Sydney Opera House’s HELLHOUSE To Offer Special Horror Screenings This October

This spooky season, the Sydney Opera House is transforming into HELLHOUSE, where a slate of spine-tingling acclaimed horror cinema will be screened…for those who dare. 

The special Halloween program, running from 27 – 31 October,  will screen eight different films spanning cult classics and contemporary thrillers, and will even include experimental live presentations and exclusive Q&As.

Don’t Miss The HELLHOUSE Babadook Screening & Q&A

Arguably HELLHOUSE’s must-see event is the screening of renowned Australian director Jennifer Kent’s defining feature debut: The Babadook. The special 31 October viewing will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Kent herself.

Now one of the most talked-about scares in modern cinema, the film follows a widowed Adelaidean mother who, with her son, must confront the mysterious humanoid monster that is haunting them.

The iconic film is not just a brilliant horror movie, but is also widely regarded as a metaphor for how the terrors of grief, PTSD, and depression transform us, and how they ought to be confronted, lived with, and even consoled, rather than suppressed.

Other HELLHOUSE Highlights

Other 31 October highlights include a special presentation of the 1922 silent horror film Häxan from Denmark, featuring a live score performed by Australian composer and producer Madeleine Cocolas; and a 4k restoration 20th-anniversary screening of Guillermo del Toro’s modern masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth.

While the final day of October at the Sydney Opera House is no doubt stacked with spooky delights, the day prior have their own assortment of frights. 

These include a screening of director Maja Holand’s beguiling documentary HEX, which charts the rapid rise of the Norwegian black metal phenomenon Witch Club Satan (Oct 30); Frank Oz’s classic horror comedy musical Little Shop of Horrors; Exhuma, one of the highest-grossing South Korean films of all time (Oct 27); and Angel’s Egg, an early cult classic from director Mamoru Oshii and art director Yoshitaka Amano (Oct 28).