Enter a twisted realm where nightmares quite literally come to life before your very eyes; that is, if your greatest fear is “Plain, Black Hallways.”
Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event located at Universal Studios Hollywood that runs thirty-two select nights between September 14, 2018 and November 4, 2018, including every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (except September 23) as well as Wednesday, September 26 and Halloween night itself. For 2018, Halloween Horror Nights features seven brand new haunted houses (eight when you include the year-round Walking Dead attraction), five scare zones, the iconic Terror Tram, as well as most of your favorite Universal Studios Hollywood attractions, including Transformers The Ride – 3D and Revenge of the Mummy. It should be noted that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) as well as the brand new Dreamworks Theatre attraction are not available during this event.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael MyErs
October 30, 1988, a seemingly comatose Michael Myers is being transferred back to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. It has been a decade since his last killing spree in Haddonfield, but the townspeople know pure evil never sleeps. Michael awakens and slaughters the medical personnel transporting him, escaping into the night. Fortunately, Michael’s former psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, knows exactly where he is heading; unfortunately for you, no one is safe from Michael Myers…
The Halloween franchise is arguably one of the most iconic horror IPs in history – and as such its easy to get excited about (another) Return of Michael Myers. Unfortunately, in what will become somewhat of the theme of 2018’s Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Studios Hollywood pales in comparison to the quality produced at their sister event in Orlando this year.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers does have some of the more fleshed out sets to be found at the 2018 event – but in a year full of more slashed budgets than serial killer victims, that’s not entirely the highest bar to reach for. Even with the best sets relatively speaking, this one still feels bland when compared to the quality we’ve seen from Universal Studios Hollywood in past years.
THE WALKING DEAD ATTRACTION
Enter the post-apocalyptic world of AMC’s “The Walking Dead“. Prepare to fight for survival in a fully immersive journey as you navigate through a world overrun by hungry walkers. Follow in the footsteps of the human survivors as you battle your way through nightmarish iconic landscapes that bring the most popular cable TV show in history to life!
The Walking Dead Attraction spans the first few seasons of the hit AMC show taking guests up through the assault on the survivors’ prison compound. While the main human characters of the show don’t make any appearances, some of the more memorable walkers appear and scenarios from the show play out for guests to see.
There’s a good flow moving through the hospital, into the woods, and finally through the prison that gives this maze a story arc that works even for non-fans of the show. The Walking Dead Attraction is the must see maze at this years event, even though it does run year-round.
This is, by far, the best looking maze at Halloween Horror Nights 2018. Of course, it also has the added benefit of being the highest budget maze because of its year-round standing at the park. Numerous animatronics and special effects make this feel like as real of an environment as you’ll find in a haunted attraction.
The best faux fire effects we have seen are also on display with a burning cabin emitting heat onto the guest path. It’s a show moment you’ll want to just stand and stare at.
The walkers here really know how to make zombies work in a maze environment. Assisted by some excellent prosthetics and animatronic figures, The Walking Dead Attraction creates an all encompassing experience. Video screens, shadow projections, and semi-mechanical mannequins make the walker count feel enormous.
The live actors working among the mannequins are also able to blend in well with their fake counterparts making it difficult to know who is real and who is not. They don’t use this as an opportunity for statue scares, but instead try to mimic and manipulate the horde to make everything feel real.
Universal Monsters
Inspired by Universal’s legendary horror films, the Universal Monsters maze—featuring an original score produced and composed by GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, SLASH—will shake horror fans to the core with a petrifying modern rendition.
After decades of rot and decay as they lay mouldering in their graves, the Universal Monsters’ disdain for the living has risen to a bloodthirsty, all consuming level! Invade their eternal resting place and witness the bone-chilling resurrection of Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera and The Wolf Man, among others. As they rise from the dead, thirsty for revenge, you will fall victim to the terrifying images and stories that helped invent the horror film genre.
Dipping into Universal’s own history, this haunt is full of perhaps its most prolific characters that formed the foundation of the Studio in its early years. Dracula. Frankenstein. Wolfman. The Mummy. Everybody out there knows these characters well, and has some degree of emotional connection to them. Universal Monsters should have been the most memorable haunt of 2018’s event.
