The Impact of Wes Craven On My Life

From a young age, I was introduced to the films of Wes Craven. It was my Mother and sister who were the ones that brought me into the fold. That first film was the original Nightmare on Elm Street. It scared the absolute bajeezus out of me. 

I remember there being some nightmares that I had where I was haunted by Freddy. You would think if the film scared me that much that I would stay away from it. Truth be told, there was no way that was going to happen. 

I found it a bit fascinating that here was someone that could enter the dreams of others. To some with just that description, it could come across as a superhero. However that was not Fred Krueger. He was the darkness. The one that lingered in the shadows waiting for you to start your slumber. Biding the time for that right moment to strike. 

At first, I saw Fred only as a monster. The Boogeyman. But over time, I began to notice that there was some grayness to his character. Yeah, he can be cold and heartless. However, he was wronged by the parents of Springwood. That element just lent a slight change to how I viewed the character. Yeah, he took children from their parents. Countless number. But it was mishandled when they burned him. They didn't need to enact this justice. No matter what the cost is it wasn't right. Because eventually what is out into the world will come back upon them. 

It was thanks to Wes for bringing this character into the world. For without it, who knows if I would be a horror fan today. 

The next film that I had seen was Swamp Thing. I remember seeing it on the Sci-Fi channel. Again, here we had what looked like a monster. But ultimately it had the heart of a man. I had known the character previously from the old cartoon they had made. But Wes' take on the material was a whole new level. Wes appreciated what he had to work with. And he made it his own. He gave Swamp Thing heart. And by this time in my life, I was a little bit into comics. Mostly because of the cartoons or films. But here, I was beginning to look into the world of Swamp Thing because of Wes. 

Then the Scream movies came along. I never had the chance to see the first on the big screen. But you better believe I got see it when it came to VHS. Scream means a lot to me. It was one of the first horror movies that I had seen that my Grandma also really loved. To the point where when I came to visit, we would go to the video store and rent it quite a bit. Ultimately she just decided to buy the film because of how much we enjoyed it. Scream 2 was the first entry I got to go see at the theater. And that was a whole experience unto itself. But when it came time, Grandma wanted to watch it with me. Then the third came out. And I had the pleasure of going with her to see it. So again, I thank you Wes for your involvement. You helped build a relationship between my Grandmother and I. 

New Nightmare. That was a whole beast altogether. Out of all of his films, this was the one that stood out the most to me. It may be all of the films as fairy tales or folklore that is present in it's themes. But it ended up being my go to film. It was the one I remember watching the most of the Elm Streets. Because of the relationship that Wes crafted between Nancy and Dylan. That bond between them was something that meant the world to me. Probably because I found myself relating to Dylan so much. At that point in my life, my mother was there. But she really wasn't. She was ghosting through her life. Only paying attention and caring when it mattered for her. Looking back, I see it's because she never wanted me. I was an oops. A mistake for her. So, seeing Dylan and Nancy together. It showed me what a true mother would look like.

Through the years, I wished I had the chance to meet you. Who wouldn't want to meet someone that they had looked up to? Wes was my hero. He was the first director and storyteller that had me thinking about what that would be like as a career. He helped me find my love for horror and film. At that point, I knew I wanted to be part of the community somehow. If it wasn't through directing, it'd be by talking about film. Sadly, I never had the chance to meet him. There are still films of his that I have never seen. I will be taking time to watch those. But you know what, this is enough. This is my way of getting to say thank you.

Thank You, Wes. You are a Master of Horror. Your legacy will always live on and be remembered. Thank you for creating the monsters in the shadows and the heroes that stood up to them. 

-Matthew

This one was for Wes.