The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) announced the opening of a new exhibition, Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film. Organized by MoPOP, this original exhibit takes an in-depth look at more than a century of horror cinema. From blood-thirsty vampires and unrelenting zombies to fiendish slashers, this immersive experience presents the broad range of iconic horror villains and the stories over the generations that have brought them to life.
Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film opens at MoPOP on September 30, 2017.
The exhibit features a macabre display of more than 50 props and costumes from film and television including The Walking Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade, Bride of Frankenstein, The Thing, Dawn of the Dead, Hostel, Jeepers Creepers, Pet Sematary, and more. Taking inspiration from the genre, the 3,000 square foot gallery space is designed to evoke the unsettling sensations associated with cinematic terror. Themed sections include an unholy vampire chapel with walls dripping blood, a zombie containment area with an aquarium wall of submerged zombie heads from The Walking Dead, and a slasher’s den with a thicket of corpses suspended from the ceiling. The exhibit will also feature multi-media experiences including exhibit films, oral history interviews, and interactive photo ops.
“Following the success of MoPOP’s first horror exhibition, Can’t Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film, we dramatically expanded and elevated the experience with new artifacts; and designed a bolder, morbidly elaborate exhibit environment,” says Jacob McMurray, Senior Curator, MoPOP. “We are also thrilled to add acclaimed directors Karyn Kusama and Roxanne Benjamin to join our guest curators, Roger Corman, John Landis, and Eli Roth.”
ARTIFACT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sweater worn by Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984
- Severed heads from The Walking Dead, 2012
- Church the Cat prop from Pet Sematary, 1989
- Creeper costume worn by Jonathan Breck in Jeepers Creepers, 2001
- Machete prop from Dawn of the Dead, 1978
- Costume worn by Wesley Snipes in Blade, 1998
- Lament Configuration Box from Hellraiser: Inferno, 2000
- Pamela Voorhees severed head prop, from Friday the 13th, 1980
- Stunt stake gun used in Fright Night, 2011
- Hacksaw used by Carey Elwes as Dr. Lawrence Gordon in Saw, 2004
- Hero functioning repeater crossbow used by Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing,2004
- Hi-8 camcorder used onscreen in The Blair Witch Project, 1999
- “Gill Man” mask from Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954
- Mr. Pointy stake used by Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1998
- Pages from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (Book of the Dead) from Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, 1987
- Special effects switchboard used in Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and other films 1930-1965
- Axe used by Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining, 1980
- Chainsaw used by the German Surgeon in Hostel, 2005
- Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film is included with museum admission. Due to some graphic content, this exhibit is recommended for ages 13 and up.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF POP CULTURE (MoPOP)
MoPOP is a leading-edge, nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel popular culture. With its roots in rock ‘n’ roll, MoPOP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower its visitors. At MoPOP, artists, audiences, and ideas converge, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of our time. MoPOP is housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry-designed building. This spectacular, prominently visible structure has the presence of a monumental sculpture set amid the backdrop of the Seattle Center.
