Hollywood Gothique

Delirium was the best of three new attractions at last year’s Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt. Although perhaps a bit short on scream-inducing scares, the walk-through maze benefited from a surreal if somewhat vague theme, which allowed for a variety of weird and wild imagery: eyeballs embedded in walls, corpse covered in cockroaches, and assorted [...]

Last October, Hollywood Gothique made its first trip up north to check out some of the Halloween events in the East Bay Area near San Francisco. Previously, we posted the fruits of that endeavor in a review and video of the Candle Lighters Ghost House and in a review of the Pirates of Emerson. The [...]

Dates: October 14-31
Hours: 8-11pm weeknights & Sundays; 8pm-midnight on Fridays & Saturdays
Theatre 68 doesn’t have the expanse of other Halloween haunts in Los Angeles, but it offers something distinctive that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere: a more personal, intimate variety of horror, with audience and characters engaged up close and personal.

Dates: October 21-31
Hours: 6-9pm Sunday-Thursday; 6-10pm Friday-Saturday
Location: 4602 Morse Avenue Sherman Oaks, CA 91432
After a three-year hiatus, Boney Island is back, and it’s even better than before! The Halloween yard haunt’s skeleton crew has morphed from a carnival into a magic show, but the familiar, whimsical aura still pervades the grounds, making this one of the best Los Angeles Halloween haunts for children.

The caretaker at Fallen Angel Cemetery sent us this video, showcasing the souls of the damned who have been cast down to the nether regions. We don’t usually post videos from outside sources, but this one does a good job of conveying the atmosphere and look of this nifty little yard haunt. The only aspect [...]

Here at Hollywood Gothique, we occasionally receive requests to cover Halloween events that lie outside our usual domain (that is, Los Angeles and the surrounding Southland). This year, we finally took this advice, travelling up north to visit two haunts in the East Bay Area, near San Francisco: “The Candle Lighters Ghost House – Haunted [...]

The Theatre 68 Haunted House opened its doors last week. This has been one of our favorite Halloween events in Los Angeles since we discovered it a few years ago. We have not had a chance yet to check out this year’s version, but if it matches what we have seen in the past, it [...]

After a three-year hiatus, the Boney Island Yard Haunt reopens this Halloween. Those of you who never attended the old skeleton carnival may be wondering what the big deal is, exactly. Well, take a look at our video, recorded in 2007, of the final appearance of the old Boney Island. Don’t expect this year’s version [...]

Hey there, horror fans! Are you looking for an inexpensive way to enjoy Halloween in Los Angeles? Well, read on for the good news! As we have for the past two years, Hollywood Gothique is giving away tickets to Nightmare at Scareview Farm! This multi-maze haunted attraction at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds offers five walk-through realms of horror. General Admission is $15, but you can win complimentary pair of tickets simply by sending us an email (details below). Tickets are good for any day; the haunt runs October 14-15, 21-22, 28-31.

UPDATE: CONTEST CLOSED. Enter the contest by emailing contest@hollywoodgothique.com. Include your name and mailing addres and put “Nightmare at Fairplex Tickets” in the subject line. (Tickets will be mailed to you, so don’t forget to include address.) Winners will be selected by random drawing. Contest closes on Sunday, October 16 at midnight; tickets will be mailed on Monday, October 18, in time for you to enjoy the haunt the next weekend.

Last Halloween, we did not investigate the FrightFair Screampark until late in the October season, and we had time to post only a short mini-review of a fine haunted event that deserved much more attention from us. We certainly had good intentions to go back and write a more detailed assessment, but other commitments and [...]

Dates: Saturdays and Sundays throughout October
Location: Mountain View Mausoleum 2300 North Marengo Avenue Altadena, CA 91001
October Shadows IV, this year’s edition of the annual “Celebration of Halloween in Art,” features contributions from dozens of artists, including many with Hollywood experience: makeup man Rick Baker (THE WOLFMAN), production designer William Stout (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), and special effects artist Stephen Chiodo (KILLER KOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE).