Unfortunately, the actual result is somewhat on the bland side. Despite having several decent scenes, including a dinner party in a room full of vampires, and, Dracula cutting up the Bride of Frankenstein, for some reason, the continued used of “plain black hallways” kills what little pacing Universal Monsters is able to hobble together.
And while it’s great to see the most iconic monsters of all time return to Halloween Horror Nights (and yes, even the old American Werewolf in London puppets substituted in place of the Wolfman,) it all ends up feeling rather under-utilized, thanks in great part to costumes that feel cheap, capped with masks that look like they were more likely purchased at a local Spirit Halloween store than custom made by one of the greatest production companies in the world.
Trick ‘r Treat
Experience Halloween night like never before with Trick ‘r Treat, the anthology horror film from writer/director Michael Dougherty that has become a modern horror cult classic!
It is said that Halloween is the night when horrifying creatures roam free, but there are rules devised to protect us from their evil. Every year, one small town is taught a terrifying lesson: that some traditions are best not forgotten.
Welcome to Warren Valley, Ohio—a sleepy suburban community that masks many dark secrets. A bloodthirsty visitor has come to uphold the sacred traditions of Halloween and is itching to punish rule-breakers with bloody acts of vengeance! When the tricks and treats of Halloween turn deadly, you must attempt to survive the scariest night of the year. You either live by the rules, or you die by them.
Trick ‘r Treat was, perhaps, our favorite haunt at Universal Studios Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights event – and as such, we were excited to see how things differ in its west coast counter part. Even when the two sister events share a maze – the results are entirely different, thanks to two independently operating design teams. Sadly, Hollywood’s Trick ‘r Treat doesn’t even come close to the level of quality found in Orlando.
Although Trick ‘r Treat did have some compelling moments, they were fleeting instances in a sea of, well, badness. At an event that sadly has become known for more and more lazy “plain black hallways,” Trick ‘r Treat relies so much on this budget technique that it’s notable even beyond the rest of the event’s offerings. The unfortunate fact is that Trick ‘r Treat is more “plain black hallways” than it is themed scenes
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This haunt follows a four act system – similar to the four vignettes that make up the movie itself. However, rather than making any attempt to connect each act with some neutral segue, Trick ‘r Treat just keeps going back to the “plain black hallways.” Awkwardly, each act begins with a blatant title marker sign that feels entirely out of place.
It was refreshing to see that at least the ‘Meet Sam’ final act felt much more like an actual haunt, with relatively high quality set detail and decent scares. But like the rest of 2018’s Halloween Horror Nights, expect more “plain black hallways” with back to back to back unthemed window scares leaving a very cheap taste in one’s mouth upon existing the haunt.
stranger things
Step inside the hair-raising world of Stranger Things and prepare to brave the Upside Down of this pop culture series phenomenon!
Journey to small town Hawkins, Indiana—a seemingly peaceful community with dark, unnerving secrets. When a young boy goes missing near a secluded government laboratory, his faithful friends begin a quest unfolding a series of increasingly bizarre and frightening events. With the threat of flesh-eating creatures in the shadows and the help of one very strange little girl, their world is about to be turned “Upside Down”!
Stranger Things is unquestionably Halloween Horror Night’s marque attraction for 2018 – but does it live up to its own hype? In Hollywood, the answer is “not as such.” It’s difficult to discuss such a major IP-based haunt without drawing comparisons to it’s sister attraction at Universal Studios Florida – and in many instances, the differences between them are night and day.
Rather than sticking true to the flavor of the iconic Netflix series, Universal Studios Hollywood to the approach of trying to make Stranger Things be a scarier haunt – and to some degrees, this did work out for them. One Demogorgon pushing through a (spandex-type material) wall is quite reminiscent of the series, although it’s juxtaposed against many other Demogorgons to follow who essentially rely on more cliché “boo” scares.
A scrim effect in the school draws parallels to Orlando, although here in California, the live actor is sadly replaced with a simple statue. But it is inside the school that Universal Studios Hollywood hits its peak with Stranger Things – allowing guests to actually walk right through the middle of the classroom in the Upside Down as Eleven finally defeats the Demogorgon. This is a breath of relief as our biggest complaint from Florida was simply – and passively – walking past such a climatic moment rather than getting caught in the center of the action.
