‘For nearly two decades, Japanese filmmaker Takashi Makino has been making entirely abstract films. For him, it seems, abstraction is less of an aesthetic mode and more of a philosophy, a way of creating a space for the viewer to engage with his sonic-visual material as they see fit, Some viewers may choose to actively participate in reading and shaping the meaning of the images he presents, while others will be more interested in passively receiving them and enjoying them on a sensorial or emotional level. What is important, is that in either case, the viewer feels involved.

‘As he writes on his website, “what fascinates me most about film expression is the potential for what is presented on the screen to collide with each individual viewer’s emotional landscape, and the new ‘image’ created inside the viewer’s mind resulting from this collision.” For Makino, abstraction offers a space for imagination, free from the limitation posed by direct representation, free from the imposition of applied or linear meaning. Abstraction offers freedom, and once experienced, freedom is hard to give up.

‘Most of his many films assume a somewhat similar form. He collects a mass of recorded material that he shoots himself—its origin kept a secret that only he and his collaborators are allowed in on, as is what he was thinking about when shooting it, what it might mean—and then edits its together, layering masses upon masses of individual images together to make a new plane of abstract “hybrid images.” He then adds an accompanying soundtrack, provided by a musician (Jim O’Rourke, Cal Lyall, or Carl Stone, for instance) or that he produces himself. The films are usually densely textured, colorful, and complex in appearance—big, dramatic cinematic canvases that have a real sense of scale and grandeur.

‘Since 2012 (2013)—in which a mix of celluloid and digital film sources are blended into a stormy, scratchy canvas that dilates alongside a dense drone—he has been experimenting with performance, and from Space Noise 3D (2014), with expanded elements too, using 3D glasses with one lens cut out to change the effects that his film produce, and the experience the audience has. Though each work is fundamentally similar, he continues to find ways to experiment and to further expand upon the ways the films are produced and presented.

‘In a Q&A at a screening some years back, he explained his style succinctly. “Most filmmakers make cinema with one or two layers,” he said, before pausing then laughing. “I am making one thousand layer cinema.” While avoiding revealing too many of his secrets—like any self-respecting magician of moving images should—in the below interview Makino explains some of what goes into making “one thousand layer cinema,” focusing on his latest work, Memento Stella. Having premiered it as a film at International Film Festival Rotterdam in January, he is now traveling the world with it, presenting the work in the form of a performance, most recently at Sheffield Doc/Fest and Filmadrid.’ — Matt Turner

 

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Stills

 

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Further

Takashi Makino @ IMDb
Takashi Makino @ Lightcone
Makino Takashi @ Experimental Cinema
“I HAVE A BIG INTEREST FOR THE IMAGE OF DREAMS AND IMAGINATION”
DVD: Makino Takashi Film Works Vol. 1 With Jim O’Rourke
Makino Takashi: Entering a Noisy Cosmos
TAKASHI MAKINO / INTERVIEW
TAKASHI MAKINO – THIS LONG CENTURY
Le cinéma comme art abstrait : Takashi Makino
Hallucinatory and experiential, Takashi creates abstract cinematic worlds
My film looks like something very noisy and abstract, but actually, everything in it comes from our own world
Interview: Takashi Makino @ Film Comment
I saw a green horizon in the dark
Guest in Focus: Takashi Makino
Takashi Makino’s 2012 by Marianne Shaneen
LA REINCARNAZIONE DI STAN BRAKHAGE NEL CINEMA DI TAKASHI MAKINO
VIS SPOTLIGHT FEATURE: TAKASHI MAKINO

 

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Extras

TOWARD THE TACTILE VISIONS Trailer

Entrevista Takashi Makino

Workshop_for Hallucination and documenta 14

 

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Interview
from MUBI

 

NOTEBOOK: Maybe you could start by describing how you go about making a film in general, and how what you do results in what we see?

TAKASHI MAKINO: I’ve made around 40 short films before. Memento Stella is the longest one. Each time I have an idea, or a background story, and then make an abstract film from it. My main purpose with filmmaking is to create a situation in which the audience and my film can collaborate with each other, and find a space for imagination. This is why I take an abstract approach every time. For me, abstraction is a very creative format to take, as you can see many different things within one single screen. I like facilitating this creative relationship between the viewer and the screen.

Up to around 2004, I only used celluloid materials, 16mm film and Super 8, but after that I used both of those, as well as digital materials.

NOTEBOOK: Why did you change?

MAKINO: I studied film in University in Japan, but I had no knowledge about video. In 2002, I started working for a company, the oldest Japanese development lab and post-production house. I was part of the first team that was using the HD telecine machine. Working there, I realized that I could use both materials, and that by fusing analogue film with digital video, I could make more work, and better work. When I used only film, I was experiencing technical limitations. If I wanted to shoot something over 100 times, with film, it just doesn’t work. But if I shot on film and edited digitally, I could do almost anything.

