For Southern Californians looking to embrace the Halloween season, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is opening “The Horror Show” exhibition this Saturday. Featuring 396 objects and video scenes from 167 film titles, the display offers a comprehensive look at horror movies and their lasting impact.
Senior curator Jessica Niebel described the exhibition as an illuminating, immersive, and genuinely creepy experience that examines why horror holds such significance for so many people. Actor Robert Englund, known for his role as Freddy Krueger, kicked off the press preview on Thursday, noting his approval that the horror genre is finally receiving recognition in the cinema world, a prominence once held by Westerns or mafia films. Englund’s original costume from *A Nightmare on Elm Street* is among the many items on display that delighted early visitors.
The exhibition guides visitors through a dark gallery designed to mimic a scary screenplay, complete with projected stage directions and a soundscape of music, voices, and effects. A long hallway uses forced perspective to evoke dread before leading into six distinct categories of horror: Gothic, Psychological, Science, Religion, Ghosts, and Slashers.
The Gothic gallery, the first stop, delves into cinematic interpretations of vampires. Highlights include Bela Lugosi’s recently restored cape from 1931’s *Dracula*, Gary Oldman’s armor from *Bram Stoker’s Dracula*, and costumes worn by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in *Interview With the Vampire*. For those who enjoy a photo opportunity, a standing coffin is available for “undead” poses. This section also honors the genre’s literary roots, featuring first editions of Mary Shelley’s *Frankenstein* and Bram Stoker’s *Dracula*, as well as a 1825 edition of Grimms’ Fairy Tales.
The Psychological gallery is brightly lit, reminiscent of a sanatorium, and connects films to the mental struggles they portray. Visitors can see a dummy of Mrs. Bates, storyboards from *Psycho*, Jack Torrance’s costume and ax from *The Shining*, the pop-up book from *The Babadook*, Kathy Bates’s costume and special effects bust from *Misery*, Hannibal Lecter’s costume from *The Silence of the Lambs*, and the chair from *Get Out*.
The Ghosts gallery offers a particularly creepy experience with items from *Poltergeist*, a corpse dummy from *The Ring*, the eponymous phone from *The Black Phone*, and the Annabelle doll in a glass case. This section is also interactive, offering a couch to watch movie clips and an old PC to browse the original *Blair Witch Project* website.
By far the most popular room, the Slashers gallery features figures of Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Ghostface, and Art the Clown, alongside Billy the Puppet from *Saw*, Chucky and his bride, and Pennywise’s head in glass cases. A wall of masks and weapons, along with a montage of “final girl” clips, completes the homage.
Further exploration reveals the Religion gallery, which showcases costumes from films like *Midsommar*, *The Conjuring 2*, *Suspiria*, and *Hellraiser*, as well as items from *The Exorcist* and *Rosemary’s Baby*. Prop books like the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis from the *Evil Dead* series are also on view. The Science gallery draws attention with the Xenomorph from *Alien: Romulus* in a large glass case, alongside the special effects mask from *The Substance*, the original mask from *Creature From the Black Lagoon*, and a Frankenstein vignette lit by periodic lightning.
The exhibition concludes with a descent into the “Blood Room,” a realistic re-creation of a slasher’s crime scene with dried fake blood covering the walls and floor, providing a final, unsettling moment. Academy Museum President Amy Homma suggested that those who claim to dislike horror simply “haven’t found your horror yet,” pointing out the exhibition’s broad categories aim to show the genre isn't one-size-fits-all. The show offers an educational way to get into the Halloween spirit without the threat of scare actors unexpectedly jumping out.
