Horror filmmaker Wes Craven dies, aged 76

American horror film director Wes Craven, creator of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, has died aged 76.

US media reported that Craven died at his Los Angeles home on Sunday from brain cancer.

Craven wrote and directed A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. His Scream franchise was reported to have grossed more than $100 million in the US.

He wrote, directed and edited his first film, The Last House on the Left, in 1972.

Craven was credited with reinventing the teen horror genre when the first film featuring Freddy Krueger was released in 1984 starring a then-unknown Johnny Depp.

He had more recently signed deals to develop television programmes, including the new Scream series for MTV. He had also been working on a graphic horror novel series.