Not for the Craven

Horrormeister Wes Craven--of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” infamy--will provide some pre-Halloween shivers this Friday when he unspools some “never before seen footage” from some of his creepiest films.

The unveiling, and a discussion with the filmmaker about his work, will take place at 9 p.m. at Vidiots in Santa Monica (free to the public). Suggested attire: “Your ghoulish best.”

Included in the clips will be the censored footage from his last film, “Shocker,” about an executed convict who returns from death to wreak bloody vengeance. The MPAA rated “Shocker” X five times, Craven says, forcing him to trim such “pivotal” moments as the con spitting out the chomped fingers of a prison guard.

“They requested changes in 13 separate sections of the film,” recalls the filmmaker, “and it made a horrendous difference. We’re not talking about buckets of blood. The scenes that were cut gave the film a certain intensity.”

Craven’s recommendations for Halloween video viewing: “ ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ of course!”

Plus “the old classics--like ‘Psycho’ and ‘Repulsion.’ ” For more modern titles, he suggests “The Evil Dead” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”