Halloween, Carpenter and Romero

In 2017, I was working with Rob Galluzzo on the documentary film Analog Love. As that project was winding down, Rob began spit-balling about what we might do next. He had just watched the feature-length documentary film DePalma, produced and directed by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow, and suggested that we might make a similar film… about John Carpenter.

I love John Carpenter. I love the DePalma film, which has the simple brilliance of Francois Truffaut’s indispensable interview book Hitchcock. I loved the idea of interviewing Carpenter on Carpenter, going right to the source and avoiding any extraneous bullshit. I knew Carpenter could be a tricky interview, but I’d had a good rapport with him in 2008 (when I interviewed him for my documentary Nightmares in Red, White and Blue) and I was eager to take a deeper dive into his work.

So, it took Rob about three seconds to convince me.

I spent the next week or so doing research, digging up old Carpenter interviews, re-watching the films, and writing interviews questions. Then I wrote a script for a short, narrative-driven trailer—using footage from my own 2008 interview with the filmmaker—that we could use to pitch the project. I enlisted my friend Andrew Monument to edit the trailer, and I was thrilled with how well it turned out.

Unfortunately, the documentary did not move forward. At this point, it seems unlikely that it ever will. But I still love that trailer. Every time I watch it, my enthusiasm for John Carpenter—his classical storytelling, his irreverent humor, his indelible scores, his love of cinema—is renewed. As a little Halloween treat, I’ve decided to share the trailer here, to celebrate the director’s work.

 

Between 2017 and 2021, I was also involved in the development of two separate documentary projects about director George A. Romero. I’d had a brief correspondence with Romero in the early 2000s, and I came to really love him as a person as well as a storyteller, so the opportunity to pay tribute to him was very meaningful to me. I did a ton of research and planning and geeking out.

Again, neither project came to fruition… but I couldn’t shake off my enthusiasm. In 2021, I took the initiative to create a trailer for my own ideal version of a Romero doc, focusing on the filmmaker’s unique (and arguably prophetic) worldview. Andrew Monument edited the trailer, using footage from an interview I conducted with Romero in 2008.

By 2021, I knew I could never make my “ideal version of a Romero doc”—because, George was gone—so I conceived the trailer as a loving tribute to the father of the modern horror film, as well as an acknowledgment of his prescience leading up to the era of Trump, Covid, and the Black Lives Matter movement. The trailer expresses this horror fan's undying affection for the filmmaker and his dark vision of America.

Personally, I can’t help wondering what George would make of our world this Halloween 2024. The filmmaker is gone but his films live on, and they’re part of us. We’re them and they’re us.

Viva Romero!

 

The Soul of Wes Craven

 NOW AVAILABLE!

“Finally, the Bible is written for the cult of Wes Craven! … The reason Wes Craven is often overlooked and taken for granted is because this book didn’t exist. Now it does, and we have no more excuses.”

- Grady Hendrix, author of Paperbacks from Hell and The Final Girl Support Group

 

“Illuminating and touching, I learned even more about the man who changed my life by casting me as Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street. This intimate, well-researched look into his life expands my appreciation of the maestro.”

- Heather Langenkamp, star of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

 

“Startling, inspiring, and often moving, this titanic biography of Craven bursts open both how art can save us—and what we do to hamstring our finest artists.”

- Daniel Kraus, co-author of The Living Dead and The Shape of Water

 

“This book is the definitive account of Craven’s life and work, put together with passion, insight and intellect worthy of the master himself.”

- Andrew Kasch, co-director DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

 

“With patience, dexterity and assiduous research, Joseph Maddrey excavates the heart and soul of a horror movie legend. The Soul of Wes Craven reveals unseen facets of the beloved director, and in the process uncovers a poet, a philosopher, a psychologist and one of horror’s great thinkers. This book bubbles with stunning revelations, fascinating connections, and new stories, never before told, about the life and times of this icon of terror.”

-  John Kenneth Muir, author of Wes Craven: The Art of Horror and creator of Enter the House Between

 

“As a screenwriter working with Wes Craven, I knew I had entered a magical world but I barely knew what a profound and remarkable man I was getting to know. Joseph Maddrey’s book allows us to discover the brilliance, the painful journey and the triumph of an extraordinary life. You will be as lucky to meet Wes in these pages as I was in real life.”

