Venice Film Festival to honor Wes Craven

The Venice Film Festival is adding a dose of horror to its high-toned lineup, in tribute to the late director Wes Craven.

The festival will hold a free midnight screening of bloody 1984 classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street" Saturday to honor Craven, who died Sunday aged 76.

It may seem far from the usual festival fare, but many directors and film fans have a high regard for Craven, who defined teen-slasher horror in the 1980s and then spoofed it a decade later in the "Scream" series.

Festival director Alberto Barbera said Wednesday that Craven was "an auteur who has managed to innovate a genre -- horror -- which is among the most loved, particularly among the young."

The 72nd Venice festival runs to Sept. 12.