By the late ‘80s, slasher films had gripped the world and Mexico was no exception. Hot off the heels of his debut feature CEMETERY OF TERROR, director Rubén Galindo Jr. moved his attention towards the American market with an offering inspired by the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise. Taking fundamental elements from NIGHTMARE and jumbling them up into a candy-colored hodgepodge, what resulted was the deeply odd film known as DON’T PANIC.
After a birthday-party Ouija session, teenager Michael (who acts 13 and looks 25) finds himself haunted by dreams of his friends dying in terrible ways. Soon his eyes turn red, he sweats through his dinosaur pajamas, and a pizza-faced corpse who definitely isn't Freddy Krueger starts spilling blood. Can Michael put this dream invader to bed before everyone he knows winds up dead? And why does he have so many pictures of sports cars in his bedroom?
Totally absurd and remarkably fun, DON’T PANIC is a lingering remnant of a world captivated by the classic slasher iconography. Screens May 5th with local short films as part of Violet Crown and Hyperreal Film Club’s monthly CROWN & CLUB genre series.