July 14, 2026
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens The Horror Show, a horror-cinema exhibition, on September 26, 2026 in its fourth-floor Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, running through July 25, 2027. Six themed “chambers” trace gothic, psychological, science, slasher, religion, and ghost horror through original props, costumes, and production materials, and the only exit is The Blood Room, a final immersive space with gallery walls layered in cinematic gore. A companion programming slate runs alongside: a John Carpenter retrospective, an all-ages Monster Mash on October 24, a 21-plus Museum After Dark party on Halloween night, and a 50th-anniversary Carrie screening with Sissy Spacek on November 19.
The Horror Show is the museum’s sixth large-scale exhibition in the Katzenberg Gallery, following Hayao Miyazaki, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971, John Waters: Pope of Trash, Color in Motion, and the current Jaws: The Exhibition, which closes July 26, 2026.
“The Horror Show is an exploration of horror’s emotional, cultural, and symbolic power and examines why horror matters so deeply to many different types of communities,” said Senior Exhibitions Curator Jessica Niebel, adding that the museum aims to celebrate horror cinema’s creativity with devoted fans and curious newcomers alike.
Six Chambers of Horror
Each chamber gets its own physical set treatment:
- Gothic: A shadowed crypt housing the Academy Collection’s recently restored cape worn by Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931), with objects from Blade (1998), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Hunger (1983), and Sinners (2025).
- Psychological: A stark clinical space with concept art for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), original Psycho (1960) storyboards, and props and costumes from The Babadook (2014), Get Out (2017), Misery (1990), The Shining (1980), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
- Science: A laboratory setting with a special focus on Frankenstein and its film adaptations, plus Alien (1979), The Fly (1986), The Substance (2024), The Thing (1982), and an original mask from Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).
- Slasher: The killer’s home, with fully costumed figures of Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Ghostface, and Art the Clown, a cabinet of masks and weapons, and objects from The Black Phone (2021), Halloween (1978), It (2017), M3GAN (2022), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Peeping Tom (1960), Saw (2004), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
- Religion: A witches’ circle presenting the witch as a symbol of collective female strength, with costumes from Hellraiser (2022), Midsommar (2019), Sinners (2025), Suspiria (2018), and Weapons (2025), plus objects from Eve’s Bayou (1997), The Exorcist (1973), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Tales from the Hood (1995), and historical documents from the Salem witch trials.
- Ghosts: A haunted living room where visitors can surf the original marketing website for The Blair Witch Project (1999), with objects from The Conjuring (2013), The Monkey (2025), Poltergeist (1982), The Ring (2002), and Talk to Me (2022), alongside historic Japanese woodblock prints and 1960s and ’70s theatrical release posters that speak to ghost stories’ resonance in Japanese culture.
The museum notes the exhibition may not be suitable for all ages and contains elements that may trigger seizures for visitors with photosensitive epilepsy.
Dafoe and Perkins on the Advisory Team
The advisory team includes four-time Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe, filmmaker Osgood Perkins, documentary filmmaker Ariel Baska, Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup artist Howard Berger, author and filmmaker Tananarive Due, and film scholar Angela Marie Smith.
“Cinema in general engages your sense of wonder, but horror can explode it,” Dafoe said in the announcement. “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,” Perkins said. “There is something for every horror fan to appreciate and enjoy in this exhibition, a hallway of limitless doors to be opened and explored.”
Zombies! Runs as the Family-Friendly Companion
A smaller, family-friendly exhibition, Zombies!, runs in the adjacent Warner Bros. Gallery over the same window, September 26, 2026 through July 25, 2027. Set in an interactive educational space, Zombies! shows how filmmakers and artists create the images of the undead audiences recognize on screen and where zombie stories originate. Curatorial Assistant Alexandra James Salichs curates.
Screenings, Monster Mash, and a Hammer Retrospective
- John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness (September 26 through October 25): the retrospective opens with Halloween (1978) on September 26, with Carpenter attending opening weekend, followed by They Live (1988) on September 27 and Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) on September 28. Tickets go on sale to members August 17 and to the public August 18.
- Monster Mash 2026 (October 24): an all-ages, vampire-themed day with special-effects makeup demonstrations, monster appearances, and screenings including Blade (1998), Hotel Transylvania (2012), and the US premiere of the 4K restoration of Horror of Dracula (1958). Free with general admission, with separate tickets for screenings.
- Museum After Dark (October 31): a goth-themed, adults-only after-hours Halloween party with cocktails, tarot readings, a special guest, and a screening of The Craft (1996). 21 and over.
- Carrie with Sissy Spacek (November 19): a 50th-anniversary screening of Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) and a conversation with the Oscar-winning actress. Members on sale August 17, public August 18.
- A celebration of Hammer Films (January 2027): a 10-film retrospective of rare and newly restored Hammer titles. The museum says the exhibition was made possible in part by leadership support from Hammer Films and John Gore Studios, and Hammer, under John Gore Studios ownership, is undertaking a program of 4K restorations of its classics.
The exhibition arrives as horror properties cross venue types. Sinners (2025), which appears in two chambers here, is also getting a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and Hollywood. And with Monster Mash and a Halloween-night party on the calendar, the Academy Museum joins the cultural institutions programming directly against the Halloween season. On the franchise-exhibition side, The Franklin Institute opens Star Wars: The Experience in February 2027.
Dates, Tickets, and Merchandise
The Horror Show and Zombies! both run September 26, 2026 through July 25, 2027 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, which is open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A publication from the Academy Museum and DelMonico, illustrated with concept art, film stills, and behind-the-scenes production photos, arrives in September, and exclusive exhibition merchandise, including apparel, toys, collectibles, and books, will be sold through the Academy Museum Store. Exhibition details and tickets are at academymuseum.org.
