One week after Orlando's debut, it's Hollywood's turn for Halloween Horror Nights.
This year's edition of Universal's annual, after-hours haunt event started tonight at Universal Studios Hollywood. Once again, the event features eight haunted houses, as well as the return of the park's Terror Tram. Both Hollywood and Orlando shared five IP-driven houses this year. Unlike in Orlando, however, the three most-publicized IP houses - Fallout, Five Nights at Freddy's, and Terrifier - were the three best houses of the night.
In my opinion, of course. As always, your experience may vary. Here are my thoughts about each of this year's houses, including walk-through POV videos.
Terrifier leads the pack in Hollywood with a fresh take on an old-school slasher funhouse. Art the Clown is the breakout star of this year's Halloween Horror Nights, appearing throughout both the Upper and Lower Lots of Universal Studios Hollywood this year. But the Terrifier house is his home, and he holds court here like the reigning champion of slasher horror. It's absurdly funny - the kills are so over the top, and the crew of Art the Clowns in here play like they know it, playing their roles with self-mocking, sarcastic preening. Hollywood also one-ups the Orlando version of this house with a false ending. After Art directs you to the "Chicken Exit," you might think it's over. But that backstage hallway is only the introduction to the next chapter in the Terrifier saga.
Five Nights at Freddy’s here is almost identical to the Orlando version, save for a slimmed-down first scene. [Here is the link to my Orlando review from last week, in case you missed it: Original houses lead the pack at Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights.] Universal clearly got its money worth with abundant puppets from the Jim Henson Creature Shop, and the smell of pizza in the kitchen only whets the appetite for the animatronic kills to come.
Continuing with the IP houses, Fallout in Hollywood proves the saying that "less is more." The Hollywood version of this house far exceeds the Orlando version by refusing to do as much. As a result, the house flows better, allowing even non-fans to follow the action. Hollywood's use of a Cyclorama better illustrates our movement out of the vaults and onto the surface in this wildly popular, multimedia, post-apocalyptic franchise. The Ghouls gets plenty of opportunities to be creepy as we head to an action-packed finale. 🎦 Video
The better of Hollywood's two original concept houses this year is Monstruos 3: The Ghosts of Latin America, the latest in Hollywood's exploration of Latin American mythology. La Muelona, La Siguanaba, and La Llorona are our legendary ghosts this time, with La Llorona stealing the show. 🎦 Video
Hollywood's version of The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks takes a very different approach to this WWE franchise than the team in Orlando did. The pro wrestling fans in Orlando started their version of the house with a recreation of the "Raw" episode where The Wyatt Sicks first appeared, twisting that into a killing spree backstage at a WWE production. In Hollywood, there's no reference to wrestling - just a luscious imagining of The Wyatt Sicks as a horror franchise come to life, in a horror film that the late Bray Wyatt might have made had he lived to realize that opportunity. 🎦 Video. If you would like to read some background on this house, please check out my previous post, Why is Universal building a wrestling-themed haunted house?
Likewise, Hollywood's Jason Universe takes a different turn than the Orlando installation. Here, we get the introduction to Jason Voorhees' story up front, rather than in the middle of the house. It's not just one jump scare after another here, either. This version of the house offers kills in lieu of jump scares, creating a satisfying testimony to Jason's enduring power as a horror legend. 🎦 Video
Scarecrow: Music by Slash brings back 2022's Scarecrow: The Reaping, this time with a soundtrack by longtime HHN fan and collaborator, Grammy-winning guitarist Slash. Slash lays down a great riff here, but the music never gets a moment to star. Universal revived the Scarecrow concept just last month in the new Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas, so please excuse me for feeling a case of Scarecrow fatigue at this point. 🎦 Video
Bringing up the rear, as one house must, is Poltergeist, a revival of a house from 2018. This house shows how far Hollywood's version of Halloween Horror Nights has come in recent years, filling its houses with more than the seemingly endless blackout hallways that dominate this house. Still, the facade is great, as is the cemetery finale. It's just not as good as the newer stuff. 🎦 Video
Speaking of that new stuff, this years version of Terror Tram takes us to Enter the Blumhouse with a walk-through scare zone featuring some of the production company's best horror icons, including M3GAN, The Grabber, The Blissfield Butcher, The Babyface Killer, and more.
On the Upper Lot, The Purge: Dangerous Waters returns to the WaterWorld theater this year, while Chainsaw Man: The Chaos visits the DreamWorks Theater, direct from Universal Studios Japan.
Halloween Horror Nights continues on select nights through November 2. For tickets, starting at $74, as well as Day/Night admission tickets, please shop our partner's Universal Studios Hollywood tickets page.
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