Legendary horror director Wes Craven has passed away at 76 after a battle with brain cancer. It’s really hard to imagine anyone involved with horror cinema hasn’t been affected by Craven’s work in some way, and he has produced some of the most legendary and downright terrifying films ever made. If you’ve ever liked anything about horror movies, you owe a lot to this guy.
Craven broke into the industry with The Last House on the Left in 1972, an absolutely brutal movie which, love it or hate it, simply can not be forgotten. He followed that up with The Hills Have Eyes, and then only a few years later came out with A Nightmare on Elm Street, launching a massive franchise and helping to shape the definition of a slasher movie. Yeah, within the first 15 years of his career, Craven had already produced three all time classics and had forever changed 80s horror. And he hadn’t even made his best movie yet; he was just getting started.
Looking back, Craven has not only made several of the all time best horror films, but he contributed two of the most iconic film characters ever in Freddy Krueger and Ghostface. Not a bad legacy for one director, huh? Even towards the end of his career, Craven was still able to deliver the goods, not losing it in his old age like some of his peers. His final film, Scream 4, was an excellent sequel which now serves as an appropriate cap to one of the greatest careers in horror cinema. In honor of the late director and everything he’s done for the genre, let’s take a look at his 10 greatest films.
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