Wes Craven Movies
One of the horror genre's best-known and most celebrated directors, Wes Craven has been widely credited with reinventing the teen horror movie. Initially gaining fame and notoriety for his Nightmare on Elm Street series in the 1980s, Craven enjoyed a second wave of popularity in the 1990s with his phenomenally successful Scream series, which spoofed the teen horror genre even as they revived it. The films kicked off a trend in teen horror films, inspiring any number of imitators that, for the most part, failed to live up to Craven's own work.A product of a strict Baptist upbringing in Cleveland, OH, Craven received a B.A. in Psychology and Education from Wheaton College and earned an M.A. in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University. After teaching humanities for awhile, Craven plunged into filmmaking as a production assistant and editor for several "B" companies. He made his directorial debut with Last House on the Left (1972), a gruesome little effort that, to put it mildly, affected different people in different ways. Some viewers found this repellently staged "revenge for rape" story profound, citing the fact that Craven based the movie on Ingmar Bergman's Virgin Spring; others, including such mainstream commentators as Leonard Maltin, have condemned Last House on the Left as utter excrement. No matter how one felt about Craven, however, one could not deny his power to manipulate his audience. This power was further evidenced with The Hills Have Eyes (1977), which again met with radically divided opinions -- and made a fortune.
With Swamp Thing (1982), Craven graduated to big budgets, and also revealed a gift for comedy. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) was an equally effective blend of gore and grim humor which spawned several sequels and served to introduce the world to Freddy Krueger, vengeful specter par excellence. The popularity of the film and its sequels established Craven as a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood, although he was only directly involved with two of the six sequels. In 1994, he directed Wes Craven's New Nightmare, a Pirandellian affair in which he and Nightmare cast regulars Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, and John Saxon played "themselves" -- as did Freddy Kruger!
Two years later, Craven experienced another milestone in his career with Scream. The success of the film and its numerous imitators effectively established Craven as a hot mainstream commodity, and he followed the film with the equally successful (though not as critically praised) Scream 2 the following year. In 1999, he effected a radical departure from the genre with The Music of the Heart, a sentimental drama that starred Meryl Streep as a violin teacher who brings music to the lives of children in Spanish Harlem. The film was quickly dismissed by audiences and critics alike, and, in 2000, Craven returned to more familiar territory with Scream 3, the latest in his in saga of hip, ironic terror. When production difficulties and poor audience reaction resulted in Cursed failing to do for werewolf films what the Scream franchise did for slashers, Craven quickly switched gears to Hitchcockian suspense for the airborne thriller Red Eye. Lean, mean, and ultimately fairly forgettable, Red Eye did manage to keep viewers on the edge of their seats for (a scant) 85 minutes even if it didn't exactly have the legs to leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, Red Eye did hold a special place in Craven's heart as during filming the director was wed to film producer Iya Labunka.
Back on the writing block, Craven would adapt Kiyoshi Kurosawa's apocalyptic 2001 shocker Pulse for American consumption before allowing his 1977 screenplay for The Hills Have Eyes to be updated by High Tension screenwriting duo Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur. The updated version was such a success that it gave birth to a sequel, The Hills Have Eyes 2, which was released in 2007.
