Universal's Halloween Horror Nights 2019

One of my very favorite events is back with a few changes! There is no terror tram this year, but there are more mazes than ever before plus the RIP tour has changed a bit.

* Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

While I like the presence of the original Universal Monsters, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man felt a little stale. It was the layout of Alien vs. Predator from years ago and repurposing of last year's Universal Monsters maze. It starts out with the Wolf Man's story from gypsy curse to transformation. The coolest room is where they are both on slabs and get electrocuted with lab equipment everywhere as you try to squeeze past both of them. The jump scares were at least in different places than I expected, from behind curtains and movie screens. 

* Killer Klowns from Outer Space

The wacky color scheme and set designs along with the grotesque, giant aliens made this maze stand out from all the others. I always love feeling like I'm walking right into a beloved film and this one accomplished it amazingly. The shadow puppet scene and the bathroom attack scene in particular were fun to see and interact with. Voiceovers from the movie helped tie everything together in such a delightful way. The layout of the maze was less predictable than the others and large stature of the clowns made them pretty creepy to stand right next to. Killer Klowns was easily my favorite maze of the night.

* Ghostbusters

I didn't expect Ghostbusters to be a very good maze because it's more a comedy film than horror, but it impressed me. Many of the effects looked amazing. The room with the ghost storage had walls that faded and exposed hundreds of ghosts. Another had the transformation of the librarian ghost from normal to frightening. The whole maze had scares but also a fun sense of humor like Slimer playing rock, paper scissors with me or Ray jumping out and then saying "I thought you were someone else." Iconic scenes play out with Zuul, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and Slumer and I had a blast. This is the best of the horror-comedy mazes they've ever put on. 

* Us

Us is one of my favorite movies of the year and the maze lives up to it. The outside is a replica of the Vision Quest from the beginning of the film and the inside replicates the mirror maze, complete with creepy owl. Just hearing the score alongside the scenes gave me chills. I loved the school room scene where Red is attacked by Adelaide. The doubles are eerie as they jump out of various places. Our awesome tour guide said their red jumpsuits were used in the film and the same choreographer from the film also worked on the maze. The maze truly encompasses the film in a unique way and I had so much fun going through it. 

* Stranger Things Season 2

I honestly wasn't expecting a lot from this maze because last year's had a lot of statues and not a lot of actors due to the main characters being children. The first room was a bathroom that had walls that changed lighting to reveal tentacles all over as Will struggles with a creature on his face. The next scene had the upside down maze taped up all over with Will looking outside at the Mindflayer. It looked like he was truly looking outside at a huge monster in the distance. The rest of the maze was fine, but the same demodog is used over and over. It was better than last year and than I expected, but not amazing.

* Creepshow

The entrance to Creepshow was a comic book which interested me right away. Three of the original film's segments are portrayed: Father's Day, The Crate, and Their Creeping Up on You plus two bonus segment from the new TV show. The first segment is rather short, but gets in the crazy colors and reveal just right. The Crate focuses on the monster, which is the most compelling part. I love the first scene where a guy's feet are flailing out of the box with a pool of blood under it while Fluffy appears on top to scare you. The third segment always creeped me out and cockroaches on white surfaces always makes my skin crawl. The most stomach churning moment of the film is when cockroaches burst out of a man and it looks just as horrible (but awesome) in person. The new segments seem to be about some sort of mutant creature with plants growing into a house and a werewolf attack. The first was pretty creepy and the second felt familiar with a good werewolf design. I like that it pays homage to the original film and introduces some new stories. 

* House of 1000 Corpses

When I went through this, I was very confused about the beginning. Then I rewatched the film and found that it was Captain Spaulding's Murder Ride in his fried chicken and gasoline shop. The first few rooms have infamous murderers like Lizzie Borden, Ed Gein, Albert Fish, and of course Dr. Satan with animatronics and tableaux. Then we descend into the twisted world of the Firefly family where they torture and kill whoever comes by their home. My favorite room is the final one with Dr. Satan, his chair, and the Professor. After seeing the movie, I wish more of Firefly family had been shown. It's also ironic that Universal treated Zombie badly and passed on the movie altogether and now embrace it as part of their attraction.

