Wes Craven’s five favourite films of all time
Horror fans will always be indebted to the important innovations pushed forward by Wes Craven, the man behind incredibly popular franchises such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Incorporating elements of comedy and meta-awareness about genre clichés, Craven’s unique approach to slasher films led to the rise of more intelligent attempts at horror filmmaking – especially due to the overwhelming impact of Scream.
In addition to the globally renowned efforts under his belt, Craven also directed fascinating works that later became cult classics – including projects like The Hills Have Eyes. During an insightful conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Craven opened up about his favourite films. The director elaborated on the importance of cinema in his life and how it opened his eyes, given his strictly religious upbringing in a Baptist household.
Craven began: “Firstly, I’m going to go for The Virgin Spring. It’s a film that may surprise people, but it really had an impact on me, and I was just amazed by it. I saw it in a relatively short period of my life when I was teaching at college. When I was younger, I hadn’t been allowed to watch any because I went to a Baptist College, but by this time, I had put the religion behind me, and that was one of the first art films I saw and I was very impressed by it.”
The director also cited To Kill a Mockingbird: “Thinking about my upbringing, this was actually one of the first movies I saw. I was about 15. I was always told that films were evil and such, but I started to realise what a load of crap it was that something this good should be forbidden. I had been allowed to read as much as I wanted when I was younger, so I recognised great art when I saw it, I just didn’t realise it would be at the cinema as well. And so I walked away from that. To Kill a Mockingbird was so important because it was such adult film-making – to see something that dealt with such an important issue and had such an enlightened outlook on the world.”
While talking about his horror influences, Craven noted the impact that George A. Romero’s masterpiece Night of the Living Dead had on him. He explained: “It also made me realise that with a genre film, as long as it scared you, you could say anything; about politics, about psychology. It made me realise as well that fear is one of the primary thresholds you experience things through. Fear of anything – even sex – is scary!”
Check out the full list below.
Wes Craven’s favourite films:
- The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962)
- Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
- Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)
Craven’s list represents the eclectic nature of his brilliant cinematic sensibilities, ranging from the philosophical investigations of Ingmar Bergman to the political commentary of George A. Romero’s horror gems. The Scream director also included Tobe Hooper’s 1974 magnum opus, admitting that the film actually scared him.
He revealed: “This really scared me coming out of it. You knew it was made for 10 cents – that was obvious – but it actually had some fabulous performances. Some of the moments – like when Leatherface kicks open the door and comes after them – I mean, your blood just runs cold. It was just amazingly visceral visual storytelling.”
