Wes Craven: The Man and his Nightmares

by John Wooley

The life and film genius of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream director Wes Craven Wes Craven is one of the most successful and iconic horror movie directors in Hollywood. His masterful examination of the nightmarish nexus of dreams and reality helped spark a career that has spanned close to forty years. Then, with their mix of horror, sex, and humor, Craven's Scream movies helped revitalize the slasher film genre. If you've ever had nightmares about Freddy Krueger or psychopaths wearing Halloween scream masks, or if want to know more about the director behind the new Scream 4 , this is one book you simply have to read.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Film, Biography, Audiobook, Media Tie In

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2011

Reviews

[Brian J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, simple bio for Wes, centered around his filmmaking career and the various inspirations that brought particular ideas out of the dark and into the theaters. There's not a lot of depth here, but it's an enjoyable recap for fans of the late master. John Kenneth Muir was quoted a lot, which has roused my interest in his book on Craven. I've read other film critique from Muir; he's a true horror archivist and a definitive scholar of the medium.

[Ethan Bayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, if somewhat basic, look into the life and career of one of the best horror directors to have ever lived. It’s interesting seeing how he fell into it but also how he embraced and redefined it.

[Samael Kovacs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going in this novel I was skepicatl , reading this resulted in a big meh I suppose it's fine but I wouldn't call this novel great or anything.

Wes Craven is one of the masters of horror, he deserves more then this .. I can honestly barely call it a novel.

It feels like this was written by an AI hybrid or a Wikipedia writer there is really nothing here in terms of style.

There were a couple of things that I didn't know which were really neat but man was I dissapointed at how this novel ends.
It does cover Craven's entire career which is bloody awesome... Only it doesnt't. There are a couple of pages about My Soul to Take but literally nothing about Scream 4?


The best way I can describe this novel is that it feels like a short straight to the point 240 pages version of a novel that's about a 1000 pages and goes into full detail but that novel does not exist. Yet.?

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the deepest of dives.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

"An intellectual person can see 'Nightmare on Elm Street' as a study of consciousness and another can see it as a hell of a ride. They are both right. If there's one thing I'd like to see them come away with from my films it is the idea that there is hope. The world is what you imagine it to be. You imagine your own solutions, defenses, even attacks on the Freddy Kruegers of life."

- Wes Craven

I really didn't expect the life story of Wes Craven, of all people, to be that inspiring. But it is. In his early 30s, he was an overeducated, underemployed, divorced taxi driver with this far flung dream of making movies. Without giving away the specifics — although I will say that Harry "The Cat's In The Cradle With A Silver Spoon" Chapin DOES serve as an unexpected and incredibly important plot point — Wes obviously manages to defy the odds en route to becoming one of the most beloved and influential horror film auteurs of all-time. Even if you don't care about the behind-the-scenes lore of stuff like "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes," you'll still find plenty to enjoy and appreciate here; the segment on the borderline cursed production of "The Serpent and The Rainbow" ALONE makes this one worth going out of your way to read.

BONUS CONTENT!

***Five Things I Learned About Wes Craven After Reading This Book***

— Sharon Stone stole one of his wives (no, for real.)

— Mick Fleetwood was considered for the part of Horace Pinker in "Shocker."

— Wes was supposed to direct both "Beetlejuice" AND "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace."

— The original lead actress of "Music of the Heart" was supposed to be MADONNA.

— He claims "The Hills Have Eyes 2" (2007) is actually about the American occupation of Iraq.

[A Cesspool · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not even in the same ballpark as Brian J. Robb's superior Screams & Nightmares, much less, Padraic Maroney's It All Began With A Scream, imo.

I'd even suggest John Kenneth Muir's 1998 The Art of Horror or Calum Waddell's ReFocus entry, before this abridged'ish director's bio.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his biography, Wes Craven: The Man and His Nightmares, writer and frequent Fangoria contributor John Wooley explores the roots of Craven's career condemnation. Much of the book has been written around a single interview between Wooley and Craven (early attention is given to Craven's overly religious childhood and, at one point, Craven compares Baptists to vacuum salesmen). But a majority of the book has horror fans in mind and focuses on Craven's work as a filmmaker, a career spanning nearly forty years and almost thirty titles.

You can read Chris' full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wes Craven is one of the most influential directors of horror movies in the late 20th century. In this book you'll read about his beginnings, the Kafkaesque side of things, The Last House on the Left, horror and sex, kind of monsters, Swamp Thing, more shockers, Nightmare on Elm Street of course, The People Under the Stairs, Scream... I'm sure you'll find your favorite horror flic among all those movie posters and stills. Quite interesting read revealing a lot of background infos on Wes and his way of making movies. Really recommended!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as deep of a dive like I thought it would be nor was a lot of the book filled with new facts/information to me except for his Evangelical upbringing which explains so much to me. His movies always felt like religion was the elephant in the room, like with Nightmare on Elm Street which I noticed a lot in the later films of the Elm Street franchise.