* The Curse of Pandora's Box

This is the first year Horror Nights has had full mazes of original concepts. It's loosely based on a hodgepodge of various mythologies. My tour got trapped right outside for about a half hour as all the lights came on and the sounds turned off. No idea what happened but we got lost backstage because not all the guides were back in their positions. The maze was fun with lots of neon colors. I especially liked the part with speckled bright orange everywhere and demons that blend into the background with lights turning off intermittently. The whole thing has an 80's funhouse feel to it but a little updated. The skeleton rooms are what Dark Ride at Knott's tries to be. The Medusa rooms were delightful. Even though 80's and mythologies are kind of a weird mix, it works and it's fun.

* Holidayz in Hell

Holidayz in Hell takes each holiday and injects horror into it. Our tour guide let us know that each room is based on a vintage holiday card, which really shows. The maze starts with January and deranged, evil babies as the new year. The Valentine room has the most deranged heart candies along the walls and a woman being sacrificed. The leprechaun home in St. Patrick's Day is full of gold and bones and the Easter Bunny has giant eggs birthing monsters and giant bunnies terrorizing children. The Fourth of July was one of my favorites with a severely burned man who lost limbs because of fireworks and deranged Uncle Sams. The Halloween room is a bit underwhelming, but effective nonetheless. Thanksgiving has a person instead of a turkey on the table and Santa takes on a more Krampus persona for Christmas. Each holiday had a morbid, amusing twist. I'm looking forward to more original concept mazes.

* Jurassic World the Ride

I prefer the original Jurassic Park ride, but this update is pretty fun. The mosasaurus and a small dip before the huge one completely soaked my boat. There are videos throughout the ride of Jurassic World characters telling us about the dinosaurs getting out of their cages and what to do to stay safe. Before the final plunge, the T-Rex literally swings in to battle the Indominus Rex. It's fun, but prepared to be completely soaked. 

* RIP Tour

The RIP Tour is shown to be completely worth the price tag year after year. My group of around 15 people stuck together the whole time and were led through a backlot tour, each maze, a buffet, and a show (that nobody wanted to see) and then we were set loose the rest of the night. The backlot tour was fun and focuses on horror films. We saw Norman Bates in front of the Bates Motel and got an exclusive photo op that usually has a huge line. We also got to see Amity beach and the house from House of 1000 Corpses plus were treated to some ghost stories. Our tour took the express lane to each maze and never had to wait more than 20 minutes. By the end of the night, each maze was over an hour and Killer Klowns was almost at 3 hours. The buffet was delicious as usual. There was plenty of time to shop and redo some mazes plus access to some rest areas with fun photo op sets. I highly recommend at least getting the express lane tickets because you may not be able to see all the mazes. Keep in mind I went in late September and crowds get worse into October.

Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights 2018

Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights is back again! This event is unique to other haunt events because Universal creates mazes that replicate horror films and television shows. I love the feeling of stepping into a favorite scene and being part of the action.

* Stranger Things

Stranger Things had the longest line through the entire night and it was a nice touch to have 80's hits play for people waiting. The demagorgon stalks you throughout the maze right from the first room. Walking into Will Byers' house with all the Christmas lights flashing was awesome and immersive. The alphabet lights flash and reveal "run" while the demagorgon tries to push through a wall. The upside down forest is beautiful and surreal to walk through while the portal to the upside down in the facility looked like the same set piece from the show. Fans of the show will love it, although there was a lot of demagorgon and not a lot of good guys. It's hard to have the main characters in the maze because of their age and the statues of them looked a little weird.

* Trick 'r Treat

Trick 'r Treat is the ultimate Halloween movie and the maze did a lot to get me into the Halloween spirit. Unlike the film, each section is separated and labeled: The Principal, Surprise Party, School Bus Massacre, Meet Sam, and Trick 'r Treat. Surprise Party had pretty awesome werewolf makeup and animatronics. Meet Sam is my overall favorite segment of the maze with creepy Trainspotting-esque Sam on the ceiling, a replica of the old man's bloodsplattered room with the flaming jack o'lantern, and the deranged trick or treaters. The jump scares with Sam made me squee because he's one of the cutest characters. The only drawback was too many rooms with no set and one jumpscare when there are plenty of scenes to draw on from the film.

