Thursday, October 16, 2025

Halloween Hype: Slasher World

We've posted on it earlier for the special Pluto TV event, but you can travel back in time to a video store with Slasherworld on Melrose! Oh, we thought it was just a pop-up, but we were wrong. It looks to be a new version of Slashback Video. We've covered it over the years, first as a pop-up years ago in Burbank. Now it's a horror-themed merch store and event venue, perfect for the Halloween season and tourist dollars. You've got to check it out with Halloween events happening now.

Slasher World at 7660 Melrose Avenue


 

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Halloween Hype: Getting Closer & Closer

 

Don't forget, there's also TTDILA's Halloween Guide 2025 for even more to do. Here's what's happening this week.


Boo at the L.A. Zoo
October 18-19 25-26
Free with paid Zoo admission

The Halloween spirit will be in full swing for two frightfully fun weekends at the L.A. Zoo, with trick-or-treating stations featuring premium Mars candies, plus animal pumpkin feedings, themed photo ops, education stations, an extinct animal graveyard, and more. Costumes are encouraged!
 
 
The Eighth Eye, presented by Bat Cave Burlesque
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025, 10:00 PM PDT
Dynasty Typewriter
2511 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057
General Admission: $40 Adv / $45 Day of Show

The nightmare doesn't get realer than this. Join Los Angeles' premiere goth burlesque and variety production for a high-glam Halloween spooktacular that would *stun* a Victorian child. At our late night show, your hosts, Via L'Once and Daddy Longlegs, will guide you through dark burlesque and sideshow performances amidst the haunting elegance of a historic theater. Maybe we'll even find out once and for all if it's actually haunted. No one does Halloween like the ghouls who are spooky year-round, so summon your tickets and dress your darkest to raise the dead with us.

Featuring performances from Ginger Valentine, Angie Alaska, Mylique E. Fawcett, Miss Marquez, Daddy Longlegs, Via L'Once and more...
 
 
SCREAM-O-RAMA
NoHo 7 on Oct 18 at 1pm
$ 

NYFA is celebrating horror movies and the fans who love them. On October 18th at 1pm, we are hosting our first SCREAM-O-RAMA, celebrating 50 years of Horror!! Join us as we screen five secret horror movies, and between films, there will be giveaways, appearances, and much more! You don’t want to miss out!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

September 25 through October 19
Select Locations in Little Tokyo
 
 "From September 25 through October 19, witness the historic district in downtown LA undergo a hauntingly beautiful transformation in SILENT HILL f “A Taste of Ebisugaoka” takeover event. Discover fun photo opportunities, visit participating stores for deliciously themed food, drinks, and cocktails, and get the chance to score exclusive giveaways only available during the event. Metro’s Little Tokyo/Arts District Station will feature SILENT HILL f artwork and sound effects so you can begin your haunted journey through Little Tokyo while participating small businesses including Café Dulce, Mitsuru Cafe, and Far Bar will offer limited-time SILENT HILL f-inspired drinks and treats."
 
 
Little Tokyo Ghost Tours
Saturday, 10/18 • 4:30–6 PM
Tours depart from Little Tokyo Metro Station Plaza
$25/person
 
Hosted by the Little Tokyo Community Council and Little Tokyo Historical Society, embark on a ghoulish ghost tour throughout the Little Tokyo neighborhood! Don't miss your chance to learn the spook-tacular history + stories behind some of your favorite Little Tokyo spots.
 


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Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Weekly What To Do: Korean, German, Wait...Let's Get Seafood!


10.16.2025 – 10.19.2025
Seoul International Park on Normandie & Olympic blvd street
$ Parking 
 
Check out the LA Korean festival for food, shopping, performances and experiences all from Korea. 
 
 *Korean Corn Dog Eating Contest, powered by Smile Hotdog!
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025
🕜 1:30 PM
😋 30 brave contestants.
🔥 One stage.
🏆 $500 cash + a Labubu collectible for the winner!
 
Skirball Cultural Center
Exhibition Opening—Fall 2025
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Free, RSVP
 
Join us for opening day of our fall exhibitions! Whether you're visiting for daytime tours or evening fun, enjoy FREE admission to three new exhibitions, mingle with artists and curators, stroll through our oasis, and more. Welcome the opening of three new exhibitions at the Skirball: Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston; Glass Sukkah: This Home Is Not a House; and TORN Project by Susan Lerner. And if you haven't seen it yet, don't miss Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity!
 