For me understanding this was very useful.

After 2015, I switched to a completely digital process. I could try many more things and experiment further. Recently, I’ve been interested in utilizing more lens work, and not just the camera’s sensor. By doing this I think I can make more creative, softer images, images that resemble film but that are achieved by using a completely digital toolset.

NOTEBOOK: Do you feel like you are trying to get back to the feel of celluloid film then, when you say about trying to recreate the look or the texture?

MAKINO: I really like the material—and the materiality—of film, but I feel if we use completely digital equipment, it will improve our knowledge of the gear. If you use a 4K sensor, and a flat GoPro lens, for instance, you can achieve a high resolution while countering the flatness of the digital image, and create something much more interesting. I like to make images that have a rich depth to them, and I think that lens work has been very helpful for achieving this: a richer depth, and a richer contrast.

NOTEBOOK: Within that, a rich image means more things for the viewer to find maybe. You touched on this a bit before, but is the viewer’s perception something that you are interested in exploring, how people see things differently? I’ve been watching Rainer Kohlberger’s films recently, and he is very interested in this, how his audience sees his work in different ways. I was wondering whether it was something you had in common?

MAKINO: His work is very hallucinatory. Our work is similar visually, but the biggest difference is that he creates every image with a computer. Even his computer he made completely by himself. All of my images come from the real world. They’re organic captures. But both of our images sometimes look similar, so we have an interest in each other.

NOTEBOOK: Related to this, I wanted to ask about your collaborations. Sometimes you work with a musician, such as Jim O’Rourke, and sometimes you make the music yourself. What decides this, and when you collaborate how does the relationship between image and sound come together?

MAKINO: Every time I make the image first. After I’ve completed the image, I start thinking about music. If I feel like I can make the right music myself, I do that. But If I think it’s going to be too difficult and I can’t make a soundtrack for the film, I start thinking about who might be the right person for the project. I’ve collaborated with Jim O’Rourke many times, eight times in fact. His soundtracks are very creative, because he doesn’t just follow the images. Sometimes he ignores the images entirely, which creates a different dynamism altogether.

When I collaborate with a musician, I always explain everything about the film. I tell them all the details behind my thinking, what images I’ve recorded, and why I’ve made the film. Sometimes I write a graphic score for them also. But I ask them to not just follow the image, because that’s not so interesting. I want a relationship, not just a soundtrack.

The other reason I collaborate with musicians is that I need a new view on my images. When I’m editing I’ve seen everything several hundred times, and everything is repeating and repeating, and I start to hear the sound in my head. I really enjoy the moment when I receive the soundtrack, to see if it matches with my expectation or not. Sometimes I don’t accept their vision at first, but I like having something I can’t control, and after watching my images with their sound several times, I usually see what they are thinking, and remember that I have to trust them or it won’t work.

NOTEBOOK: Do you ever worry that the music might affect the mood of the viewer too much? Music can be very emotionally manipulative, and with abstract imagery, it could influence the tone.

MAKINO: Recently, I haven’t made this mistake. I used to make it often though. It was very difficult to explain my feelings about the films, and this clear communication of the idea is key. If I ask them to make a super strong sound, and they make a really heavy soundtrack, the supplied file can’t be played in a cinema. Sound-mixing for film soundtracks is completely different than for normal music. I always check if the musician I’m working has experience making soundtracks, and If I work with someone who hasn’t had experience mixing soundtracks, I use a sound engineer.

NOTEBOOK: I wanted to ask about your performance-based work. You’ve also made a 3D film. What do these extra elements bring to your work, and what is it like to share the space with the people that are viewing your images?

MAKINO: For 2012 and also Space Noise, I used the Pulfrich effect. This way of making a 3D effect is very creative because it doesn’t happen in front of our eyes, but in our brain. That effect is almost 100 years old, discovered in Munich by a physicist called Carl Pulfrich. Each frame of my film has a different shape, and it’s also changing very quickly because I had to make it at 30 frames per second, because at 22, 24 or 25, it’s too slow. I tried the Pulfrich effect on it, and I found that if you hide one eye, the image turns to one side, but if you cover the other eye, it turns the other way. Each viewer can select how to watch my work, left eye, right eye, or without the glasses at all. This way, everyone can see several different films from a single screen.

NOTEBOOK: Would you make a film in virtual reality?

MAKINO: Yeah, I tried once. A 360 VR film, but the resolution wasn’t high enough for my work. Resolution is very important to me. It affects the canvas. If the canvas is large I can do many things, but if it’s smaller, I’m much more limited. I was told I could do a 4K VR image, but when I tried it, you can only see a portion of the 4K image, which isn’t the same. The resolution was too poor, and the frame rate wasn’t high enough, so I stopped making it.

