Director Chuck Russell, known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and The Mask, has died aged 74. His death matters because his work helped shape popular horror and comedy films across the late 1980s and 1990s, including a major early big-screen role for Dwayne Johnson.

Russell reportedly died unexpectedly at his home near San Diego on 22 July, after emergency services were called over a medical incident; no cause of death was immediately disclosed. His directing debut was Dream Warriors in 1987, followed by The Blob, The Mask, Eraser, The Scorpion King and later films including Junglee, Paradise City and Witchboard; The Mask received an Oscar nomination in 1995.