I grew up on the latter half of Craven's career, being first introduced to his work with the 90's classic, Scream. The film has spawned three other sequels with 2011's Scream 4 being the director's final film. His slasher series playfully stabbed as many holes in the conventions of scary films as Ghostface did to his victims.
According to his family's statement in the article on EW, Craven stayed "engaged and working until the end", listed as an executive producer on the MTV series based on Scream. It seemed the only problem he had was the dropping of the distinguishing "Ghostface" killer mask.
Only later did I watch more of Craven's earlier work, especially the cult and pop culture classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven's molten faced, fedora-wearing, red and green sweater clad monster was and is unforgettable. A true terror that kept me up on some dark nights, wondering if I would ever see the razor sharp blades on his leather glove come into my dreams once I closed my eyes.
Kruger was Wes Craven's first iconic horror creature, always finding a way to come back no matter what is done to him. Nothing could hold his spirit for long and keep him away from his children. Freddy has not only come back from the dead again and again, Craven's entertaining creation has withstood the test of time and endured, displaying a longevity of die-hard and casual fans, especially those looking for a Halloween costume.
Hollywood lost a true legend, not just in horror but a trailblazer in movies. Many of Craven's films have achieved cult-fan status and being involved in creating two figures that will persist as representations of boogeymen for generations to come.
Rest in Peace, Wes Craven.
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