In celebration of Halloween, the National Science and Media Museum has offered a spine-tingling first look into Behind the Screams, part of the museum’s anticipated Sound and Vision galleries opening in the summer of 2025. Set to reveal the magic behind horror films and thrillers, Behind the Screams will immerse visitors in the creative techniques and iconic imagery that have defined horror, from makeup and sound effects to costumes and props.
Thanks to National Lottery players’ support via The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Sound and Vision galleries will explore how filmmakers and artists evoke fear and suspense while diving into the history of cinema’s scariest moments. Highlights will include Dracula’s original fangs worn by Christopher Lee in Hammer Films’ 1958 Dracula, complete with a realistic ‘blood’ effect conceived by the museum’s Youth Forum, and the original Alien head and torso from the legendary film franchise.
“Hammer Films revolutionized horror in the 1950s, creating now-iconic depictions of Gothic characters like Dracula,” said the museum. Behind the Screams showcases horror as a form of artistry and a source of exhilaration, featuring displays on the innovations of makeup artists Roy Ashton and Phil Leakey, whose special effects brought monsters and horror creatures to life. To engage visitors further, students from Bradford College recreated famous Hammer Film characters in a new film that will feature in the exhibition.
Beyond Hammer Films, Behind the Screams will allow fans to step into the world of a Foley artist, where they can experiment with horror sound effects on wooden machines, creating spooky creaks, eerie footsteps, and more, just as artists do for film production.
Though the Sound and Vision galleries will not open until 2025, the museum’s Pictureville Cinema is keeping the horror spirit alive with a special Fatal Femmes film season for Halloween, showcasing “women in horror.” Featuring a double bill of Suspiria on 35mm and a 4K restoration of Carrie on Halloween night, Fatal Femmes explores how women’s roles have shaped and evolved in the horror genre.
The Sound and Vision galleries, a £6 million project made possible by contributions from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, Bradford Council, and the Science Museum Group, will house the museum’s world-class collections of photography, television, film, gaming, and sound technology.
For more information on the Sound and Vision project and Fatal Femmes film times, visit National Science and Media Museum.