Chuck Russell, Director Of The Mask & The Blob, Dead At 74

Chuck Russell, the writer-director of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" and the 1988 remake of "The Blob," who went on to helm Jim Carrey's first blockbuster in "The Mask," has died at the age of 74. He scored another blockbuster with the Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner "Eraser." According to TMZ, he passed away unexpectedly at his home, and his family is flying to California to find out what happened. Via his collaborations with co-writer Frank Darabont, he was one of the most important voices in horror at the end of the 1980s.

Russell was not to-the-manor-born. He entered the world on May 9, 1952, in Park Ridge, Illinois, and got his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois. He had no real showbiz connections. He slugged it out as a producer on early 1980s exploitation films like "The Hearse," Hell Night," and "The Seduction" (starring beloved actress Morgan Fairchild) before hooking up with B-movie maestro Joseph Ruben as an assistant director. When Ruben came across an inventive sci-fi/horror screenplay by David Loughrey called "Dreamscape," the two reworked the script (with Loughrey) and wound up with a uniquely terrifying/exhilarating genre flick. The finished film was a modest, late-summer 1984 hit starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, and Christopher Plummer. It's aged remarkably well.

Three years later, he made his feature filmmaking debut and altered the direction of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise.

Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont were an amazing writing tandem. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" was a transformative slasher flick because it suggested the inevitable victims could fight back against the killer on his turf. A year later, "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" tried to play that subversive game, but fell disastrously flat.

I recently wrote about Orson Welles' skill regarding long-playing full shots, and while Russell had to make days, his compositional sense was splendid. His remake of "The Blob" is a shot-for-shot wonder. My guess is that he couldn't take that kind of care on a big-budget spectacle like "Eraser" or "The Scorpion King." The machine will grind you down. It will diminish your work, or force you into places where you can't complete your vision.

I just don't know how you look at the extraordinary practical effects of "The Blob," take that screenplay at face value, and not see a full-blown classic. Russell had the gift. He deserved better. So, so much better.