On Friday, September 23, the 2011 Los Angeles Halloween season officially began, with the opening of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Per tradition, Universal Studios launched their theme park Halloween attraction with the Eyegore Awards, which are handed out to celebrities in the horror genre. This year’s recipients were David Arquette (SCREAM), Jamie [...]

Dates: September 30, October 1-2, 7-9, 14-16, 20-23, 26-31.
Location: The Garden Walk, 321 West Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802
Link out: Click here
Description: Once again, The Empty Grave opens its mausoleum doors, admitting you into the vast unnerving darkness that lies beneath the bright lights of the Anaheim Garden Walk; the upscale shopping center provides a [...]

Harvest Fest Dates: September 23 to October 31
FrightFair Dates:  October 1-2, 6-9, 13-16, 18-23, 25-31
Location: Pierce College, 20800 Victory Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: One of the best Halloween events in Los Angeles returns for another season of frights and delights, with both the family-friendly Halloween Harvests Festival and the very scary FrightFair [...]

Dates: September 16-18, 23-25, 30, October 1-2, 6-9, 13-16, 20-31.
Location: 961 North Rice Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030-8900
Link out: Click here
Description: The Forbidden Haunt, which made its debut in 2010 with Haunted Carnevil in Sherman Oaks, relocates to Oxnard and changes its name to Fears Gate. Judging from the new website, much of the old Halloween [...]

Location: The New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Date: March 15 at 7:30pm & 11pm
Link out: Click here
Description: The New Beverly presents a double bill of GRINDHOUSE (comprised of PLANET TERROR and DEATH PROOF) and MACHETE, the film that began as a faux trailer in GRINDHOUSE.

Grindhouse – Tues: 7:30: 2007, USA, 191 minutes. Directed [...]

Location: nationwide

Date: March 18
Description: Universal Pictures releases this science-fiction comedy, about two British comic-book geeks (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who encounter a smart-ass alien who wants to escape from the top-secret military facility at Area 51. Taking their new friend for a ride, our hapless heroes are pursued by federal agents and by [...]

Location: nationwide
Date: March 18
Description: Relativity Media releases this science fiction-themed thriller, about a mild-mannered copywriter (Bradley Cooper), who discovers a top-secret drug that gives him superhuman mental and physical abilities (we’re talking about enhanced intellect rather than leaping tall buildings at a single bound, so we’re not quite into comic book territory). Neil Burger (THE [...]

Location: The Bay Theatre, 340 Main Street, Seal Beach, CA 90740
Dates: April 10, 11, 13
Link out: Click here
Description: Monty Python fans rejoice: The comedy troup’s 1979 satire, MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN, screens for three days in Seal Beach at the venerable Bay Theatre. Sunday at 6pm, Monday at 8pm, and Wednesday at 8pm; no [...]

Location: nationwide

Date: March 11

Description: Warner Brothers releases what sounds like a TWILIGHT-take on the classic fairy tale – directed, naturally enough, by TWILIGHT-helmer Catherine Hardwicke. Amanda Seyfried stars in the title role, a young girl who falls for an orphaned woodcutter (Lukas Haas); unfortunately, there is a werewolf lurking about the medieval village. We’re [...]

Location: nationwide (select theatres)

Date: March 11

Link out: Click here

Description: Focus features offers up a new feature film version of Charlotte Bronte’s famous Gothic tale, about the titular governess, whose employer Rochester has a mysterious, guilty secret lurking in the attic. The tale is not, strictly speaking, horror, but there is a moody aura and things [...]

Location: The Sunset 5 Theatre, 8000 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, 90046
Date: March 11
Description: Magnet Releasing is opening this period horror film in limited engagements, including a stop at Laemmle Theatres’ Sunset 5. The story is set during the time of the titular plague; a knight (Sean Bean) and a monk (Eddie Redmayne) travel to a village unaffected by the disease.

Location: nationwide

Date: March 11

Description: Columbia Pictures unleashes this film about – yes – another alien invasion of Earth. (Didn’t that just happen in SKYLINE?) Aaron Eckhart stars as a marine sergeant on his last day in the service, who is sent to La-La-Land to lead his men in a battle against what turns out [...]