"For the culture at large as well as for horror films," the museum program explains, "'1968' marks a clear transition: In the U.S., the Production Code had just been abandoned, eliminating many constraints and allowing George A. Romero to lay the groundwork for a new era of horror with his debut feature, Night of the Living Dead. The film's pseudo-documentary style (necessitated by the miniscule budget) suffused Romero's taboo-breaking conceits with a hitherto unknown 'authenticity', while the allegorical potential of the zombie invasion inaugurated a new, 'direct' political dimension in the genre – images of a nation gripped by self-destructive chaos in the era of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. During the 1970s, American horror cinema would deliver a series of pungent, subversive visions in the guise of cheap exploitation, in radical opposition to the appeasing images of society in the media mainstream. As the key auteur of this movement – his Dawn of the Dead is unsurpassed among populist critiques of capitalism – Romero is the best-represented filmmaker in the series (which takes its title from one of his later political pamphlets). However, 1968 is also the year in which the global success of Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby turns the once-disreputable horror genre into an attractive option for bigger mainstream productions; its respectability is further certified by contributions from major art filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf or Federico Fellini’s Toby Dammit."

Other films in the retrospective include Dario Argento's Suspiria and Deep Red, Larry Cohen's God Told Me To, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, David Cronenberg's The Brood and The Fly, and many more. Also read: Twitch's Patrick Holzapfel - "Vienna In September: Be Prepared To Hear Somebody Scream In A Cinema Near You".

'CARRIE' AS ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCE
Shades of Richard Schechner, La Mirada Theatre in Los Angeles will present Carrie The Musical as an audience-immersive theatrical event. According to the show's description, "Audiences will stand and move with the actors. Comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended. Wheelchair guests will be accommodated. The show contains the use of smoke and haze, strobe lights, special effects and loud music. CARRIE THE MUSICAL contains adult language, themes and nudity and is recommended for mature audiences." Performances will run from March 12 through April 5, 2015.

According to Playbill, producers Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman issued a statement in which they said, "The story of Carrie has endured in the popular consciousness for decades, but no one has ever experienced it from this point of view. The idea of placing the audience in the center of this world was just too tantalizing to resist. It's going to be thrilling."

The show's creators, Lawrence D. Cohen, Michael Gore, and Dean Pitchford, also issued a statement: "Director Brady Schwind is building on Carrie legacy with his own unique vision for our show. Making it an environmental experience for the audience is intriguing and daring – like the story itself. We look forward to this next chapter!"