DIRECTOR RESEARCH

WE S L E Y E

A R L "W

E S " CR AV E N

ABOUT WES CRAVENo American film director, writer, producer,

and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films.

FAMOUS MOVIES DIRECTEDo He was best known for creating the A Nightmare on

Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character, directing the first installment and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and co-writing A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors with Bruce Wagner

o Craven also directed all four films in the Scream series, and co-created the Ghostface character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under The Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent And The Rainbow and Vampire In Brooklyn.

FILM STYLECraven's works tend to share a common exploration of the

nature of reality. A Nightmare on Elm Street, for example, dealt with the consequences of dreams in real life. New Nightmare "brushes against" (but does not quite break) the fourth wall by having actress Heather Langenkamp play herself as she is haunted by the villain of the film in which she once starred.

At one point in the film, the audience sees on Wes Craven's word processor a script he has written, which includes the exact conversation he just had with Heather — as if the script was being written as the action unfolded. The Serpent and the Rainbow portrays a man who cannot distinguish between nightmarish visions and reality.

A NIGHTMARE OF ELM STREET

AWARDS AND NOMINEESDuring his career, Wes Craven was nominated

for and won several awards, including the Saturn Award.

In 1977, he won the critic's award at the Sitges Film Festival for his film The Hills Have Eyes. The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in 1997 for Scream. In 2012, the New York City Horror Film Festival awarded Craven the Lifetime Achievement Award.

FILMSWes Craven has become synonymous with

genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.

His first feature film was The Last House on the Left (1972), which he wrote, directed, and edited. Craven reinvented the youth horror genre again in 1984 with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), a film he wrote and directed.