* The First Purge

I'm not the hugest fan of The First Purge movie, but the maze was ok. The mannequin room was brilliant and it was genuinely hard to tell the difference between the actors and the mannequins. The Skeletor character is the one that recurs in the jumpscares even though he's not the true villain of the film. He is the most memorable and creepy looking though. There were some fun misdirection moments where there were two jumpscares in one room with the second being unexpected. The good parts of the film, namely the political commentary, didn't really make it into the maze and it ended with those awful jumpscare rooms. Overall, it's fun but nothing spectacular.

* Halloween 4: The Curse of Michael Myers

Halloween is one of my favorite franchises, so I feel a little giddy every time I walk in one of their mazes. The exterior of the gas station is reproduced down to the last detail and the iconic soundtrack sets the mood. Michael is wrapped in bandages at through the beginning of the maze. A scarred Dr. Loomis makes an appearance. I just love the small details like Michael appearing after the musical cue just like in the films. While I'm happy the third installment was skipped as a whole maze, it was a nice detail to see the masks here as trick or treaters and in the Silver Shamrock commercial on the TV. Michael finally gets his mask and walking through the hanging sheets is so creepy not knowing when he's going to jump out. I really loved this maze even though it's not my favorite film because it captures the holiday as it goes and keeps me on my toes.

* Poltergeist

Poltergeist is one of my favorite haunted house movies. The exterior of the maze with the house, flashing lights, and blaring soundtrack really sucked me into the story. Unlike the film, the maze goes straight for the horrific stuff starting with a grotesque scene in the kitchen. The goriest scene with the man shedding his face in the bathroom recurs throughout the maze with pretty good acting. The two rooms that had  a giant, lit up skull that rushes at you and splashes a bit of water. It's so unlike anything else in the park that it took be aback. The iconic clown makes an appearance as an actor and the spindly creature near the end of the film stands as a larger than life animatronic. The reveal of the corpses is done really well with coffins lining the walls uncomfortably close, filled with either statues or actors. Although the jumpscare room is used, it's not as much as other mazes and enough stands out beyond that. Even though there aren't a lot of scare actors in the maze, Poltergeist felt chock full of scares and detailed sets.

* The Horrors of Blumhouse Chapter 2: Truth or Dare and Unfriended

I honestly expected this maze to be the worst considering I hadn't heard good things about Truth or Dare and Unfriended occurs entirely on a computer screen, which is hard to translate to a maze. The Truth or Dare segment mostly occurs in some sort of church. Kind of out of left field, but I haven't seen the movie yet. The rooms are atmospheric and finally seem to get to the meat of the story where people are dared to cut out their tongues or slit their throats. Then Unfriended comes along with the last jumpscare of the film (which I hated) occurs over and over. At least the blender scene, the best death of the film, was recreated. The last few rooms were from something called The Girl. It should have been clearer that this was the story behind the girl in the Blumhouse title sequence. While it's enjoyable, it seemed like they ran out of material from the two movies for a whole maze. This was the least enjoyable maze but better than I thought it would be.

* Universal Monsters

Universal Monsters are iconic and classic, setting the bar for horror cinema for decades. The outside of the maze is kind of fun, merging modern with classic in neon graffiti style art of the monsters on top of the brick and wrought iron facade. The cemetery scene completely sucks you into the world of monsters. The first tableau is surprisingly hard hitting with Frankenstein's monster hugging the little girl he accidentally killed and saying "friend" over and over. The werewolf was not needed in the same room. I love the inclusion of angry villagers with weapons and the fiery windmill from Frankenstein. The Phantom looks much more hideous with half the skin on his face gone. The Invisible Man effect was a bit cheesy, using black light and neon clothing and bandages. The later werewolves and Dracuala's transformation into a wolf looked much better. The more gory tableaux surprised me like the dinner party where have been killed and some beheaded. This new version of Renfield looks disturbingly deranged. I take some issue with the only female monster, the Bride, being dismembered alive by Dr. Frankenstein. It looks amazing and makes sense considering the doctor's madness, but it was still disappointing to see. Having Slash compose new music instead of using the iconic themes already associated with each film was a missed opportunity. Most of it sounded fine, but fans of the old films know their musical themes. Overall, the maze did a good job making the monsters more scary while acknowledging their legendary past.

