Wes Craven

I remember watching A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time as a child.  It was one of the most scary films I had ever seen. Knowing that he could enter your dreams, where you were most helpless, and seeing his burned face kept me up at night as a child.  I loved that film.

The master of murder and mayhem that brought that fear to me passed over the weekend.  Wes Craven had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and he finally succumbed to the disease at the age of 76.  Like me, Wes Craven was born a Buckeye (for those of you not in the know...in Ohio) and graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois with a undergraduate degrees in English and Psychology, and later a masters degree in Writing and Philosophy from John Hopkins University.  He later went on to be one of the most well known horror film directors of the recent age.  His influence can be seen on the screen to this day.

Not only was he the leader in horror and suspense films, but he was also a large figure in the comic book world.  I've got a number of Wes Craven comics that I loved to read from the late 80's to early 90's.  His influence reaches across many platforms, and a number of current directors and writers owe their careers to his body of work.  His films include A Nightmare on elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under The Stairs, Vampire In Brooklyn, and the Scream movies.  Some of them he wrote, some of them he just directed, but either way, he stamped his signature on each one with his unique vision.

He also made a number of cameos in film and television, appearing in A New Nightmare, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and his last appearance was in an episode of Castle.  The world lost a true genius this past weekend, and I'm sure the tributes will be pouring out.  I just wanted to get my own out there so I could say thank you to him.  Thanks for scaring the crap out of me for all of those years.  You will sincerely be missed.