Wes Craven. If you don’t believe me, watch your social media and wait for it to be confirmed by every name in the business.
