Wes Craven
Though he originally intended to be a college professor, writer-director Wes Craven ditched academia to become one of the most widely recognized practitioners of the horror film, eventually becoming synonymous with the genre itself. After emerging onto the filmmaking scene with the reviled revenge flick "Last House on the Left" (1972), Craven worked as an editor and unproduced screenwriter until his next film, "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977), a cult classic that helped establish a fan base that propelled his career forward. He continued along with several mid-level horror films before striking gold with "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), which introduced the malevolent Freddie Krueger to the world, one of the most iconic horror villains of all time. Though the film spawned numerous sequels that earned over $500 million at the box office, Craven was unable to reap the rewards due to signing away all financial rights in order to get the film made. Despite such a colossal business error, the director went on to make numerous film and television projects throughout the ensuing years, most of which lacked the ingenuity and freshness of the original "Nightmare." But he finally had a large scale Hollywood success with "Scream" (1996) and its sequels, which both reveled in and parodied all the horror conventions that Craven helped establish throughout his career. Eventually settling for his share of the "Nightmare" profits after negotiations decades later, the director settled into a comfortable groove of compelling shockers like "Red Eye" (2005) and "My Soul to Take" (2010), confirming that Craven was above all others as a true master of horror. His death from brain cancer at the age of 76 on August 30, 2015 was met with tributes from fans, friends and other film industry professionals around the world.
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Wes Craven
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17% |
|
The Girl in the Photographs | Executive Producer | - | 2015 |
No Score Yet |
|
Trespassing Bergman | Unknown (Character) | - | 2013 |
60% |
|
Scream 4 |
Director, Producer |
$38.2M | 2011 |
11% |
|
My Soul to Take |
Director, Screenwriter, Producer |
$14.6M | 2010 |
42% |
|
The Last House on the Left | Producer | $32.7M | 2009 |
No Score Yet |
|
Fantastic Flesh | Unknown (Character) | - | 2008 |
12% |
|
The Hills Have Eyes 2 |
Writer, Producer |
$20.8M | 2007 |
27% |
|
The Breed | Executive Producer | - | 2006 |
86% |
|
Paris, je t'aime |
Director, Writer |
$4.9M | 2006 |
No Score Yet |
|
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film | Self | - | 2006 |
56% |
|
Feast | Executive Producer | - | 2006 |
11% |
|
Pulse | Writer | $20.3M | 2006 |
51% |
|
The Hills Have Eyes | Producer | $41.8M | 2006 |
80% |
|
Red Eye | Director | $57.9M | 2005 |
16% |
|
Cursed | Director | $19.3M | 2005 |
52% |
|
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Self | $30.1M | 2001 |
67% |
|
American Nightmare | Self | - | 2000 |
19% |
|
Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 | Executive Producer | $33.0M | 2000 |
41% |
|
Scream 3 | Director | $89.1M | 2000 |
64% |
|
Music of the Heart | Director | $14.8M | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
Don't Look Down | Executive Producer | - | 1998 |
82% |
|
Scream 2 | Director | $101.3M | 1997 |
25% |
|
Wishmaster | Executive Producer | $15.7M | 1997 |
77% |
|
Scream | Director | $103.7M | 1996 |
No Score Yet |
|
Wes Craven Presents Mind Ripper | Executive Producer | - | 1995 |
11% |
|
Vampire in Brooklyn | Director | $18.7M | 1995 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Fear | Dr. Arnold (Character) | - | 1995 |
77% |
|
Wes Craven's New Nightmare |
Self, Director, Screenwriter, Executive Producer |
$18.1M | 1994 |
70% |
|
The People Under the Stairs |
Director, Screenwriter, Executive Producer |
$21.9M | 1991 |
22% |
|
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Writer | $34.0M | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Night Visions | Director | - | 1990 |
30% |
|
Shocker |
Director, Screenwriter, Executive Producer |
$15.5M | 1989 |
62% |
|
The Serpent and the Rainbow | Director | $19.0M | 1988 |
68% |
|
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors |
Screenwriter, Executive Producer |
$44.1M | 1987 |
20% |
|
Deadly Friend | Director | $8.9M | 1986 |
42% |
|
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge | Screenwriter | $29.9M | 1985 |
0% |
|
The Hills Have Eyes Part II |
Director, Screenwriter |
- | 1985 |
94% |
|
A Nightmare on Elm Street |
Director, Writer |
$57.3M | 1984 |
No Score Yet |
|
Invitation to Hell | Director | - | 1984 |
60% |
|
Swamp Thing |
Director, Screenwriter |
- | 1982 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kent State | Producer | - | 1981 |
43% |
|
Deadly Blessing |
Director, Screenwriter |
- | 1981 |
20% |
|
Stranger in Our House | Director | - | 1978 |
67% |
|
The Hills Have Eyes |
Director, Writer, Film Editing |
- | 1977 |
63% |
|
Last House on the Left |
Director, Writer, Film Editing |
- | 1972 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
61% | 59% | Scream | Executive Producer | 2015-2016 2019 |
82% | 87% | Castle | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2013 |
No Score Yet | 42% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Guest | 2011 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Wendy Williams Show | Guest | 2010 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | On the Lot | Judge | 2007 |
0% | No Score Yet | Stark Raving Mad | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2000 |
No Score Yet | 85% | The Twilight Zone | Director | 1986 |