* Terror Tram: Hollywood Harry's Dreadtime Stories

Hollywood Harry AKA Coodles the Clown is a fictional old mascot of Universal who was fired and then lived backstage onsite with other clowns. His story along with his clown friends was its own Terror Tram from a past year. This one has him introducing 5 Tales from the Crypt style comic book stories in a video before the experience. Who Let the Dogz Out has humanoid canines chasing people with weapons. The tram always starts with being chased with chainsaws which gets me every time no matter who holds it. Kill Billyz has man-eating animals running a motel. The animals chase people in and out of the motel rooms. Skinless bodies are strung up in front of fires, which looked impressively grotesque. Scarecrowz Revenge has scarecrows planting corpses instead of corn. I thought this one sounded like the best segment, but it was just clowns and scarecrows elevated, attacking you on either side of some fences. Disappointing based on what was shown. Clowns on a Plane features a plane brought down by misbehaving clowns. The clown costumes were all different and creepy in their own ways. Nightmarez has captive people being tortured by clowns. It's a bit short and takes forever to get through. Then it ends with more chainsaws. Overall, I liked the concept as an original idea instead of from another intellectual property. Four out of the five sections were pretty decent and a vast improvement over the Walking Dead terror tram from years past.

* RIP Tour

The RIP Experience is back and much improved! I arrived early and rested in a room with a giant poster of Phantom of the Opera, phone chargers, free water, and comfy couches to wait before our buffet dinner. As always, the buffet dinner is amazing with a wide variety of food all fresh, hot, and delicious. In a separate room, there are some sets and a demagorgon from Stranger Things to take photos of and with. Afterward, a tour guide took my group of around 15 on every maze plus our very own VIP Terror Tram and the Jabbawockeez show. We went through the express lane and never waited for more than 15 minutes for a maze.

The guide was flexible with bathroom breaks and anyone could split off from the group and return if they wanted. There were two longer designated breaks with beverages and desserts in hidden lounges. One of the best things was free water bottles everywhere we went which is nice since there is a lot of walking. The only thing I didn't get to experience was the makeup demonstration. Maybe we ran out of time our something, but I didn't miss it. My friend and I ditched the dance show to go on a couple mazes again before the end of the night. I thought it was perfect, well paced, and flexible to accommodate everyone.

* Final Thoughts

Overall, the mazes are all enjoyable and fun. However, their format feels very formulaic, particularly with the rooms that are one actor, a black room, a railing, and a curtain for a jumpscare. This room is in every maze multiple times. It didn't work in The Exorcist from years past and doesn't work that much here either. These rooms are lazy with no real set design. It takes you entirely out of the atmosphere created and there's no real payoff. These scares lose effectiveness quickly. I hope this changes in the future because this aspect is feeling a bit stale. In years past, I dreaded the last room because it would end with the biggest scare and I don't have that feeling anymore.

This event has made changes based on what their audience wants. I was asked a few times to take their survey on the RIP tour so they can make even more improvements next year. I appreciate that they listened, brought back the RIP tour, and then improved it based on these surveys (and numerous complaints when it wasn't available). On the night I went, the lines were so long that many people left complaining. I highly recommend at least getting the express pass to avoid the stand-by lines that can get up to almost 3 hours. I hope the event continues to improve and change as years go on.

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor returns with new maze layouts and the same familiar mazes. The event starts with a charming, hilarious opening ceremony between the Captain and the Ringmaster warming up the crowd and heckling each other. On to the mazes.

* Feast

Thematically, this is my favorite maze. Chef served people to the ship and a mob burned him alive in his oven. That's deliciously dark. The maze itself wasn't as good as last year. The scares felt a little too spaced out, so I was able to get comfortable in between. The atmosphere wasn't consistent throughout the maze and it got a little repetitive with cooks jumping out all the time.. The soundtrack is incredibly eerie. Some of the tableaux were well done, especially the room with the skin hanging up like laundry. I also love that we had to crawl through a tunnel and end up literally in Chef's oven.

* B340

B340 is home to Samuel the Savage, one of the most infamous criminals in Queen Mary's history. The maze has some elements I love like offputting music, a bridge that feels like it falls out from under you, creepy ghosts with tortured faces, and the room with a bright light right at the top, effectively blinding you to anything else. The murder scene and subsequent portrayal of Samuel's victims tie the story into the maze the best.

