Museum News

Horror Museum in Deep Ellum shuts down early on opening night

Does this doll look scary to you?

Courtesy photo

The so-called Horror Museum & Chocolate Bar, a new place in Deep Ellum that advertises itself as "the scariest Horror Museum in the world," had what would have to be called a difficult opening night on September 27, with such scathing reviews that the owners shut it down early.

The idea of the concept was a permanent installation with a horror theme, and the owners raised expectations high with their promising description.

"Everything from scary movies to real life occult items," says the museum's Facebook page. "Inch for inch the museum houses the largest array of obscure and haunted artifacts. Items used in extremely dangerous occult activities around the world. If that’s not enough their [sic] are interactive anger rooms."

In a less horror-savvy town, that might fly, but Dallas-Fort Worth has a long history of elaborate haunted houses, from the showbiz gloss of Dark Hour in Plano to the award-winning Cutting Edge Haunted House in Fort Worth, resulting in a fairly sophisticated audience when it comes to the horror milieu.

That said, this is not a haunted house, which may have factored into customer dissatisfaction with the museum's glass-eyed dolls and hanging ghouls, communicated via hundreds of comments on the museum's Facebook page after its opening night on September 27.

But the facility also did not deliver on two features it had advertised.

One was the anger room, which a spokesperson claimed would be a place where patrons could break plates. According to a statement, that fell through "because of a permit issue — but we still want to add that."

The other was a "chocolate snack bar" with promises of chocolate cakes, ice cream, milkshakes, and fondue. But attendees found pre-packaged desserts such as chocolate cake, $6.66 a pop.

Spokesperson Javi Nelson says that their idea of a "bar" was a to-go bar, and that they'll update the description on their site.

Shortly after the museum opened at 5 pm, the event page for the grand opening began to get pelted with dissatisfied reviews.

"We went in and out under 5 mins and drove over an hour to and from. Biggest ripoff ever! It's just a 1 room with Spirit Halloween items and cardboard cutouts. You have a better chance going to Spirit Halloween and turning off the lights. Plus chocolate is not included you have to buy some pre packaged cakes (Walmart)."

"It's one room. Things you see at Spirit Halloween for free."

"You're all wasting your money I was so excited to go but it was trash.... 20 minutes...... ridiculous. I left after 10."

"By museum did you mean clearance section of Spirit Halloween?"

"It was TERRIBLE! One room filled with poorly put together decorations... no informative museum.... no real occult items. The Chocolate bar.... literally had no fucking Chocolate items... just some pictures of some Chocolate desserts you could buy SEPARATELY from the ticket cost. I swear I have more occult shit and actual horror merch at my house! I read the reviews in line as we were waiting to get in and should have asked for my money back then. I don't know how the fuck they built all this rapport and even got a really good write up in some DFW publications! This is like Fyre fest level shit."

"Pre-packaged cakes" are familiar words for this location, whose last business was the Magical Unicorn Dessert Bar, which was also using pre-packaged cakes for its unicorn-themed desserts, before the shop closed in the spring. Nelson says there's no connection between the two businesses.

One attendee, Dustin Ferris, said he was hoping to organize some kind of refund. "I'm a small business owner in the area and I feel like it hurts all small business locally to have places operate like this," he said.

By midnight, damage control had begun, with two videos posted to the page. One interviewed a group in line who awkwardly pledged their commitment to the evening ahead, regardless of outcome.

The other video shows the actual museum interior, with an introduction that says, "Good evening everyone this is the complete video of our museum, there is no guarantee that you will like this place. Please looks at the video if you are a horror fan or not everyone is welcome. If you don't like this video please don’t buy tickets because there is no refund. If you like it please buy tickets if not, it's entirely up to you thank you."

It was a good-faith gesture but not in time for those who've already bought tickets far in advance.

By 12:30 am, patrons arrived to find the museum's doors locked, despite their advertised 2 am closing time.

Nelson says that part of the problem is that some people are confusing "horror museum" with "haunted house."

"We never advertised this as a haunted house, but I think some people are expecting that," she says. "It's a museum, so if people are coming because they want to get scared, that's not what we are doing."

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Movie Review

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' doc leaves truth in question

Photo courtesy of A24

Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes in You Can See Everything.

Elizabeth Holmes faced one of the most public downfalls in recent history after she was accused of defrauding investors in her health technology company, Theranos. Her subsequent indictment and conviction drew the interest of many, including, it seems, comedian/actor/filmmaker Nathan Fielder. Fielder somehow convinced Holmes and her husband, Billy Evans, to make a documentary about her final days of freedom, called You Can See Everything.

It’s not immediately clear why Fielder — who only has one previous feature-length documentary to his credit — is interested in profiling Holmes, but the approach that he and co-director Lance Oppenheim (Primetime) take is one that puts Fielder in the spotlight as much as her or Evans. Fielder looms over the couple — sometimes literally, sometimes from afar — as they care for their children, make meals, try to re-establish business relationships, and prepare for Holmes’ prison sentence, which is due to start about a month after the film begins in 2023.

Fielder quizzes Holmes and Evans about predictable subjects — such as how Theranos worked, her relationship with COO Sunny Balwani, and her conviction — and ones that are slightly off-kilter, including the miniseries The Dropout, which dramatized Holmes’ rise and fall. He is met with seeming openness by both of them — the title of the movie is uttered by Holmes at one point — but there are times where their idea of transparency doesn’t jibe with Fielder’s expectations.

Through it all, the quirky reputation that Fielder has from TV shows like Nathan for You, The Curse, and The Rehearsal colors his participation, as well. He appears sincere, if surprisingly intense, in his questioning, but there are more than a few moments where it’s fair to wonder if the whole thing is an act of performance art. That suspicion grows in the second half of the nearly three-hour film as Fielder and Oppenheim go down roads that stretch the definition of what a documentary is or can be.

The film is utterly fascinating as the filmmakers go on what seems to be a full-on exploration of the meaning of truth. Holmes and Evans, either intentionally or unintentionally, carry on conversations with Fielder with wide-open, unblinking eyes, something that conveys honesty and creepiness in equal measures. Fielder meets them with squinting expressions, looking like he’s trying to determine how candid they’re actually being.

One of the biggest things the film reveals (or does it?) is that — if she’s not a sociopath — Holmes might be someone who’s either oblivious or naive. As cryptic or strange as she can be in words and actions, Evans is even more so, and as the film progresses it’s him whose motives and ideas are called into question. Control over the narrative of the film wobbles back-and-forth between Fielder, Holmes, and Evans, and even at the end it’s unclear whose perspective has truly won out.

There is no way to accurately get across what it’s like to watch You Can See Everything for the first time. The motives of everyone involved are up in the air, resulting in a roller coaster ride that’s full of astonishment, laughs, and a number of surprises. It’s an audacious film that can’t be categorized, one that will challenge the thinking of voters when it comes time for awards season.

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You Can See Everything opens in theaters on October 16.

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