Craven has occasionally curbed his stomach-churning tendencies (though not his willingness to run viewers through an emotional wringer) with his television work, including selected episodes of the Twilight Zone revival of the mid-'80s. In 1989, Craven produced a sitcom, The People Next Door, about a cartoonist who had the ability to imagine his drawings into existence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A decade of wisecracking sequels have not diminished the power of this striking horror film from the director of Scream. Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter (Heather Langenkamp) traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger (Robert Englund), who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. The teenaged leads are sympathetic and intelligent, unlike the dumb victims presented in most films of the period, and they are ably backed up by veterans like John Saxon and Ronee Blakley. Director Wes Craven creates moments of real dread by examining the line between nightmares and reality, as well as the "sins of the parents" theme, and although the film is quite gory, it never resorts to cheap bloodletting for its effect. A unique and disturbing experience, this film is highly recommended for horror buffs. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Ronee Blakely, (more)
The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1993
Horror virtuoso John Carpenter hosts this goofy horror anthology, originally produced for Showtime as a gory stepchild of HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. Playing an emaciated, eye-rolling "coroner," John introduces the audience to a triptych of creepy vignettes in the EC horror-comics mode while paddling about in the guts of assorted cadavers and cracking jokes more gag-inducing than anything oozing on the slab. Two of the stories are directed by Carpenter himself: "The Gas Station" is a retread (pun intended) of Halloween-style scare tactics as a pretty gas-station attendant watches various oddballs pass by her window after hearing that an escaped killer is on the loose; "Hair" is a morbid, hilarious look at man's obsession with his own virility in which Stacy Keach turns to a bizarre hair-growth clinic (run by David Warner & Debbie Harry) which promises instant results, but at a horrific price. The third segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, involves a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who receives an eye transplant after a car accident and soon begins having optical flashbacks revealing (you guessed it) the identity and tendencies of the eye's former owner -- a serial killer. The second segment is by far the most entertaining, featuring a wonderfully neurotic performance by Keach, but the first and last chapters are too derivative to offer much for the discriminating horror buff, although the same fans will enjoy several cute cameos from other genre directors, including Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
This made-for-TV effort from horror director Wes Craven and Salem's Lot producer Richard Kobritz involves a case of cryogenic suspension gone horribly wrong. A wealthy industrialist (Michael Beck) arranges for his body to be kept on ice in a high-tech cryonic chamber with specialized instructions regarding his revival at a future date when medical science can restore him to life. Thanks to a computer malfunction, these instructions are not followed properly, and Beck emerges from the frozen crypt as an empty, soulless creature and a vessel of pure evil with an appetite for destruction. So evil, in fact, that his own mother (Beatrice Straight) decides he must be destroyed and sets out to do the deed herself. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
The team behind the Scream trilogy, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson, present another entry in the teen-horror genre with Cursed. Starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg, the film tells the story of two siblings who have to battle a werewolf that has been wreaking havoc on their neighbors, just as they learn that they might be marked with "the sign of the beast," and may become werewolves themselves. Along with Shannon Elizabeth and Judy Greer, Cursed also co-stars Dawson Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson, as well as R&B star Mya. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, (more)
- 1981
- R
Deadly Blessing, a disappointing effort from famed horror-film director Wes Craven, tells the story of a woman's fight against a religious cult which will not stop at murder. Martha (Maren Jensen) lives alone near a conservative, repressive religious cult led by Isaiah (Ernest Borgnine). Martha's husband was murdered under mysterious circumstances after he left the cult. Martha and her two visiting friends Vicky (Susan Buckner) and Lana (Sharon Stone) find themselves being pressured to live in the area and they begin having nightmares and accidents. Soon more murders begin, and the woman fear for their lives. Craven gets good performances from his cast and bases his plot on the interesting premise of persecution and retribution, but the unsatisfying and implausible ending ruins what suspense he has built. While on the whole, the film is a failure, it has outstanding cinematography by Robert Jessup and a beautiful score composed by James Horner. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, (more)
With the over-the-top gruesomeness of The Re-Animator to compare it to, Wes Craven's Deadly Friend limps into the second tier, coming across as a Frankenstein tale lost on Elm Street. Paul (Matthew Laborteaux) is a teen computer genius who has recently moved to a new town. The quiet and peaceful milieu permits him to continue experimenting with his life's work -- a human-like robot named Bee Bee. But Paul becomes smitten with the comely girl next door, Samantha (Kristy Swanson). For Samantha, however, the small-town life is less than quiet and peaceful; she is the victim of an abusive father, who she dreams of killing. During an argument, her father pushes her down the stairs, and she lapses into a coma. Paul, with the help of local paperboy pal Tom (Michael Sharrett), decides to implant Bee Bee's microchips into Samantha's brain to re-animate her back to life. But Samantha, restored to life and with the strength of an inhuman robot, decides to exact vengeance upon her father and the rest of the townspeople who have done her wrong. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Laborteaux, Kristy Swanson, (more)
