I think the experience of going to a theater and seeing a movie with a lot of people is still part of the transformational power of the film, and it's equivalent to the old shaman telling a story by the campfire to a bunch of people.
Interpretation
The collective experience of watching a film in a theater has a deep impact on individuals, reminiscent of storytelling traditions.
Wes Craven emphasizes the significance of shared experiences in film viewing, comparing the communal act of watching movies in a theater to the ancient practice of storytelling by the campfire. This highlights how engaging with narratives in a group can be transformative, fostering a sense of connection and emotional resonance that transcends individual experiences.
In practice
During a film festival, one might say, 'It's amazing how this theater brings us together, just like the old storytellers.'
That's what's great about the horror genre is that you're getting a load of people together in the cinema at the same place and the same time, having them all experience extreme fear and come out alive at the end. It's an uplifting experience, and there's a sense of elation.
You don't enter the theater and pay your money to be afraid. You enter the theater and pay your money to have the fears that are already in you when you go into a theater dealt with and put into a narrative.
If something comes along that is totally outside of horror, fine, but I find there's an immense amount of freedom within the genre.
You have to be aware of what the audience's expectations are, and then you have to pervert them, basically, and hit them upside the head from a direction they weren't looking.
I couldn't find an actor to play Freddy Krueger with the sense of ferocity I was seeking. Everyone was too quiet, too compassionate towards children. Then Robert Englund auditioned.
I was paralyzed from the chest down when I was 19, so I kind of put my head together about dying, and I think I've come to terms with it.
As a creative person, you just put something out into the consciousness of the society you live in.
Sometimes I get the start of a story from a memory, an anecdote, but that gets lost and is usually unrecognizable in the final story.
By the time I got to record my first album, I was 26, I didn't need pen or paper - my memory had been trained just to listen to a song, think of the words, and lay them to tape.
Being in a band turns you into a child and keeps you there.
A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.
Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built.
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