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The unofficial year of horror gets a big bump when Halloween comes early this year at the Academy Museum.
On September 26, the museum will debut “The Horror Show,” an ambitious exhibition exploring more than a century of horror filmmaking through original props, costumes, concept art, immersive environments and the creative techniques that have kept audiences screaming for generations. The exhibition will remain on view through July 25, 2027.
Rather than presenting horror chronologically, the exhibition is organized into six thematic “chambers”: gothic, psychological, science, slasher, religion and ghosts. Each examines a different strain of the genre through landmark films ranging from Dracula and Psycho to Alien, Halloween, Get Out, The Exorcist, The Ring and The Substance.
The Academy Museum enlisted an advisory board that includes actor Willem Dafoe and Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, both of whom emphasized horror’s unique place in cinema. “Cinema in general engages your sense of wonder, but horror can explode it,” Dafoe said in a statement announcing the exhibition. Perkins added that horror is “crucial to culture and cinema” and called the exhibition “a hallway of limitless doors to be opened and explored.”
The museum also isn’t shying away from the gore. According to the exhibition description, visitors exit through the aptly named “Blood Room,” an immersive installation exploring the many textures and shades of cinematic blood. No surprise (and good news for hardcore horror fans), but the museum is advising that some material may be disturbing and recommends parental guidance for younger visitors.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive public program that should delight horror devotees. Highlights include a 50th anniversary screening of Carrie with Sissy Spacek in attendance, a John Carpenter retrospective, a celebration of Hammer Films, Museum After Dark events and the Academy’s annual Halloween Monster Mash family program.
Given the massive success of Backrooms and Obsession and the Academy Museum’s track record with immersive exhibitions—from Hayao Miyazaki to the soon-to-wrap celebration of Jaws—“The Horror Show” looks poised to become one of L.A.’s essential fall attractions. Whether you’re fascinated by practical creature effects, psychological terror or just want to see what a room dedicated entirely to movie blood looks like, this exhibition sounds like it was made for horror fans who treat every season as spooky season.