Revisiting the “Wes Craven Presents” Movies

There was a brief period from the mid-’90s to the early 2000s where it seemed like on any given trip to the local video store you might stumble across a horror movie sporting the words “Wes Craven Presents” across the cover. It was a smart business move. Craven was already one of the genre’s most recognizable and respected figures. You know the titles: The Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and, of course, Vampire in Brooklyn. Um, okay, maybe let’s scratch the last one. Everything changed in 1996 with the release of Scream, whose massive success transformed Wes Craven from acclaimed filmmaker into a marketable brand—and the subject of this article.

Now, that’s not to say his name didn’t already carry weight. The man created one of horror’s most iconic villains in Freddy Krueger and launched one of the genre’s biggest franchises. But films like The People Under the Stairs and Shocker weren’t exactly household names. Post-Scream was a different animal. Suddenly, Craven was “relevant” again—either rediscovered by audiences who had drifted away from his later work or embraced by an entirely new generation of fans. Honestly, both can be true.

Let’s dive into it, and we have to start with the precursor to all of this.

Mind Ripper (1995)

Technically, Wes Craven Presents Mind Ripper. Or, if you prefer, Wes Craven Presents The Hills Have Eyes III: Mind Ripper. Hell, it’s even called The Outpost in some markets. Yeah, it’s one of those. 

Originally, this was conceived as another sequel to The Hills Have Eyes. One of Craven’s earliest films—and one of his best. He also directed the follow-up, though it’s probably best remembered for featuring a flashback sequence from the first film’s dog. The dog. Anyway, what makes this one different is that it was produced and co-written by Wes’s son, Jonathan Craven. Certainly no one can blame you for having your dad’s name as an executive producer credit to help generate interest.

Unlike the films that would follow, Mind Ripper debuted on HBO. As for the plot, it follows a group of medical researchers whose experiment creates a mutated killer that begins stalking everyone inside a remote underground laboratory. In other words, not exactly The Hills Have Eyes. It stars Lance Henriksen and marks the film debut of Giovanni Ribisi, which might be the most interesting thing about all this. As for the mutant, well, take one look and you can determine if you ever want to watch this. My guess is no. 

See, it has to be pointed out that Craven didn’t direct Mind Ripper—or any of the films we’re about to get into. In that case, he was helping out his son, which makes perfect sense. The rest was more along the lines of, “Oh, you want to use my name to help sell this? Okay, sure. Just add another zero to that check!”

Wishmaster (1997)

An evil Djinn is unleashed after a priceless gemstone is discovered, granting wishes in the worst ways imaginable.

First off, Wishmaster never felt like it was part of this group. And maybe that’s speaking in hindsight. Yes, it was marketed as Wes Craven Presents Wishmaster, and this was the first theatrical film to earn that after the release of Scream. But it was—and still is—considered an entertaining and fun horror flick. It caught on with fans right from the jump, even spawning its own franchise. That was enough for it to distance itself from the pack. I can only speak for myself, but when I saw this in ‘97, after already watching Mind Ripper, I thought, “Woah, that’s infinitely better.” Then you witness what came after this, and it’s really like, “Okay, yeah. You don’t need to sit at the table with those other people.”

Another film we’re about to get to also had its own series, though the reception was considerably colder.

Carnival of Souls (1998)

Craven was initially approached to direct the film, but passed while developing Scream. Nice move. Instead, he remained on as executive producer, with Trimark Pictures paying to put “Wes Craven Presents” in the title. As for the movie itself, it follows a woman plagued by strange visions after surviving a car accident. Despite the name, don’t expect a faithful remake of the original.

It never captures what made the 1962 film so memorable. Instead of the eerie, dreamlike atmosphere that made that a cult classic, this newer version feels like a standard late-’90s supernatural thriller. It’s poorly directed. It looks amateurish and lacks any style at all. No, you know what. I feel like that’s putting it too lightly, so let’s just say this movie is downright terrible and move on. Toss it.

Don’t Look Down (1998)

Later on in ’98 came a made-for-television movie that centered around a woman overcoming her fear of heights while mysterious deaths begin piling up around her. More importantly, it was meant to launch an annual “Wes Craven Presents” Halloween movie series on ABC. It failed to attract much interest, and that was the beginning—and the end—of that idea. And if you ever watch it, you’ll know why. Utterly forgettable. But it did get a DVD release in the early 2000’s. 

Dracula 2000 (2000)… no shit

When we reached the new millennium, the “Wes Craven Presents” banner finally made its way back to theaters. Dracula 2000 is basically, “What if we took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire and gave him a Matrix makeover?” This time around, a group of thieves accidentally unleash Dracula while robbing what they think is just another high-security vault. As expected, vampires start multiplying, and the whole thing eventually builds toward one of the strangest twists ever attached to the Count.

Well, it’s very much of its time. It’s overly stylish with a nu-metal soundtrack. It does have the best cast, by far. Christopher Plummer, Gerard Butler… I mean, it’s certainly respectable. As expected, there’s outdated CGI, but to its credit, it also uses some practical effects. It’s all just very silly in a way that will either work for you, or it won’t. I remember the reception upon its release being fairly negative. Maybe it still is, but I think it’s found its audience over the years. Personally, not a fan, but yeah, sure, it’s more memorable than the last two movies I referenced. It even spawned a pair of direct-to-video sequels. So, suck on that, Carnival of Souls.

They (2002)

They was the next and last of the theatrical releases. And I can attest that it was released in theaters, cause that’s where I saw it. Me and a whole empty room. What a way to go out. This one follows a group of friends haunted by shadowy creatures they encountered as children, only to discover those nightmares were real all along.

I really don’t mind the premise here. But it never lives up to its full potential. The fear of the dark is something just about everyone can relate to, and the creatures themselves…well, you never really see them. They’re constantly obscured by the shadows, which is the whole point. I get that. It’s just kinda average, though. That said, I’ll still take it any day over several that were mentioned.

About those aforementioned vampire sequels. 2003 saw the release of Dracula II: Ascension. And in 2005 is where this decade-long “Presents” run ended its reign of, well, whatever it was, with Dracula III: Legacy. Good call dropping the “2000” title, because, yeah, that would’ve been pretty stupid. Btw, I’ve never seen either of those, so whether they’re good or bad, I don’t know. But apparently Rutger Hauer plays Dracula in the latter. Which seems incredibly fitting eight films into this.

By 2005, Craven had spent years dealing with the production nightmare that became his werewolf feature, Cursed. Much like the later "Presents" movies, it was released through Dimension Films/Miramax. Meaning, he had to work with the worst person you know, and human waste, Harvey Weinstein. Whether that had anything to do with the branding disappearing or it had simply run its course, this experiment quietly faded away.

And speaking of fading away, and Harvey Weinstein… well, that joke just writes itself.