Chuck Russell, who employed groundbreaking visual effects while directing such box office hits as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Mask, has died. He was 74.
Russell died Wednesday, TMZ reported, noting that the fire department had responded to his San Diego-area home to tend to a medical emergency.
Russell also helmed Eraser (1996), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Bless This Child (2000), starring Kim Basinger; and The Scorpion King (2002), featuring Dwayne Johnson in his first prominent role.
After writing the screenplay for the Dennis Quaid-starring horror thriller Dreamscape (1984), Russell made his directorial debut with New Line Cinema’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), which reinvigorated the Freddy Krueger franchise by raking in more at the box office ($44.8 million) than the first two films put together.
He directed and wrote with frequent collaborator Frank Darabont the 1988 remake of the horror film The Blob, then followed with The Mask (1994), starring Jim Carrey as a prankster who discovers an ancient mask and fights crime.
