Sean S. Cunningham
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Like William Girdler, Oliver Hellman or even Ed Wood, Sean S.
Cunningham had a successful career of starting films cheap and fast.
Originally from New York, Cunningham had a vast knowledge of directing
films and came to Hollywood. He started about the same time
Wes Craven did. Cunningham meets Craven and
decided to make a comedy-romance film called
Together (1971). Then they both shocked
the world with the rape and ultra-violence of
La Dernière Maison sur la gauche (1972).
Craven directed the flick and Cunningham financed and produced. However
Cunningham wanted to get a mix of comedy and horror and made
Case of the Full Moon Murders (1973)
and then started other comedy films like
Manny's Orphans (1978) and
Here Come the Tigers (1978)
. Struggling in Hollywood Cunningham saw
John Carpenter's
La Nuit des masques (1978) and wanted to make a
follow up type film but would possibly regret it. Cunningham brought
Vendredi 13 (1980) into the
cinema in 1980, a year of many other horror films.
Vendredi 13 (1980) was a
shocking, gory and violent film about camp counselors being slashed by
a killer and had Betsy Palmer in the lead
role. Little did Cunningham know that Friday the 13th would have never
ending sequels. Cunningham gladly avoided all of them and Friday the
13th remains one of the most popular horror films in history. Instead
Cunningham wanted to make it big when he brought a best-selling novel
to the screen,
Otages (1982)
with Rip Torn, but it was a disappointment.
Cunningham went downhill with the over sexed teen comedy
La fièvre du printemps (1983) and
Représailles (1985). Cunningham
then produced House (1985) and several of
its sequels. Cunningham next entered the world of underwater terrors
after Abyss (1989) was released.
Cunningham did a follow up called
M.A.L. : Mutant aquatique en liberté (1989), but it was a
flop, however it beat another 1989 underwater thriller
Leviathan (1989) at box office
receipts. Cunningham was finished with directing and moved on to
producing films and teaching. He produced
House III (1989),
My Boyfriend's Back (1993)
and Friday the 13th's last sequel
Jason va en enfer (1993).
Cunningham then did yet another follow up to Friday the 13th with
Jason X (2001).
