Halloween Horror Nights 2019 may not be all the way back, but we’re moving in the right directions.
Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event located at Universal Studios Hollywood that runs thirty-two select nights between September 13, 2019 and November 3, 2019, including every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday as well as Wednesday, September 30 and Halloween night itself. For 2019, Halloween Horror Nights features nine brand new haunted houses (ten when you include the year-round Walking Dead attraction), five scare zones, as well as most of your favorite Universal Studios Hollywood attractions, including Transformers The Ride – 3D, Revenge of the Mummy, and the brand new Jurassic World. It should be noted that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) as well as the Dreamworks Theatre attraction are not available during this event.
House of 1000 Corpses
From the mind of Rob Zombie, House of 1000 Corpses is a Texas set film of nightmare inducing proportions. Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters & Madmen awaits anyway brave enough to step inside, but beware, Captain Spaulding himself awaits, joined by the twisted and devious members of the Firefly family. It’s flight or fright time.
House of 1000 Corpses features all of the creeps one would expect from the film, plus several extras only mentioned previously, including the infamous Lizzie Borden who notoriously gave her mother 40 whacks and her father, 41. This maze begins as a tour through Captain Spaulding’s antiquity and oddity shop (putting it far too lightly) and then transitions into the horror house belonging to the Firefly family.
In the first half of the maze, evil characters are depicted in animatronic fashion (mostly), setting a unique and distinguished scene for each. Captain Spaulding escorts this tour in a most haunting way by continually popping up only when least expected. Then its on to the Firefly house where each member found is more terrifying than the last, continuously spiraling the maze further and further into chaos.
House of 1000 Corpses contains the least amount of plain black hallways, more often creatively transitioning between settings and establishing a more enjoyable experience.
A few standout moments are aided by excellent performance from the scareactors. One particular performer maintains very realistic animatronic movements until the last possible second, when it is simply too late. Another highlight moment comes where Dr. Satan is operating on a new victim as Earl Firefly oversees the process. All performances in this room are exceptional, especially the man in the chair, not relying on pop outs but fully developed long form scares.
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 2019. 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.
Holidayz in Hell
What is supposed to be a time with friends, family and loved ones, the holidays have quite literally…gone to Hell! The terrors are far from limited to just Halloween. Prepare yourself for a sadistic experience involving a trip through a series of psychotic seasonal celebrations. Your creepy crawl through the year’s calendar is a true 365 day nightmare. After all, in our world…the scarier, the merrier!
Universal Studios Hollywood presents their singular “IP-less” maze: the creative and creepy Holidayz in Hell. In general, Halloween Horror Nights is renowned for immersing guests into the scary stories they’ve seen on the big screen. Intriguingly, their arguably most effective maze of 2019 can be found where there is no constricting intellectual property in sight.
Holidayz in Hell is built with a natural flow and progression. Beginning with a countdown to the new year on the facade and ultimately leading to a Christmas finale (albeit in scare zone form that significantly diminishes the effectiveness of such an area), this maze follows a calendar-like path from January through December. Brave guests will enjoy stops through mainstream holidays like Halloween (obviously), with visits to smaller scale celebrations as well, such as Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July, or St. Patrick’s Day.
Scenically, each individual snapshot set in this walkthrough is well designed and executed successfully. The setting transforms as every new holiday comes into play. Universal Studios Hollywood has been known in the more recent years for the use of black curtained hallways in place of transitional scenic design. While Holidayz in Hell continues that trend, it may be the first situation where it makes sense to execute this way while resetting the scene to the next holiday on the list.
This maze also allows the makeup and costuming team at Universal Studios Hollywood to really strut their stuff. Intricate characters masks are mixed in with detailed makeup work and elaborate themed costuming for each holiday. Some highlights include the demonic dubstep Easter Bunny and an especially gnarly fireworks accident victim.
In general, most of the scares throughout this maze are curtain-style pop up scares with few exceptions. The floating jack-o-lantern heads in the Halloween portion provide a highlight scare moment, as there is little difference to distinguish what may me a pumpkin-headed mannequin or a possessed hallow’s eve creature.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
If ever there was a reason why people are afraid of clowns, this is it. Killer Klowns from Outer Space have landed and there’s nothing funny about these strange, creatures who use side-splitting antics and weird alien technology to devour their victims. Don’t let them encase you in one of their pink cotton candy cocoons or you could end up as a gooey snack. One gag is ghastlier than the next as they have you shrieking from clown to clown like some twisted three-ring circus. These Killer Klowns won’t make you scream with laughter – just scream.
