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The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is showing The Horror Show, an exhibition on horror cinema’s history and creative power. Organized around objects including Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape, it brings together costumes, props, artwork, posters and scripts from films across the genre. The exhibition asks why horror keeps audiences engaged with fears about life, death and the unknown.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is presenting The Horror Show, an exhibition tracing horror cinema through objects from films including Dracula, The Shining and Get Out. The show examines how horror gives audiences ways to confront fears about life, death and the unknown, while inviting a reconsideration of a genre that has often been treated as less serious than other filmmaking.
The exhibition began with a single object: the cape worn by Bela Lugosi in Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931). The Academy Museum acquired the cape from the Lugosi family in 2019. Jessica Niebel, the museum’s senior curator, told Hyperallergic that the garment had remained a family heirloom for several generations and that the museum wanted to display it in a special way.
From that starting point, curators assembled costumes, props, concept art, posters and scripts. The works represented include horror classics such as The Shining and Psycho, contemporary films including Midsommar and Get Out, and less widely recognized titles such as Tales From the Hood and The Stuff. The museum’s own collection supplied much of the material, supplemented by objects and archival materials from dozens of lenders.
The show places visual design alongside storytelling, treating both as part of horror’s appeal. Rather than focusing only on famous monsters or frightening scenes, its broad selection presents the genre as a form through which filmmakers explore fears about the world people inhabit and what may lie beyond what they can know.
Horror’s Place in Film History
The exhibition matters because it makes an argument about horror’s cultural and artistic standing through the objects used to create and market its films. Horror has often been dismissed by some critics as vulgar entertainment lacking the gravitas associated with “serious” filmmaking. By setting celebrated titles beside overlooked ones and showing their costumes, scripts and design materials, the museum invites visitors to consider the craft and ideas behind the scares.
That approach also points to why the genre can retain an audience across different periods. Horror turns difficult, often abstract subjects—mortality, danger and uncertainty—into images and stories people can encounter together. The exhibition offers that interpretation; it does not establish a single explanation for why individual viewers seek out scary films.
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From Lugosi’s Cape to the Exhibition
The museum’s collection of the Dracula cape in 2019 provided the exhibition’s starting point. Its association with Lugosi’s performance in the 1931 film connects a physical artifact to a screen image that became closely identified with the character. The curatorial decision to build outward from that piece led to a wider survey of the genre rather than a display limited to one film or era.
The resulting selection combines well-known films and less familiar titles, drawing on the museum’s holdings and outside loans. The source report describes The Horror Show as a broad look at horror’s history, with the exhibition on view at the Academy Museum through July; it does not specify the year in that timing reference.
““It’s been a family heirloom for several generations.””
— Jessica Niebel, senior curator at the Academy Museum, speaking to Hyperallergic
What the Exhibition Cannot Settle
The source report does not provide visitor figures, audience research or evidence measuring the exhibition’s effect on how horror is viewed. Its account presents the show as an invitation to reconsider the genre, not proof that critical opinion has changed. Nor is there one confirmed explanation for why horror appeals to different viewers; the exhibition explores themes and filmmaking rather than establishing a universal response.
The report says the show is on view through July but does not identify the year, list every object on display or provide full details about the borrowed materials. Those points remain unclear from the available information.
The Exhibition’s Remaining Run
The exhibition is scheduled to remain at the Academy Museum through July, according to the source report. The museum’s presentation brings together works from its collection and loans from outside lenders; readers seeking current visiting details should check the museum’s own listing, since the report does not state the year attached to the July end date.
For visitors, the next step is to see how the objects connect across films and periods: the Dracula cape provides an entry point, while costumes, props, scripts and artwork show the range of choices involved in making horror. The report does not announce a further exhibition or a later milestone.
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, imagery and storytelling.
What object inspired the exhibition?
The exhibition began with the cape Bela Lugosi wore in Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931). The Academy Museum acquired it from the Lugosi family in 2019.
Which films are represented?
The source names Dracula, The Shining, Psycho, Midsommar, Get Out, Tales From the Hood and The Stuff. The display includes material from classic, contemporary and less widely recognized films.
Why does the exhibition say horror holds audiences’ attention?
The show explores how horror puts fears about life, death and the unknown into images and stories. That is the exhibition’s framing, not a single proven explanation for every viewer’s interest.
How long is the exhibition open?
The source report says it is on view through July, but does not specify the year. Check the Academy Museum’s current schedule for confirmed dates.
Source: hyperallergic.com