* Lullaby

Lullaby is my least favorite maze. It's about a little girl named Mary who haunts the ship after drowning in the pool in the 50's. Unfortunately, many of the Mary's throughout the maze think screaming in people's ears is scary. It isn't; it's just painful and reminds me I should bring earplugs to events like these. I loved the opening tableau of her dollhouse, crib, and funeral card blown up large along with the pictures of her leading to that room with neon lights to highlight them. The toys and childish things being made scary was also well done. Overall, this was the most disappointing maze.

* Deadrise

Deadrise is one of my favorite mazes. It has a military theme and the Grey Ghosts (who look an awful lot like zombies to me). What's not to like? Much of the sets are made of storage containers, which allows scare actors to startle us by slapping the sides or running metal objects along them. There were multiple alternate routes that led to boot camp style obstacles like a small rope ladder and a pole to slide down on the other side. No one but my boyfriend and me went through those, but it added a super fun element that also isn't required for any who might get hurt. The end always has a surprising scare that's missing from the other mazes.

* Circus

Circus is home to old fashioned sideshow freaks and typical circus attractions like a mirror maze, funhouse mirrors, and a ball pit. The moving tunnel right at the opening is both disorienting and charming along with the mirror maze. Right afterwards, the floors metal plates shift as you walk on them, making you stumble a bit walking in. These things are so unique to this attraction and feels true to the circus theme. This one feels the most successful at conveying its story.

* Intrepid

Intrepid is my other favorite maze. It combines Scottish people and settings with a cemetery and creepy plague doctors. The room half filled with mist and laser lights over the top of it is brilliant. People hide in the mist and pop up or reach out with their hands through the mist. This maze last year was the first time I ever saw it done and other attractions have now copied it. The elements don't seem to be quite related, but they work together beautifully.

Overall, the mazes are enjoyable and each has at least one impressive set piece that wowed me. I wish the stories behind these mazes were better expressed at the park instead of just put up online. The mythology and origins of these stories makes them special and sets this attraction apart from other horror attractions.

* Other attractions

The Sinister Swings were super fun. The ride is from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, which is pretty creepy. Even though I was a tad scared, the ride is completely safe and solid. Very enjoyable.

There are a variety of acts that either walk around the park to entertain or perform at a stage accompanied by music. I was a band and a gymnast, but the stages were often empty. I love this aspect of the attraction and I was eager to see more local acts.

I didn't go to any of the bars, but there were a ton around in mazes and standing alone. I like that this event is unapologetically for adults and makes booze readily available.

The 4D Panic Experience is a fun short experience. It's a film in 3D with external effects like water spray and something to touch your feet. The story has a monster chasing you through a dilapidated house, all in CGI. The effects are about as a good as a computer game. The scary level would be fine for around a middle schooler.

Overall, Queen Mary's Dark Harbor entertains, chills, and proves itself as competition for other local events such as Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm. It was good last year and proves consistent.  The main characters are commited to their act and fun to interact with. I highly recommend the VIP experience to avoid time consuming lines like the picture above. I didn't wait more than 10 minutes for any attraction except the 4D Panic Experience. I look forward to future years with improvements and changes at the Queen Mary for Halloween.

The Cellar: Dining with the Undead

I went to this amazing event last year, but forgot to post about it. So of course I had to go again. The Cellar is an amazing restaurant that specializes in French dining and wine. The restaurant is underground and makes it seem that we're not in California anymore. This Dine with the Undead event merges their delicious French food with dinner theater courtesy of the Maverick Theater.

Once we got there, zombies would stagger out once in a while and the manager or the chef would drag them away or leave them lying on the floor. We took a small elevator into the restaurant and just as we went down, an zombie lunged at the manager as he shot at it. The restaurant is beautiful with dim lighting. Fake, blood stained spiderwebs are draped over the chandeliers and the statues along the walls. The event is sold out, so if your party is small, you will be seated next to strangers. It was honestly nice to get to know people, chat over the food, and discuss the show. While we were being seated, the radio news program from Night of the Living Dead is playing.