By far and away the most fun time to be had in a Halloween Horror Nights maze this year, Killer Klowns from Outer Space shines in several ways. From a unique and pleasantly surprising looped preshow, to the outrageous costuming and oversized characterizations, Killer Klowns from Outer Space transports guests into a psychedelic fun house of horrors.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space has one of the most aesthetically pleasing facades in the entire park. A giant circus-style tent drapes across the front of the maze, while Farmer Gene Green wanders around searching for his long lost dog, Pooh Bear. After growing angry at the intruders on his land, Farmer Green grasps ahold of the lighting string running to the electrical box and effectively electrocutes himself during his search. All of this is established before even entering the maze.
Once inside, vibrant neon colors and larger-than-life clown costumes blanket the entire experience. Jumbo, Fatso, and the rest of the Killer Klown gang lurk around every corner to provide a pie in the face, a water-spraying flower, or an axe driven through the head. The gigantic costumes and props really bring home the immersion as guests are transported right into the plot of this iconic 80s cult classic.
One highlighted moment involves a clown puppeteering a police officer at the front desk of the station in a ventriloquist fashion. The maze even features an homage to the classic shadow puppet scene, transforming a harmless shadow bunny into a gigantic human eating monster.
stranger things
Prepare to go even further into the chilling world of the Upside Down as Netflix’s Stranger Things returns to Halloween Horror Nights in an all-new maze. Back in Hawkins, Indiana, a shadowy new evil threatens to envelop the entire town. Experience the most terrifying moments of Seasons 2 & 3 as you come face to face with the shadowy Mind Flayer and its army of creatures that wreak havoc in Hawkins. Brace yourself again for the goose bump-inducing world that awaits.
When Stranger Things joined the fold of Halloween Horror Nights in 2018, the hype was real and the product that was delivered did not quite live up to expectations. Unfortunately for fright fans, more of the same awaits in 2019.
This year’s iteration of Stranger things begins at the end of Season One technically, with Will in the bathroom, and progresses through Season Two and (hardly) touches on Season Three. Guests can relive some of their favorite moments of Season Two including a confrontation with a rather large and impressive Mind Flayer puppet about halfway through the experience.
More than any other maze at Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Studios leans heavily on this IP to carry the enjoyment of this particular maze. In fact, this maze begins and ends with a blackout hallway (with several other sprinkled throughout in the transitions).
Stranger Things uses some creative set design in moments though, utilizing the disappearing wall trick as well as a large screen highlighting the stormy weather being drawn up by the Mind Flayer outside. Unfortunately, the screen showing the outdoors is much smaller than the field of view through the windows and front door, so the effect is lost a bit.
Little exists in the way of scareactors in Stranger Things this year. For the most part, the scares comes from demidog puppets or Mind Flayer arms coming out of the walls. The middle portion of the maze contains a fair amount of Hawkins Laboratoy workers and scientists, but many of the scare moments involving them make no sense. While walking through the Upside Down, guests are confronted by a bright flashing light, a loud explosion sound, and then a Hawkins Laboratory worker popping out of the wall – hardly a sensical scare moment with the storyline of the show.
One highlighted scare takes place once inside the lab though, as a certain laboratory technician appears to have been killed on the job. Guests may find, as they pass that particular segment, that such is not the case.
The end of the maze features a large Mind Flayer head with snarling teeth and dangling phlegm. Unfortunately, it is encased in a scenically disappointing black hallway and is preceded by a lackluster attempt at Hopper’s Cabin being destroyed, as half a dozen Mind Flayer tentacles hang through breaks in the wall and animate individually in a very predictable fashion.
Creepshow
Experience a horror comic book come to life! Your host for this horrifying journey is The Creep, the skeletal namesake of the Creepshow comic book, who will lead you through five jolting tales of terror inspired by the classic 1982 horror anthology and the upcoming Shudder series from horror legend Greg Nicotero. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have being scared!
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman
Despite what your parents told you at bed time…monsters are real… and they never die! Frankenstein. The Wolf Man. The two most iconic Universal Monsters of all time are back and ready to deliver an unforgettable and horrifying new live experience.
With Frankenstein on the loose, he wanders into the woods where he finds himself face to face with Wolf Man in unwelcome territory. In the middle of a cemetery, the two monsters go neck in neck in a bloodbath battle. The monsters are back and terrifying as ever.
The presumed sequel to the Universal Monsters maze of 2018, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman dives in deeper with two of the classic monsters from Universal’s film history. When these two go toe to toe, it’s bound to cause a fright.
The maze begins inside the Wolfman’s house as he begins to turn, a full moon hanging overhead. The Wolfman has already claimed several victims. Fast forward to the woods where we find Frankenstein outside his own crpyt and the Wolfman is already inside. Many of the set pieces found in this maze appear recycled from 2018, and each setting looks as if its painted with a beige brush.