Overall, Stranger Things west feels like it was created on a much lower budget, with smaller scale scenic that lacks a flavor of authenticity. This is flaw is only amplified by Universal Studios Hollywood’s now trademark “plain black hallways” serving as the maze’s finale – complete with Demogorgons popping out from unthemed windows, for some reason. Marquee attraction or not, Stranger Things lacks that grandiose “wow!” moment we’re used to finding in headline Halloween Horror Nights haunts.
The Horrors of BlumHouse: Chapter two
Blumhouse Productions is back again with new suspense-filled moments from Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, Unfriended and a nightmarish surprise ending that will leave you screaming for more!
Enter the “Horrors of Blumhouse” film festival, where horror movies come to life. Pack your bags and get ready for the spring break trip of your nightmares. A group of college kids have unwittingly unleashed an ancient curse, forcing them to play a never ending game of Truth or Dare—but this time the rules are a little different; the stakes are life or death!
Next, enter the familiar world of cyberspace with Unfriended. A chatroom session amongst high school friends has turned into an endless night of terror! Exactly one year ago, fellow student, Laura Barns, committed suicide as a result of cyberbullying. When an unknown user assumes control over Laura’s online account, the group of friends attempt to expose the infiltrator’s true identity—forcing them to face their darkest secrets and lies. Soon they realize, this is no ordinary hacker. Let’s hope you make it out of cyberspace alive…
Entering through a movie theater facade, this is, again, framed as a horror film festival of sorts. Beginning with Unfriended, where not a lot of memorable action occurs, and then seguing into Truth or Dare. Surprisingly, the best parts of this haunt take place in act three’s out of place made up IP.
One very memorable scene from The Girl sees an unknown devil character possess the house, causing furniture to physically fly around the space on its own. It’s an impactful moment that elicits many “wow!” reactions. Unfortunately, it all builds to – you guessed it – another “plain black walls” finale. This time, there’s no less than four unthemed “demon window” boxes for the same character to pop out of again and again. If it sounds painful, that’s because it is.
The First Purge
Get ready for The First Purge, a terrifying new maze that tells the story of how the blockbuster franchise all began. The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) have instituted the inaugural Purge, a 12-hour period on Staten Island, where all crimes, including Murder, are legal. Try to survive the NFFA’s experiment and make it through the night. Your government thanks you for your participation!
Another Blumhouse film – The First Purge gets its own stand-alone haunt for 2018. At least, in name, it does. The thing is – we’re fans of this franchise, but in truth, the haunt didn’t feel very much like it existed within the storyworld of The Purge at all.
The experience starts strong in the queue – with an actor pacing back and forth down the line attempting to inspire participation in this evening’s inaugural Purge. “Remember, the more you participate, the more you’re compensated!” Unfortunately, we were left thinking that compensation could have been better spent on replacing the “plain black hallways” that naturally appear throughout The First Purge.
By morning and the final siren’s end, The First Purge feels more like “generic murder haunt” than anything based on the IP. Very little of the scenic is reminiscent of any iconic moments from the film – and frankly not much of it even felt like houses in a town that The Purge would be set in.
Poltergeist
Based on the classic 1982 film by director Tobe Hooper and producer Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist will take you inside the iconic ghost story that set the bar for paranormal thrillers ever since.
After moving to their new home in sunny Southern California, the Freeling family discovers that dreams can come true—and that nightmares can too…
One stormy night, their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, begins talking to strange, ghostly voices through a dead signal on the television set. When Carol Anne disappears, the family slowly comes to realize that she has been abducted by vengeful spirits occupying the spectral plane between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. What the Freeling family doesn’t know, is that their house was built over an old cemetery and they are in mortal danger!
Poltergeist is an interesting – and at times imbalanced haunt. When it’s ‘on’, it’s genuinely great – in fact, even stronger than its Orlando counterpart. But, with so many “plain black hallways,” the flow of what could otherwise be one of Universal Studios Hollywood’s strongest haunts in years is utterly killed. To death.
Entering through a full scale facade of the Freeling family home, Poltergeist opens in the living room, with Carol Anne pressed against the television – something we stressed was greatly missed in the Florida version. Projection effects open a portal from the TV, creating a tangible sense of impending danger.
