Wes Craven's Greatest Films?

[Peter Neal]

I guess I'd call myself a Craven fan, though not all of his films float my boat and he's not the most visual director around.

I'm probably one of the few who actually prefers Craven's '77 "Hills" over the (otherwise also great) Aja remake.

With a filmography which contains such landmark titles as "Last House", "Hills", "Elm Street" and (for me anyway ) "Scream" he's certainly more than rightfully earned his place in horror history though some are not willing to forgive him for voicing his wish to also work outside the genre from time to time combined with the mainstream appeal of some of his creations which does ring all the wrong bells with a certain fraction of the horror fanbase....

Faves? "Last House", "Hills", "Elm Street", "People under the Stairs", "New Nightmare" and "Scream".

[oaxaca]

I never knew he directed Vampire in Brooklyn... That's a pretty awful film

[wayfarer]

Thanks for jogging my memory. Must get around to reading it. Pity it's not on Kindle

[Pete]

I really like NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS and SCREAM.

HILLS HAVE EYES, SHOCKER, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, NEW NIGHTMARE and SCREAM 2 are ok.

LAST HOUSE, VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN, HILLS HAVE EYES 2 are poor imo.

[Wes]

Wes Craven is hit and miss but his filmography is littered with interesting if not great movies... Personally my favourite Craven is A Nightmare on Elm Street, which is a masterpiece... I watched all the Elm Street films a few months ago back to back (in preparation for the Never Sleep Again doc) and I really enjoyed 'em... add about 20 years to 'em and they're strangely charming, old school fx, and dopey hair metal songs an' all...

[Rik]

I voted for quite a few but my favourite has be either A Nightmare on Elm St or The Serpent & The Rainbow, both classics in my book

[Slippery Jack]

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen The People Under the Stairs, might check that one out . . .

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Slippery Jack

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen The People Under the Stairs, might check that one out . . .

Great film, well worth the couple of quid it probably is these days

[Wes]

People Under the Stairs is good but it should have been much more - it has a great subversive idea and could have been a real eerie, disturbing film but Craven's commercial sensibilities have got the better of him again...

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by Demdike

I can take or leave Craven really, but he has done a few very good films.

Agreed and consistency of quality has never been Craven's strong point imo. Tbh i much prefer Carpenter and Romero.

Originally Posted by wayfarer

I'm not a big fan of Wes Craven, but I'm no hater either.

I'm more or less of the same opinion and the only Craven contributions i've any true time for are TLHOTL, ANOES, THHE and Deadly Friend (Yeah, you heard that right!). Who could forget the gloriously gory 'death-by-basketball' scene in the latter? And besides, i had a crush on Kristy Swanson at the time!

I recall catching ITH back in the '80s and was unimpressed with the movie. Far too tame in line with TV network restrictions. Initially, i enjoyed the first two Scream entries but soon became tired of these films trying to be more hip than horrific. Shocker actually wasn't too bad imo but still some way from Craven's envelope-pushing heyday.