Wes Craven

CHICAGO – After making incredibly influential, low-budget horror films like “The Last House on the Left” and “The Hills Have Eyes,” Wes Craven was essentially at a career crossroads. Keep staying off the radar or join contemporaries like John Carpenter in a quest for more mainstream success. Thus, “Swamp Thing” was born. While it is seen as a cult B-movie now, this was Craven’s attempt at showing he could do something more crowd-pleasing than his dark fare.

CHICAGO – Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Freddy Krueger. Yes, Wes Craven’s masterful creation deserves to be listed right along with the most legendary villains of all time, a case made complete by Warner’s excellent new “A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection,” featuring all 7 original films and a new half-hour documentary about the lasting power of the man with a claw for a hand.

CHICAGO – This upcoming Halloween will give you dozens of options in theaters and on Blu-ray to choose from for your scary dollar. You may have dismissed Wes Craven’s latest entry in the most influential franchise of the last twenty years. Don’t. Sure, the “Scream” movies are over the hill, more so than I think The Weinstein Company expected as evidenced by the pathetic box office returns (less than 50% of the last “Scream” movie and less than $100 million worldwide (the first three broke $150), but this is a fun genre flick. If you wrote this movie off in theaters, you might be surprised to learn that it’s worth a rental.

CHICAGO – In our latest horror/mystery edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the home entertainment release of Wes Craven’s “Scream 4” starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Anna Paquin!

CHICAGO – Wes Craven’s legendary franchise returns this weekend with a decade since its last installment and to a genre that has been almost entirely bereft of creativity since its director started to lose his prominence as one of its best. Can “Scre4m” rejuvenate the slasher genre like the first film did or will it fall victim to the rule that horror sequels almost always suck?

CHICAGO – Wes Craven’s “Scream” is one of the most influential horror films of all time. And it’s one of the best of its era. The film has held up remarkably well in the fifteen years since it was released and is a must-own for fans of the genre, especially with an extras-laden Blu-ray release timed to coincide with the upcoming April 15th release of “Scream 4.” The sequels are inferior but more worthwhile than average horror sequels. Why not own ‘em all?

CHICAGO – You won’t find many critics who adore Wes Craven with as much horror-fan glee as this one. From the ’70s to the mid-’90s (from “The Last House on the Left” to at least the first “Scream” movie with the exception of the awful “Vampire in Brooklyn”), the man was one of the best genre directors alive. And he proved his range with an old-fashioned, effective thriller like “Red Eye” that hinted at another chapter.

CHICAGO – The irony of Samuel Bayer’s remake of the Wes Craven classic, “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” is that most viewers will have more trouble staying awake than combatting actual fear. The saddest thing about this failed effort is that it could tarnish the reputation of Wes Craven’s brilliant original for a new generation. Ignore the new film. Just go rent the original.

CHICAGO – I haven’t seen it yet but just watching the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in gorgeous HD has me pumped up for the Platinum Dunes remake about to be released. The world could use a little more Freddy Krueger (played by the excellent Jackie Earle Haley in the remake), one of the most memorable creations in the history of horror.

CHICAGO – Filming for the fourth installment in the “Scream” franchise will start sometime in April or May as the first of a new trilogy, with Wes Craven as the director, Bob Weinstein has reported. In addition to Campbell’s return as Sidney Prescott, “Scream” regulars Courteney Cox and David Arquette will reprise their roles as Gale Weathers and Dwight “Dewey” Riley.