Two separate bedroom scenes create a sense of destruction from the supernatural entities taking over the house – beginning with a moving tree limb smashed through the window, and ultimately leading to a completely ransacked similar space. In the second bedroom, the bed itself is violently swinging around on the floor littered with broken glass, while framed pictures spin on the walls. It’s a genuine “wow!” moment that makes this haunt perhaps the only repeatable attraction of 2018’s event.
Climaxing in a clown-demon filled hellscape, the walls of coffins felt more solid as an ending statement than the opening act of Orlando’s Poltergeist. Unfortunately, rather than finishing strong, Universal Studios Hollywood inexplicably returns to the “plain black hallways,” weakening an otherwise strong haunt by leaving its final impression as its weakest of moments.
TERROR TRAM: Hollywood Harry’s Deadtime Storiez
Hollywood Harry, the phantom clown infamous for terrorizing the Universal Studios backlot, has returned to Terror Tram as host of an all new bloodcurdling experience. Brace yourself for the unspeakable horrors depicted in this demented rendition of Harry’s 1950s television show. As you journey through five spine-tingling bedtime stories, attempt to survive the chainsaw wielding monsters, bloodthirsty cannibals, rotten corpse scarecrows, homicidal clowns, and a merciless torture factory. You better get some sleep while you can because after you experience Hollywood Harry’s Dreadtime Storiez, you’ll never sleep again…
Koodles the Klown, perhaps better known as the nefarious Hollywood Harry returns to hijack this year’s Terror Tram. Framed as Koodle’s kids show come to life and gone berserk, the action is split into five acts branded as “Dreadtime Storiez.”
Chapter one begins upon disembarking the tram. “Who Let the Dogz Out?” sees Hollywood Harry and his pack of chainsaw touting, dog-faced madmen rush the arriving crowd.
In chapter two, we meet the Kill Billyz as they take over the iconic Bates Motel sets – allowing guests to walk along its porch while being chased by killers donning recycled pig masks from 2017’s American Horror Story: Roanoke and SAW haunts.
Scarecrowz Revenge occupies a small section of barn just past the very real Psycho House facade for a brief third chapter. In it, the scarecrowz (why is the west coast HHN team so obsessed with ending words with the letter “z?”) are planting dead bodies to grow in their cornfield.
Chapter 4: Klownz on a Plane takes over the massive War of the World’s plane crash set. For those wondering what caused this actual jetliner to fall from the sky, apparently we now know the answer to be “the klownz wouldn’t sit down.”
Nightmarez serves as Dreadtime Storiez finale – filling out a disjointed factory type setting with jail cells. This section feels much less like a climax to the story and much more like a hodgepodge of “what’s still left” in the costume shop.
As is often the problem, this year’s Terror Tram is essentially nothing more than a re-skinned and formulaic rehashing of the same beats and flow from virtually every event year before it. If you’ve seen it before, you’ve seen it this year too. Walk across the porch of the Bates Motel before climbing the hill to walk through the War of the World’s crash site sets. And while it’s always cool to be on foot among the wreckage, we find ourselves wishing for something unique again.
Once again, the Terror Tram “attraction” is basically just an elaborate scare zone. Without any truly dedicated sets or effects, you’re left with a bunch of scareactors just wandering around in fairly open spaces.
And while the use of fog and lighting does help, it’s difficult to not look at the Terror Tram: Hollywood Harry’s Dreadtime Storiez as an instantly dated attraction that seemingly refuses to evolve with the rest of the event around it.
Hell’s Harvest
Halloween Horror Nights’ 2018 entry statement, Hell’s Harvest occupies the main drag from the park entrance gates past the Studio Store. Don’t expect much in the way of decor or world building; Hell’s Harvest is a little more than an assembly of scarecrow and pumpkin-headed characters walking around in the middle of the street.
Trick ‘r Treat
Trick ‘r Treat, the scare zone (not to be confused with the separate, identically named maze, for some reason) is little more than the area adjacent to the Universal Studios Tower in the park’s Central Plaza. Although the area is small, Trick ‘r Treat makes decent use of the space, filling it with glowing jack-o-lanterns, orange string Halloween lights, fog and fireballs. Although the school bus seamlessly belongs in a scare zone inspired by the Trick ‘r Treat franchise, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that very bus has been used in the same section of Halloween Horror Nights for years now. Chalk this one up to a happy accident!
