The city of Seattle has always offered the public with good, wholesome fun for all to enjoy. Why not take a day to go down to Pike’s Place and watch the butchers toss around the fresh catch of the day, walk down by the harbor or even take a trip up in the Space Needle; but what about those daring individuals who constantly crave that feeling of excitement? A visit to the Experience Music Project/ Science Fiction Museum will be the cure for your craving.
The EMP/ SMF has welcomed a new exhibit into its halls; an exhibit that is solely devoted to the genre of horror films.
“Can’t Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film” is every horror fan’s fantasy. The exhibit includes vintage and classic artifacts from the most terrifying horror films ever made, as well as a deeper look into what exactly lures audiences to horror films and exclusive interviews with notable filmmakers such as, Eli Roth (“Hostel”, 2005.), John Landis (“An American Werewolf in London”, 1981.), and Roger Corman (“The Little Shop of Horrors” 1960.).
“Can’t Look Away” takes fans deeper into the history of horror film. Filmmakers explore the genres past 100 years in the film industry, analyzing what ingredients exactly were used for such iconic horror films. Films like “The Bride of Frankenstein”, “The Wicker Man”, “The Exorcist” and “The Shining”, among many others, are analyzed scene by scene as to what made them so terrifying and how they helped pave the road for the types of horror films we see today.
The frightening, iconic artifacts include a full creature suit from “Alien”, the hockey mask and knife wielded by Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears) in “Friday the 13th,” the razor-sharp glove worn by Freddy Krueger, and even the boots and hairpiece worn by Glenn Strange in the 1948 film “Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein.”
There are interactive exhibits for guests, including the “scream room”; a soundproof room where visitors scream on cue while watching a scene from a horror film. There is also a “Shadow Monsters” installation created by visual artist Philip Worthington, in which the visitors shadow is projected onto a screen and guests can watch it morph into an eerie form before their very eyes.
A large section of “Can’t Look Away” is individually devoted to the musical elements of horror films. This part of the exhibit takes fans into the musical realm of horror films, allowing visitors to watch and listen to certain scenes from both old and new films. This part of the exhibit tells how music sets the scene in any horror film, explaining certain scoring techniques and fundamental music elements that are used to make the scenes as bloodcurdling as they possibly can be.
One of the most interesting sections of the exhibit is the “monster timeline”. Through this mural, fans are able to examine the particularities of the many monster archetypes that inhabit horror films. Zombies, vampires, werewolves, and aliens are only some of the various monsters that are featured.
Even the layout of “Can’t Look Away” is eerie, with the ominous dark red light affects and the creepy barriers that divide the sections of the exhibit; they much resemble the slashes curtains often seen in horror films. Guests will most definitely feel like they are trapped inside a horror film.
“Can’t Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film” does not disappoint in covering all the aspects in the genre that make it so irresistible to movie-goers. This exhibit is a paradise for long-time fans and admirers of horror films and even a great introduction to the genre for up and coming fans.