NOTEBOOK: Maybe if the technology improves, Space Noise VR could still happen?

MAKINO: I like seeing my work in the cinema. Surround sound helps you to feel the depth of the space, and I like the sense of freedom the room has. VR is like a prison from which you cannot escape. I don’t know the future, but it’s not right for me at the moment.

NOTEBOOK: Do you feel like there is anything specifically Japanese about your work?

MAKINO: Rei [Hayama, Takashi Makino’s partner, and an artist and filmmaker also screening in Sheffield’s New/Japan strand] and I often talk about this. I am Japanese and I live in Japan. I cannot escape from myself. My purpose with filmmaking is that I want to make art which can go beyond borders and beyond races, countries and languages. I think that art can do that. I make films for this reason. I don’t care about “Japanese-ness” as such, however I think that my work is very strict, and sometimes too long, and I am often thinking about what it means to receive so much information at once. When we are overwhelmed by an abundance of information we turn towards nothing. All of these things are very Japanese.

NOTEBOOK: When somebody watches your films, do you want them to try to think about them, and try to work out what it means and what is happening? Or are you happy for them to be less active, and just let themselves be hit by the images, and have more of an immersive experience perhaps?

MAKINO: I don’t want to say anything specific to the audience. If I say something strongly, it is too much. Every way is okay for me.

 

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9 of Takashi Makino’s 23 films

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No is E (2006)
‘With the aid of a layered construction of the image, Makino has managed to capture the different reflections of light on the surface of water. The acoustic-noise-like music and the dancing particles of light move like swarms of microorganisms and in this way slowly cover the entire screen. With No is E, Makino won the Shuji Terayama Prize at the Image Forum Festival 2007 in Japan.’ — 25 FPS

the entirety

 

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Tranquil (2007)
‘“The rain” and “white noise” , “the outside of water” , “the inside of water” , everything become to together and drifting. A dark dark film in rain forest inspired by a music term to “Tranquil”.’ — letterboxd

Watch the entirety here

 

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Still in Cosmos (2009)
‘I do not think that the word “chaos” means “confusion” or “disarray”, rather I believe it refers to a state in which the name or location of “objects” remains unknown. For instance, if a bird escapes from its cage, the world it discovers outside will appear to be chaos, but if it joins with a flock of other birds, it will gradually learn to apply “names” to various places – a safe place, a dangerous place, etc., thereby creating cosmos (order). When watching a film, the viewers all sit down in the same darkness and receive the same light and sound but each sees a different dream. I believe that this symbolizes a reversion to their initial state, that when they look at total chaos through newborn eyes, they give birth to a new cosmos. I sincerely hope that the violent chaos that exists in Still in Cosmos will give rise to the same number of new cosmoses as there are viewers.’ — Takashi Makino

Excerpt

 

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2012 (2013)
‘Takashi Makino’s thirty-minute film 2012 drenches the audience with sounds of prolonged resonant scraped string textures and images of shimmering blue clouds of drifting particles. Panes of swirling atoms, scratched lines, and densely patterned fields rotate and pan in different directions, inducing an expansive sensory meditation on the nature of perception.

‘Drawn into whirling eddies of what could be microscopic realms of film grain, plasma cells, or subatomic particles, I’m then transported into cosmic immensities of galaxies, nebulae. I seem endowed with new sensory abilities—am I seeing sound? Is this how an insect sees?

‘2012’s shifting planes evoke tectonic plates, archeological strata, in a cinematic and sonic reverie of not-quite-remembered dream images, of personal and collective memory spanning multiple temporalities. This disorientation grants moments of recognition: glimpses of what might be leaves, sun-dappled water, sounds of birds, children, wind—but defamiliarized, as if seen upon returning to Earth after a long sojourn.’ — Marianne Shaneen, BOMB

the entirety

 

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Space Noise 3D (2014)
‘[Space Noise] is a performance in which the double 25 FPS award winner confronts high-resolution video images and 16mm live projection. A duel between the all-dominant immaculate digital and the irregular organic material dissolves in multiple layers of chaos. Enormous quantities of light movements from film loops capture the screen in thousands of pixels of digital projection and create new images in constant change and enhancement. The sound accompanying them live only repeats and spreads the noise, developing images by whirling speed. Noise, located on the tape as a constituent part of the film, becomes the aim of Makino’s quest – Noise-Image. This quest for a new film experience intensifies with additional effects – a smoke curtain reveals the fullness of the light beams’ rainbow spectrum, while a neutral single-eye ND filter creates a three-dimensional illusion.’ — 25 FPS

Excerpt

In performance (Excerpt)

Interview with Takashi Makino (Space Noise 3D)

 

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Phantom Nebula (2014)
‘Layering 10,000 film and video images, Phantom Nebula reveals changing forms that resemble both cosmic bodies and organic matter. Makino invites the audience to contemplate the similarities between cells and stars in this immersive film and sound performance.’ — M:ST Festival