This man is deeply missed in the horror movie community. I’ll always be grateful for his work in both the horror and non horror movie world.

[Nick Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, but enjoyable Wes Craven bio. Perfect for Craven newbies, but big fans of his work (like myself) are probably not going to find a whole lot of new info here. Still, it covers his early life and his career up until Scream 4, which happened to be his final directing effort before his death in 2015. So while it might not be super in-depth, it thankfully touches on his entire filmography with quotes from the man himself.

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fairly informative read. I'm sure I could learn more from additional books and magazines but this wasn't a bad place to begin. Wes Craven remains one of my favorite directors of all time, and I appreciated getting to read some more insights about his career and the way his life and experiences impacted his film-making and vice-versa. The writing was somewhat dry, so I don't know if I'll be quick to re-read but I'll appreciate being able to keep this on hand.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves any of Wes Craven's movies. It was really nice to learn more about him and was a really well written view into his life as a filmmaker. I especially appreciated the chapters on "A Nightmare on Elm Street." I'm also now watching "Invitation to Hell" (1984) thanks to this book.

[Angie Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freddy was my first horror movie...I fell in love with him, Wes, and the genre as soon as I saw him. This book gives you insight into the movies that craven made and the process it took to make them. There is some interesting information about how he grew up and how he finally broke into the industry. I highly recommend this if you're a horror fan!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know a lot about Wes Craven, this probably won't do a lot for you. I didn't, though, and this was a great introduction.

Just super impressed with what I heard about Craven's approach to art, his path to filmmaking, and his overall intelligence and creativity in exploring the ideas he did. Want to watch all his stuff now.

[Andrea A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I loved the Nightmare and the Scream series so this read was a must. Not too familiar with the earlier films of the director but loved hearing about the processes of how all.the films came together.

[Jorge Palacios Kindelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished. Really great book about Wes Craven’s life and career, delving deeply into their production, as well as the ups and downs of his career. Highly recommended #book #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #horrorbook #wescraven

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage - not recommended

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Read in February 2022.

[David Brimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cliff notes crash course on Craven’s career. Nothing too revelatory but enjoyable.

[Cazlam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed but felt like it could have gone a bit deeper

[Damien Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a superficial wound missing every major vein and artery. It's not killer but it taunts the reader to dig deeper. Definitely give this book a read!

[Bryan Woj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comes off like a slightly more elaborate Wikipedia article. Was extremely bored, and I am a Wes Craven Stan.

[dog meat]

this is on the DNF shelf, fucking hated this. craven's wikipedia page was better.

[Caspar Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a horror or film junkie (which I am not), then this novel is for you. It is a biography of the career of famed-horror director Wes Craven. The book explores Craven’s beginning as a child in Cleveland, his college years, and his directorial career (best known for A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream). It was a quick and easy read.

[christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I've always admired his career. I've always admired Wes's intelligence. He's sort of the professor of horror." - Tony Timpone

Those words reflect my feelings about Wes Craven.

The year was 2011. Scream 4 had just been released. Imagine how excited little 10-year-old Christian was. He was so excited to go see it. Unfortunately, his parents wouldn't let him see it. Imagine the feeling Christian got when he received the film on DVD that Christmas. The smile lighting up his face, the joy he felt.

That boy was me. That same year, I received Scream 4 on DVD, and two books about Wes: this book, and Screams & Nightmares: The Films of Wes Craven by Brian J. Robb. I was ecstatic.

Craven had previously become my favorite director of all time after 9-year-old me saw Scream for the first time and quickly became obsessed with not only that one movie, but the whole franchise. So much so that my mother had to take away the DVDs of the franchise. That was the last I saw of the Scream franchise. Until that Christmas.

Basically going against my mother, my grandfather was happy to oblige when I told him I wanted Scream 4 on DVD.

When I say I became obsessed with the franchise, I became obsessed with the franchise. I suddenly wanted everything Wes Craven and wanted my walls covered in posters from the Scream franchise.

Drifting away from reading and becoming obsessed with film and watching them, this book sat on my shelf for the longest time, its pages becoming dusty and feeling neglected. It wasn't up until a week ago that I actually cracked the book open.

All I can say about this book is damn. It's so well-written. It's so captivating and page-turning that this is the longest book I've ever finished in less than two weeks. Usually, it takes me a few months to finish a book, but I just could not put this book down. It was amazing.

Let me get to the reasons as to why I took a star off: it gets some information wrong. For instance, in the chapter where it talks about Wes and his first encounter with the Scream franchise, it says that the 1978 chiller, which just so happens to be my favorite horror film of all time, Halloween was sixteen when Scream came out. That's not the case, because if it was, John Carpenter's slasher film would've had to have come out in 1980. The film was, in actuality, eighteen years old, not sixteen.