- Bruce Joel Rubin, screenwriter of Deadly Friend, Ghost, and Jacob’s Ladder

 

"The battle over the soul of Wes Craven goes to Joseph Maddrey, no contest. His comprehensive exploration of Craven's career leaves no nightmare unturned, offering up a humane portrait of a horror icon."

- Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

 

“An inspiration for indie filmmakers of every genre. Maddrey chronicles Craven’s curious path from rebel college professor to horror film icon. The financial challenges, artistic compromises and unimaginable triumphs are wildly entertaining as Craven struggles to direct his way out of the grindhouse and into movie mainstream. “

- Peter Filardi, screenwriter of Flatliners and The Craft

 

"Those who think of Wes Craven mainly as the father of Freddy will undoubtedly be surprised by this compelling portrait of a complex, rarely satisfied artist, while hardcore Craven fans will be delighted by new revelations and keen insight. Joseph Maddrey's The Soul of Wes Craven is a vital, valuable addition to any library of definitive filmmaker biographies or horror movie studies."

- Lisa Morton, Bram Stoker Award-winning author and screenwriter

 

“Wes Craven was a filmmaker of golden talents. His trove is sinister, vivid of wit. Impeccably fraught. He was also charming, effortlessly astute; observant as a spy. The gifted Joseph Maddrey has brilliantly captured the magic of a filmic icon in his long overdue The Soul of Wes Craven.”

- Richard Christian Matheson, author of Created By and The Ritual of Illusion

 

“Overwhelmingly and understandably identified as a master of horror, Wes Craven was widely viewed as a filmmaker lurking behind a Halloween fright mask. With his incredibly detailed and engagingly written The Soul of Wes Craven, Joseph Maddrey brilliantly peers behind that mask to reveal the true face, heart and, yes, soul, of a deceptively complex and influential writer and director. Anyone seeking a comprehensive and genuine understanding of the life and work of Wesley Earl Craven from Cleveland, Ohio, will find this book as insightful and intriguing as it is invaluable.”

- Mark Dawidziak, author of A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe and Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone

 

“An incredible, insightful, and revelatory look at the life of a genre icon. Filled with fantastic stories, captivating new details, and plenty of heart, this is the love letter tapestry of a literary, philosophical, and spiritual life that Wes Craven—and every film lover—deserves.”

- Thommy Hutson, screenwriter of Scream: The Inside Story and Truth or Dare

 

“Like its protagonist, the book is an intelligent and inspiring treat for genre fans and cinephiles alike. It’s got soul. And heart. And guts. But mostly, it’s entertaining as hell.”

- John Esposito, screenwriter of Creepshow and Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift

"The Soul of Wes Craven is beautifully written. It's funny, it's thoughtful, and it's even profound. I was deeply moved by this tour through Wes Craven's life. This is one of the best biographies I've ever read, and it's almost certainly the best book I've read about someone in the world of horror. All fans should read the book. Then we should all go back and re-assess the films with greater insight on their creator."

- Mark Sieber, author of He Who Types Between the Rows 

 

"The Soul of Wes Craven is not the first biography on the master of horror, but it is the definitive one.... Maddrey’s book doubles as a heartfelt eulogy to the fearless filmmaker and generous person that was Wes Craven."

- Alex DiVincenzo, Bloody Disgusting

 

"Joe Maddrey's The Soul of Wes Craven may be the most comprehensive and thoughtful biography of any human being I've ever read. The physical book is in the 500-page neighborhood, and there's not a word of padding to be found." 

- Stephen Mark Rainey, author of Fugue Devil: Resurgence

 

"Love Joseph Maddrey's The Soul of Wes Craven so much that I was sad to finish. A deeply researched dive into Craven's life & career that paints a clear picture of who he was & makes you look at ALL of his work in a new way. Plus insights into his unmade projects. It's ESSENTIAL."

- John Squires, Bloody Disgusting

 

Check out John Kenneth Muir's interview with the author.