A Short Look Back
at a Legend
By Matt Wintz
 |
When
I was asked to write about the recent passing of Wes Craven, I knew
there were several things I could say. I could talk about his
lasting impact and how he turned the horror genre on its ear twice
with his movies "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream."
I could talk about his controversial movie "The Last House on
the Left," or the fact young actors such as Johnny Depp and
Patricia Arquette had found breaks in some of his movies. The thing
is, when it comes to the horror genre, Wes Craven should also be
remembered for how he made horror cool
to like. A genre that critics and moral crusaders hated, Wes Craven
created movies whose murderous main characters crossed over into the
mainstream and were loved.
Freddy
Krueger transcended the small piece of the horror cinema corner he
slashed for himself. Brought to life through the writing of Craven
and acting of Robert Englund, Freddy found himself on MTV, having his
own show entitled "Freddy's Nightmares," and became a pop
icon. Without the genius of Wes Craven, he could have just been a
"one-and-done" character, but Craven crafted him to be able
to be something more. And Wes Craven would do that again with
"Scream" in the 1990s, resurrecting the horror genre from
horrible movies and into blockbusters again.
Personally,
the movies of Craven I enjoy the most are sometimes overlooked for "A
Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream." I have always
loved the original "The Hills Have Eyes." The bleak
reflection of two families pitted against each other: one of
contemporary America and the other a cannibalistic clan forgotten
from the nuclear age, showed a young director with an idea and a
passion who set out into the desert to make a movie. That feeling
resonated with me when I was making movies of my own. Craven was
part of a horror generation of directors like Romero, Carpenter, and
Hooper who didn't get dissuaded from not having a large studio behind
them. Without the benefits of the technology filmmakers have now,
they just ducked their shoulder and worked hard to make a movie.
After hitting it big, Craven attempted to make another Freddy
Krueger-esque killer in the film "Shocker." While the film
never caught on like Craven hoped, it still remains a film when
viewed with an open mind can be one with great potential and feeling
of fun.
I
never had the honor of meeting Mr. Craven, but I had the opportunity
to meet people who worked on films with him and they always spoke
highly of him. He was an amazing artist, a brilliant writer and
director, and always came across as hopeful for the next generation
of genre filmmakers. In a section of film where people who cut their
teeth quickly try and distance themselves, Wes Craven stood like a
sentry at the gate of horror, proud of the work he'd done and aware
of the possibility the genre had. He was one of the champions the
genre and he will be sorely missed.
And
we'll always have Elm Street.
