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.

Halloween Mini-Reviews Classic Edition: Dracula (1931) and The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

* Dracula

Renfield goes to Transylvania as a financial advisor and leaves it in the thrall of Count Dracula, a bloodthirsty vampire. Together, they move to London so Dracula has access to a fresh crop of victims. As the first horror talkie, the film has large swathes of silence that give the film suspense and tension helped along with the deliberate closeups. Bela Lugosi plays both the charming socialite Dracula pretends to be and the powerful, inhuman creature he actually is. This is the first movie to portray vampires as seductive and show them as blending into human society. Lugosi uses his skill as a silent movie actor to make his body language effective. His mesmerizing eyes hold the camera's gaze with a small strip of light over them to show his mental power over people. His hands and movements are almost otherworldly.

Instead of Jonathan, Renfield is the person who takes us through the story and has the most pathos. His physical and emotional change from before being under Dracula's thrall and after is stark. Before, he's a professional, neat, confident financial advisor. Afterwards, his hair is in disarray. His eyes bulge crazily and he bares his teeth in an insane smile. He alternates between being completely devoted to Dracula and struggling to help Dr. Van Helsing and his daughter. Jonathan Harker in contrast is an oblivious idiot who has an overinflated sense of importance. I don't sympathize with him at all. The only problems with the film are in Dracula's nature and censorship. Dracula isn't conflicted or anything which makes him a much flatter character than all the other Universal monsters. Because of the Hayes Code, showing any sort of vampire attack and Dracula's death was banned. It unfortunately takes a lot away from the sense of danger and the impact of the ending.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

* The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Erique Claudine is fired from the Paris Opera orchestra due to the deadened nature of the fingers in his left hand. While the Opera paid well, he spent his savings on voice lessons for Christine Dubois, a talented but overlooked singer. When he thinks his music is stolen, he kills the offending man and has acid thrown in his face. Erique's madness has claimed him as he terrorizes the Paris Opera, making demands and doling out fatal consequences for noncompliance.

This version of The Phantom of the Opera is my personal cinematic favorite because of the humor, the lush sets, and the extended opera scenes. These things are largely seen as ruining the horror, but it's an odd story that is never adapted faithfully. This film fits in well with the Universal formula with its sympathetic villain. Erique Claudine can't catch a break. His life is falling apart due to failing health with his piano concerto being his last effort to keep out of poverty. There is injustice in someone stealing his music, but murder is where the sympathy stops. He lives under the opera house, stealing things so he can help Christine and intimidate the managers and the police. The actual music he creates is beautiful, believable as a folk song and lullaby, and the only original music performed in the movie.

Christine, on the other was hand, works hard at her craft and courts Anatole, a leading baritone in the opera, and Raoul, a policeman. Stuck in the chorus line, she aspires to star in the opera and acts as understudy for Carlotta. Both men comically snipe at each other while they garner her affection. This was probably done to fill the void of the Phantom, Raoul, Christine love triangle that wasn't done here because of the Phantom's age and his more paternal affection towards her. The opera takes on a different type of drama when Carlotta is first poisoned and then killed. The police respond by not complying with the Phantom's demands to bait him into caputre, but instead he responds with a large scale attack. The offstage drama and high stakes contrast with the beautiful operatic moments. The composer takes familiar themes from Tchaikovsky and Chopin and creates original opera music and scenes.

The Phantom of the Opera is light on horror and heavy on personal drama, but it captures the grandeur and scale of the opera with amazing music and performances. The comedic elements are well placed. The love triangle ends satisfyingly with Christine chosing her career and the adoration of the public over the affection of the either man. It's a well made film that will always be my favorite of the Universal horror films.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Halloween Horror Nights 2015

This is my second year in a row going to Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights. It's not quite as good as last year, but the construction cut down at least one maze and a couple of scare zones. It was still an enjoyable experience with lots of fun mazes. While Knott's was much better than last year, Universal still tops it because everything in every maze contributes to the scare: the amazing makeup and costumes, the music, the sound effects, and the detailed sets. It's just hard to beat.