Excerpt

 

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w/ Floris Vanhoof Labyrinth (2017)
at Les Ateliers Claus – Brussels, Belgium – 2017-05-04

Excerpt

 

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Memento Stella (2018)
‘In his latest venture Japanese artist Takashi Makino adopts a consistent process of creative intervention and adjustment in order to cleanse his shots until they become unrecognizable. Even though the images are devoid of any reference points, the piece brings to life something essential: some kind of elementary matter which gives rise to all living and non-living things – in a manner similar to Mark Rothko’s renowned black canvases. Memento Stella is a remarkable film with a compelling hallucinogenic rhythm that allows us to experience fundamental existential issues of consciousness and being. The accompanying electroacoustic soundtrack was written by Dutch avant-garde pianist Reinier van Houdt.’ — Hubert Poul

Trailer

Memento Stella Cinechamber Trailer

 

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w/ Cal Lyall Paracollider (2019)
Immersive Audiovisual Noise Spatialization Project

Excerpt

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. The current mania to reject and condemn anyone who doesn’t share one’s exact opinion is ugly and deeply conservative and nothing but self-indicting, if you ask me. ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Yeah, the baby flytrap is a sleeper hit, I think. I hope you’re feeling much better by now. I don’t believe I know Shena Mackay’s novels? Huh. I will def. do an investigation. Thanks, man. ** James, Hi, sir. Oh, thanks very much for the thoughts and props. Consider them boomerangs. And thanks for thinking my little piece of advice was worth sharing. Love, me. ** Steve Erickson, Let me join the chorus that thinks your ‘Fight Club’ essay is just excellent. Kudos! Btw, I’ve forgotten … have you seen ‘The Politician’? It’s playing here, and a couple of people have highly recommended it to me. Everyone, Here’s Mr. Erickson weighing in on Ulrich Kohler’s IN MY ROOM with, warning, some spoilers. If you dare. ** Paul Curran, Hi, Paul! Yeah, Halloween makes every year mouthwatering for a short but solid amount of time. Yes, very, very sad about Nicholas. I’m still trying to process the loss, and I’m not sure I can. Excellent that you’re making writing progress! That’s the best news! And us too about Tokyo/Japan. Don’t know our dates yet, but it’s a hell or high water deal, so it’ll happen. Take care, man. ** Dominik, Hi, D! Reclusiveness is perfectly okay. Except for me, I guess, ha ha. Yes, my agent is enthusiastic about my novel, so we’re past that stage and onto the much more stressy stage of seeing what if any publishers are interested. I’ll be very glad once that phase is over. Oh, yeah, Poppy and I had a long correspondence when he (then a she) was writing ‘EC’ as he wanted to pick my brain and talk about serial killers and stuff. And I blurbed the novel in its first iteration. So, yes, I know it, and I’m down. Hooray about the SCAB instagram. Yeah, that does seem like the right platform for it. Cool! Everyone, Dominick’s great and crucial magazine SCAB has a new and very charismatic instagram page that I urge you to visit and then … ‘follow’ or ‘friend’ or whatever one does to attach oneself to an account on instagram. The pleasure galore is right here. I spied the young Daniel Johns in there in my first peek. Always an excellent choice! Lots of love to you, pal, and I hope your week provides the smoothest and most excitable sailing. ** alex rose, Hello maestro among maestros! I didn’t know that about Donatein. Ugh. Drenched psycho boy is quite possibly my first dream purchase too. I do like those frozen children too for some reason. Well, I want almost every single one of them, fuck it. Love to you too, man, in bundles. ** Sypha, Hi, James. Yes, so sad about Nicholas. Love to you. ** _Black_Acrylic, I utterly and completely agree with you, as you can well imagine. ** Right. Today the blog its given over to the fascinating Takashi Makino, who was just in the States on a short tour showing his films and doing related performances a few weeks back. Very beautiful work, if you don’t know it, and, if you don’t, now you do if you so choose. See you tomorrow.

* (Halloween countdown post #3)
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Twisted Minds Productions presents Salem: Escape the Coven
San Gabriel

Twisted Minds Productions is a haunt based out of Monterey Hills area of Los Angeles, California. The shared vision of three young creators, Twisted Minds is a classic haunt with ever-changing original narratives and close-up scares.

This Halloween, Twisted Minds presents their most ambitious, immersive, and terrifying maze yet! Enter the dreary town of Salem Massachusetts under the light of the blood moon to experience for yourself the horrific events of the Salem Witch Trials, and what dark magic awakens with the rising of the blood moon.

 

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Sinister Pointe’s Mist
Westminster

 

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The Fleshyard
Anaheim

The Fleshyard presents the final chapter in its story about the violently butchered Kearny family. The Fleshyard returns to the pumpkin patch corner lot on La Palma Ave. and Imperial Hwy of its first two years. Come see how the saga concludes!