October 17–19, 2025
TCL Chinese 6 Theatres
$ 
 
Just an amazing selection this year if you just look below, it's so much anime and more, I'm not sure what to pick if not everything. There's even a panel for Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl, A pilot preview, with creator Kiana Khansmith.
 
*The artist Chao is at this too and a sold out KPop Demon Hunters event.
 
 
German Currents 2025
Fri. Oct 17 - Tue. Oct 21, 2025
Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3 and Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
$

German Currents, L.A.’s Festival of German Film, returns this fall for its 19th edition, taking place from October 17–21, with screenings at the Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3, the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the Gardena Cinema.
 
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025, 2pm
Getty Villa & Online
Villa Auditorium
Free
Tickets are free, but required for event entrance. Your event ticket will also serve as your Villa entrance reservation. Please note, there is a fee for parking.
 
 Perfume was a thriving industry in Late Bronze Age Greece. In this presentation and sensory experience, archaeologist Cynthia Shelmerdine shares the Mycenaean evidence that reveals the materials, production methods, and people involved in the process. Perfumer Michael Nordstrand then recounts how he recreated both a 3,000-year-old perfume and a variation interpreted for a modern audience. Attendees will have the opportunity to compare both versions on scent strips before joining a Q&A moderated by curator Claire Lyons. 
 
 
OPENING RECEPTION Saturday, October 18, 2025
NUCLEUS
210 East Main St. Alhambra CA 91801

*Listen the panel & signing has long been sold out, it was sold out before we even wrote this, but as of writing this you can still go to the opening reception for $5.

Gallery Nucleus, in conjunction with Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, is proud to bring you a look behind-the-scenes of KPOP DEMON HUNTERS. In addition to a panel and signing with some of the creatives behind the film, the gallery will feature a stunning collection of concept artwork ,as well as tribute artwork from some of the film's production artists! Guests on opening day will also be able to purchase special KPOP Demon Hunters donuts, courtesy of Moonbridge Donuts!

 
October 19, 2025 - November 2, 2025
Reception / Oct 19, 3:00PM - 6:00PM
$15 admission for Live Drawing / Q and A / Signing, October 19 (1:00 - 3:00 PM)
$10 admission for Signing only, October 19 (4:00 - 6:00 PM)
FREE admission, No RSVP, October 21 - November 2
NUCLEUS 
210 East Main St
Alhambra CA 91801
 
Own a piece of Anime history! Nucleus and ACALI proudly present the art of ChaO, a new film by legendary STUDIO4°C. Be sure to also come and meet Hirokazu Kojima (aka Kazuhiro Kojima) (Character Designer / Supervising Animation Director) at the reception October 19.
 
Felicia Chiao: Closing Event and Artist Talk at Giant Robot 2
Saturday, October 18 | 2–6 PM | Talk at 2 PM
Giant Robot 2 — 2062 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025First come, first serve seating, and standing.

Giant Robot 2 is pleased to present the closing event for Felicia Chiao’s exhibition, featuring an intimate artist talk and projected show-and-tell from her sketchbooks and career journey. The event begins at 2 PM and will be moderated by Eric Nakamura.

Felicia Chiao, will share insights into her creative process and the evolution of her work. You will have a chance to see inside her personal sketchbooks, hear stories behind her drawings, and ask questions. 

Following the talk, guests can enjoy interactive activities including button making, coloring pages, and a raffle giveaway. Felicia will also be available to sign prints and books.
 
Oct 19 · 4:00 PM
Santa Monica Pier
200 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA 90401
$55.06 and up
21+
 
OFF THE HOOK Seafood Festival RETURNS to the iconic Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, Oct. 19, to celebrate National Seafood Month, the City of Santa Monica's 150th Anniversary, and to raise funds for Heal the Bay!
 
Sunday, October 19th, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 
2327 MAIN STREET
SANTA MONICA
Free
 
The Day of The Dog is a fundraiser for the Just Love Animals Society, a non-profit dedicated to animal welfare and community outreach. The festival draws more than 10,000 attendees each year. Guests can expect a bigger-than-ever lineup in 2025, with more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the latest products, treats, and services from leading pet brands including Primal Pet Foods, Metropaws, Earth Animal, Tilted Barn Pet Co., and more.
 
Angel City Jazz Festival
Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Hero Trio / Brandon Ross and Stomu Takeishi's For Living Lovers
OCT 19, SUN, 8 PM
Redcat
631 W 2ND ST,
LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
$25*
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oct 21, 2025–Jan 25, 2026
Getty Center
Museum West Pavilion, Plaza Level
Free
All exhibitions are included in your free, timed-entry reservation to Getty. Reservations are available six weeks in advance. Please note, there is a fee for parking.
 
