Last Wednesday, Times Talks—a conversation series hosted by The New York Times—brought together two icons of horror, Wes Craven and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), for a special Halloween-themed discussion. Fans and industry insiders, including John Valeri from SFE and Max Evry from Shock Till You Drop, were treated to insights into Craven’s latest projects, Scream 4 and My Soul to Take.

On Scream 4:

Craven shared that the much-anticipated sequel had just wrapped filming:

“We just finished shooting about two weeks ago. My voice is still hoarse because I was doing press on My Soul to Take at the same time I was shooting Scream [4]. It’s in the editing room, we’ll probably have a first cut in about a month.”

He hinted at the movie’s meta approach, reflective of the cultural shifts in filmmaking over the past decade:

“It’s been ten years since the last Scream, so it’s a look back at that decade in film. Two of the central character kids are in the film club, and are trying to solve the crime of who’s the killer by seeing how it’s working in the context of genre filmmaking today. It’s in the grand scheme of Scream but looking at the culture of kids who like that kind of film.”

On the franchise’s hallmark “rules,” Craven explained:

“I’ve always been leery of the whole concept because a rule is essentially a cliché, and the first thing you want to do is not use the cliché, but it’s fun to play with clichés. To have something onscreen that appears to be a cliché, and then of course you have to subvert the cliché. I think the Scream franchise has always been about doing the opposite of what we expect.”

On My Soul to Take:

Craven opened up with raw honesty about the film’s reception and its impact on him:

“I’ll tell you right now, being blindingly honest, I have a film out I poured my heart and soul into for four years and it’s doing poorly. It’s had horrible reviews, I feel lanced and torn apart and scared I’ll never work again.”

He reflected on his career’s ups and downs, recounting challenges he’s faced:

“When I wrote Nightmare on Elm Street, I’d been out of work for quite a while. I tried three years to get someone to take it seriously. I’ve been out of work, I’ve lost all the money I had at times when I thought I’d be set for life. I get very nervous when people introduce me as ‘the master of horror.’ I don’t feel worthy of that whatsoever.”

Craven’s candor about his insecurities offered a rare glimpse into the man behind the “master of horror” label, reminding fans of the humanity behind his legacy.