— Wes Craven (@wescraven) August 31, 2015
According to an announcement made by his family, the director passed away at his Los Angeles home. He is survived by his wife, the film producer and former Disney Studios vice-president Iya Labunka, his son Jonathan, his daughter Jessica, his grandchildren Miles, Max, and Myra-Jean, his stepdaughter Nina, and his sister Carol.
Craven was born in 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio. His family raised him to adhere to a strict Baptist faith, and his father passed away when Wes was five years old. He graduated from Wheaton College, after studying English and psychology, and later earned a master’s degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins University.
During a career spanning more than 40 years at the helm of genre-defining and redefining horror films, Craven conjured up some of the most iconic movie characters ever committed to celluloid. Among his most beloved is Freddie Krueger, the demonic dream-stalking killer who appeared in five Nightmare on Elm Street movies between 1984 and 1989, each one proving a commercial success.
The nine films featuring the character, the last of which was a reboot of the franchise in 2010, have grossed more than $370m (€330m).
Craven credited living beside an Elm Street-based cemetery in a Cleveland suburb as the inspiration for Freddie Krueger.
The filmmaker’s first feature was The Last House on the Left, which was released in 1972. It was a brutal rape-revenge story that was banned in numerous countries upon its release, but became a noted video nasty and developed a huge cult following.
The 1980s brought the Nightmare series, and then in the 90s, the director hit upon a subversive creative streak that saw him play with form and make the most commercially accessible meta cinema ever made. Along with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which saw the original stars of Elm Street play versions of themselves on screen, Craven wrote and directed the slasher flick Scream, which completely redefined the subgenre and made it cool again.
Working off a script by Kevin Williamson, Scream spawned three sequels, and worked as the perfect material for Craven to twist and tear apart audience expectations, satirising horror movies and kicking every clichés to the curb.
He also directed the 2005 thriller Red Eye, staring Irish actor Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams. Of late, Craven had signed numerous deals to develop TV shows from a number of his movie creations.
In his private life, Craven was a noted nature advocate, and worked to conserve birdlife in California.
Speaking in an interview with the American film writer and critic Mick Garris in October 2014, Craven remarked upon his career as a filmmaker, and how horror movies and scares became his signature.
“If I have to do the rest of the films in the [horror] genre, no problem. If I’m going to be a caged bird, I’ll sing the best song I can,” he said.
“I can see that I give my audience something. I can see it in their eyes, and they say thank you a lot. You realize you are doing something that means something to people. So shut up and get back to work.”