The maze feels overall more like a Frankenstein and the Wolfman team up to scare strangers than any sort of battle between them. Adding to the confusion is a scene in the middle where both are attached to examination boards in the middle of a laboratory being manipulated by a scientist. Immediately from there, the scene gets frosty with our monsters becoming a bit iced over before then transporting into a film room with posters of both classic monsters. The through line for the maze simply struggles with its own identity crisis.
Most of the scares in this maze come at the hand of one our two main characters. A few highlights take place near the end when they both appear out of their own posters plastered on the wall. There is also a thrashed Bride of Frankenstein moment that is noteworthy, albeit similar to one from last year’s maze.
Ghostbusters
Ain’t afraid of ghosts, you say? That is, until you’ve experienced the all-new rift between worlds, releasing apparitions of all shapes and sizes. Enter with caution as you navigate through a deserted and dimly-lit New York after paranormal activity has engulfed the city. From the voracious Slimer to ghosts encapsulating the minds of the innocent, you’ll catch yourself thinking twice if you become their next victim. While the Ghostbusters have continuously saved the day with the help of their proton packs, this time, those who enter may not be so lucky.
Who you gunna call? The Ghostbusters are investigating a rift that has opened in New York City and are combing the streets for paranormal activity. Hidden amongst the alleyways and penthouses of Manhattan, Slimer and the rest of the creeps are terrorizing the neighborhood and any who dare adventure there.
Ghostbusters feels like a breath of fresh nostalgia, transporting guests right back 1984 with their favorite beloved characters and badies. In the queue, the Keymaster himself, in Louis form, engages the guests with some memorable Ghostbusters dialogue. Entering into Ghostbusters HQ, brave souls then meet longtime receptionist, confidante, and occasional Ghostbuster herself, Janine Melnitz; the maze ends in a final confrontation with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
The design team at Halloween Horror Nights did a nice job at recreating many of the iconic scenes from the movie that fans all love. It feels like stepping right into the halls of the Sedgewick Hotel. Some of the best design work is done in the execution of the proton packs. In one particular room, a Ghostbuster is defending against Slimer and engages his proton pack against the wall, illuminating entire beams of energy that span the length of the room.
Ghostbusters is certainly not what would classify as a horror maze, but more so an immersive walkthrough experience of an iconic film. Two impressive moments involve a nice “pepper’s ghost” highlight with an old woman turning into a ghoul and a disembodied torso and head scare around a card table.
Certainly, the climax of the maze with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is impressive in its own right, however, with minimal scenic design or detail around the battle itself, it lacks what could be a solid final punch of brilliance. Also of note, the demon hounds towards the back half of the maze are terrifying visually and do a nice job of raising the scare factory momentarily.
In the end though, like so many other Universal Studios Hollywood haunts, the maze ends with a series of black hallways and standard Slimer popup scares which leave a less than satisfactory taste on what could be a beyond stellar maze.
The Curse of Pandora’s Box
Some things are never meant to be opened…sadly for you, someone already has, unleashing unimaginable evil. Welcome to “The Curse of Pandora’s Box” – the living nightmare netherworld of Hades, populated by the most fearsome monsters in Greek Mythology. Prepare for a trip through Hell where the demonic temptress Pandora serves as your guide. Once the box is opened and evil has been released…it can never be closed again!
Pandora’s Box has long stood for a vessel holding within the world’s darkest evils. It is said to contain unfathomable complications stemming from the root of all things bad in the universe. At Halloween Horror Nights, that box has been opened, and guests are being invited to see for themselves exactly what’s inside.
Let’s start with this. The Curse of Pandora’s Box has, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best facade of any maze at Universal Studios Hollywood this year. A decrepit old museum front invites guests inside for a peek. Once inside, the front room is filled with ancient artifacts and antiquities, as an old crypt-like door swings open like a coffin.
What starts as a decently elaborate design turns immediately to black hallways, popup scares, and some awkward puppets. Bright neon paint is brushed or splattered on just about everything, while the backgrounds of most sets remain black curtains. Each room feels like it leans into a haunted maze stereotype rather than providing any interesting or innovative new looks. There is an entire room full of less than stellar skeleton costumes in neon colored cages, followed by a hallway of black plastic crows in cages with blinking lights and sound effects.
The design then takes a turn for the better, once Medusa is introduced more heavily into the fold. Snakes and stone statues dress the area, and yet, it’s as if these props and scenic pieces were just placed in a black curtained room, well, because they were.
There are a few scares throughout this maze, but most being made from the loud noise, bright flash, pop-out-of-a-curtain variety. There is an added suspense to the maze since the lights continually flutter and then flash off every few seconds, but that doesn’t quite make up for the lack of dread felt throughout.
