Highbrow cinephiles often snub horror movies as unworthy of their viewing time. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which awards the industry’s highest honor, the Oscars, is often accused of bias against horror movies.
I get it. Most horror movies equate to nothing more than just B-rated (or below) fluff consisting of senseless plots, campy dialogue, and cheap thrills. But the really good stuff is nuanced and complex. Those movies rarely rely on jump scares to unnerve us. The truths they tackle and shed light on do that instead.
That’s why some of them have risen to the top and have even received Academy Award nominations or awards. Examples include The Exorcist (won for Best Screenplay, nominated for Best Picture), Alien (won for Best Visual Effects), and The Sixth Sense (nominated for six, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Original Screenplay, but won none).
Still, no matter how brilliant the plot, script, or acting, some people just can’t handle scary and want nothing to do with it. Understandable. Horror isn’t for everyone. Heck, even horror movie lovers don’t love all the sub-genres equally. Maybe they don’t even like some of them at all.
I’ll use myself as an example. I’m partial to monster movies/creature features, horror comedies, slasher films, folk horror, period horror, and psychological horror. However, I pass on most erotic and supernatural horror movies.
Horror at the Academy Museum
Even though members of the Academy are accused of dismissing horror movies, the Academy Museum recognizes their impact on pop culture and their importance in film history. In fact, I remember the brilliant Shining-inspired teaser they ran during the Academy Awards in 2018. What better way to catch people’s attention about their then-forthcoming opening than with an ad about the Overlook?
Since then, I’ve watched with delight as they revealed iconic horror movie prop and costume acquisitions on display at the museum. We’re talking about Bruce the Shark in Jaws, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape, the typewriter used to create Psycho‘s screenplay and other famous horror movie artifacts.
That’s why the horror film/Halloween monster-themed programs they’re doing this year caught my eye.
On October 12, they’ll host “Don’t Go into the Vault: An Academy Film Archive Trailer Show.” The retro horror movie trailer show is comprised of 35mm trailers pulled from the Academy Film Archive, the largest collection of movie trailers in the world.
On October 26, they’ll host “Monster Mash,” a fun-filled day of screenings, special effects makeup demonstrations, ghostly tours, special monster appearances, and activities.
Wait. What’s this about ghostly tours at the Academy Museum?
You know that the “ghostly tours” part of the Monster Mash festivities caught my eye. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is the Academy Museum haunted?”
I mean, wow. Classic horror movies and monsters are good enough. But add some real-life haunting into the mix? Now you’re really speaking my language. So what were the ghostly tours all about?
Their communications specialist was kind enough to answer my inquiry. “The tours will be of the museum galleries,” she said.
Talk about a tantalizing little nugget, right? Just enough to whet the appetite without divulging any spoilers. It makes me want to hop on a flight out to L.A. and finally experience the Academy Museum for myself. What about you?
Boo-K It!
To learn more or to schedule a visit to the Academy Museum, visit their website at https://www.academymuseum.org/en.
Check-In
You know mine, now tell me yours! What’s your favorite horror movie subgenre(s)? What’s your least favorite(s)?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I think someone said that Silence of the Lambs technically was a horror film….just don’t tell the Academy!
LA Times had an article recently about creepy places you can visit in their area.
I’ve been wallowing in Halloween media: TCM, stuff on YouTube, and on Travel/Discovery channel (not that much there, though), and the channels on SamsungTV Plus. It’s that fun season. I’m also going to get our my favorite DVDs and run them as a film festival Halloween week: Vampyr, Nosferatu, The Haunting and so forth.
HA HA, Maria! I want to say I heard that once about the Silence of the Lambs comment. Maybe it was even in one of the Oscar acceptance speeches?
I love this time of year for all the lists that come out about the spooky places. AND for all the viewing lists. Sometimes they have titles I totally forgot about. Like your list. You’d think The Haunting would not be one I’d forget…and yet I always do!!
And I think this year more than any other I’ve seen more curated Halloween collections that ever before. Hulu was always good about it. And even TCM. And AMC really. BUT like you said with you SamsungTV Plus…I’ve noticed it on our Sony free channels. And Peacock did it this year too. So has Max (but I’m pretty sure they’ve done it in years past too. I know they did last year.) I forget where else I recently saw one too that I hadn’t seen before. I was pretty excited. And weirdly enough, I thought, “Oh Maria would get a kick out of this!” But then I forgot to tell you. Only remembered because of this comment…and now I still don’t remember what it was I wanted to tell you! lol
Samsung TV Plus has a whole Munsters (Monsters) channel right now. They’re running stuff like the classic Universal monster movies and the series. It’s wild what you can find right now.
It is SO wild!!! I don’t know if they’re Google stations or Pluto or what. We have a separate Pluto app, but the section on our Sony TV where we can get all the different channels also includes stuff from Pluto. One of the channels is 70s. One of the most disturbing movies I saw back then that fascinated me back then and continues to haunt me to this day was The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane. I haven’t seen that in years. I can’t remember ever seeing it on any streamers we have. But it was on the other day. We caught just the tail end. I made Wayne watch and he was like, “What kind of effed up movie is this?!” lol
Followed almost immediately by, “This explains a lot. Including you really have always been drawn to the dark stuff.” lol
OH! And speaking of those specialty channels like you’re talking about…we have an Addams Family one in the Halloween section of our Sony. Right under that is one called Camp Snoopy. (I think it’s playing not only Peanuts Halloween stuff but also other family-friendly Halloween cartoons.) Wayne informed me those two are more his speed. lol