Wes Craven has made some of the greatest horror, thriller, and scary movies of the past thirty years. Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Swamp Thing, People Under The Stairs, and Scream 3 are among his best. Unfortunately, unless you’re a true Craven fan, or you have Horri-Bill taste in movies, that’s where the good list stops.
People credit Wes for starting the Freddy empire, which kick started the horror movie genera in the US back in 1984. What people don’t realize is that every other movie in the series sucked, and that Wes was involved either in either writing or directing the rest of the series up until the 7th movie New Nightmare, in which Freddy came to life during the making of another Freddy movie to extract revenge against the cast and crew for killing him off in the previous Freddy movie.
That travesty aside, some of Craven’s movies have been decent. I’m sure everyone has seen at least one Craven movie that they would call great, but not everyone has had the opportunity to see his sub-par work. So, here’s a list and summary of some Craven movies that have flown under public radar.
Scream 2: The inevitable sequel, which is never as good as the original. Sadly, an overlooked part of the trilogy in which Sidney Prescott goes off to college and lands herself a frat boy boy-friend. The ending is about as plausible as my ass birthing a monkey, but that’s no reason to not see this movie.
Dracula 2000 (aka Jackie 2000): Three words – Hot Vampire Bitches! The soundtrack is terrific, and the movie is surprisingly decent for a new-age Drac movie. Basically, Dracula awakens after being stolen by some dumb British safe crackers looking for a big payday, and ends up in the middle of Mardi Gras. If you have general knowledge from the bible, then you’ll know the necessary stuff to understand the intricacies of the big “Oh, I get it” moment at the end. Definitely a must see for a vampire-movie-buff.
A Vampire In Brooklyn: Eddie Murphy stars in very different new-age Drac movie, this time a comedy. Eddie plays Dracula, who is looking for a mate to start anew the vampire race. Along the way, some wise-ass cop gets smart to Eddie’s ways and sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong, making for a very confusing and stupid ending. Nonetheless, if you’re either a Wes or Eddie fan, especially Ed's stand up specials, check it out.
Freddy vs. Jason: Watching this movie is like watching a train wreck into the White House while orphaned children are touring it, and slitting your wrist with a chainsaw all the while. There are a few funny moments, but if you’re looking for comedy, turn to Ben Stiller. The plot is as such; Freddy decides that he needs to make a comeback, but needs Jason’s help to do so. The unholy duo have many cool fight sequences, but the ending is as confusing as any other Freddy or Jason movie. I would compare it to Jason X, so beware!
Basically, Wes Craven should be regarded as a man that has made a few great movies, a few more decent movies, and many Horri-Bill movies. Though he is responsible for giving some current Hollywood stars their big break (mainly Johnny Depp), overall he deserves the first ever honorary HB Award, heretofore refered to as The Craven!
Thanks to all that made nominations for this round of the HB Awards. Keep the nominations flowing throughout the year, and before you know it January will be here and it will be time for another round!
BTW One More Awesome post coming very very soon!
3 comments:
I think i've only seen a couple Craven movies, since i'm not a scary movie fan at all.
Anyway, nice post.
I'd argue that Scream 2 and Freddy Vs. Jason were both better than Scream 3...in a horri-Bill kind of way.
Interesting article, added his blog to Favorites
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