Another reason I took a star off is because there's some information left out, most notably different news from Scream's sequel. The largest piece of news that wasn't anywhere to be found was the whole part of the script being leaked online and the studio having to go back and rewrite the entire ending since everyone now knew who the killers were, two of whom were actually the killers in the final product.

Overall, it's an amazing book, and I recommend this to anyone who loves horror and stuff that goes on behind-the-scenes. It's entertaining and informative, which isn't really a combo I find is common nowadays in books.

[Coffeecupsandpaperbacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read but not particularly deep. As a Wes Craven/horror fan, I didn’t really learn anything new but it was still an enjoyable read.

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wes Craven is my favourite director of all time! Not just in the horror genre, but all 'round. His movies terrified me when I was very young, especially Scream which is now my favourite movie. Many movie fans if asked "who's your favourite director" would probably say the likes of Steven Spielberg or James Cameron, but not me. Craven has an edginess in his films and he likes to take them a step further. His first movie in which he wrote, directed and edited - The Last House on the Left - is a grisly story about a girl and her friend who are attacked by a sadistic family. Mari, the lead character is left for dead. Her parents are visited by their daughter's attackers who are looking for a place to stay the night. And when Mari turns up, hanging onto life, the parents find out that the strangers at their house are the ones who almost took their daughter's life. They go on to taking revenge on the psychos in grisly and brutal ways. This movie stunned audiences. They'd never seen anything like it. It was ahead of its time.

I myself have only saw the remake which was fantastic and brutal! But from what I read it is very much the same as the original.

A Nightmare on Elm Street, another of Craven's movies is what really put him on the map. Again, the movie horrified audiences all over the world and created horror icon, Freddy Krueger. In the 90's, Scream came along and again horrified audiences and also created another horror icon, Ghostface.

So, after a little bit of trivia there, let's get to the book! :)

I had a blast reading this book! I got it for my Christmas and I just couldn't wait to read it! A couple of weeks ago, I had done a talk on Wes Craven for English and got a good grade for it. I thought I knew a lot about Wes Craven before this book, but really, what I knew was nothing compared to the stuff I learned in reading this.

John Wooley's writing is very simple and easy to read, but at the same time is so very well written. This is the second biography I've read - the first being Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus (DON'T JUDGE!) and I enjoyed reading it almost as much as I enjoy reading fiction. So I think biographies are something that I want to get into reading a bit more of.

If you're interested in Wes Craven and his scary movies get this book! :D

[Scott Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chances are, if you're reading this site, you know who Wes Craven is. If you don't, you've probably stumbled onto this site by mistake. Either way, the man responsible for bringing Freddy Krueger and the Ghost-Face killer to the big screen is the subject of a new biography by John Wooley, Wes Craven: The Man and His Nightmares.

Starting from Craven's childhood in a rabidly fundamentalist Christian household, Wooley traces his career from his earliest days as a messenger and director of skin flicks to his current status of horror icon. Through it all Craven comes across as a reluctant monster, but one who intrinsically understands the genre, and who finally ends up embracing his macabre side. Of course, a great deal of that is a matter of public record, with Craven himself discussing his upbringing on numerous occasions. Where Wooley excels is in his ability to tie together the timeline of Craven's life, his movies, and his philosophies.

Wes Craven: The Man and His Nightmares reads partly like a filmography, partly like a biography, and partly like a critical discussion of themes revisited. It also divulges a few tidbits that many readers may not know. For example, Wooley delves into the real-life inspirations behind not just A Nightmare on Elm Street, but also The Hills Have Eyes, and all the creative and studio-driven difficulties that surround both movies. He also discusses Craven's personal struggles throughout the length of his career. Before you think this book only discusses Craven's triumphs, it also goes to the critically panned movies without shyness, details the financial disasters that many of Craven's films caused, and paints the man himself as a genuinely intelligent, and surprisingly spiritual, person.

This book is surprising in the amount of detail it manages to cram into 262 pages. At times it feels as if the author is skimming the surface, but upon further reflection, the reader realizes that all the important questions have been answered. It seems rather tricky, but Wooley pulls it off nicely and gives us Craven's story without the maudlin whining that accompanies many biographies today. It gives us real insight into who Wes Craven, the man, is and allows us to look toward the future of his career with anticipation.

[Alex G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read on Wes Cravens life and reasoning behind his most horrific films. I remember watching "The Last House on the Left" and wondering what sparked the idea to create a completely new take on a horror film. Interestingly, Craven was handed the film and hired as the director, but he made it into an outstanding piece of work, despite it's adult/grotesque content. Everything in this film makes a point and causes us to question how far we would go to seek revenge in an emotional state. I would recommend this book to any budding filmmaker who is interested in learning from one of the greats about horror production.