ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Tuesday, February 2, 1988
Page 5
Craven's
horrifying
director confronts
'Elm
Street'
By David Lubliner
Trying to find Wes Craven,
director of A Nightmare on Elm
Street, seemed like a horror movie.
Craven is currently jetting around
the country on a press tour to pro-
mote his new film, The Serpent and
the Rainbow. After just missing
him at his hotel last week in De-
troit, I caught the elusive Craven by
phone the following day in Chicago.
Unlike his previous films (The
Last House on the Left, The Hills
Have Eyes), The Serpent and the
Rainbow is a love story set in the
middle of political turmoil.
Based on the non-fiction book by
Wade Davis that's set in pre-revolu-
tionary Haiti, it explores the night-
marish journey of a Harvard anthro-
pologist who uncovers a deadly
powder with the power to transform
human beings into zombies.
Craven describes how Serpent is
set apart from his past work. "It al-
lowed me the chance to film in a
foreign country that's extremely
photogenic and exotic, with a much
larger budget than ever before, and
use everything that I had developed
in my filmic art."
In the past, critics have claimed
that his films are too graphic and
may be a bad influence on kids. In
response, Craven feels that their
imaginations are too limited.
"Today's youth live in a world
that is violent. Incidentally it is a
violence quite often created by just
the sorts of adults that are worried
about the violence in horror films,"
says Craven. "People that go see
horror films are, by and large, get-
ting rid of either their own hostili-
ties or angers in a very harmless
way.
"It is the people in three-piece
suits that have created the nuclear
arms race, not the weirdos in the
horror movies."
Craven asserts, "Horror films are
a positive thing. If someone went
only to horror films, I would start to
worry about them, but if they make
horror films a part of a balanced diet,
I think they are one of the essential
food groups of cinema."
However, Craven isn't blind to
the opposing viewpoint. "There cer-
tainly have been cases of people
making disgusting films. In almost
any genre you can point out exam-
ples of bad filmmaking. What I try
to do is look at the best of a genre. I
think the best of the horror genre has
been quite superb, quite intelligent,
quite challenging."
As examples he points to notable
horror directors such as David Kro-
nenberg (The Fly, Videodrome) and
John Carpenter (Halloween, The
Thing) for examples of those who
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*v E The University of Michigan
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Wed., University Choir
Feb. 3 Student conductors Eric Hannan, Jonathan
Hirsh, and Linda Jones
Choral works by Palestrina, Mendelssohn,
Blow, Praetorius, Schubert, Pinkham,
Schutz, and Bruckner
Recital Hall, School of Music, 8:00 p.m.
FREE.
Thurs., Jazz Combos from the Jazz Studies
Feb. 4 Department
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Three small jazz ensembles will perform
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For up-to-date program information on School of Music
events call the 24-Hour Music Hotline, 763-4726
First Question,
P/hat do you Wilnt should be done regtrding:
Anti-sem icDiscrimninuon
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Sea ualAssault?
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Are the dvili'berties and cr(W rights of students
being Violated by the proposed disamination
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Third Question,
Chat are Uearch 16, 1973 Rules of Th,
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Ansver, vednesdaynights 7-30pmANwA Chambers
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Please call (313) 761-1523 Today!
WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT A BRAND NEW
LANGUAGE LAB?
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW!
ANNOUNCING:
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We've redesigned the whole thing thinking
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in 2011 MLB
The University Activities Center
is now accepting:
EXECUTIVE BOARD
for positions of
PRESIDENT
V.P. of FINANCE
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and DEVELOPMENT
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