Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights was built on an outsized reputation. Jump scares, dudes with chainsaws, fake blood and adult drinks accentuated with gummy worms.
Some of these staples haven’t changed. Jump scares aren’t going anywhere, and at a behind-the-scenes walk-through of this year’s haunted houses, dozens of mannequins laid splayed across floors with baggies of custom-made faux blood ready to be drizzled on them before showtime.
But a Halloween Horror Nights evolution, one that began in 2019 with the arrival of Jordan Peele’s “Us,” has been underway. Today, haunted mazes are works of mini theater, one where scares are drawn out and choreographed. A single room may feature as many as six actors, and now, for the first time, professional stunt performers. Driving this change is the content, the films that inspire the tone of Halloween Horror Nights. And this year, two of the showcase properties are Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Curry Barker’s “Obsession.”
Halloween Horror Nights, which opens Thursday, has gone prestige.
“This is a different time, and we try to live on the edge of that,” says longtime Halloween Horror Nights mastermind John Murdy, talking about modern horror films. “When we started, we were Freddy, Jason, Leatherface and Michael Myers. It was all slashers.”
A foreboding scene from the “Sinners” haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“Sinners” demanded a different approach. Yes, it’s a vampire movie, but it’s so much more.
In a shift for Halloween Horror Nights, the “Sinners” maze will begin with an extended pre-show, meaning about 90 seconds of a lip-synced concert designed to recreate the film’s centerpiece performance of Miles Caton’s “I Lied to You.” Halloween Horror Nights actors will, of course, play a version of Caton’s Sammie strumming a guitar, but as the scene continues other musicians will materialize behind scrim scenes — a DJ, an electric guitarist — to heighten the film’s themes of the timelessness and spirituality of music.
“Music was such a huge part of ‘Sinners,’ so when we were sitting down to figure out what we wanted to do, we knew we had to rethink how we do stuff,” Murdy says. “It starts with storytelling.”
Murdy and the Halloween Horror Nights team wanted to attempt to recreate the thrill of that scene, when “I Lied to You” bridges cultures and conjures artists from different eras. It’s designed to be a celebratory moment before mayhem descends. Consider it an attempt to capture, if even for a moment, the complexity of “Sinners” in a walk-through attraction, one guests will ultimately spend just a few minutes in.
“What I thought Ryan did so brilliantly in ‘Sinners’ is he took vampire mythology and combined with the devil-at-the-crossroads story, the Robert Johnson story, and then brought in the Jim Crow South,” Murdy says.
A burnt vampire as part of the “Sinners” haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Murdy concedes, of course, Halloween Horror Nights can only glance at some of the film’s deeper meaning. Ultimately, the goal is to thrill guests. So don’t expect, for instance, a metaphor or a statement on racism, and how prejudice continues to fuel, rule and terrorize culture.
“That’s Ryan’s job in the film,” Murdy says. “Our job is to represent the film as closely as possible. We’re not trying to extrapolate on the film. This was pretty strictly an interpretation of the film. Ryan is the authority.”
‘Sinners’ brings ‘a whole new technology’ to Halloween Horror Nights
But do expect a maze that exploits the park’s movie magic history. Tapping the stunt performers behind the “WaterWorld” special effects show, “Sinners” will boast a scene in which an actor playing the vampire Remmick will descend from the ceiling to fright guests. And making the eyes of the vampires glow red was no easy feat. The film utilized specially made metallic contact lenses, which wouldn’t work at Halloween Horror Nights due to the limited amount of time performers can wear them. Instead, the park’s makeup team constructed prosthetic eyelashes that hide a rice-sized LED light that hangs in front of the performer’s eyes.
“We did a bunch of mock-ups and tests and eventually got the green light,” Murdy says. “We’re doing a whole new technology that we’ve never done before, just to pay that off.”
John Murdy, left, who leads the creative direction of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, poses for a photo with a young fan who goes by the name “Christian the Ghostbuster.”
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
For those who worked on the film, Halloween Horror Nights is an opportunity to keep “Sinners” in the cultural zeitgeist, while hopefully inspiring some guests to dig a little deeper, says Sev Ohanian, a producer of the film and a co-founder with Coogler and his wife, Zinzi, of Proximity Media.
“We want to make event-driven movies that bring audiences in close proximity to often overlooked subjects,” Ohanian says. “But at its core, it features subject matter that maybe a lot of folks don’t have all that much familiarity with.”
A skeleton mariachi band on the set of the Killceañera haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“That’s the magic of this experience,” Ohanian continues. “Maybe somebody has never seen ‘Sinners’ and they go through this fun spectacle attraction and are exposed to really beautiful blues music and they get to see the artistry of that era of a certain group of people.”