The same manager explains that the zombie apocalypse happens to coincide with this wonderful dinner. He asks us to check for bites and shows us a variety of ways on how to dispatch the dead. He demonstrates how to use a knife on a pumpkin and tries to distract us from the bitten chef. The first course is served, Attack of the Killer Tomato soup, which was creamy and savory. Just as we're finishing, the chef has become a full blown zombie who can no longer cook. Then we have Sea Creatures of the Black Lagoon which are shrimp in a squid ink remoulade that looks disgusting but is actually quite tasty with a little spice.

This whole time, a couple has been arguing and bickering the entire time. The woman is so rude to the assistant manager that he curses at her loudly. Her boyfriend gets sick of her constant complaining and goes to the bar. The manager figures giving the zombie brains will make him remember his past job and complete the main course, so they lead the obnoxious woman to a back room, where we hear her scream. The zombie chef demonstrates his skills and then we are served the main course, Witches Blood Bourguignon. The boyfriend of the obnoxious woman is led to the same room (after he shoots and kills the assistant manager), so the chef can finish the dessert, which is Return of the Mummy, a brownie covered in ganache and butter cream. All of the zombies come out and dance Thriller in their clumsy zombie way.

This is the second year I've been to this event and I enjoyed it immensely. The only downside was the obnoxious older people celebrating a birthday next to us that drank too much and started yelling loudly. The food is beautiful and tasty. You have to be kind of adventurous since some of the fare is outside of one's comfort zone. The wine parings are expertly chosen and not only have fun Halloween names, but go with each course. I highly recommend The Cellar. It's wonderful to have a quality restaurant that has the sense of humor and fun to host an event like this. I will definitely be going next year and I hope to convert some others to come with me.

Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights Part 2

The Good (continued)

* Krampus



The outside of the maze puts you in the winter/Christmas spirit. The house is covered in ice and surrounded by menacing snowmen with Krampus sitting on the roof. Krampus chases you through the icy, ruined house. One of my favorite parts of the film is an adorable tableau of deranged gingerbread men taking over the kitchen. The kid eating clown jack in the box looks insane full sized. The snowmen were really creepy. It's so simple to push them forward towards the audience, but it's so unexpected. The ending could have been a little better in regard to replicating the film, but the final Krampus freaked me out. It's an enjoyable maze.

* The Purge: Gauntlet of Fear Zone



I'm a fan of The Purge films, but it doesn't really work as an extended attraction like the Terror Tram. These scare zones are perfect for it with deranged and elaborate tableaux, masked killers, tortured victims, dead bodies, and disturbing graffiti. The guys in the camouflage gilly suits scared me the most because I never knew they were there. I especially love the recording of a group of people reciting the new Pledge of Allegiance to the New Founding Fathers. The ending gets a little too rave like for me, but it's fun overall.

* Eli Roth Presents Terror Tram



Eli Roth capitalizes on all the scary clown appearances lately. In case you haven't heard, people all over the US are dressing up as clowns and standing around, scaring people. Hysteria over this has risen and given rise to rumors of these clowns attacking people, being attacked, or trying to lure children away. I figure the phenomenon is due to viral It marketing or people looking to freak people out. Anyway, Roth creates a whole history that ties into this.

Koodles the Klown, the original mascot of Universal Studios was beloved and revered for years. Things hit rock bottom after he was involuntarily retired and he's been living in the backlot ever since. Now, clowns are uprising at an alarming rate and joining him on the backlot to exact their revenge. The video in the tram is well done with a detailed history of Koodles AKA Hollywood Harry. Then we get to experience the madness of these murderous clowns. It's a vast improvement over the Purge tram of last year and I loved it. The childlike, jingly music served as a creepy backdrop for the horrific sights these clowns have in store.

The Bad

* The Exorcist



I make no secret that I'm not the biggest fan of The Exorcist, but it's not a bad film by any means. The maze unfortunately is bad. It starts out pretty strong with the spider walk scene, but there's no hiding when they reset the animatronic. If you walk in at the wrong moment, the effect is completely ruined. Afterwards, you walk through the iconic scenes of the film which are always with Reagan and the exorcists. They start to seem the same after a while: Reagan spewing pea soup vomit, Reagan with an obscenely long tongue, Reagan levitating, etc. The most effective scare is when Reagan comes rushing at you on a cross.

