PicoBlog

Horror films aren’t as scary as they used to be. Genuine fear. It’s not their fault; how many actual things can a human be scared of? More importantly, does it hold up over decades? While a jump scare or scary experience can be found at the movies these days, it’s hard to find one as discomforting and long-lasting as A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Think about it. Wes Craven’s legendary antagonist, Freddy Krueger, attacked teenagers in their dreams. He haunted you when you were awake, and got you when your mind finally decided to rest. A true bastard whose face made you hate pizza… and sleep. If you’re not a Johnny Depp fan and wish to see him killed by showering a bedroom wall with his own blood, you’re in luck.

Tomorrow night, a few days before Halloween, Galleria 6 Cinemas will screen this 1984 Nightmare on the big screen, the latest in the 2023 edition of Great Films St. Louis. Instead of watching Martin Scorsese’s Osage movie that’s actually about all the white guys and their bad deeds for three and a half hours, take a freaky stroll with pizza face and knife hands for 91 minutes.

You have to hand it to Craven. He knew how to scare the shit lot of someone in a short period of time. 90 minutes, or an act and a half of a Marvel movie. In the time it took Jon Favreau to get laid in Swingers, Freddy killed over 10 teenagers and sucked one of their moms through a door window before the credits.

That’s efficient horror movie killing.

True story: Robert Englund was so good as Krueger, he actually made me believe Freddy was standing in my door way as a child. My poor dad had to routinely convince me that there wasn’t a mysterious man in a red sweater with a burnt face and knives for fingers standing in my doorway. After 40-50 hours at Barnes Jewish Hospital at Kingshighway, he had a delusional son at home waiting for him. Krueger may be about 150 pounds soaking wet, but he terrified easily.

On Nov. 16 of next year, this delusion-causing freak face will turn 40 years old. Here’s the thing: It hasn’t lost much fright since I was a young kid. There’s still a strong possibility that myself and many others will find themselves with extra sweat and a need to stay awake after watching this film tomorrow night at the Gally. The Richmond Heights mall isn’t what it used to be, but that is a lovely independent theater ran by Landon Burris. After all, Great Films St. Louis got the classic film ball rolling all the way back in January with The Sting. Burris, local film historian Mark Zimmermann, and myself put together the presentation.

Finding a classic film today is harder than ever. A scary time due to the strike and underwhelming year in film. But it’s not as scary as this movie. Heck, A Nightmare on Elm Street is scarier than most non-horror films these days, at least when it comes to quality. Take one last chance to spend 90 minutes in a theater with Freddy.

Back in the day, they made original and tightly edited movies… a lot. This is one of them. Don’t miss it.

In November, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey screens at the Galleria, followed by Meet Me in St. Louis in December. 2024 isn’t slowing down either, as there are plenty of classic films to be screened that didn’t have to be released before 1960. Stay tuned, and come get scared shitless tomorrow night.

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