Wes Craven

Wes Craven was an American filmmaker who defined modern horror cinema through franchises like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.

His work combined genuine scares with dark humor and self-aware commentary on the genre itself.

Craven had a gift for creating iconic villains—Freddy Krueger became a cultural phenomenon—and for subverting audience expectations about who survives horror films.

Wes Craven basically invented the meta-horror movie with Scream.