Wes Craven: Hollywood pays tribute to horror maestro
Hollywood has paid tribute to the horror icon Wes Craven, the director of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream and The Last House on the Left.
Craven died of brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles on August 30. He was 76.
Perhaps the most notable contributions came from the American producer Bob Weinstein, who convinced Craven to take on the Scream franchise, and British film-maker Edgar Wright, who both penned tributes.
Wrote Weinstein: Right now, in the marketplace, there is not a week that goes by where there is not a new horror film opening, but in 1996 the genre almost died out. Wes Craven brought the genre back with the start of the Scream franchise. It is considered a seminal film in the anthology of horror movies and the overwhelming credit goes to the master Wes Craven.
A small anecdote: I asked Wes why the Drew Barrymore scene was so particularly brutal, bloody and horrific in the opening of a movie because I feared where could he go to top that. His response was that it was well pre-meditated on his part and his experience was if you scared the shit of the audience at the top of the film, that everything that followed be it the opening of a window, or a door, or someone even sneezing would have the audience at the edge of their seats. He clearly knew the genre like no one else.
Wright, whose contributions to horror include the 2004 zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead, published a lengthy fanboy-style essay peppered with scans of early VHS covers from Cravens 1970s and 80s heyday. He wrote: The first Nightmare quickly became a landmark horror movie and what distinguished it then is what still marks it out as a classic now. Its the sheer twisted imagination of the premise; the idea of lucid waking nightmares bleeding into the real world makes Freddy Krueger a much more formidable and interesting foe than any of his slasher rivals.
That Wes Craven was able to rip a film from the headlines (with echoes of the mass hysteria surrounding the infamous McMartin case) and create a solid gold horror premise that is surreal and ambitious even within its limited budget, was a masterstroke.
From that point on, I had to see every film of Cravens.
Evil Dead II director Sam Raimi, who was mentioned in Wrights piece, wrote in response: Wes Craven was a master horror film-maker. I saw his movies in the drive-ins and cheap Detroit multiplexes. Those films taught me a lot about horror film-making. I hardly knew him, but feel his absence greatly.
Neve Campbell, who starred in 1996s Scream, said in a statement: We lost a great deal of magic yesterday. Im devastated to hear of Wess passing. My life wouldnt be what it is without him. I will be forever grateful for his brilliant direction, his wicked sense of humour and his consummate kindness and friendship. He has entertained us all for decades and inspired so many to follow in his path. I loved Wes dearly and will miss him always. Thank you Wes!!!
Amanda Wyss, who played Tina in 1984s A Nightmare on Elm Street, wrote on Facebook: My heart is heavy with the sad news about Wes. I received the call in the middle of the night here in the UK. For hours Ive thought about how Wes and Nightmare on Elm Street have been a huge part of my life. Personally and professionally. He was intelligent, kind and a true class act. So proud to have been his Janet Leigh in his iconic film. Thank you, Wes for all you have given me. Flights of angels ...
