1 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Craven02_66.jpg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:250:The man at work.]] |
3 | |
4 | [floatboxright: Genres: |
5 | + {{Horror}}, {{Thriller}}, Drama |
6 | ] |
7 | |
8 | ->''"Horror films don't create fear. They release it."'' |
9 | |
10 | Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven (August 2, 1939 - August 30, 2015) was an American film director, producer, and writer, and was the creator of many iconic and genre-defining horror films. He was probably best known for his creation of Freddy Krueger, the dream-haunting villain introduced in ''Film/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street|1984}}'', but also found great success a decade later with the movie ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'', a {{deconstruction}} of the [[SlasherMovie slasher sub-genre]] that led to [[FollowTheLeader a slew of horror films in the late '90s imitating it]]. |
11 | |
12 | Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Craven was raised by a Baptist family and was reportedly a target for bullies (including one with the same name as his most famous creation). After leaving home, he gained an education in English literature, psychology, and writing; he then married and started a family. His marriage ended after five years, and his children left with his ex-wife. He moved to New York, and eventually directed ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft'', followed five years later by ''Film/{{The Hills Have Eyes|1977}}''. The success of these movies made him a seminal name in horror cinema. |
13 | |
14 | He additionally directed a number of episodes of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' as well as the Creator/MerylStreep-starring {{biopic}} ''Film/MusicOfTheHeart'' (his only PG-rated movie) -- from which he joked that he went "from violence to violins" -- and wrote one novel, ''Fountain Society'', which deals with scientists doing brain transplants. |
15 | |
16 | Wes Craven died of brain cancer on August 30, 2015. He was 76. |
17 | |
18 | Craven's personal website is located [[http://www.wescraven.com/ here]]. |
19 | |
20 | ---- |
21 | !!Films directed by Wes Craven include: |
22 | [[index]] |
23 | * ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft'' (1972) |
24 | * ''Film/{{The Hills Have Eyes|1977}}'' (1977) |
25 | * ''Film/DeadlyBlessing'' (1981) |
26 | * ''Film/{{Swamp Thing|1982}}'' (1982) |
27 | * ''Film/InvitationToHell'' (1984) |
28 | * ''Film/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street|1984}}'' (1984) |
29 | * ''Film/TheHillsHaveEyesPartII'' (1984) |
30 | * ''Film/{{Chiller}}'' (1985) |
31 | * ''Film/DeadlyFriend'' (1986) |
32 | * ''Film/TheSerpentAndTheRainbow'' (1988) |
33 | * ''Film/{{Shocker}}'' (1989) |
34 | * ''Film/ThePeopleUnderTheStairs'' (1991) |
35 | * ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' (1994) |
36 | * ''Film/VampireInBrooklyn'' (1995) |
37 | * ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' (1996) |
38 | * ''Film/Scream2'' (1997) |
39 | * ''Film/MusicOfTheHeart'' (1999) |
40 | * ''Film/Scream3'' (2000) |
41 | * ''Film/{{Cursed|2005}}'' (2005) |
42 | * ''Film/RedEye'' (2005) |
43 | * ''Film/MySoulToTake'' (2010) |
44 | * ''Film/Scream4'' (2011) |
45 | [[/index]] |
46 | |
47 | ---- |
48 | !!Common tropes in Wes Craven's work include: |
49 | * ActionGirl: Nancy Thompson and Sidney Prescott being the most notable examples. |
50 | * AdultsAreUseless: Either that or the adults are a serious part of the problem. |
51 | * {{Deconstruction}}: ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' was so successful that it made [[TheEighties the 80s]] [[SlasherMovie slasher]] [[GenreKiller impossible to take seriously anymore]]. It did however lead to a resurgence of slasher movies in the late 1990s and the 2000s, typically self-aware or at least lampshading several genre tropes. |
52 | * DecoyProtagonist: Most of his films start out with a character who is set up to become the protagonist, only to die so that the focus can be shifted to someone else for the remainder of the story. |
53 | * FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Virtually all of his movies. |
54 | * FinalGirl: In most films, although ''Film/{{Shocker}}'' features a Final Guy. |
55 | * {{Gorn}}: ''Film/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street|1984}}'', in particular. |
56 | * NiceGuy: Craven appeared to be a shy and kind person during his life that a lot of people respected. |
57 | * NowILayMeDownToSleep: On ''Film/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street|1984}}'', ''Film/ThePeopleUnderTheStairs'' and ''Film/MySoulToTake''. |
58 | * PoliceAreUseless: Cops are usually incompetent, though well-meaning. Oftentimes they're a complete hindrance to the main characters. |
59 | * PostModernism: ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' and the ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' movies take this up to eleven. |
60 | * PracticallyJoker: Most of his EvilIsHammy SlasherMovie villains are this, best examples are Freddy Krueger and anyone who is LaughablyEvil as a Ghostface. |
61 | * RapeAsDrama: His characters tended to either be raped, are implied to be raped, are raped as a backstory, or are rapists themselves. |
62 | * ShoutOut: |
63 | ** ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft'' is a loose retelling (with a SettingUpdate) of Creator/IngmarBergman's ''Film/TheVirginSpring''. |
64 | ** In one scene during ''Film/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street|1984}}'', Creator/SamRaimi's ''Film/{{The Evil Dead|1981}}'' is playing on a TV in the background, which itself is a ShoutOut to Sam Raimi putting a poster of Craven's ''Film/{{The Hills Have Eyes|1977}}'' in the background of ''The Evil Dead''. |
65 | * SlasherMovie: Two of the most famous examples, too. |
66 | * TakeThat: One of the working titles for ''The Last House on the Left'' was ''Krug & Company.'' That title and the name "Freddy Krueger" were both taken from a bully from Craven's childhood. |
67 | ---- |
68 | -->[-The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself.-] |
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