More Credit is Due

The “Under the Mask” Blog is an online outlet for the “Dont Go Out There” podcast hosts to further add creative content into the horror community.

by: Bryan Hathaway

More Credit is due

Now.... before I get into this, let me just say the Director and the Writer, I feel, go hand in hand. A lot of times you can have terrible writing with a "good", dare I say, "legendary" director and the movie still be horrible. (Looking at you Indiana Jones Crystal Skull). The reverse is also true as a great writer can be shot to hell with a terrible director (or sometimes even directing themselves... looking at you David S Goyer (Blade Trinity) and George Lucas.

But, with that said, I feel like the Director gets more credit than is deserved in some cases. THAT, in my opinion, is the point of this article...

Many times you've asked, Wes Craven or James Wan as the "best horror director of All Time."

Wes Craven and James Wan are legends, and deservedly so. But, my question is, where would they be without Kevin Williamson and Leigh Whannell? The same legendary status? maybe. Regardless, I dont think Williamson and Whannell get the credit they deserve.

Lets start with Craven. Craven, God rest his soul, deserves credit for changing the genre so many times. He WROTE and Directed 'Hills Have Eyes' and of course the three best 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films. He deserves that credit exponentially over and over again. Some have even said that "New Nightmare" was the start of the meta craze and the "trial run" for Scream.. but was it? We can definitely all agree the genre was changed once again with 1996's Scream, with guess who at the helm? That's right, Wes Craven. But it was Kevin Williams, not Craven, who wrote that film. Williamson had a hand in the next three sequels as well as comparably meta and blockbuster horror hits of the 90's in arguably one of the best Halloween sequels in 'H20' as well as the FIRST 'I Know what you Did Last Summer' and 'The Faculty.' These films basically defined the 90's by themselves.

So, while Craven re-defined horror with Hills Have Eyes and then again with Nightmare on Elm Street, I think it's Williamson who deserves a lot of the credit with the era being defined again in the 90's... not necessarily Craven?

Lets move on to Leigh Whannel. People are quick to credit James Wan, who is an amazing director, with re-defining the horror genre with the Saw franchise and The Insidious Franchise. I dont know if you can give him the credit. While he had writing credits on the sequels, it was Leigh Whannel who wrote Insidious and Saw. He even stepped into the director's chair for Insidious 3 and the Invisible Man (2020), to prove he has those chops as well.

While, Wan went on to prove he's an amazing director with even a writing credit in the Conjouring SEQUEL and movies in the Fast and Furious franchise and Aquaman- Would he have gotten those chances without a Leigh Whannell written Saw and Insidious movies?

maybe, who knows.

Again, this isnt an article to slam the directing styles of Craven and Wan by any means. But the next time someone compares the greatest horror directors of all time and bring up the two of them... maybe think....would it be the same without the ones who WROTE the movies that were these "genre changers" they directed?

Food for thought.