Monster MASQUERADE
Step into the fog-enshrouded streets of old Paris and enter “The Danse of the Dead,” a macabre monster masquerade ball inspired by the original Universal Classic Monster movies The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Monster Masquerade, a colorful fog-filled gothic ball is a scare zone full of jesters and the Paris’ (most deceased) elite. This area serves as a themed exit of sorts to the Universal Monsters haunt. Oddly, at least at the time of our visit, experiencing the haunt was the only way one was allowed access into this “one way traffic” scare zone.
TOXIC TUNNEL
It’s so weird that this is a “scare zone,” because it really isn’t. An actual tunnel under an office building (don’t get too excited — think more parking space for cars than “spooky tunnel”) is a necessary obstacle between the park’s Lower Lot and the Backlot area that houses the remaining several haunts. Colored strobing lights, some fog and a handful of seemingly lost scareactors “put this one on the map” – for better or worse.
Holidayz in hell
Every day is Halloween in this irreverent send up of the Holidays of the year. Encounter creepy Cupids, lecherous Leprechauns and evil Easter bunnies as you take a terrifying trip through these psychotic seasonal celebrations…screaming all the way!
JABBAWOCKEEZ
Jabbawockeez, the acclaimed, award-winning hip hop dance crew, returns to “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood with an all-new performance. With their signature white masks, the diverse group of dancers will perform a repertoire of innovative, synchronized choreography accompanied by a stunning laser lights display that will come to life in a full spectrum of color. The group’s signature moves and brand of humor will create an exclusive experience for guests in which the Jabbawockeez crew defies space and time in a pulse-pounding, action-packed performance to save the planet from a society obsessed with social media.
The Jabbawockeez have created a new show exclusive to Halloween Horror Nights building off their successful Las Vegas residency. We didn’t attend the show as it is not what we tend to look for in entertainment, but it appeared to be popular with the local audience.
We know what you’re probably thinking:
Believe it or not – we’ve actually been long time fans of Universal Studios Hollywood’s version of Halloween Horror Nights – and in fact, for a lengthy period of many back to back years, it was our firm opinion that the California event actually far- surpassed the well-know and much-hyped Florida original. But over the past handful of years, something has happened – where each event featured a noticeably declining quality from the year before it.
And while, to the untrained eye, this review may come across as harsh, the simple fact is that we are merely holding Universal Studios Hollywood to the standard which it self for itself. We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that an event which was once a solid industry leader has gotten so watered down and seemingly budget cut that it leaves us frustrated rather than excited to see what’s next.
In our review of Halloween Horror Nights 2017, we touched on the “Plain, Black Hallways” being one of the most common and detrimental aspects of the event. Even expecting to find them again in 2018, we were shocked to see just how much more these cheap, jarring transitions were made at this year’s event. It feels like an epidemic, and if the past two or three years are any indication, it seems to be getting worse, not better. As we stated last year, “These jarring transitions are off-putting in the worst possible way. They feel lazy, and perhaps even worse than that, they feel as though they think we as the guests just won’t know any better. Well we do — and we also know that Universal Studios Hollywood is better than that.”
While we may give the event one last try in hopes of finding improvement in 2019, the truth is that leaving the 2018 event was the first time we’ve ever said out loud, “maybe we’ll take a few years off from USH’s Halloween Horror Nights.” Over the past handful of years, our normal haunters group has dwindled – with one or two “quitting” the event each year leaving just us in 2018. And 2018 left us considering a similar path.
It is our genuine hope that Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights sees a much needed return to form in 2019. We certainly long for the days that this event was the very best in the industry – and with a little love (and a little more budget) it could achieve that standard once again. Or perhaps we’re stuck in our own personal Happy Death Day.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Halloween Horror Nights 2018 in this exclusive album on the Escape Authority Facebook page! While there, why not give us a “LIKE” if you haven’t already? We’ll give you candy!
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Venue: Universal Studios Hollywood
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Dates: Select Nights September 15th – November 4th
Hours: 7PM – 2AM with early entry beginning at 5pm.
Cost: $95 at the gate, or save as much as $30 per person if purchased in advance online.