Wes Craven, US Horror Filmmaker, Dies Aged 76 - BBC News

Maybe your like

Wes Craven in 2011 — Image caption,
Wes Craven was credited with reinventing the teen horror genre in the 1980s

American horror film director Wes Craven, creator of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, has died aged 76.

A statement released by his family said Craven died at his Los Angeles home on Sunday from brain cancer.

Craven wrote and directed A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. His Scream franchise grossed over $300m (£195m) in the US alone.

A pioneer of the slasher genre, Craven once said of his work: "Horror films don't create fear. They release it."

Craven was credited with reinventing the teen horror genre when the first film featuring Freddy Krueger was released in 1984 starring a then-unknown Johnny Depp.

He had more recently signed deals to develop television programmes, including the new Scream series, for MTV. He had also been working on a graphic horror novel series.

Craven began his cinematic career making pornographic films.

He wrote, directed and edited his first feature film, The Last House on the Left, in 1972. A horror about the abduction of teenage girls, it was censored in many countries. Despite this, it became a box office hit that launched his career.

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1989 — Image caption,
Craven's Freddy Krueger character stalked and killed teenagers in their sleep

Joe Dante, Director of Gremlins

Wes was a pioneer. Scream was a very self-aware film, and it was one of the first films that acknowledged that the audience knows as much as the characters do, or even more, about horror films and what their tropes are.

The Scream movies enabled audiences to say "yes, I understand this and I know what the jokes are."

Wes was a former college professor, he was very professorial. He was a very warm guy. He was the last guy you would look at and think he makes horror films. He had great relationships with his actors.

Like all of us he yearned to break out of his mould. Luckily, because of the success of the Scream films he was able to direct Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart - which won her an Academy Award nomination.

Listen to the full interview on BBC 5 live here

Neve Campbell in Wes Craven's Scream 3 — Image caption,
The Scream franchise grossed more than $300m in the US

Reflecting on his career, Craven remarked that his intention was always to innovate: "I tried to make movies where I can honestly say I haven't seen that before and to follow my deepest intuitions and in some cases literally my dreams."

Actors posted tributes on social media including actress Courtney Cox, who starred in Craven's 1996 Scream and appeared in the franchise's three subsequent films.

She said, external: "Today the world lost a great man, my friend and mentor, Wes Craven. My heart goes out to his family. x"

Rose McGowan, who also featured in the original Scream, said, external: "Thank you for being the kindest man, the gentlest man, and one of the smartest men I've known. Please say there's a plot twist."

A tweet, external from his Twitter account featured a picture of him with the dates 1939-2015.

More to explore

Explosive bust-ups, secret relationships and extreme reactions: The Traitors' best moments
Labour wants to shake up the police - but will that solve 'everyday crime epidemic'?
Could the traditional British caravan holiday be about to get a makeover?
Chris Mason: Starmer's strongest rebuke yet for Trump
Four attacks in 48 hours: How east Australia's beaches became a 'perfect storm' for sharks
Women filmed secretly for social media content - and then harassed online
Tragic chapter on the trains sends rail superpower Spain into crisis
I snore - but didn’t know I stop breathing 10 times an hour in my sleep
Politics Essential: Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday