LOS ANGELES — It’s hard enough to redefine a genre once in a career, but horror virtuoso Wes Craven managed to do it twice.

The prolific writer-director, who died Sunday at age 76, ushered in two distinct eras of suburban slashers, first in the 1980s with his iconic “Nightmare on Elm Street” and its indelible, razor-fingered villain Freddy Krueger. He did it again in the 1990s with the self-referential “Scream.”

Both reintroduced the fringe genre to mainstream audiences and spawned successful franchises.

Perhaps it was his perfectly askew interpretation of the medium that resonated with his nail-biting audiences.

“Horror films don’t create fear,” Craven said. “They release it.”