Farewell to Wes – Guest Blog: Todd Farmer
In the late 70’s one of the first comic books I ever bought was DC Presents the Original Swamp Thing. I knew nothing of Swamp Thing. The cover depicted this big green guy beating a human while being shot at and watched by deformed… swamp… things. Years later I realized this was my introduction to Bernie Wrightson… but it also led to my introduction to Wes Craven. Because in the early 80s when I saw the trailer for Swamp Thing the movie, I had to go.
Swamp Thing was my first Wes Craven film. I was hooked. And that was before I saw this burned guy in a striped sweater with his arms stretched the width of an alley, an image that would forever haunt my nightmares. Hooked is an understatement. From that point forward Wes would be a part… an almost close part of my life. My first real Hollywood job was working with Wes’ friend and partner in 80s crime, Sean Cunningham. Later I would partner with Wes’ go-to editor, Patrick Lussier. Wes and I were not close but we’d met several times through the aforementioned men. One such meeting was the Drive Angry premiere. Patrick had invited Wes. And I had invited W. Earl Brown (an actor from my hometown in Kentucky). Of course, Earl had worked for Wes several times, from New Nightmare to Scream. Small world, huh? Two dreamers from small town Kentucky and there was Wes Craven talking to us like we were the only guys in the room. And that was Wes. A horror icon with the heart of an English professor.
I sat in a restaurant four days ago when I saw an Instagram feed with Wes’ picture and the dates: 1939-2015. Pissed me off because I knew it was certainly a fake. Then I saw… it was his feed. As I said, we were never close… but I couldn’t breath. Tears welled up and I sat there quietly crying.
Rest in peace, professor.
— Todd Farmer
With the tragic passing of Wes Craven, literally everyone in the industry has been reeling and expressing love for the man and his work. Several people have been writing in to Dread Central to ask if it would be cool to post their thoughts. So this Farewell to Wes feature will be their opportunity to share their feelings and their thoughts with you, the horror community.
Some will be long, some will be short, but all are important and will be featured with love and caring. It’s our honor to be able to do this for the man who gave us so very much.
Categorized:News
