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.
You move just a finger, say the slightest word, something's bound to linger-be heard.
Art is the child of nature in whom we trace the features of the mothers face.
I like silence. Aesthetically, I feel strangled by the fast cutting and a wall of sound. And I think showing black people thinking onscreen is radical.
I don't believe that poetry is in danger because nobody wants to read it or appreciate it. There is a tremendous audience for it on any given day or night. You just have to know where to look.
I'm big on having a blistering pace. That's one of the hallmarks of what I do, and that's not easy. I never blow up cars and things like that, so it's something else that keeps the suspense flowing. I try not to write a chapter that isn't going to turn on the movie projector in your head.
Some of my films are known for the depiction of violence. I don't have anything to prove with that any more.
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