The Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street filmmaker died Aug. 30. These are the movies that made him a horror legend.
The Last House on the Left (1972)
"To avoid fainting, keep repeating, 'It's only a movie...'" Over four decades since its release, The Last House on the Left is still tough to watch. Wes Craven wrote, directed, and edited this adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, in which a group of escaped convicts brutally murder a 17-year-old girl, then find themselves at the mercy of her vengeful parents. The Last House on the Left is gritty and perverse: Craven's directorial restraint and the film's small budget favor realism over style, and make the violence that much harder to shake.
MGM
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes — which Craven produced — is one of the better modern horror remakes. But there's really no comparison with the original, which feels just as shocking even without nearly as many bursts of graphic violence. A story of Craven's own devising, The Hills Have Eyes gave a glimpse into the depths of his creativity. If a group of people running afoul of homicidal mutants sounds familiar, that's because The Hills Have Eyes — like most of Craven's films — was influential enough to inspire countless iterations of the concept.
Vanguard
Swamp Thing (1982)
With Swamp Thing, Craven was able to show some of his range: In particular, he was working to establish himself as someone who could take on action-heavy mainstream entertainment. More so than his prior films, Swamp Thing was about having fun. But even if it's not all that deep, the movie still reflects some of Craven's greatest talents, including creating complicated, emotionally resonant monsters. The titular creature is merely misunderstood — a sort of latter-day Frankenstein — and with Craven at the helm, he's an imposing but still sympathetic figure.
Sony Pictures Entertainment
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
When it comes to slasher franchises, there are three biggies: Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street. But Fred Krueger was an entirely new kind of slasher villain, and his debut film completely reinvigorated the genre. This wasn't a silent, lumbering Michael Myers offing irresponsible teens — this was a clever, quippy Freddy invading his victims' dreams. Halloween and Friday the 13th came first and they, too, were hugely influential, but A Nightmare on Elm Street showed that a slasher could be high-concept and still completely terrifying.
New Line Cinema
