Horror Legend Wes Craven Dies Aged 76 After Battle With Brain Cancer

Representatives for Wes Craven have confirmed that the venerated horror-film mastermind has passed away aged 76 following a battle with brain cancer, it has been reported.

Craven was one of the foremost directors of the horror genre of the latter half of the 20th century, being responsible for not only iconic titles such as the original The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Swamp Thing (1982), A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) and The Twilight Zone film (1985) but also all four Scream movies (1996-2011), which famously took so many of the rules established in horror movies of the '70s and '80s — including some of Craven's own — and twisted them for their own subversive purposes.

As Deadline notes, Craven was also involved in MTV's TV adaptation of the Scream franchise, one of the last projects to which he contributed before his death. Previously in the 2000s, he had overseen remakes of both The Hills have Eyes (2006) and his first film, 1972's The Last House On The Left (2009).

"Wes Craven was a tremendous visionary whose sensibility for scares has connected with generations of MTV fans," the network said in a statement. "We are honoured to have worked with him and proud to carry on his legacy with Scream. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."

According to Deadline, Craven had a number of other projects in the pipeline at the time of his death, including a couple of titles for the SyFy network (The People Under The Stairs, We Are All Completely Fine), UCP (Disciples), and Federation Entertainment (Sleepers). 

A number of Craven's contemporaries and collaborators - predominantly, those who worked with him on Scream - have begun to express their condolences on Twitter. See below for a selection of commemorative tweets about the decorated director, writer, producer and actor.

Today the world lost a great man, my friend and mentor, Wes Craven. My heart goes out to his family. x

— Courteney Cox (@CourteneyCox) August 31, 2015

Shedding tears now. A giant has left us. #wescraven #always #liveon pic.twitter.com/t3ituQLgV1

— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) August 31, 2015

So sad to hear the news about Wes. An amazing man on set and off and I owe so much to his talents. He will be sorely missed by many...

— Skeet Ulrich (@SkeetMe1) August 31, 2015

I wud have no career if it were not for WES CRAVEN. Thank you for believing in me and giving me a chance. #nowords pic.twitter.com/dNseHweJcF

— Jamie Kennedy (@JamieKennedy) August 31, 2015

I've always had the deepest respect for @WesCraven and his ability to take his fans on a thrilling ride. Warmest regards to his loved ones.

— Roland Emmerich (@rolandemmerich) August 31, 2015

Devastated to hear the news. Wes was a great friend, fine director and good man. Giant loss. Much too soon. http://t.co/3XnIn8UNIF

— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) August 31, 2015