The Fleshyard Haunted House is a family owned and operated immersive Haunted Maze Attraction located in Anaheim, CA. You will walk through our old, run down cabin where only the most depraved souls reside – waiting for victims. Get ready to be scared, thrilled, and startled by these terrifying spirits…and be prepared for loud noises, special effects, gory visuals, and terrifying imagery. Come to the Fleshyard Haunted House for a truly frightening experience and ignite the spirit of Halloween.

 

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Backwoods Maze
Burbank

The Backwoods has been offering intense frights for many years. The haunt features an elaborate yard display out front that features a collection of traditional horror movie icons, plus a literal (and terrifying clown car. The maze itself is located entirely within the backyard. Guests enter and exit off the side yard and are allowed in via only small groups at a time. The route is winding, narrow, and circles back upon itself at is conclusion, but within this seemingly small confine of space, the folks at The Backwoods have packed an exceptionally intricate amount of detail!

Bar none, The Backwoods is the best home haunt I have ever visited. This isn’t a knock on the rest; this backyard maze is just that good! As you can see in these photos, the amount of effort put in feels superhuman, and the intricacy of how everything comes together is very impressive. No wonder this haunt attracts lines that stretch all the way down the street. The Backwoods is a huge hit each season in the neighborhood, and it provides a delightful sense of Halloween screams for the local community.

 

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The 17th Door
Fullerton

The 17th Door is an extreme Orange County based Haunted House that relies heavily on creative yet grotesque scenes and shock value. This haunt is fun for those who enjoy this kind of event–but those who are triggered by sexual assult, bulimia, gun violence, bugs, or senseless violence, you may want to pass this one up or join the many that say “Mercy.” Vistors must sign a waiver before entering. They take pride in getting people to use the safe word. Group Experience with Selected Individual Portions. Minor Contact; Claustrophobia; Shocks; Live Bugs. Narrative Focused with Themes of Rape, Drugs, & Eating Disorders. Focus on Gross-Out Scares & Safe Word Use.

 

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Industry Station Haunted Jail
City of Industry

Haunted maze through a real Sheriff’s Jail. There will be a parking lot maze, haunted jail, zombies, crashed cars, and free candy. The maze takes you throughout the jail. Each jail cell has different theme. Very dark inside so they give you glow in the dark wristbands to keep track of you you can keep them at the end.

 

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Southern California Railway Museum presents TERROR IN TRAIN TOWN
Perris

One Ticket – Two Terrifying Halloween-themed experiences. Produced by the Bloodshed Brothers, are you brave enough to experience Terror in Train Town?

Arrive at this 2,500-square-foot experience, and quickly realize the challenge you have accepted may be your last. Get lost within the haunting walls of Otis Hatcher’s killing chambers. Go ahead and accept your fate, if you dare!

 

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Agoura Horror Story
Agoura Hills

Agoura High School puts on its annual haunted house for one night only!

Agoura Horror Story 2019 Update: The treatment for the haunted house this year is nearly done! It’s looking to come in at a whopping 65 pages! The overall maze is going to be 15 scenes…there were more…but by cutting them it allows every scene to be extra detailed.

 

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The Farm Home Haunt
Glendale

Year after year, Glendale’s The Farm Home Haunt has been expanding their maze by adding new and amazing details. This family of Halloween enthusiasts uses the limited space of their driveway and front yard to create a strange world set in the Old West which contains deviant characters, mutant creatures, talking skeletons, and bloody body parts.

The story of the cursed Farm Home barn tells of an 1800s family who went insane after a string of bad luck. The barn then became home to a cult of society’s outcasts who worshipped the owner, Eli. Joining this group of misfits was Doctor Small, a man accused of medical malpractice who specialized in making hybrids of humans and animals. Together, this group of deranged outsiders made the cursed barn their home… and a nightmare for all those who dare visit.

As you journey through the maze you will meet many demented characters including a woman who wants you to kiss her skeleton baby, an axe-wielding boy who you wants you to carry human body parts for him, and Dr. Small who asks you to hold the intestines of the patients he is mutilating. If you pay close attention you will notice that among the Western decor there is ephemera from neighboring haunts including a Rotten Apple flyer and the paper which Frank the Rabbit hands you in Opechee’s Donnie Darko Experience. Towards the end of the maze you come face to face with one of Dr. Small’s pig/human hybrids who is being chased by a very impressive robotic horse skeleton.

The Farm Home Haunt is an incredible feat of Halloween magic and is only open for one night and on Halloween. For those who want to meet the cult of the cursed barn and witness a twisted take on the Wild West, we reckon you should “saddle up” and “mosey on over” to visit this inspiring Glendale haunt!

