The LAST AMERICAN SLASHER

"Each generation is so remarkably different from the previous one"

-Wes Craven

Push play if you want to listen to the soundtrack 

Back in 1991,  i became a fan of reading two magazines 

STARLOG(SCI FI MOVIES) and FANGORIA (HORROR MOVIES). The second one increased my love of horror films. Not only because you can see pictures of behind the scenes shoots of my favorite horror films, but because i got to read about directors and their craft. 

One of the names that always stuck with me was 

WES CRAVEN.

"Being raised the way that i was, made me love films even more because they were forbidden."

-Wes Craven

Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, by Caroline and Paul Eugene Craven on a very strict Baptist family. He had a difficult childhood, his father died when he was very young. And he was raised by another family while his mom had to work . This foster family had forbidden Wes to see any kind of films, only disney films he could see. He studied English and Psychology. Where he got expelled because he went to the movies. He went to see "To Kill A Mockingbird", the movie that changed his life. After watching films of Fellini, Truffaut, Buñuel, he got inspired to make his own.

So he quit his job as a teacher and decided to dedicate fully to his passion. He began as a messenger in a post-production house. He worked his way up. But he didn´t liked the buisness side of movies so he quit again. Between driving a taxi cab and cutting dailies on a small company with a man called Sean Cunningham, it turned out to be a long life friendship .Cunningham is best known for creating the Friday the 13th series of horror films, which introduced the fictional killer Jason Voorhees.

Cunningham told him "i got some guys with 90 thousand dollars, you wanna write a scary movie?"

"At that moment in my life, i think i´d never seen a horror movie"

-Wes Craven

In 1972, Wes Craven directed his first feature film "The Last House on the Left". Considered one of the most disturbing films of its time.

"It was a subersive film, rather than doing violence that´s entertaining we will do violence that was appaling"

-Wes Craven

"I´m in Las Vegas, and i was thinking, why don´t you write something about the desert?"

-Pete Locke (Producer)

In 1977 Directed "The Hills Have Eyes" with actor Michael Berryman who made a career of portraying mutant bikers, evil undertakers, monsters and other frightening characters.

In 1982, Craven wrote and directed "Swamp Thing" based on the DC Comics character.

Swamp Thing differs in many respects from Craven's usual work, in that Craven's intent was to show the major Hollywood studios that he could handle action, stunts and major stars. Craven substituted his usual focus on the problems of the family and society for pure entertainment. Filmed in the swamps of Louisiana, this film made Craven had to overcome every single problem as a Director. Alligators, a swamp, humid weather and a production company telling him in every shot "Wrap it up!!!"

After that, inspired by 3 different articles in the L.A. Times, about unexplained dead asian kids who had survived war and concentration camps. All three told their parents, they knew if they slept they would get killed, because someone was chasing them. Craven got what he needed to begin writting his most famous movie 1984´s "A Nightmare on Elm Street ".

Craven based his most famous character Freddy Kruger on a man he actually saw when he was little. After loosing his father, young Craven knew there wasn´t much protection form him. He felt all alone. He lived on a second story apartment and one day as he heard someone mumbling in the street. He looked outside and this man with a hat on the street, stared at him and smiled. To this day he recognizes, that was the inspiration for Freddy , someone who takes delight in scaring children.

The sweater , the hat, but no mask, he wanted Freddy to have scared tissue. The most primal weapon is a claw like a bear or an animal. A powerful message. A feared character , not a stunt double or an old man. The answer came with actor Robert Englund whose portrayal of Kruger made him the indisputable 80´s villain and a EVIL ICON forever. Craven calls it "the terror of entering adulthood and leaving childhood behind".

Craven continued pushing horror to its limits:

• The Serpent and the Rainbow
• The People Under the Stairs
• Shocker

But he reunited with commercial success in the 90´s with SCREAM.

The slasher film genre was pushed once more by his favorite director. In 1996 Wes did what no other director had done. Not even Hitchcock. Craven killed within 15 mins of the movie, his leading lady. Drew BARRYMORE´s death on the film was so shocking to everyone. Because she was the face in the poster. Everyones jaws dropped to the floor. 

The teen horror genre was reinvented. By including characters who knew and saw slasher films. They had memorized the rules of that kind of movies. 

But the cherry on top was the ENDING. No one expected it. I´m not gonna spoil it, if you haven´t seen it´s a must.

No matter who you are , where you come from, where you go. Everyone has felt than tiny little spark of fear in a dark alley, or when the lights go out, whenever we are really alone.

"Horror films don´t create fear... they release it."

-Wes Craven

(1939-2015)