The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will debut an extensive new exhibition called The Horror Show, devoted to the art and craft of horror movies. Film retrospectives tied to the exhibit include a 50th anniversary screening of “Carrie” with Sissy Spacek and the John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness series.
The 10-month long exhibit debuts Sept. 26 in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery on the Los Angeles museum’s fourth floor.
The exhibition, which runs through July 25, 2027, will feature six themed chambers revolving around themes such as Gothic, Slasher, Ghosts and Religion. Rare original props, costumes, production materials and interactive displays will explore “why people love to be scared at the movies and how filmmakers satisfy that desire,” according to the museum.
Willem Dafoe and Osgood Perkins serve on the advisory team for the exhibit. Dafoe said in a statement, “Cinema in general engages your sense of wonder, but horror can explode it. It is a popular form, born of modest financial resources and with a strong, lasting independent streak. And it has all the same possibilities for originality, inventiveness, and freedom that it did in its infancy.”
“Horror is crucial to culture and cinema, and to our evolving understanding of what it means to be alive on earth,” said Perkins. “I couldn’t think of a bigger or better celebration of the films and stories that have impacted audiences so profoundly and for so long. There is something for every horror fan to appreciate and enjoy in this exhibition, a hallway of limitless doors to be opened and explored.”