- 1999
This documentary is a loving look at the cinematic genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Speeding through much of his early British works, the film focuses on his American classics, such as Marnie, Vertigo, and particularly Psycho. The movie also neatly examines Hitchcock's signature touches, from his inevitable brief cameo to his famous MacGuffin. Kevin Spacey narrates, and there are interviews with such film figures as Jonathan Demme, Peter Bogdanovich, and Janet Leigh. Dial H for Hitchcock was screened at the 1999 Denver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Demme, (more)
Traumatized by the death of her sister, who smashed through a loose railing and plummetted down a steep cliff, Carla Engel (Megan Ward) has developed a debilitating fear of heights. On the advice of a therapist, Carla joins a support group consisting of others suffering from acrophobia. Then, one by one, the members of the group are killed--each of them falling to his or her death. A bizarre coincidence? Or is someone deliberately, and literally, trying to literally push Carla completely over the edge? With the name Wes Craven in the film's title, that question virtually answers itself. Don't Look Down first aired October 29, 1998, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Sponsored by the publishers of Fangoria magazine, this documentary explores the world of horror-film conventions. Interviewed are such celebrities as make-up expert Tom Savini and directors Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
The hard-drinking patrons of a small-town dive bar are forced to fight for their lives when a vicious family of flesh-eating creatures arrive looking for their latest meal in a fast and fun horror romp filmed as part of HBO's Project Greenlight series and starring Balthazar Getty, Judah Friedlander, Henry Rollins, and screen veteran Clu Gulager. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, (more)
Based on the popular novel by V. C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic centers on such chancy topics as incest and misguided religiosity. When their father is killed, teenagers Cathy (Kristy Swanson) and Chris (Jeb Stuart Adams), together with their preteen siblings Cory (Ben Ganger) and Carrie (Lindsay Parker), are put in the care of their religious-zealot grandmother (Louise Fletcher). Grandma has never approved of the wanton lifestyle of the kids' mother Corinne (Victoria Tennant), and she has no intention of extending her love to the children. Even worse, Corinne is anxious to win back the love of her estranged father, who, knowing that Corinne and her late husband were cousins and thus incestuously linked, would never approve of any children from this union. Thus, the four children are locked in their grandmother's attic, far from the view of their unforgiving grandfather. How the kids cope with their imprisonment is the heart of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, (more)
- 1990
"Dreams That Kill" is an episode of the syndicated TV anthology Freddy's Nightmares. You've guessed it; the series was spun off from the popular (and gruesome) Nightmare on Elm Street films. Robert Englund repeats his screen role as the hideous Freddy Krueger, though he's not quite as homicidal on the small screen. In this 60-minute installment, Freddy announces that he wants to become a talk show host. This devices segue into the evening's drama, a story of...well, of dreams that kill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
To allay potential criticism of the Freddy's Nightmares TV anthology, executive producer Wes Craven attached a disclaimer. Unlike the Nightmare on Elm Street films that spawned the series, Freddy's Nightmares would never depict the murder of anyone under the age of 18. Thank goodness for small favors. In this 60-minute episode, the unspeakable Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) decides to celebrate Halloween with a few "friends". He throws an impromptu party in a medical school morgue, whereupon the script segues into the evening's drama, all about a trick-or-treat scheme which goes horribly awry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
"It's My Party and You'll Die If I Want You To" was one of the earlier entries of the 44-episode TV anthology Freddie's Nightmares. If you've guessed that this syndicated series was a spin-off of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, you're right. You're also right if you've deduced that the hideous Freddy Krueger -- aka Robert Englund -- is the host. This time out, Freddy materializes at his 20-year high school reunion. After a few wretched puns about death and murder, Freddy introduces us to the evening's drama: the story of a high school nerd's revenge, two decades after the fact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Freddy's Nightmares was a two-season TV anthology, loosely inspired by the Nightmare on Elm Street movie series. Robert Englund hosted as the unspeakable Freddy Krueger, spiked glove and all. The TV program was never quite as gruesome as its movie counterpart, but it was still not to be watched alone on a gloomy night. In "Lucky Stiff", Freddy prattles on about a young woman who wins a lottery. As the subsequent drama unfolds, we learn that our heroine's windfall was anything but lucky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
No one should have been surprised that the Nightmare on Elm Street horror-flick series would spawn a weekly TV anthology. Nor was anyone amazed that the TV version wasn't quite up to the gory level of the original. Still, the 44-episode Freddy's Nightmares had plenty of shocks and scares for the unwary. On this evening's program, the repulsive Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) explains how he became the bon vivant and fashion plate whom we know and hate so well. Freddy's ramblings lead into the evening's drama, all about a fellow who decides that the best way to get ahead is to stomp on everyone in his path. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
