Wes Craven has kept audiences on the edge of their seats since the release of his first feature film, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, which he wrote, directed, and edited in 1972. In the years since that controversial film exploded on the genre scene, Craven has demonstrated that he is a filmmaker with heart, guts, humor and a visionary imagination.
Craven’s career has been marked by both creative and commercial milestones. LAST HOUSE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and then the literal reinvention of the youth horror genre in his written & directed 1984 classic A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. And though he did not direct any of its five sequels, he deconstructed the genre a decade later, writing and directing the audacious WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE, which was nominated as Best Feature at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards. From there Craven went on to direct the phenomenal hit trilogy, SCREAM (1996), SCREAM 2 (1997), and SCREAM 3 (2000). With SCREAM, Craven reached a new level of success. The irreverent, genre-bending winner of MTV’s 1996 Best Movie Award grossed more than $100 million domestically, as did SCREAM 2. Between SCREAM 2 and SCREAM 3 Craven, excited at the opportunity to direct a non-genre film for Miramax, jumped into production on MUSIC OF THE HEART (1999), a film based on the Oscar-nominated documentary “Small Wonders” and starring Meryl Streep. For her performance, Streep was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. In the same year, in the midst of directing, Craven wrote and published his first novel The Fountain Society.
Craven has also directed VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN (1995), THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW (1988) and DEADLY FRIEND (1986). He wrote and directed THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991), SHOCKER (1989) and SWAMP THING (1982); he wrote, directed and edited THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977), and its sequel as well. For television, Craven helped create and produce the series “Nightmare Cafe” for NBC, directed the telefilms “Night Visions,” “A Stranger in our House,” “Invitation to Hell,” “Chiller,” and “Casebusters,” and directed seven classic episodes of the 1980’s revival of “The Twilight Zone”, which have now been released on DVD. Oh, and he discovered Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone, among others.
Recent projects: RED EYE, a psychological thriller starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox, which Craven did for DreamWorks, SKG, and immediately after, a written & directed romantic comedy segment in the internationally acclaimed film PARIS, JE’TAIME,. Craven has also formed Midnight Entertainment, a Rogue-based shingle that will concentrate on horror films with budgets of $15 million and under, to be directed by new, young talent. The first is the remake of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. It will follow in the tradition of a recent remake and sequel to another of his classics, THE HILLS HAVE EYES. These two films were for Fox Searchlight.
Craven is currently finishing his first written & directed project, 25/8, which was produced by himself and his wife, Iya Labunka.
Wes Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio and holds a Master’s degree in writing and philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.