Us
Jordan Peele’s new original nightmare comes to life when you follow in the footsteps of the Wilson Family as they face the ultimate opponent: themselves. You’ll freeze in terror and disbelief as you are hunted at every frightening turn by murderous doppelgängers — terrifying doubles of every American known as the “Tethered.” Having languished for generations throughout thousands of miles of abandoned underground tunnels, these human “copies” have organized, surfaced, and staged an uprising. You can run and you can hide, but you cannot escape the Tethered version of yourself.
The “Tethered.” The twisted, forgotten other sides of ourselves that we lock in a closet and hope never come to the surface. Well they (or “we”?) have come to terrorize and take back what is rightfully theirs.
Jordan Peele is the biggest name in psychological horror these days, releasing the hits Get Out and Us in the last three years. The latter, undoubtedly, was a favorite out of the gate to be featured this year at Halloween Horror Nights.
Us begins with the facade of the Vision Quest right of out Peele’s film. In an attempt to “Find Yourself” the trek down into darkness begins. Fans of the movie will find themselves journeying through the boardwalk style attraction, the summer home of the Wilson Family, the upscale model of the Tyler family home, and even the deep basement sub-level of the tunnels. Each segment of the maze is clean cut right out of the movie itself and feels very immersive.
The real attraction of this maze, however, is in the performance of the actors. The ambiance of the movie and the foreboding eerie tone are what truly compel audiences, and the characters found throughout the maze, namely Red and her family, provide that very same feeling for Halloween Horror Nights goers. Each and every performer harness the movement and appearance of the characters from the film, truly bringing it to life.
The highlight of the maze comes at the very end, where the tethered invite the guests to join in their “Hands Across America” campaign and overthrow the surface dwellers.
Fallen Angelz
The Fallen Angelz scare zone consists mainly of a chainsaw wielding motorcycle gang complete with black leather jackets decorated with drawn-on angel wings on the back. A few statue-like angels are sprinkled within as well. With the combination of roaring chainsaws and mischievous character types, this seems a solid enough way to introduce hordes of guests to the event.
Spirits & Demons of the east
New York Street has received a shipment from the Far East, but unfortunately, some passengers decided to hitch a ride and are now terrorizing the streets. Characters of all types, including creepy little girls and masked eastern demons roam the area. The single most impressive monster of Halloween Horror Nights 2019 also dwells in this zone as Samara from the 2002 film The Ring makes her terrifying appearance on quad stilts.
Christmas in Hell
You’ll likely feel a faint sense of relief as you exit the Holidayz in Hell maze, but it won’t last long. Navigate through the Christmas trees littering French Street and make your way through our twisted takes on many holiday traditions. A giant nutcracker may be looking for a skull or two to clamp down on. The Winter Witch and Jack Frost himself will be celebrating as well, and they may not take too kindly to you interrupting their festivities. And just when you think it’s over, beware of the New Year’s Baby. He’s… cranky.
Nearly identical to the finale of the Holidayz in Hell scarezone of 2018, Christmas in Hell is the penultimate segment of the Holidayz in Hell maze of 2019. unfortunately, the most off-putting part of this entire scare zone is that it remains inaccessible except by exiting the maze, so it completely limits repeat walkthroughs and viewing unless guests want to wait in line for the maze again. That aside, it does house some of the more creative characters of the entire event, including multiple stilt-bound monsters and an Elsa-esque dark and twisted ice queen.
TOXxxIC TUNNEL
It’s as if they know at this point. The official description of the Toxxxic Tunnel states, “…you’ll have to get through the tunnel once again.” This scare zone continues to be the least enjoyable experience at Halloween Horror Nights. The monsters have little to use in the way of hiding places, as plain sight is the only option. The flashing lights and mind-numbing music easily disorient guests who require passage to the backlot mazes and have no other path available.
All Hallow’s Evil
JABBAWOCKEEZ
After performing to sold-out shows and continuing to be the highest rated attraction at Halloween Horror Nights, the Jabbawockeez return from Las Vegas to Hollywood with an all-new, exclusive live show for 2019. Combining gravity-defying choreography, stunning special effects, heavy-hitting music and their unique brand of humor, get ready for another adrenaline-raising experience. See what surprises await beneath the iconic masks.
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 appears to be continue to be popular with the local audience.
After what was a disappointing event in 2018, it would be difficult to say that entering the 2019 version of Halloween Horror Nights brought excitement or optimism. While there is obviously growth to be had and still too many “Plain, black hallways,” Universal Studios Hollywood has taken a step in the right direction with this years haunt.
At this point, the Orlando event has surpassed its’ Hollywood brother in just about every category, but little bro is not as far behind as once believed. Universal Studios continues to rely on their IPs significantly too much, instead of conjuring up some old-fashioned creativity, but this year, several of those mazes provided some reason for optimism, which may be able to upgrade to enthusiasm in the coming years.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Halloween Horror Nights 2019 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 14th – November 3th
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.