This week came the incredibly sad and painful news that iconic horror director Wes Craven had passed away after losing a battle with brain cancer. Craven was only 76 years old but the legacy of his work has left a footprint in history that can never be denied or ignored. Horror may not be what it is today without the works of Wes behind it.
The loss of Wes Craven is a deep loss, not just for the horror fraternity, but also for the entertainment industry and film buffs. Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street are so deeply embedded in cinematic history that it may be rare to find someone who hasn’t seen at least one of them. Without him, the Elm Street franchise wouldn’t exist.
Craven’s body of work spans over forty years, mostly in horror. In the late 1990s, Craven tried to break away from horror with Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep. He wanted a change of pace, but it wasn’t a hit, so he returned to horror, where he flourished.
He was working right up to his death. He had written and was about to direct a segment of WGN’s upcoming Ten Commandments mini-series and he was a producer on MTV’s Scream series and the upcoming thriller The Girl in the Photographs.
It could be indescribable how endlessly Wes Craven shaped and influenced horror. With each film he released, whether they were a winner or a dud, he brought something new to the genre.
