Wes Craven

Biography

Wes Craven was an American filmmaker who worked mainly in horror, especially slasher pictures, and often blended scares with comedy. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he came to movies after teaching English and humanities at the college level. His first feature as director, The Last House on the Left (1972), became a cult item, and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) brought him a critics award from the Sitges Film Festival. He wrote and directed the opening A Nightmare on Elm Street and later made its seventh entry, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, plus the first four Scream films. Other credits include Swamp Thing (1982), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Shocker (1989), The People Under the Stairs (1991), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) and Red Eye (2005). He earned a Life Career Award in 1995 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York City Horror Film Festival in 2012.

76years old at death

Born August 2, 1939Cleveland
Died August 30, 2015Los Angeles
Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
Wesley Earl Craven (birth name)Also credited as Wesley Craven

Movie Career

Films: 11
Career span: 24 years1989 to 2013

Genres

Documentary73%, 8 films
Horror73%, 8 films
Comedy18%, 2 films
History9%, 1 film
Sci-Fi9%, 1 film

First and latest

Photos

Did you know?!

A change of course
Before filmmaking, Craven taught English and humanities at Westminster College and Clarkson College of Technology, and he bought a used 16 mm camera to start making short movies.
Early training
Craven credited Harry, a great film editor and producer of industrials, with teaching him the Chapin editing method: focus on nuts and bolts and cut the bad material.
Getting ready for a role
Craven's debut movie, The Last House on the Left, was thought up as a remake of Bergman's The Virgin Spring, from 1960.
Behind the camera
Craven created the five-issue comic book series Coming of Rage with Steve Niles in 2014, and he designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google.

Wes Craven movies on Netflix

Trespassing Bergman2013IMDb rating 7.2as Himself
I Am Nancy2011IMDb rating 6.3as Himself
Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective2011IMDb rating 7.3as Himself
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy2010IMDb rating 8.5as Himself
Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh2008IMDb rating 7.4as Himself
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film2006IMDb rating 7.2as Himself
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing2004IMDb rating 7.7as Himself
The American Nightmare2000IMDb rating 7.2as Himself
The Fear1995IMDb rating 3.9as Dr. Arnold
Body Bags1993IMDb rating 6.2as Pasty Faced Man
Shocker1989IMDb rating 5.5as Man Neighbor

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Shocker1989 Comedy, Horror, Thrilleras Man Neighbor
IMDb rating 5.520K votes
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy2010 Documentary, Horroras Himself
IMDb rating 8.55.5K votes
Body Bags1993as Pasty Faced Man
IMDb rating 6.215K votes
I Am Nancy2011as Himself
IMDb rating 6.3443 votes
The Fear1995as Dr. Arnold
IMDb rating 3.91.8K votes
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film2006as Himself
IMDb rating 7.23.8K votes
The American Nightmare2000as Himself
IMDb rating 7.22.0K votes
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing2004as Himself
IMDb rating 7.73.3K votes

Most often with

John Carpenter appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top

John Carpenter

John Landis

Heather Langenkamp

Robert Englund

Quentin Tarantino

Tom Savini

Films together

John Carpenter4 films together, 1993 to 2008
John Carpenter's page
- Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh2008IMDb rating 7.4Craven as HimselfCarpenter as Himself
- Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film2006IMDb rating 7.2Craven as HimselfCarpenter as Himself
- The American Nightmare2000IMDb rating 7.2Craven as HimselfCarpenter as Himself
- Body Bags1993IMDb rating 6.2Craven as Pasty Faced ManCarpenter as Coroner
John Landis3 films together, 2000 to 2013
John Landis's page
- Trespassing Bergman2013IMDb rating 7.2Craven as HimselfLandis as Himself
- Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh2008IMDb rating 7.4Craven as HimselfLandis as Himself
- The American Nightmare2000IMDb rating 7.2Craven as HimselfLandis as Himself
Heather Langenkamp3 films together, 1989 to 2011
Heather Langenkamp's page
- I Am Nancy2011IMDb rating 6.3Craven as HimselfLangenkamp as Herself
- Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy2010IMDb rating 8.5Craven as HimselfLangenkamp as Herself / Narrator
- Shocker1989IMDb rating 5.5Craven as Man NeighborLangenkamp as Victim
Robert Englund2 films together, 2010 to 2011
Robert Englund's page
- I Am Nancy2011IMDb rating 6.3Craven as HimselfEnglund as Himself
- Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy2010IMDb rating 8.5Craven as HimselfEnglund as Himself
Quentin Tarantino2 films together, 2004 to 2008
Quentin Tarantino's page
- Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh2008IMDb rating 7.4Craven as HimselfTarantino as Himself
- The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing2004IMDb rating 7.7Craven as HimselfTarantino as Himself
Tom Savini2 films together, 2000 to 2008
Tom Savini's page
- Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh2008IMDb rating 7.4Craven as HimselfSavini as Himself
- The American Nightmare2000IMDb rating 7.2Craven as HimselfSavini as Himself
Also two films together6 more actors
- George A. RomeroStarz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (2008) and The American Nightmare (2000)
- Greg NicoteroStarz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (2008) and Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)
- Robert ShayeNever Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) and Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)
- Howard BergerStill Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective (2011) and Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (2008)
- Tobe HooperThe American Nightmare (2000) and Body Bags (1993)
- Jessica CravenI Am Nancy (2011) and Shocker (1989)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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