The website for the event titled I Like Scary Movies describes it as “an interactive art installation.” But what does that mean exactly? Since it’s filled with displays paying tribute to films like The Shining, Beetlejuice, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Lost Boys, and It: Chapter One, I simply had to find out.
I Like Scary Movies, which is on display in Los Angeles through June 16, is basically the ultimate Instagram spot if you’re a horror fan, and I mean that in the best way. Great care was taken into turning an entire floor of an office building into a very cool, beautiful, immersive experience that’s tailor-made to be photographed and shared. Here’s what you’ll find (without spoiling everything).
The Shining
The whole experience starts in The Shining, and it’s absolutely the best of the bunch, which is saying something. Other sections of the exhibit may have more detail, but the designs for director Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece are so simple, iconic, and recognisable, they lend themselves perfectly to an event like this. There are multiple rooms of Shining goodies including ax-cracked doors, mounds of snow, hedges, sinister twins, and so much more.
It: Chapter One
From The Shining you walk across a funhouse bridge (which is so disorienting it almost made me vomit) and into Derry, Maine, the home of Pennywise and the other characters from It.
It’s basically just one giant room, with the focus on the huge tower like the one at the end of the film. It’s so intricate, you could stare at its detail for hours. But there are also lots of clowns, balloons, and floating paper boats. Fans of the film will find lots of fun stuff here.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Nightmare on Elm Street section of the exhibit is by far the smallest one, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. There’s the eerie Freddy throne, complete with a razor glove you can pose with, as well as a massive razor glove you can stand under for an even scarier photo op. Each element is absolutely gorgeous, in the most disturbing ways possible.
Beetlejuice
Walking to the Beetlejuice section of the exhibit, I couldn’t help but notice a very large line. Appropriately, the line is for a section where the exhibit recreates the afterlife waiting room. I didn’t wait to see that (but it must be good if it had a line), but was still satisfied by the section, thanks in large part to its awesome grave and fun house pieces, both of which look like they were straight out of the movie.
The Lost Boys
The final section of I Like Scary Movies celebrated my personal favourite movie of the bunch, The Lost Boys, so it had a lot to live up to. In addition to a small recreation of the underground vampire cave, there’s a place for you to hang from a train bridge, and a massive carton of Chinese noodles. It wasn’t as epic as the displays for The Shining or Beetlejuice, but I was still satisfied.
Though there isn’t a schedule yet, I Like Scary Movie is planning on going on a tour after it closes in Los Angeles on June 16. At $55 a ticket, it’s expensive for what amounts to a bunch of glorified photo ops, but it’s not entirely unreasonable.
Those photo ops are movie set quality, the staff was great at taking pictures, and the experience was surprisingly long. (It took me about 45 minutes and I was basically rushing.) Plus, even though it’s not scary, it’s just creepy enough to be different and exciting.
For more information, visit the official site.