Editorials
Dear Wes, Thanks for the Nightmares
Yesterday came the incredibly sad and painful news that iconic horror director Wes Craven had passed away after losing a battle with brain cancer. Craven was only 76 years old but the legacy of his work has left a footprint in history that can never be denied or ignored. Horror may not be what it is today without the works of Wes behind it.
I want to take this platform to share a few thoughts and memories I have of Wes and his films. After all, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is the very first horror movie I remember seeing at the age of six or seven. Clear as a cloudless sky, I remember watching Rodney Eastman’s character Joey practically salivate over the woman in his waterbed. Moments later, Freddy bursts through the bed, pulling Joey in and then sealing it again, this time with Joey inside, causing him to drown. My mom immediately changed the channel and so I never knew what happened next.
That visual gave me nightmares for days and haunted me for years. Little did I know that this memory would give rise to my love of horror and become one of the most important moments of my horror life.
When I was 15 and able to drive, the video store was basically my second home. I would go there all the time and scour the horror section for whatever I could find. Luckily, my parents were pretty cool with it, so they put a note on the account that allowed me to rent R-rated films. I don’t know if that was legal or whatever, but it worked and I could rent any horror movie I wanted.
Like nearly every person on the planet, I knew of Freddy Krueger from pop culture. Yeah, I’d seen him in NOES 4 when I was a kid but I never really watched a Freddy film before. And so, on one video store trip, I rented Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Yes, I went totally out of order but it was new and it caught my eye. Plus, I didn’t think I needed to see the others beforehand.
In a weird way, I’m very glad that I went down this route. Not only did it introduce me to Freddy Krueger and Heather Langenkamp as herself AND as Nancy, it introduced me to Wes himself. Seeing Wes onscreen made him all the more real, all the more tangible. Before, he was just “a director”, a guy behind the camera who brought me a story but let the characters bring it to life. Keep in mind, that was my 15-year old self and how I thought back then. I now recognize the error of my ways.
Seeing Wes changed all that. Suddenly, it was important for me to know who made a film, who put their heart and soul into it. Because of watching him, I would forever now look at who was behind a film, who crafted it, shaped it, moulded it, and presented it for me to appreciate and digest.
Because of this, I went on a Wes Craven binge, watching nearly everything he released. I asked the video store clerks to bring up his name in the computer and I simply went down the line of his films, renting them two to three at a time, devouring them as eagerly as Freddy tried to devour Kristen in The Dream Warriors.
This pathway led to me doing the same for John Carpenter, George A. Romero, and more. It was because of Wes that I loved film not just for the stories on the screen but for the people responsible for delivering them to me.
A few years ago, I had the incredible opportunity to take part in a very small Q&A with Wes at the University of Michigan at a class I attended. That interview still lives on this site, which makes me happy. It’s a piece that I’ve offered to the world that ensures he will live on in the great vast internet ocean.
Later that day, I got a call from a friend who told me that Scream 4 was filming mere minutes from my place. I hopped in the car and drove into the neighborhood, parked on the street, and walked a few blocks to the set. From my vantage point across the street, I could actually see Wes in the director’s tent, intently focused on the monitors in front of him, wearing headphones to ensure nothing could distract him. After the scene wrapped, he approached many of the cast and crew, taking the time to speak with them and answer their questions and concerns.
It was so wonderful to see him make the effort to do this. Sure, it’s in his job description but he did it with a smile and never raised his voice. He seemed ever calm and in control of himself, a stark difference from his films where chaos and terror could occur at any moment.
I could go on and on about the additional impacts Wes had on my life, such as the Nightmare on Elm Street NES game, the “1… 2… Freddy’s coming for you” ditty and how it gets stuck in my head all the time, the genital empathy I felt for Bill Pullman in The Serpent and the Rainbow, the joy of seeing the crazy The People Under the Stairs, laughing at the delightful meta-ness of the Scream franchise, the social commentary of The Last House on the Left… The list is nearly endless.
But it’s not even remotely close to how endlessly Wes Craven shaped and influenced horror. With each film he released, whether they were a winner or a dud, he brought something new to the genre. For that I thank you, Wes. Many of my nightmares are a direct result of you and your work. Here’s hoping I have many more.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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