 

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NIGHTMARE IN WHITING WOODS
Glendale

Nightmare in Whiting Woods is a rare haunt which can only be experienced on Halloween night. Offering an elaborate DIY house maze walkthrough, this suburban Glendale home transforms itself into a Victorian funeral home complete with a haunted cemetery and a visit from Krampus.

The details of this maze are so incredible that it’s hard to understand why this haunt is only open one night a year. As you enter through the viewing room of the funeral home you are tormented by evil nuns who bare their bloody fangs as they guide you towards the autopsy room. Within this room you witness an autopsy which is being performed by a malevolent doctor. On your way out towards the cemetery you pass by the crematorium in which a real child is being burned alive.

As you enter the backyard you are surrounded by tombstones from which zombies and ghosts come forth to stalk mortal visitors. These paranormal entities guide you towards the exit where you run into a massive Krampus along with a hybrid pig monster who chases you with a chainsaw.

We absolutely love this DIY home haunt. Because Nightmare in Whiting Woods is free of charge and can only be visited on Halloween night, the wait to get in can be longer than an hour.

 

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Macdevitt Manor Haunted House
West Covina

This West Covina home haunt has become infested by spiders this year. With intricate theming and detailed, custom sculpts, and neat special effects, Macdevitt Manor is another haunt that shows that just because it’s amateur doesn’t mean it’s not an immersive and highly thematic experience!

The Macdevitt Manor Haunted House excited to bring you our Choose Your Fate Double Maze. A maze with separate outcomes based on your split second decisions while going through the maze. Also check out the Madd Ghouligans terrorizing the streets. They are sure to get you when you least expect it.

 

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Rotten Apple 907 presents The Death Triangle
Burbank

Rotten Apple 907, our home haunted attraction, started off as child’s birthday party and has grown to become an experience that people look forward to attending each year. Now it is designed and built by all the members of the Meyer family, as well as a terrific group of people who volunteer their time and building and acting skills.

Looks like Burbank’s classic Rotten Apple haunt is going tropical this year… and underwater. The Bermuda Triangle plays inspiration to this year’s theme, which explores the terrors of the deep! Note that the line may be cut off before the 10:00pm closing, as by city permit, Rotten Apple must be shut down by 10pm, not simply line-capped.

 

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Forbidden Woods Cemetery Haunted House
North Hollywood

Formerly an elaborate yard display, this partial haunt will bring more details in its third year. Welcome to a place like no other! Ruled by a hideous witch, anyone who dares enter ends up her main course or finds themselves lost and forgotten forever in the Forbidden Cemetery. Will guests make it out alive? Travel deeper into the woods first to find out…

 

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HAUS OF CREEP
Downton Arts District

THE ROUGHLY 75-MINUTE MULTI-SENSORY EXHIBIT BRINGS GUESTS INTO THE WORLD OF CREEP L.A., A DARKLY SATIRICAL AND TERRIFYING SEND-UP OF SOCIAL MEDIA-DRIVEN CULTURE. WITH THE GROWING POPULARITY OF “GRAMMABLE MUSEUMS”, BUSINESSES AND CONSUMERS ARE DEVOURING ART AS A COMMODITY. HAUS OF CREEP SETS OUT TO REMIND US THAT ART IS ALIVE, AND IT CAN’T BE RESTRICTED TO A LITTLE SQUARE PHOTO WITHOUT DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES. HAUS GUESTS WILL SPEND THE HOUR ROAMING AN AVANT-GARDE AND NIGHTMARISH PLAYGROUND OF OVER A DOZEN INSTALLATIONS, WITNESSING GRAND SHOCKING SCENES AS WELL AS INTIMATE SCARES. ELABORATE LIGHTING AND DIVERSE AND DETAILED ENVIRONMENTS CREATE A SURREAL WORLD IN WHICH GUESTS MAY FIND THEMSELVES LOST, UNSURE WHERE REALITY ENDS AND THE SHOW BEGINS. HAUS OF CREEP TELLS ITS STORY WITH A CAST OF 20 PROVOCATIVE CHARACTERS AND FEATURES A SULTRY LOUNGE, SMALL DARK SPACES, SHADOW PLAYS, DERANGED PUPPET SHOWS, AND INNOVATIVE ANALOG INSTALLATIONS BY MEDIA POLLUTION.

HAUS OF CREEP IS HOUSED AT THE ROW DTLA, ENCOMPASSING A 5,000 SQUARE FEET GALLERY SPACE IN THE HISTORIC DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT. THE TWISTED PERFORMANCE WILL FEATURE FOUR SHOWS A NIGHT WITH UP TO 50 GUESTS PER PERFORMANCE.

