TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is presenting The Horror Show, an exhibition exploring horror cinema’s history and its lasting appeal. Organized around objects including Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape, it brings together costumes, props, art and archival materials from films across the genre.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is presenting The Horror Show, an exhibition examining horror cinema’s history and why scary films continue to capture audiences’ imaginations. Its collection of costumes, props, concept art, posters and scripts ranges from classic films to contemporary works, placing horror’s visual and narrative craft at the center of the display.
The exhibition grew from a single object: the cape worn by Bela Lugosi in Tod Browning’s 1931 film Dracula. The Academy Museum acquired the cape from the Lugosi family in 2019. Senior curator Jessica Niebel told Hyperallergic that it had been kept as a family heirloom for several generations and that museum staff wanted to feature it in a special way.
From that starting point, curators assembled objects connected to a wide range of productions, including The Shining, Psycho, Midsommar, Get Out, Tales From the Hood and The Stuff. The museum drew on its own collection and borrowed objects and archival materials from dozens of lenders, according to the report.
The exhibition connects horror’s imagery and storytelling with themes of life, death and the unknown. It also challenges the historical treatment of horror as a lesser form of cinema, a view that has sometimes cast the genre as sensational entertainment rather than serious filmmaking. The display’s range of materials offers a way to examine the creative work behind those films.
Horror’s Place in Film History
The exhibition gives visitors a chance to encounter horror as both popular entertainment and a form of filmmaking with distinctive visual and narrative artistry. By placing a famous screen costume alongside materials from films across different eras, The Horror Show makes the genre’s history tangible rather than treating its impact as merely a matter of scares.
That approach matters to audiences because horror often gives form to fears that are difficult to address directly. The source report describes the genre as channeling anxieties about life, death, the world around us and the unknown. The exhibition invites visitors to consider how filmmakers have used those concerns, while its varied selection broadens the picture beyond a handful of familiar classics.
Popular right now
KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (K45SS), Onyx Black
Ninja Flip Toaster Oven & Air Fryer, 8-in-1, Stainless Steel, SP151
Samsung 42-Inch Class OLED S90F 4K Smart TV (2025)
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Lugosi’s Cape to the Exhibition
Horror has often been treated as secondary to films regarded as more prestigious, despite its enduring popularity with audiences. The museum’s exhibition responds to that divide by presenting a broad history of the genre and drawing attention to its craft, influence and range.
The cape’s acquisition from the Lugosi family in 2019 provided the project with a defining object. Curators then expanded the exhibition to include materials from older and newer productions, combining museum holdings with loans from outside collections. The report says it was on view through July, but does not identify the year of that schedule.
““It’s been a family heirloom for several generations.””
— Jessica Niebel, senior curator at the Academy Museum, speaking to Hyperallergic
Exhibition Dates and Visitor Details
The available source says the exhibition is on view through July but does not give a year, opening date, ticket information or visitor figures. It also does not provide details about the exhibition’s full layout or say how the museum measures its effect on the wider critical standing of horror films.
The idea that horror channels shared fears is the exhibition’s interpretive premise, not a finding supported in the source by audience research. The report describes the curatorial approach and objects, but does not establish a single explanation for the genre’s hold on viewers.
The Exhibition’s Remaining Run
The immediate next step for visitors is to see The Horror Show at the Academy Museum while it remains on view. The source gives a closing month of July but no year, so the precise end date and current availability cannot be confirmed from the information provided.
Further details about programming, attendance or future presentation of the exhibition are not included in the report. The museum’s account of the display, however, makes clear that its central focus is the material history of horror filmmaking and the questions that history raises about the genre’s place in cinema.
Key Questions
What is The Horror Show?
The Horror Show is an exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles about horror cinema’s history, artistic work and continuing appeal.
What is the exhibition’s central object?
The exhibition began with the cape worn by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film Dracula. The Academy Museum acquired it from the Lugosi family in 2019.
Which films are represented?
The source names The Shining, Psycho, Midsommar, Get Out, Tales From the Hood and The Stuff, among other productions.
Why does the exhibition say horror holds audiences’ attention?
Its curatorial premise is that horror brings fears about life, death and the unknown onto the screen. The source presents this as an interpretation of the genre, not as a conclusion drawn from audience research.
When can visitors see the exhibition?
The source says it is on view through July, but does not specify the year or an exact closing date. Current visitor details are not provided.
Source: hyperallergic.com
