When I saw the news of Wes Craven’s passing yesterday morning, I felt a honest sense of sadness overcome me. Many people will say “it’s just a movie” and for the most part, I agree. But there was always something unique about Craven’s films that are so unlike any other. He made horror that was always more than just a movie.

Last House on the Left absolutely stunned the hell out of my teenage self. I had never seen such horrible acts on the screen. I kept looking away, but I also felt a sense of what I was watching was important. These are real horrors. The things that terrify almost every woman around the world. I have never been so affected by a film. I haven’t since.

A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream were the movies that proved horror could be bloody, but it could also be clever. A joke could be terrifying too. Our dreams, our culture – all things that should make us weary.

But those are just the iconic films the man has made. He was one of the few directors so self-aware of what he was doing in film and made sure he was winking and nudging with us.

It’s truly with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to the man who made so much possible. He made my nightmares real on screen. There will never be another like him.

Wes Craven died of brain cancer on August 20th. He was 76-years-old.