Wes Craven

Reuters

Wes Craven started his career with an independent grindhouse flick called Last House on the Left. A brutal rapesploitation revenge flick, Last House on the Left put Craven on the map... so to speak. His follow-up, The Hills Have Eyes, was a somewhat similarly paranoid surreality which immediately became a cult classic. Wes Craven has written most, but not all, of the films he has directed.

While Craven has contributed numerous entries into the Horror genre over the years, he is best-known for having created two of the most lasting and lucrative franchises in the industry: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Both franchises have spawned numerous sequels and retoolings, established nefarious villains in the horror iconography, launched careers, and changed the Slasher genre.

Craven has also frequently collaborated with Sean S. Cunningham, best known as the creator of the Friday the 13^th franchise and its masked villain, Jason Voorhees. A one-sheet for Craven's movie, The Hills Have Eyes, is seen behind Ashe's head in a scene of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. Evil Dead is the movie playing on Nancy's TV in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Craven has a direct connection to three of the biggest Slashers in American cinematic history. Despite a career including works outside the Horror genre, Wes Craven will be remembered for his contributions to the Slasher sub-genre.

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