Wes Craven, the director behind horror movie classics such as “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Scream”, “The Hills have Eyes” and “Last House on the Left,” has died at the age of 76 years old yesterday.

Wes Craven was born in Cleveland on August 2, 1939 to Paul and Carolin Craven. He died of brain cancer, leaving behind his wife, son, daughter, and step-daughter.

One of his signature characters, Freddy Krueger, became a pop cultural icon in 1984. “Scream” was filled with commentary on his movie style, satirizing cliches and conventions of the horror genre.

The Guardian says that “Scream” was Craven’s way of protesting to the direction the horror genre was taking. Dreams played a large role as a troupe in Craven’s films. Using dreams allowed the films to become even weirder and more disturbing.

According to New York Times, Craven believed movies had to constantly be pushing the envelop and showing the audience something they had never seen before. To do horror right he thought you had to always be doing something new.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/aug/31/wes-craven-reinvented-horror-three-times-cinema-looks-scary-without-him