The 15th AOAFF powered by DEI invites you to an '80s Horror Marathon at Plato’s Academy Park

What’s your favourite scary movie?

The 15th Athens Open Air Film Festival powered by DEI returns to Plato’s Academy with a film marathon full of chills, twists, and nostalgic ‘80s thrills! Bring your mats, towels, or folding chairs - we’ve got the movies. While the heat may scorch the day, ice-cold Fischer beer will refresh us through the night, and Elite will treat us to delicious sweet and savory snacks.

80s HORROR MARATHON
Saturday, July 12, Plato’s Academy Park

Screening Schedule:
21:45 – The Fog (1980, 89’) | Dir. John Carpenter
23:30 – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, 91’) | Dir. Wes Craven
01:15 – Sleepaway Camp (1983, 88’) | Dir. Robert Hiltzik

All films will be screened in digitally restored versions.

The Fog
When: Saturday 12 July | 21:45 
Where: Plato’s Academy Park | Free Admission

One hundred years after their untimely deaths, the victims of a shipwreck off the coast of a seaside town awaken to seek revenge on those who maliciously sent them to their deaths. This story is told by the hypnotic voice of an old sailor to a group of children gathered around a campfire. Meanwhile, the clock strikes midnight. A century has passed since that fateful night of the shipwreck. And a strange fog begins to creep ashore from the darkness of the sea...

Carpenter’s most underrated film remains a masterclass in atmosphere and mass suggestion which, despite occasional reliance on the panacea of gruesome effects, aims to captivate the audience through mood, clever handling of a classic “return from the grave” plot, and flawless directorial mastery. Loukas Katsikas

Directed by: John Carpenter | Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook | Duration: 90 minutes | Year of Production: 1980

A Nightmare on Elm Street
When: Saturday 12 July | 23:30 
Where: Plato’s Academy Park | Free Admission

Four decades ago, the future director of Scream secured his place among the most famous creators in horror cinema with this film — made on a shoestring budget yet achieving such widespread popularity that it spawned a beloved commercial franchise lasting over 25 years. Inspired by a traumatic childhood experience and mysterious deaths of several Hmong natives, who after being released from Vietnamese concentration camps died mysteriously in their sleep from unbearable nightmares, Craven created an unforgettable villain in Freddy Krueger. This maniacal killer, wearing a glove fitted with blades, appears in the dreams of young boys and girls to slash them as they sleep. Their only hope: to wake up in time before meeting a gruesome death.

The film’s core idea is simple, but in Craven’s skilled hands, it becomes supremely terrifying and highly effective. The director has an impeccable grasp of manipulating the audience, constantly subverting their expectations and surprising them with some of the most frightening scenes ever seen in cinema up to that point. Despite the original Nightmare spawning six sequels, a TV series, and a remake, none managed to replicate the rare combination of massive commercial success and respected artistic acclaim that the original achieved. Loukas Katsikas

Directed by: Wes Craven | Starring: Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund | Duration: 91 minutes | Year of Production: 1984

Sleepaway Camp
When: Saturday 12 July | 01:15 
Where: Plato’s Academy Park | Free Admission

If one of the most unexpected and shocking endings in cinema history belongs to a relatively unknown (and largely unexplored in our country) creation of the 1980s, then its screening as part of the 15th Athens Open Air Film Festival is quite an event.

But before you rush to discover the film, we must advise you not to read anything about it beforehand, to avoid the inevitable spoilers that flood the internet. Because if Sleepaway Camp has earned its cult reputation for life, it’s not due to the plot — which, up to a point, follows the well-trodden path of many other slashers that ruled theaters at the same time (with Friday the 13th being the most prominent example). Rather, it’s the film’s sudden and almost traumatic climax in its final minutes that, however outrageous and politically incorrect it might seem by today’s standards, guarantees to leave the entire audience utterly stunned. Loukas Katsikas

Directed by: Robert Hiltzik | Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Christopher Collet, Mike Kellin | Duration: 88 minutes | Year of Production: 1983

You'll find a map with the exact screening location below. We recommend bringing insect repellent, a mat or fabric for sitting on the ground. There will be no chairs or other seating provided. Please help us protect the grass - thank you!