‘Scream’ your way through a Wes Craven Halloween movie marathon

Actor-comedian Jamie Kennedy, an Upper Darby native, knows something about horror films in Philly.

“It was always scary to see scary movies as a child at the 69th Street Theater,” says Kennedy, who’s currently starring in “Tremors 5: Bloodlines” and the upcoming “Heartbreaker” on NBC. “Not because of the movies, but because of the crowd that would be in there.

“It was two bucks and you never had a stickier floor.”

Kennedy, a star of Wes Craven’s iconic “Scream” series, should fit right in at the “A Very Scary Sleepover: Wes Craven’s Halloween Nightmare,” which begins on Halloween at 11 a.m. at the Prince Theater on Chestnut Street.

Eleven Craven films will be shown until the wee hours of the morning, most on rare 35 mm film prints.

The day — and night — celebrates the life and legacy of horror auteur Craven, who brought the slasher genre into new realms, both figuratively and literally, thanks to the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Scream” franchises. Craven died in August at the age of 76.

Kennedy will participate in a Q&A following the showing of “Scream,” which is the fourth film of the fest.

“Wes Craven was able to be the best because he had so many iconic characters in his films,” says Josh Goldbloom, founder of The Awesome Fest, which is co-presenting the “Sleepover” along with the Philadelphia Film Festival.

“Sleepover” attendees, meet Ghostface and Freddy Krueger again, if you dare.

“[Freddy is] the most iconic horror movie villain in the history of cinema,” Goldbloom says. “Freddy Krueger is the scariest — to think if I fall asleep I could die? That’s a concept that’s terrifying.”

Don’t worry about falling asleep at the theater: There will be free coffee, Goldbloom says.

“If you want to bring a pillow and pajamas, we’re all for it,” he says. “We wanted to re-create what we experienced growing up as kids, staying up all night long and going to the video store down the street where we’d get five movies for $5 every single weekend and we’d watch them from dusk ’til dawn.”

A place in pop culture

“We thought we were doing something that was very unique,” says Kennedy, of 1996’s “Scream.” “We thought we had a cool movie, and we thought if it came out and made enough money to cover our budget, then we would really do well on video and DVD.”

“Scream” helped launched the careers of Kennedy, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Liev Schreiber.

“Did we know we were going to become a touching point in pop culture? No,” Kennedy says. “Did we know that it would become a classic movie that would withstand the test of time? No, it’s beyond amazing. It’s so fortunate to have been a part of it.”

If you go

Jamie Kennedy will be part of a Q&A after “Scream” screens at “A Very Scary Sleepover: Wes Craven’s Halloween Nightmare,” which starts Saturday, Oct. 31,at 11 a.m. and goes until Sunday at 6 a.m. at the Prince Theater (1412 Chestnut St.). Tickets are $25 at TheAwesomeFest.comor here. Ticket holders can leave and come back at any time.