 

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THE SANTA FE SPRINGS HAUNTED HOUSE
Santa Fe Springs

The City of Santa Fe Springs has been putting together their yearly haunt for over 25 Halloween seasons. The city organizes a new theme every year, and then gets local teenagers to help out. This year’s theme focuses on a chainsaw wielding maniac who massacres everyone in his path. As you travel through the maze you will follow the story of a man who loses his mind and kills his entire family. He then runs off into the forest, where he continues his killing spree. The narrative of the maze slowly unfolds through each part of this multi-room haunt.

 

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Realm of Shadow
Bellflower

This “gore-free” creeptastic home haunt brings an indigenous flair this year in Temple of the Fallen God, where guests will explore the sinister depths of an ancient monument and encounter the soul-thirsty god, Diabolki!

 

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The Gershon Dungeon
Santa Ana

One of the longest home haunts in Orange County, this attraction tells the story of one Guinivere Holt, a cruel orange plantation owner who tortured her slaves. In modern day, the burial plot of the entire, long-lost estate has been unearthed, bringing heinous spirits and the ghost of the demonic Guinevere herself back to the realm of the living!

 

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Perdition Home presents Nine Circles of Hell
Yorba Linda

Perdition Home did a tribute to serial killers this year in the form of Death Cult. This year, they go where those murderers have gone—all the way to hell. Taking a Machiavellian theme, Perdition will explore the 9 Circles of Hell, which is sure to be bloody, gory, intense, and absolutely disgusting. We can’t wait!

 

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The Haunt at Hellizondo presents Lost Spirits of the Bayou
Simi Valley

This Simi Valley home haunt fixture for over a decade presents a case of Cajun creeps this year—it’s third New Orleans theme in a row (and a return of 2017’s theme). Sumptuously decorated, with different themes every year or two, it’s a great local event put on by a family of passionate Halloween fans!

 

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Caitlin Manor Haunted House
San Bernardino

This creepy, doll-filled home haunt is full of terror and promises a hauntingly unforgettable experience. $8 donation ($12 for express line) is required for admission. Proceeds help fundraise for medical expenses for the family’s Metachromatic Leukodystrophy-diagnosed daughter.

 

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Murder House Productions
Thousand Oaks

Among haunt critic circles, last year’s out-of-nowhere breakout newcomer of the season was, without a doubt, Murder House Productions, a home haunt located all the way out in Thousand Oaks, not far from Reign of Terror.

In just one year, Murder House Productions has thoroughly outdone itself, crafting a whole creepy and unsettling world that keeps guests on edge throughout their walk through Resurrection. The scares are bountiful and intense, and the ambiance wholly chilling. Going through the maze, one can’t help but grow nervous and suspicious of every shadow and misdirection. They could be just static objects, but they seem to have a knack of becoming something more horrific! And that illustrates the genius that Kyle and Aurora have brought to the storytelling and consideration of their production. All the construction, set dressing, programming, audio mixing, and effects calibration requires an immense amount of time and resources. And Kyle and Aurora and a few assistants have certainly poured in that work!

 

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Pirate’s Cave Haunt
Orange

Since 2000, The Pirate’s Cave has been a premiere stop for trick or treaters in the city of Orange. During the expansion of our haunt, a long forgotten pirates cave has been discovered. Since then, many have entered seeking treasure, but none have returned. Legend says the cave is haunted by undead pirates from ages past. Are you brave enough to venture through the graveyard, sea monsters, time tunnel, and into the siren’s layer?

 

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Coffin Creek
Corona

Coffin Creek is one of the best kept secrets of the Inland Empire. Occupying Crossroads Riverview Park in Corona, Coffin Creek is heavy on the kind of atmosphere that only a locale like Crossroads can provide. There aren’t many roaming scareactors, because they’re all confined to their respective nooks, providing fantastic and genuinely eerie scares.

 

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Gothic Hills Cemetery
Sylmar

In 2016, the small community haunted house in someone’s backyard had a queue line down the street with more than an hour wait time on average. “It was our first big year, and we were just getting started with the Fitzroy storyline. We weren’t expecting such a great response. It was exciting,” says Troy Yu, the creator and producer of the event. That response included a nomination for 2016’s “best home haunt” by Hollywood Gothique and an invitation to showcase the haunt at Midsummer Scream, the world’s largest Halloween and horror convention at the Long Beach Convention Center.

As they were beginning the initial planning to appear at the convention, the team was sidelined by an unexpected loss of the home they haunted. “The landlord where I was living did not renew our lease,” Troy explains. “We weren’t given any warning. When it expired, we had to hurry and find a new home fast. The urgency of moving meant we had to dispose of the haunt. It was devastating for me. I’d spent over a decade of working on this, and it was all gone in a weekend. I didn’t think I’d ever celebrate Halloween again.”

