How are you spending Halloween? While there are many ways to celebrate the spooky season, a movie night is one of the best, and this year Syfy is giving fans an excellent horror movie marathon. All you need to do is bring the popcorn and avoid falling asleep. Because, if you do, Freddy is coming for you!
This Saturday, October 30th, Syfy will be running a Nightmare On Elm Street marathon, playing every film in the classic franchise. All of which star the legendary character of Freddy Krueger, the glove-bladed murderer who lurks in your dreams and gets you when you least expect it. The character has gone from a horror icon to a pop-culture legend thanks to being one of the biggest names from the 1980s slasher boom, making this an awesome marathon for long-time horror fans and those who want to dip their toes into the genre.
The marathon will start at 8 am EST with a showing of A Nightmare On Elm Street, the highly controversial 2010 remake and reboot of the franchise that saw Samuel Bayer step in as director and Jackie Earle Haley take over the role of the iconic slasher. However, after that, the channel will be taking viewers back to the 1980s for the classic films that see the iconic Robert Englund play the slasher. However, they are showing them in reverse order.
While this may seem an odd choice on the surface, it actually makes a lot of sense. As the 1980s progressed, Freddy Krueger went from slasher villain to pop culture-icon, and realizing the character would be less effective, the franchise’s direction changed, making the films more silly and over-the-top as time went on. This means the later films are easier to get into for new viewers as they’re a lot campier than the early ones, featuring weird kills and funny one-liners. So if you’re an Elm Street newbie, the late films are actually a great place to start.
So, after the final film in the original franchise, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare concludes at noon EST, fans can then enjoy A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors the classic dream trio of films that put a fun action-adventure twist on the slasher format.
Then, at 6 pm EST, just as the sun goes down, fans can enjoy the original two films, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy’s Revenge and the original A Nightmare on Elm Street. Both of which are still very effective and scary horror movies, even after all of these years.
Once this rounds off at 10 pm EST, the loop restarts, continuing until 4 am, after which Syfy goes into a much less scary Harry Potter marathon.
So, if you’re looking for some scares this year, Syfy is the place to be. As not only is the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise a fun set of horror films, they also present a fascinating look at how the horror industry changed during the 1980s.
The full schedule of Syfy’s marathon is:
- 8 am EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
- 10 am EST – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
- Noon EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child
- 2 pm EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master
- 4 pm EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors
- 6 pm EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy’s Revenge
- 8 pm EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 10 pm EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
- 12 am EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 2 am EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy’s Revenge
- 4 am EST – A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors
Will you be tuning in to get a taste of the Haloween horror action?