In between these tableaux are the demon face that's used in flashes in the film as standalone jump scares in different colors. The first couple were scary, but as they stayed exactly the same, it grew dull. There are numerous light up pictures of Reagan's face with the demon face superimposed over it that was cool one time. The big finale of the maze is a life size version of the Pazazu statue. It has all the same trappings as other scares to help it along, but it looked adorable. It was even more adorable that the scare actor in the costume tried to be scary. I expected a lot more from the maze of such an iconic film.

* Other Purge Scare Zones

One sort of scare zone is a tunnel leading 3 of the mazes. It features disorienting strobe lights and deafening dubstep music along with random people trying to scare. I just want to get to the mazes and back and this area was an annoyance to and from those mazes.

* Go Go Dancers



I complain about this every year. If they want to have go go dancers, it would be wonderful to also have some hot male ones. This event isn't just for men and it would be nice to have equal opportunity eye candy if they insist on having it.

Overall, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is a huge success with me. It's by far my favorite horror attraction of the year and I eagerly await to return next year.

Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights Part 1

Universal Studios has truly upped its game this year. Almost every single attraction brought scares, detailed sets, and the Halloween spirit.

The Good

* The Walking Dead



This year, The Walking Dead maze is a permanent fixture in the park. Because it's not going to be torn down any time soon, it's much more immersive and realistic than it has been in previous years. The rooms where people wait look just like the hospital Rick woke up in complete with missing ceiling tiles, blood splatter and bloody handprints on the wall, and random hospital stuff and trash. I love that they included the iconic bicycle girl, one of the first zombies Rick ever encounters. The fire effects in the next room were the best I've seen at such an event plus it felt like standing next to a fire. The windows with zombies were a nice touch to make it feel like the zombie apocalypse. The truck with the dismembered zombies was unexpected and so were the pens with numerous zombies. This maze is on much larger scale than any I've seen before and very high quality. This was one of my favorites.

* American Horror Story



Before we got into the maze, scenes from Murder House, Freak Show, and Hotel were playing on the side of the building. It got me into the American Horror Story mindset and got me excited. While I struggled to remember the scenes being referenced in the early seasons being represented, this maze was fun. Murder House starts off with Addy (looking much younger than in the show) telling us we'll die there. Gimp suited guys or people with pig heads jump out at you. The best part was the deranged Dr. Charles Montgomery, his vivisected experiment, and dramatic music. Freakshow follows with Twisty and his bus. My favorite part is the girl being cut in half in the next room. Hotel is next and shines as the most immersive part of the maze. The interior looks like we've really stepped into the hotel. The mattress burster is super creepy and the Commandment Killer trophy room is a nice touch. The starving vampires sealed in, the Countess's disturbing baby, and people hiding in the curtains all made effective scares. Maybe it was because it's the most recent season and fresh in my mind, but Hotel was by far the best.

* Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield



I was a little disappointed that this maze is based more on the second and third films which pale in comparison to the original. However, the maze was surprisingly well done. Michael Meyers has always been my favorite slasher and I love feeling like I'm stepping into the films. The music chosen is a little more subtle than the movie theme, but effective. The maze recaps the ending of the first film then starts with the second film. At the Haddonfield Hospital, we walk through scenes where nurses and doctors have already died then we see Michael actively killing, replicating scenes from the film. Then it transitions to the third film, which I watched recently and hated. Instead of horrible cheesiness, glowing pumpkin masks leap out at you. There's no knowing which are props and which are people. The giant glowing pumpkin doorway is one of the best set pieces I've seen. The slowed down Mr. Sandman song sets the stage as dreamlike and walking around the insides of a giant pumpkin is pretty cool. This maze wasn't as good as last years, but the surprise end almost made up for it.

* The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers



This maze scared me more than all the other mazes. I think it's a combination of Leatherface being pretty scary combined with the sound of the chainsaw. He (in a variety of masks) and Choptop jump out throughout the maze. It seems to be more based on the second film than the first. It focuses on their meat business that just happens to be human with detailed scenes on how they got it. My favorite scene is the red wall with the animal skulls hung all over it, replicated from the original film. It's one of the scariest scenes on film and I wish it were portrayed the same way, but it was nice to see anyway. I wish there had been more scenes from the original, but the maze was still decent.

