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The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is presenting The Horror Show, an exhibition about horror cinema’s history and its enduring appeal. The display brings together costumes, props, art, posters and scripts, anchored by Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape; its curators use the objects to explore how the genre gives form to fears of death, life and the unknown.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles is presenting The Horror Show, an exhibition tracing horror cinema through costumes, props, concept art, posters and scripts. Anchored by Bela Lugosi’s cape from Dracula (1931), the display asks why frightening stories continue to capture audiences and how they channel fears about life, death and the unknown.
The exhibition grew from a single object: the cape Lugosi wore in Todd Browning’s Dracula. The Academy Museum acquired it from the Lugosi family in 2019. Jessica Niebel, the museum’s senior curator, told Hyperallergic that the cape had remained a family heirloom for several generations and that curators wanted to give it a special place in the exhibition.
From that starting point, curators assembled material from the museum’s collection and borrowed archival objects from dozens of lenders. The exhibition brings together work associated with established horror films such as The Shining and Psycho, more recent titles including Midsommar and Get Out, and less widely known films such as Tales From the Hood and The Stuff. Its scope includes both visual design and storytelling, rather than focusing only on frightening scenes.
The show also places horror within a broader cultural and artistic history. One featured work is Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s circa-1844 print, In the Ruined Palace at Sōma, Masakado’s Daughter Takiyasha Uses Sorcery to Gather Allies. Together, the film materials and the print reflect the exhibition’s interest in how frightening images and supernatural stories make uncertainty and fear visible.
How Horror Makes Fear Visible
The exhibition offers visitors a way to consider horror as more than a collection of scares. By placing costumes, props, scripts and artwork alongside one another, it connects the genre’s craft and visual language with the anxieties its stories address. The museum’s framing points to fears about mortality, the world people inhabit and what lies beyond their knowledge.
That approach also addresses horror’s uneven standing in film criticism. The source report notes that some critics have treated the genre as vulgar entertainment lacking the seriousness of other filmmaking. The objects on display provide a different basis for evaluating horror: they show the artistic and narrative choices through which filmmakers create tension and express cultural fears. The exhibition invites a reconsideration of the genre’s place in cinema, without requiring visitors to regard every horror film as having the same purpose or value.
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From Lugosi’s Cape to the Exhibition
The Academy Museum’s acquisition of Lugosi’s cape from his family in 2019 supplied the exhibition with its starting point. Niebel’s account to Hyperallergic describes the cape as an heirloom passed through several generations, giving the object both a connection to a landmark film and a family history beyond the screen.
The curators then expanded the exhibition beyond a single star or period. Its selection ranges across classic, contemporary and less celebrated films, using material held by the museum and loans from other collections. This range supports the show’s broader question: how horror changes across films and eras while continuing to draw on fear of death and the unknown.
““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 describes the exhibition’s objects and themes but does not provide attendance figures, visitor responses or evidence measuring the show’s effect on horror’s reputation. Its account of horror’s lasting appeal is presented as the exhibition’s central question and interpretation, not as a quantified finding about audiences.
The report says the exhibition is on view through July but does not identify the year or provide specific opening and closing dates. It also does not list every object, lender or film represented, so the full scope of the display cannot be established from the available information.
The Exhibition’s Run Through July
The Horror Show is scheduled to remain on view at the Academy Museum through July, according to the source report. Visitors can see the cape and the broader selection of film and archival materials during the exhibition’s run. The report does not describe a forthcoming program, publication or later venue, so any plans beyond the stated run remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
What is The Horror Show?
The Horror Show is an exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles examining horror cinema through costumes, props, concept art, posters, scripts and archival material.
What is the exhibition’s central object?
It is the cape worn by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film Dracula. The Academy Museum acquired the cape from the Lugosi family in 2019, and senior curator Jessica Niebel said it had been a family heirloom for generations.
Which films are represented?
The source report names The Shining, Psycho, Midsommar, Get Out, Tales From the Hood and The Stuff among the films connected to exhibition materials.
Why does the exhibition say horror holds audiences’ attention?
Its framing links horror’s appeal to stories and images that give shape to fears about life, death, the surrounding world and the unknown. The report presents this as the exhibition’s guiding interpretation, not a measured conclusion about all viewers.
How long is the exhibition on view?
The source report says it is on view through July, but does not specify the year or exact closing date.
Source: hyperallergic.com
