Can’t Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film

Beautiful monstrosities

This exhibition explores how horror films express the primal emotions of the human experience. Like the iconic horror films it celebrates, the design of the show invites one to find meaning and humor in horror.

Project:
Can’t Look Away: the Lure of Horror Film

Gallery Type:
3,500 sq.-ft. permanent interpretive exhibit

Our Role:
Exhibit design (Overall; Content development; Scenic & graphic treatments; Casework; Artwork

Project Partners:
Museum of Pop Culture (mopop) Seattle, WA; Belle & Wissell Co., Seattle, WA; Turner exhibits, Lynwood, WA; QuasI AKA joshua Levine (Fabrication of sculptures), Seattle, WA; Ben Isitt Artworks, Seattle, WA

Photos:
Lara swimmer

Scream Stairs

Leading into the exhibit are photos of people playing a victim or villain, setting up a central theme of the design of the show − the duality of human nature. The popularity of posing for this piece led to development of a screaming interactive for the show.

The Thicket

The core of the show is a film viewing space with stylized walls that allow for through-views and lighting effects. Walls are made of clear acrylic sandwiched between sound absorbing foam, providing sound separation between stations. Engaging yet practical, the space is emblematic of our approach to AV experiences.

Evil Contents

Artifact casework for the show is designed to look like an industrial strength system for the containment of evil objects. Using touch screens mapped to encased objects, visitors may see videos of artifacts in context.

Hobbyist Model Kit Sculptures

Throughout the exhibit are sculptures made to look like yet-to-be-assembled hobbyist model kits. These pieces celebrate directors of horror film while evoking horror tropes. The sculptures were designed by Curious Beast, and fabricated by Quasi, Ben Isitt Artworks, and Curious Beast’s design squad.