Things to do in Los Angeles today

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

Stroll through a mile-long trail filled with all things pumpkins, including an illuminated forest of jack-o’-lanterns, during Descanso Gardens’ annual Carved. For a month this fall (Oct 2–Nov 1), the event lines a loop of the botanical garden with pumpkins in all sorts of forms: as a sea monster rising from a pond, in thick clusters on the ground and cobbled together into a house. Last year, the event introduced a new route, and for the 2026 edition, the popular neon-hued Rhizome light sculpture will move into the dramatic Oak Grove, and the labyrinth will feature immersive new sculptures by Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein. The gardens’ model trains will again be illuminated during the event. Timed tickets ($29–$52, kids 2–12 $19–$37) are on sale now. This year also sees the introduction of a new “anytime” ticket that can be used on any date—though at a pricey $85, it makes a case for just committing to a day and time. Look out for the expanded Día de los Muertos ofrenda altar near the entrance on your way to the two main jack-o’-lantern areas. The first is a forested section lined with expressively carved (but fake) pumpkins, some of which have been arranged into wonderfully whimsical characters (a crow-like scarecrow and a pumpkin holding its own head, among them). Meanwhile, there’s a pavilion in the rose garden with real gourds whose designs are inspired by pop culture characters (plus a station where you can see them being carved). There are a few...

Right in time for Halloween season, the Academy Museum seeks to answer the question “Why do horror films matter so deeply to so many?” in this immersive look at the genre whose cultural cachet is always increasing. Knowingly employing horror tropes and exploring the lasting appeal of scary movies, the show is divided into six subcategories of horror—gothic, psychological, science, slasher, religion and ghosts. Expect re-creations of iconic settings where visitors will encounter creatures, monsters and objects from their favorite horror flicks and, in typical Academy fashion, a behind-the-scenes look at the storytelling and production processes of films from the original Frankenstein to The Shining to Get Out. After revisiting nearly every horror title (and slasher mask) you can think of, there’s only one way out of the exhibition—and it drops you into the middle of your own scary movie. At the end of a long hallway, you’ll find the Blood Room, a disconcertingly realistic re-creation of a slasher’s crime scene, with fake blood covering the walls and pooling onto the floor. The show is sure to be a huge hit with horror aficionados. And if you’re a horror hater? Well, according to Academy Museum President Amy Homma, you just haven’t found your horror yet. By splitting the genre into six wide-ranging categories, the exhibition shows that what qualifies as a horror movie isn’t one-size-fits-all. So if you, say, can’t handle anything with a ghost (guilty), you might be drawn...

Scope out B-movie classics and under-the-radar premieres at Beyond Fest. Held in partnership with American Cinematheque (which the fest raises funds for), it includes two weeks of screenings and Q&As with actors and filmmakers. Highlights from this year’s lineup include a day-long celebration of Robert Eggers’s work, the world premiere of V/H/S/MIXTAPE, and M. Night Shyamalan and Bruce Dern retrospectives. You’ll find the films spread across town at the Cinematheque’s three venues: the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Los Feliz 3 and Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, which is reopening after technical upgrades just in time for the festival.

You might have seen ads on Instagram over the past couple of months for Hospital of Emotions—a colorful, cartoony flyer that heralds a site-specific art pop-up located in a real hospital with the tagline “a place to heal your heART.” The conceit intrigued me off the bat: 70 artists (both local and international) given hospital rooms as a canvas to transform as they wished. Hospital of Emotions ads are also referring to it as “the experience of the year.” We’re only in May so that’s still TBD, but I do think the exhibition—which is inhabiting the former St. Vincent Medical Center in Westlake and is officially open to the public as of May 27—is well worth your time. While the entire experience is hospital-themed—you walk through a waiting room and are given an intake form and hospital wristband, employees are in doctors’ coats—it’s not the cheesy type of immersive exhibition (read: selfie factory) that you might expect. Instead you’ll find 80 rooms filled with thought-provoking, visually dazzling and, yes, eminently photogenic installations. But there’s both style and substance here. And though the tickets are definitely on the pricey side, there’s so much to see—I spent nearly two hours there during my visit—that it (almost) makes up for it. The rooms are organized by theme; you start at the top of the building in the “Resilience Department” and make your way through clusters of rooms inspired by feelings like joy, sadness, anger, grief, fear and hope. The emphasis on...

Walk in James Dean’s footsteps as the Griffith Observatory hosts two special screenings of Rebel Without a Cause—right where key scenes from the movie were filmed. The observatory hosted two sold-out screenings of the film last year in honor of its 70th anniversary, so it’s bringing the popular event back this October. Watch it in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater, snap pictures at themed photo ops, and enjoy free parking and after-hours access to the observatory, which is typically closed on Mondays.

Admire suspended sheets of textiles—including the metallic ones that would be incorporated into the curtains at the new David Geffen Galleries—along with colorful sketches and a recreation of Tokyo store NUNO at LACMA’s showcase of pioneering textile designer Reiko Sudō.

Just in time for Halloween, literature’s most iconic vampire is coming to the stage in Los Angeles—accompanied by a whole lot of whiskey and mayhem. Having already conquered audiences from New York to Phoenix, celebrated immersive comedy troupe the Drunk Shakespeare Society is bringing its signature brand of alcohol-infused theater to the Hotel Cafe (before it moves locations). The conceit: One professional actor takes five shots of liquor before taking the stage, while a sober supporting cast scrambles to keep the plot on track, creating a mix of classical theater, pop-culture riffs and audience interaction where no two nights are ever the same. The company’s newest show, Drunk Dracula, is a chaotic version of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale—fitting for its Halloween time debut.

It feels like Oktoberfest all year round at Silver Lake’s long-running Red Lion Tavern, but it’s especially festive in the fall, when it celebrates the Bavarian tradition all the way through mid-November. Order the Oktoberfest platter—an epic array of pretzels, brats, schnitzel and sides—alongside a four-liter boot of beer. You’ll also find live music and stein-holding contests on select nights. Check the bar’s Instagram for programming updates.

The reopened Getty Villa will descend into the underworld with this exhibition, which looks at the ritual spells and religious writings ancient Egyptians employed to garner favor with Re and Osiris in the afterlife. See the Getty’s collection of rare Book of the Dead hieroglyphics-adorned and illustrated manuscripts, dating back to around 1000 BCE, which were last displayed in 2023. The show should dovetail nicely with the museum’s “Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt,” which runs through January 2027.