I was 6 years old. My parents were in the living room, and I snuck into their bedroom (where the only other TV was) to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors on Channel 11’s “movie of the week.” I met Freddy Krueger, and I was hooked forever. At 33, I am a horror fanatic and gorehound, and I owe it all to Wes Craven and his most intimidating creation. Tonight, with a tear in my eye, I’m writing that Wes Craven, one of the pillars of the horror film world for over 40 years, has passed away from brain cancer, according to Deadline. He was 76.

More on this legendary icon, and watch him in the video here below talking about what he loved.

The Last House on the Left
Unrated & Theatrical Versions
Directed by: Dennis Iliadis
Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Aaron Paul, Spencer Treat Clark, Rinki Lindhome
Universal Studios
Release Date: August 18, 2009

If someone hurt someone you love, how far would you go to get revenge?

That tagline perfectly sums up The Last House on the Left — the new horror movie remake of the 1972 Wes Craven classic. To look in the eyes of someone who has badly hurt or killed someone you love; that anger and confusion and complete uncertainty as to what to do next — a situation people can truly fear.

The movie follows John and Emma Collingwood (Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter), as well as their daughter, Mari (Sara Paxton). The family is off to their lake house for a traditional and much-needed vacation from their busy lives. Not long after they arrive, Mari talks her parents into letting her borrow the car to go and see her old friend Paige (Martha MacIsaac) who works at a store near the summer home. While visiting her friend at the store, a very nervous looking boy named Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) comes in and attempts to buy a pack of cigarettes and is asked for an I.D. he obviously doesn’t have. The conversation turns friendly-flirty and a deal is eventually reached that in exchange for a free pass on the smokes, Justin would provide Paige with some high-quality smoking material of the illegal variety.