 Drawing is a skill, gained like any other through study and practice. Combining the movement of the hand with the dedication of the mind, drawing was considered the foundation of the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture since the Renaissance. Proficiency in drawing was critical for exploring, inventing, and communicating ideas visually, but how was this foundational ability actually learned? This exhibition explores artistic training and the mastery of drawing in Europe from about 1550 to 1850.
 
 
AGFA Movie Hooky Club IMAX Matinee Screening: MURDEROCK (1984)
October 21, 2025, 3:00 P.M.
The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre, RZC 119, Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, 3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Free, RSVP

A total hoot for Italian horror novices and superfans alike. One of the final horror gems in the vast sleazy filmography of Lucio Fulci (ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND), MURDEROCK blends FLASHDANCE tropes, upbeat Eurodisco nonsense (courtesy of prog rocker Keith Emerson) and black-gloved slasher thrills into a lavish satisfying stew. Nothing is as it seems in this foggy ‘80s world of whiny dance students, backbiting school staff, puzzled cops, handsome strangers, surreal dream sequences, gruesome kills, naughty eroticism and spiraling labyrinthine mystery. Who will live to dance another day?!?!

Even More To Do:
 
Oct 5, 2025 – Mar 1, 2026
HAMMER MUSEUM
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
90024
Free for good

Made in L.A. 2025 is the seventh iteration of the Hammer’s signature biennial exhibition that showcases artists practicing throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The 28 participants in the exhibition present work not only made in the city but also grounded in its complex and unfolding terrain. Neither myth nor monolith, Los Angeles is many things to many people, and its dissonance is perhaps its most distinguishing feature. The works presented in this year’s biennial include film, painting, theater, choreography, photography, sculpture, sound, and video. Attitude draws them together: Each engages with this city in ways alternately literal, formal, material, and metaphoric. Conceived or made in Los Angeles, they are of this city and nowhere else.
  
Free Hours at the Autry
Every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-4 p.m.
Update: During this Wildfire season, The Autry closes off, please check day of event

Let the Autry cover your next visit with Free Hours at the Autry. Every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-4 p.m. will be free to all Autry visitors. Enjoy access to all the Autry's exhibitions including Imagined Wests, Reclaiming El Camino and more by reserving your spot today!
 

Thanks to the generous support of the Autry Foundation, Free Hours at the Autry* are every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-4 p.m.
 
UCB, a cheapo comedy show almost every night, see comedians before they make podcasts and have
stories about the UCB and before they hit the big time.



 
Sat, Aug 30, 2025 - Sat, Dec 27, 2025
9:00 am - 2:00 pm every Sat
Isamu Noguchi Plaza
244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Free
 
"Join us at the Little Tokyo Farmers’ Market, a vibrant new Saturday tradition in the heart of Little Tokyo. Presented in partnership by JACCC and Food Access LA, this weekly market brings together fresh, affordable produce, rich cultural experiences, and meaningful community connection."
 

 

American Cinematheque-A celebrated independent theater group that brings both the talent and catalog of films to make for some of LA's best movie nights.
 

Street Food Cinema-Outdoor cult or recent hits you'll love.

Check out classics and cult movies just a few stories above street level. Rooftop Movies at The Montalbán. & Rooftop Cinema Club

 New Bev-Tarantino owned independent theater with old school style
 
Brain Dead Studios-manages to fill its schedule almost every night
611 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
 
Vidiots -A one-of-a-kind hub for film lovers, filmmakers, and everyone curious about cinema. A small theater is more than made-up for with the constant content and special screenings.
4884 Eagle Rock Blvd

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Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Katanaut Review: Slashy Slashy, Red Everywhere

 
 
Hoo boy, say, "Hello" to Dead Cells-lite. Not trying to be negative, even being on par with such a polished game is a compliment and Katanaut is getting there. A sci-fi tale with plenty of background lore and a huge amount of blood splatter to get behind. I'm not sure about commitment to a game like that right now. CloverPit and me are just starting to really get to know each other. And, you'll get to know Kataunaut, if you won't to put the time in. It's both a rogue-lite and a metroidvania, that's why I'm sticking to the Dead Cells reference. The "lite" I'll get too.
 
First up, the name is dope as Hell. Katanaut, c'mon, how has that not be a title already. That needs to be a poster and Saturday Morning Cartoon we never got.
 