Experimenting with narrative will continue across a number of Halloween Horror Nights houses. Killceañera, which turns a quinceañera into an event in which a teen takes revenge on her bullies, will feature an outdoor performer lip-syncing a song co-written by Murdy and Slash from a balcony. Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness will intermix the iconography of Osbourne’s solo music with religious undertones, culminating with a giant animatronic bat biting the head off of Osbourne in werewolf form.
The ‘Obsession’ approach
And then there’s “Obsession.” The film was released too late for a large-scale Halloween Horror Nights attraction, but the event will feature an actor dressed as Inde Navarrette’s Nikki walking the grounds. Murdy describes it as a “Where’s Waldo?” moment, as Nikki will be largely incognito and hidden throughout the park, her whereabouts teased nightly via Instagram. Nikki will be seeking a password, also hinted via social media, that will change nightly, from guests.
The first 100 who find Nikki and speak the correct password will be given a business card for the One Wish Willow agency from the film. I do worry slightly about this approach, as, while costumes are not allowed, Nikki could inspire some cosplay at the event, which would open non-scare actors to being approached throughout the evening. But the hope is to bring a more interactive element to Halloween Horror Nights, one that can invite a deeper interaction with character actors.
A look inside the Ozzy Osbourne-themed haunted house at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re not going to tell you exactly where she’s going to be,” Murdy says. “Your job is try to find her and give her the password and you might get a wish in return.”
Bringing “Obsession” into the event did raise some eyebrows. While Murdy notes that Barker is supportive of the approach and collaborating with the team, it was questioned whether a character many see as a target of assault and manipulation would make an appropriate scare actor. Murdy has heard such protests.
“So is Regan in ‘The Exorcist,’” says Murdy, referring to the young victim of the classic horror story.
Audiences still, of course, want to see their favorite characters represented in real life. And Murdy wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to have one of the year’s most buzzed-about horror films at the event. “It blew me away,” he says of “Obsession.” “I was like, ‘Wow.’”
This week in SoCal theme parks
- An examination of coaster intensity. On a more serious note, Magic Mountain’s X2 remains shut down while state safety officials continue an investigation involving the attraction. The ride, first opened in 2002 as X, has been the subject of controversy and at least one high-profile lawsuit stemming from a 22-year-old man’s death. Six Flags bills the ride as “a right of passage for the ultimate daredevil” that goes up to 76 mph. A CNN report recently took a look at other, more recent injuries allegedly stemming from the attraction.
- What to eat at Halloween Horror Nights. The Times’ Nava Rawls has a look at new food items coming to Halloween Horror Nights this week. Are you brave enough to eat a 22-inch beef hot dog covered in cheese sauce, coleslaw, sriracha aioli, banana peppers and Hot Cheetos inspired by the video game “Fortnite”?
- A Marvel legend, honored. Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure has added a memorial honoring legendary comic artist/creator Jack Kirby. The plaque can be found at the main entrance near the land just past Carthay Circle, and sits opposite a similar plaque recognizing Stan Lee.
Event report
A scene from Oogie Boogie Bash’s Haunted Mansion-inspired street parade.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Disney California Adventure’s Oogie Boogie Bash has been underway since mid-August. It’s a popular event, and excellent for families with little ones, as the emphasis is on character interactions and candy rather than scares. I do, however, wish it offered a bit more variety from year to year.
New this year is a Haunted Mansion-inspired street party, which takes the place of the event’s full-scale parade, which is currently on hold due to construction of the new “Coco” attraction. It’s short, but lively, offering a couple of Mansion floats from the parade as well of dozens of dancers. The party stops at various points along the route for a mini dance presentation, and if you’re seated in one of these locales, it’s a better experience. Or else it’s just a too-mini parade. I wondered if a night-long party in the Hollywood Land section of the park would have been a better way to go, even if it meant losing one of the candy giveaway spots.
As someone who isn’t a character person, the centerpiece for me is Villains Grove, which takes over the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail with projections and effects that nod to various evil characters. Seeing ominous vines twist to life on towering trees, or watching the Cheshire Cat materialize through the woodland setting, is always a delight. But, sadly, Villains Grove hasn’t changed much since 2019, and it’s time for Disney to rethink the space. I miss, too, the days when Oogie Boogie Bash had its own spooky World of Color show. As it stands, I just wonder if there are enough attractions if you’re not interested in character hunting.
Tickets remain available for a handful of September dates.
Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.
Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.
Ride on,
Todd Martens
P.S.
Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift will officially open on Sept. 16.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at last gets a proper opening date. Universal Studios’ high-speed thrill ride, which has been operating in technical rehearsals since late July, will open on Sept. 16. By giving the ride an official opening date, the theme park is announcing that the attraction is ready for daily operations.
Curious to ride? Don’t miss my rundown of everything you need to know before you head to the park. Looking for a review? I have that too. Want to know about the 10-year journey to bring the attraction to park? Read this. And if you’ve heard about some drama involving the park’s neighbors in Toluca Lake, this story will catch you up.