* Freddy vs. Jason



I expected this maze to be as cheesy as the film, but it was so much better. It starts off by showing Freddy's boiler room where he died that is frequently replicated in dreams to terrorize his victims. Then Freddy terrorizes a young Jason in a variety of iconic ways like swallowing him whole in disgusting snake form. Afterwards, we visit Jason's origin as his mother raves about his death at Camp Crystal Lake. He then appears in his full monstrous glory. The two iconic monsters decide to attack us instead of each other for the rest of the maze. I loved the scenes where they jumped out on either side. The scenes where a fence or wall separated me from the monsters lulled me into a false sense of security until they jumped through a hidden opening. The ending mimics the ending of the film where Jason appears to win, but Freddy still manages to survive. This maze was awesome and was definitely as good if not better than Alien vs. Predator from last year.

Stay tuned for more mazes!

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2016 Part 1

It's that time of year again! I go to Knott's Halloween Haunt every year and it gets better and better. I always get the front of the line Fright Pass for the mazes because waiting hours in line isn't on my agenda for the night. This year was better than ever, but had some flaws.

Note: The videos are not mine, but the work of ThemeParkHD on Youtube who takes the highest quality videos of theme park attractions.

The Good

* The Tooth Fairy



This maze has been there for at least 3 years and it's always amazing. It starts with floss hanging from the ceiling that brushes across your face. The high pitched whine of dental drills sings through the air throughout the maze. Right after the inky black Cthulhu doorway is a pitch dark room. Subtle things like this are what strike fear in my heart. You have no idea if anyone else is in the room and I feel unease in the pit of my stomach. The set is incredibly detailed with blood spattered missing posters, children's toys, mutilated children, filthy medical equipment, and piles of teeth and coins. The room with the giant mouths is quite effective and the ending scare is awesome. This maze has a defined tone and atmosphere that I love. This is my favorite maze at Knott's and I hope it stays for many more years.

* Special Ops Infected



In previous years, this maze was only available as an extra purchase. This year, it was opened up to anyone at the park and I'm glad it was. It's like laser tag with zombies. You're given a gun with unlimited ammo and instructed to shoot the zombies and destroy the cause of the infection that has gotten into the water. This maze features zombies, which I love, and lets you fight back against the monsters of the maze. In every other one, you passively walk through mazes and let the monsters come at you. In this one, you can kill them and save people. The maze is well constructed and the zombie makeup is fine. I enjoyed the military leaders hyping us up and giving us instructions periodically through the maze. The room with the zombies reaching through the walls made me scream the first time. I also liked the room with the dance music as a fun little interlude. I'm apparently a horrible aim because I got 3 or less kills each time. I still had fun and I hope this stays next year as well.

* Paranormal Inc.



This is another maze from last year. It's the grandest maze they have in scope and probably the longest as well. A paranormal team wants to have spirits appear, but they end up opening a gate of hell instead. It has two sides that merge after a few minutes that go through the insane asylum with its gruesome history of abusive, murderous nurses. Then you descend into hell with demons taunting you and giant monsters coming at you. The blue and gray theme with glowing lights is unexpected and eerie as opposed the typical red and fiery one. It doesn't look great in the video because it's day time, but the room where there's a bright red light in a dark room is really effective. You can't see anything but red and you blindly walk toward it hoping you're going the right way. The giant creatures look amazing and the last scare is epic. I love turning around and seeing other people's reactions to it.

* Red Barn



This is a brand new maze this year that has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe. Hillbillies kill people and put them on the menu with an added dose of religious zealotry. The tableaus are horrific with people being butchered in creative ways. I was impressed with much of the set pieces and the creepy atmosphere. The bodies tied on crosses, the alter near the end, and the prayer on the wall give an added took it beyond Texas Chainsaw. The only parts that were kind of cheesy were the man-eating animals with the red eyes. Not sure why eating people causes them to become zombies or demonic.

* Trick or Treat



This maze has been here every year I've gone and it always give a classic Halloween vibe. It has deranged trick or treaters, sinister witches, monsters under the bed, and lots of jack o'lanterns. I always go through this one first because it sets the tone of the Halloween season for me. I love the wall with the Halloween masks lit up as well as the dinner scene with the jack o-lanterns. Both give an eerie atmosphere. The end was underwhelming this year and I wish there was a story with the witches.

More to come!