The Good

* Halloween: Michael Comes Home



Halloween is my all time favorite horror film. This maze puts you right in the movie. Even waiting in line has a projection of little Michael killing his sister with the iconic John Carpenter music blaring with Dr. Loomis' description of Michael over it. What follows is like walking on to the movie sets. The most iconic scenes are there: little Michael in his clown costume, Michael in the sheet strangling Lynda, Judith's gravestone, even the scene with the bed sheets. Audio from the movie is all over the place and it lent a particular attention to detail. Going through the maze, I was too giddy to really be scared. It was amazing to see the sets up close and experience one of my favorite films. The only part I thought was lacking was the mirror maze part. While it was cool not to know which one was real, it wasn't part of any of the movies. I was a tiny bit disappointed the car scene with Lindsey wasn't there instead. Other than that, the maze was perfect and my favorite of this and last year.

* Crimson Peak



This is a brand new maze featuring a film I can't wait for. The sets are gorgeously replicated and the scares are top notch. The music is eerie and the house is beautiful and creepy. I'm intrigued by the story with the changing portrait, the vats of blood, and the ghostly woman, but the only draw back is that the story is unknown. I love the room where you walk through the dark. It's so simple to execute yet so effective. I get that they didn't want to spoil the movie, but I think it would be more effective if people had a chance to see the film first. Other than that, the maze was awesome and one of my top picks of the night.

* Insidious: Return to the Further



I don't make it a secret that I despise the Insidious movie. The first one was extremely unmenorable, the second was a transphobic mess, and I refuse to watch the third. However, the maze managed to be a million times more enjoyable than all the films combined. This was the first maze of the night when it was still light out. I usually wait until it's dark to enhance the ambiance, but I wasn't expecting much. That Tiny Tim rendition of Tiptoe through the Tulips is super creepy. The ghost lady and demon guy throughout the maze tied the whole thing together and scared me every time. The only part that fell flat for me was the "he's got your baby" guy. It almost fools me into rewatching the films, but not quite. This maze was an unexpected high point.

* Alien vs. Predator



This was the best maze of last year and it's exactly the same. There weren't any surprises, but the sets, animatronics, and actors were top notch as it was last year. The alien queen is giant and an impressive creation. Everything is here from the Predator hunters to the face huggers to the egg sacks that housed them. Glowing green Predator blood even splatters the walls and floor at times. Although the movies are cheesetastic, the maze is a frightening and fun to go through. Still highly recommended.

* The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far



The Walking Dead maze starts just like season 5: with the inside of Terminus with butchered people left and right and murderous cannibals. Then it goes to St. Sarah's Church where the group holed up for a while and ends with a FEMA camp gone crazy. Not a lot is revealed of the new season, but it was cool to walk through season 5 of this awesome show.

* Corpz



Corpz is the best scare zone complete with zombie soldiers and creepy set pieces.

The Bad

* This is the End



I liked the movie. It was hilarious, went places I didn't expect, and played with some horror movie tropes. The maze is kind of boring. The comedic film just doesn't translate well into a horror maze. The whole place is decorated in eyestabbing neon colors that are made all the more nauseating with 3D glasses. A similarly designed clown maze was there last year and I didn't like the effect either. Some of the dialog is censored which is jarring and none of it was really scary. The same demon is featured throughout the maze, but after the first couple surprises, it loses it's scary. Just meh,

* The Purge Terror Tram and Scare Zone



I actually really liked the lead up to the Terror Tram and Scare Zone. The Terror Tram advertises this party for people uninterested in participating in the Purge. There is supposed to be games, food, arts and crafts, and patriotic sing-a-longs. Then a sickeningly cheerful news anchor comes on and reveals that it's all a ruse. We are to be hunted down and killed as swine. The videos were really well done, but the actual scare actors were unimpressive. The Walking Dead Terror Tram was so much better last year and this one was disappointing. The Scare Zone had a similar set up and was equally disappointing, but a little shorter.

* All other scare zones

The other scare zones just weren't as immersive and interesting. One had a pest theme with mutated rats and cockroach people. The Krampus scare zone was better last year. The Purge scare zone was again done better last year by the Walking Dead.

* Go go dancers



I have no idea why the go go dancers are here. At least include male ones as well since the crowd isn't made up of all men. They are glaringly out of place and unnecessary.

* No VIP experience

The very awesome VIP experience last year included a rest room at the beginning so we don't have to wait in line, a guided tour through 2 mazes and the Terror Tram, a wonderful buffet with free drinks (regular and alcoholic), free valet parking, plus the buffet area is a quiet rest area for the VIP people with dessert later in the night. It was an amazing value even for the high price and now it's gone. There was no explanation really given and it's really disappointing. The VIP experience just gave it a little extra awesome and I hope it comes back next year.