The setting is a messed up space station in the future with some kind of zombie or alien virus turning people into a gross murder horde. You're stuck in a time loop with a plethora of skills and weapons to make the background in this game look like some really bad accident at a ketchup factory.
 
The "lite" comes from gameplay. I'm not that sold, sure, different skill attacks look cool, but I feel as though I mainly just use my main slashing technique to pulverize what's left of people into mush. It's why it's called Katanaut. I love their are skills that let you pull off amazing anime like fight moves, but mainly it feels like I'm just running through slashing people with little more to show for it based on whatever build I get on my new run-through.
 
If it's all about the blade, make the main strike ability addictive to do. What's the point of even having a gun or other skills if the main blade isn't that compelling? 
 
A few other issues with balance/weight and moves could be fixed with patches.
 
Now, I still could easily get lost in it. As every time you die and come back something comes out to make you a little bit stronger. So many skills and new weapons to try. And there was time taken to make it fun. I see there's a cat at your home base to pet and wait...did a pirate just show up? Oh and skippable lore cutscenes.
 
So, there's a game to keep playing over and over again to make the first boss wish he was never born. Or was created in a lab without skin and I think was the combination of canine and bovine DNA. In any case, to cut to the chase, there's a game you could get into here. But, it could have a more compelling main move or changed it up like when you change your powers/weapon in Dead Cells/Metroidvania. Ughh, so close to a perfect cut.
 
consoles TBA






 Game provided by publisher for review purposes
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Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees Wins Harvey Award, Adorable Murder Bear Taking on Sub-Zero

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees is the Harvey winner for Best Book of the Year! It's a great honor among comics. And, then it gets much much weirder for this true crime, killer bear story.

Yes, our favorite adorable serial killer, Samantha Strong is taking on DC Comics superheroes and villains and randomly enough possibly Sub-Zero. In an upcoming comic arc called DC K.O. she and other characters from across other realities are going to beat each other up. What's really strange is Samantha Strong is not even owned by the WB, she's from comic company IDW. And, most of the other fighters aren't adorable animals.
 

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Monday, October 13, 2025

Halloween Hype: Good Boy, Fortnitemares, The Haunting, Airheads Decoy Boy, FruitHead, WNUF Halloween Special & Out There Halloween Mega Tape @ Walmart

 
Good Boy is a fun Sunday watch. What I mean is, I could see chillin out and being scared by this over a weekend cozy in bed. For those who don't know, this is the first horror movie completely from a dog's perspective. It totally works and has some good scares. No, the dog doesn't have a inner dialogue like we might have gotten from the 80's or 90's. This is a independent movie from IFC and Shudder. Oh, and if you see it in theaters you can learn some of how it was filmed. Here's some trivia the boggled my friends and I after seeing it 1. It was made over 3 and 1/2 years 2. It was filmed at the director's real house. 3. The dog has no training whatsoever for acting in movies/tv or commercials. 
 
Fortnitemares is going on now in Fortnite, special skins to buy for Halloween like the entire Scooby-Doo gang and Art the Clown from Terrifier.
 
 
Face your nightmares in #TheHaunting coming to Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone, which also has horror villains like Predator and Chucky.
 
Airheads Decoy Boy is marketing genius and also creepy as Hell, And, you can win one. Enter to win one here.
 

Gushers has made a horror short, are you brave enough to watch it?

 

We love these found footage movies and are so glad you can grab them both in one go on DVD at Walmart. They perfectly capture the feel of the 80's and early 90's.


 

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Thursday, October 9, 2025

Review: Elvira’s Cookbook from Hell — A Devilishly Delicious Feast of Camp and Cuisine

By Eric Harris

Cover of “Elvira’s Cookbook from Hell” by Cassandra Peterson, featuring Elvira with recipes for Unpleasant Dreamz Upside-Down Cake and Black Magic Margaritas, published by Grand Central Publishing (2025).
Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, 2025


Elvira, the girl with the enormous... flair for frightful feasts, has conjured up a devilishly delightful cookbook that's sure to haunt your kitchen in the best way possible. In Elvira's Cookbook from Hell: Sexy, Spooky Soirées and Celebrations for Every Occasion, Cassandra Peterson channels her iconic alter ego to serve up a campy cauldron of culinary chaos that's as fun as it is fabulous. This isn't your grandma's recipe book—unless your grandma hosts horror movie marathons and spikes her punch with a wink and a cackle. It's a playful plunge into gothic gastronomy, perfect for anyone looking to add a dash of macabre magic to their gatherings.