But after settling into their new home, the spirits are restless. Troy and Creative Director, Aaron Bolton, were invited back to the convention this year and created an exciting new experience from scratch for Midsummer Scream’s Hall of Shadows. And it was a hit. “It was the hardest we’d ever worked in our lives and it was a huge challenge. But, everyone seemed to love it. That’s all that matters to us.” Troy said. And now, they are ready to bring the cemetery back to life at their new location in Sylmar, CA. “We built the haunt for Midsummer Scream which had no space or shape restrictions. We’ve been working hard to fit that haunt into our small backyard and add more to it. It’s going to take a bit of magic.”

 

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Beware the Dark Realm
Santa Clarita

Beware the Dark Realm is a FREE non profit Halloween Haunt to help raise funds for the local non profit SCV Domestic Violence Center. Beware The Dark Realm originated in 2013, however the haunt owners have been building home and professional haunts since 1971. Beware the Dark Realm haunted house is a high intensity walk-through attraction filled with terrifying live monsters, amazing special effects, and incredible sets, making this one of the premiere home haunts in California.

 

 

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p.s. Hey. So, today’s post has three targets especially in mind. 1) those of you who are either already into the great, under-sung art form that is the haunted house attraction or who are game to get on board. 2) those of you in So. Cal. who’d like a Halloween pleasure center guidebook. 3) those of you who are curious as to what I’ll be doing pretty much every night for the second half of October. ** JM, Hi, man. Very cool and understandable. How are you? ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Excellent thoughts on Greenaway. As you probably know, his next incorporation of a pro actor is a new film starring and produced by Morgan Freeman. ** KK, Hi. I would start with the earlier films, ‘A Zed and Two Naughts’, ‘Draftman’s Contract’, etc. Ha ha, no, I am not and never have been a working out kind of guy. Yoga is as sporty as I’ve ever been. She was an intense and sometimes exciting, yes, person to know and hang out with, that’s for sure. Disorder is good. Oh, suggestions. Let me sleep on that. There are a lot of really good poetry-oriented presses out there. A lot. I got a very enthusiastic response from my agent yesterday, so I’m very relieved. Now it’s on to the even more nerve-wracking responses-in-waiting of publishers. You know that stress, I guess.  Washington and Oregon are ultra-nice, maybe the latter even more. Sounds good. Yeah, the temperature plunged into deep fall here yesterday. I even needed a scarf last night, and I’m blissed about it. All the stuff that’s on repeat for you is filling my airwaves too these days. I’m only vaguely, not so into seeing ‘Joker’, but we’ll see. Hildur Guðnadóttir, who did the score/soundtrack, was going to write the score of Gisele Vienne’s (and my, and others’) sadly murdered opera project, and she’s great, so I might go for that reason. Movie-wise, there’s an experimental film festival here right now and I’ll see some stuff there, and also the new Bruno Dumont film ‘Jeanne’ probably in the next few days. ** Bill, Hi. The last Greenaway film I pretty much thoroughly liked was ‘The Pillow Book’. The newer ones, and I’ve only seen a couple, are interesting, of course, but not as strong/sharp, I don’t think. Mm, I’m not sure if the latest films are online. Maybe on Criterion or MUBI? Likely on MUBI? Thanks, I’ll go undoubtedly enjoy that music you enjoyed. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. The Old Hairdresser’s sounds like a very good option, maybe a better one even, all things considered? ** Steve Erickson, Hi. Well, the atmosphere for brainy, experimental films died way the hell out in the US, and that hurt his presence, obviously. Plus the newer films are a bit more esoteric and offbeat. He remains a prominent filmmaker over here. Good luck with the new, less intense glasses, and, of course, with your current mood. I think the very strong emotional engagement with Trump and USA politics is messing up a lot of people, or people I know at least. The addiction aspect of it seems to be coming home to roost. ** MyNeighbourJohnTurturro, Hi, sir. Yes, I was surprised to discover I hadn’t made a post about his work before too. I’m pretty much with you. I think there was a drop off after ‘The Pillow Book’. My favorites are ‘A Zed and Two Naughts’, ‘The Falls’, ‘Draftsman’s Contract’, and his early short films, almost all of which are fantastic, especially the ones about the weather that he made for the BBC. I like his work, and, these days, when intelligent, daring, super complexly built films are almost completely absent from viewing spots not online or in museums/repertory houses, I think his great value is even clearer than it was when he was ‘successful’. I’m good, busy, yeah. And you? You good? You right as rain? ** Misanthrope, Right. I’ve gotten accustomed to the European time system, i.e. 19.48 instead of 7.48 pm. Man, it’s so close. Will you be checking in from London? ** Corey Heiferman, If your video store is into auteurs, he’ll be there. Wow, okay. The only time I’ve ever seen a reading set-up like that for a young, new poet was in university contexts where the reading was some kind of final exam or something. Interesting. Sounds potentially quite curious and good, but also potentially quite a slog too. Yeah, odd. ** Right. You have your post intro, now get to it or not in your personal fashion. See you tomorrow.