Hal Hefner is an award-winning artist best known for his “Consume” series that serves as acrid social commentary on everything from greed and corruption to narcissism and bigotry; as he says, “It is my artistic weapon.” Hefner had to improvise real-life weapons last May when he was relentlessly attacked on his suburban street by a drug-crazed stranger and the artist’s greatest ally was the memory of Wes Craven films to guide him. But we’ll let Hefner tell you that himself. — Editors

On May 31, 2022, Wes Craven saved my life. Obviously, since one of the greatest film directors of the 20th century passed away in 2015, he wasn’t physically there to aid me. But the deeply woven messages within his films were a driving force in my ability to be a survivor in my own real-life horror movie. Looking back on that fateful night, I truly should be dead right now,...