Nightmares and childhood memories inspire artist’s horror installation

Watching “The Exorcist” late at night as a child gave Maximillian nightmares – and a lifelong love of horror films.

Since then, the artist has transferred that appreciation into “I Like Scary Movies,” an interactive art installation that transports visitors to iconic scenes from five horror films: “Friday the 13th,” “It,” “The Shining,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Beetlejuice.” The exhibit, which runs through Nov. 17 in Downtown Los Angeles, is an interactive 3D art installation that visitors can walk through. Attendees are encouraged to pose for photos in the various exhibits, as Maximillian said it provides a more tactile way to keep interest in the older horror films alive.

“I grew up being a Halloween freak and loving these movies,” Maximillian said. “I’ve always wanted … to bring these movies to life in a different way and celebrate these movies in a different way than has been done before.”

The installation first ran last spring, but Maximillian said the installations have already undergone redesigns. He swapped out “The Lost Boys” exhibit with Camp Crystal Lake from “Friday the 13th” in order to engage with different films over time, he said.

[RELATED: Documentary brings in new narratives to spotlight black horror’s rich history]

The “It” installation initially featured a tower consisting of the lost children’s possessions with Pennywise’s face at the top; now their toys make up a spinning vortex that Pennywise is vomiting out. Artistic director Weston Santos said they made the change to embrace their new location in Downtown LA since utilizing the columns and rafters provides a space to support the toys.

But designing an interactive exhibit goes beyond making aesthetically appealing art; Santos said the creative team had to consider how people would interact with the pieces. In the “It” exhibit, visitors can walk through a number of recreations of Georgie’s paper boat. Because of this, the boats had to be sturdy and couldn’t simply be made out of paper, so Santos instead repurposed hot dog trays and snow cone cups to make durable boats.

Additionally, within the “Beetlejuice” exhibit, the team recreated the iconic smoking skeleton from the film. But Santos said after creating the figure, he realized it might be too flimsy for people to potentially sit on. Therefore, they placed a chain around the skeleton, so people could pose near it without destroying the artwork.

“We really had to think about everything that people would do with the art and how it would hold up with people playing with it,” Santos said.

[RELATED: After Dark: ‘Beetlejuice’ screening has garish gags, invites outlandish outfits]

Part of creating the interactive elements was also making the space adequate for attendees to take photographs. Maximillian said they encourage visitors to pose with the various interactive elements. From the teddy bear in “The Shining” to the material surrounding Beetlejuice’s casket, Maximillian said they aimed for specificity in order to create the correct ambiance for visitors. The team also had to light everything properly, and Santos said his background as a portrait photographer helped him stage the scene while considering how it would look on camera.

Executive producer Robyn Snodgrass said it is the exhibit’s element of interaction that helps them keep the classic horror films alive. For many of these older films, she said the primary way of interacting with them is by rewatching them at home. But “I Like Scary Movies” is a space for visitors to have a more tactile relationship with the films, as well as conjure up memories from the scenes.

“When you walk in the door you’re not going to get spooked,” Snodgrass said. “You’re going to go into ‘The Shining’ carpet room and you’re going to remember details and parts of the film.”

Maximillian said he did not want to create a museum but instead celebrate the creativity of the horror genre in an artistic way. Aiming to appeal to both hardcore horror fans and casual viewers, he said utilizing specific details from each film and bringing the scenes to life in a tactile way creates an environment where many people can further appreciate the genre.

“I love to see artists’ interpretations of movies and pop culture that they love,” Maximillian said. “What I’m doing is creating 3D fan art and fan art that people can step into. … It’s another way to connect to the movies.”