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For decades fright fans have cowered in horror as vicious killers stalked their helpless prey in the cold flicker of the projector bulb and in darkened living rooms with the curtains firmly drawn. Now, for anyone who has ever wondered just what motivated the filmmakers behind these brutal classics, this look at the history of the modern slasher film offers demented insight into some of the most terrifying motion pictures ever released. From Psycho to the giallo genre to Freddy Vs. Jason, Going to Pieces offers a comprehensive overview of the entire slasher genre as discussed by such horror luminaries as Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham, and Rob Zombie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato follow up Party Monster by returning to the documentary form of their most popular film The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Rather than examining evangelists-cum-gay icons, this time the duo takes aim at the cultural phenomenon that is and was Deep Throat, the hardcore porn film that cost 25,000 dollars to make and grossed over 600-million-dollars world-wide, making it the most successful independent film of all time. The impact of the film on the public's perception of pornography is discussed, as is the unlikely relationship the film had to the Watergate scandal. Actress Linda Lovelace who later denounced Deep Throat, claiming she'd been forced to make it at gunpoint, appears in interviews that were shot just before her fatal 2002 car accident. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
This minor made-for-TV effort from horror auteur Wes Craven is one of the oddest attempts at seriously blending supernatural horror and science fiction elements, which amounts to a muddled but amusing failure. The convoluted plot involves scientist Robert Urich's experiments with a new spacesuit designed to detect non-human lifeforms for a proposed expedition to Venus. When a sultry succubus (Susan Lucci, who was born for such a role) begins exerting her demonic influence on the members of a country club -- including Urich's wife and children -- he dons the completed suit for a literal journey into hell itself to rescue them. Craven's skill manages to elevate this loopy premise slightly above the level of pure nonsense, but low production values and the constraints of TV censorship prevent it from being adequately explored. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Lucci, Robert Urich, (more)
- 2001
- R
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The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie's Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, (more)
Wes Craven's first film was a crude but shocking horror opus that, like George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), became a grind house hit largely because it went much further than terror films before it had been willing to go. Often compared to Ingmar Bergman's stark medieval rape drama The Virgin Spring (1960) (though one wonders whether this was influence or just coincidence), Last House on the Left follows a group of teenage girls heading into the city when they hook up with a gang of drug-addled ne'er-do-wells and are brutally murdered. The killers find their way to the home of one of their victim's parents, where both father and mother exact a horrible revenge. Like Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre two years later, Last House on the Left was an unrelievedly dark vision of contemporary horror that inspired many future films which copied its effects without achieving its visceral impact. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
After devoting his career to such horror films as Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Last House on the Left, director Wes Craven makes a dramatic change of pace with this inspiring drama about a teacher who helps change the lives of her students. Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras (Meryl Streep) teaches at an elementary school in Harlem, where discipline is a higher priority than the lively arts. But Roberta believes that studying music will give the children a sense of purpose invaluable in later life. Despite indifference from the school administration and budget cuts that force her to seek outside funding (and even threaten her job), Roberta struggles to teach the violin to her students, instilling a love of classical music in kids who might otherwise never have heard Bach or Mozart, and leading to a student recital at Carnegie Hall. Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman, and Aidan Quinn highlight the supporting cast, and virtuoso violinists Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Mark O'Connor appear as themselves. The Music of the Heart is based on a true story; the real Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras and her students can be seen in the documentary Small Wonders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, (more)
- 2009
- R
A notorious serial killer uses his dying breath to place a deadly curse on a small town in this shocker from legendary horror director Wes Craven (Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street). It's been 16 years since the maniac who terrorized Riverton met his grim demise. Seven children were born on the night he died, and he vowed that he would return one day to claim them all. Like clockwork, exactly 16 years later, the children born that fateful night begin vanishing without a trace. Could the killer have somehow cheated death the night that everyone thought he was killed, or has he perhaps been reincarnated as one of seven teens he swore to kill? Only one person knows the answer to that burning question. Adam "Bug" Heller (Max Thieriot) never knew how close he came to death the night his father went on that bloody rampage, and despite remaining completely unaware of the atrocities that mar his family bloodline, he's suffered terrifying nightmares from as far back as he can remember. Now, in order to save his friends, Bug will be forced to confront the evil that won't stop until it accomplishes the awful task it set out to complete on the night he was born. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Thieriot