Plate of Slime Green Totchos made with crispy tater tots topped with slime-green Tex-Mex queso sauce blended from pureed spinach.
Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, 2025

What makes this cookbook a graveyard smash? For starters, it's a team effort worthy of a Hollywood horror production. Peterson credits no fewer than 14 collaborators—from photographers and food stylists to prop masters and recipe developers—who've helped bring her spooky vision to life. The result? 72 mouthwatering recipes spanning food, alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic sips, plus 16 clever crafts and decorations to set the scene. We're talking spiked napkin holders (a cheeky nod to her pooch Gonk from the 1988 cult classic Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), a coffin-shaped serving tray that'll have guests dying for seconds, wineglass bug charms crafted from enameled plastic critters, and "smoke"-spewing pumpkins using dry ice for that eerie fog effect. Even your furry friends get in on the fun with "Gonk’s Bone Appétit," a batch of dog treats that'll have tails wagging from beyond the grave. Ugh, gag me with a spoon—these ideas are so wickedly clever and pun-tastic, they don't require exotic ingredients or cursed cookware, making them ideal for novice necromancers in the kitchen.

Elvira and skeleton sitting in a smoke-filled movie theater, creating a spooky, cinematic atmosphere.
Courtesy of Cassandra Peterson, 2025

Two Black Magic Margaritas garnished with skewered blackberries and rimmed with shimmering black sugar for a spooky cocktail presentation.
Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, 2025
The recipes themselves are a scream, blending everyday eats with Elvira's signature campy twist. They're well-crafted and highly approachable, always striking the balance between playful and polished, but always keeping the horror hostess's irreverent spirit alive. Take my favorites—the “Barbecued ‘Bat’ Wings,” where juicy chicken wings get a midnight makeover with a barbecue sauce laced with black food dye or activated charcoal for that shadowy sheen. Then there's the "Devilish Spider Eggs,” deviled eggs cracked and dyed to reveal creepy spiderweb veins in black, blood-red, or purple, with yolks piped back in for a fiendishly flavorful bite. Don't miss the "Poison Toadstools," adorable cherry tomatoes dolled up as fly agaric mushrooms, perfect for popping at a creepy cocktail party. For heartier haunts, the "Living Dead Lasagna" emerges from the oven garnished with gnarly chicken feet, looking like a monster clawing its way out of a delicious doom. The "Slithering Serpentine Salad" coils cucumbers into snake shapes using the Japanese jabara-giri technique—an accordion-style cut that creates a mesmerizing zigzag effect—complete with a red pepper tongue for extra hiss. And oh, the "Bloody Orange Chicken," a takeout classic gone rogue, dyed red for a gory glow that's brilliantly bloody without the mess. These dishes embody Peterson's evolution into the “Martha Stewart of the Macabre,” proving she's the ultimate hostess with the most-ess when it comes to terrorizing taste buds.

Plate of deviled eggs decorated with purple spiderweb-style patterns, styled as spooky party appetizers.
Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, 2025
Reviewing this book has been a wicked walk down memory lane for me. As a young lad growing up in Southern California during the 1980s and 1990s, Elvira was an inescapable icon of Halloween havoc—from her sassy appearances on local TV like KHJ-TV's Movie Macabre (where the character debuted back in 1981) to cable reruns, T-shirts plastered with her image at record stores, posters in countless teen bedrooms—especially the boys’—and even catching her live at Knott’s Scary Farm. She was the queen of camp, and seeing her pivot to this cookbook direction at 74 feels like a natural next act. After all, Cassandra Peterson is long past the tassel routine (as she herself has joked, citing those "two big reasons" and a desire to retire the character on a high note), but her talent for blending humor, horror, and hospitality shines brighter than ever.

Elvira in her iconic black dress reclining on a red sofa surrounded by gothic, macabre decorations and artifacts.
Courtesy of Cassandra Peterson, 2025

If you only have room for one Halloween cookbook in your crypt, make it Elvira’s. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark—your hostess with the most-ess, and the gal with the enormous... love for the macabre—serves up frightful fun on every page. Out now and available wherever books are sold, this cookbook is a must-have for fans of spooky style and campy cuisine. As Elvira herself would say: “Unpleasant dreams!”

Playful image of Elvira depicted headless, reaching for her detached head in a humorous spooky scene.
Courtesy of Cassandra Peterson, 2025


Disclosure: The publisher provided Things To Do In LA with a complimentary advance copy of this book for review. No payment or editorial input was received, and the opinions expressed are entirely independent.

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