Universal Horror Nights (Event #1)
If you read my previous post about my love of horror movies, it’ll come as no surprise that I absolutely adore Halloween and try to do everything there is to offer thematically. This year I was my most successful at that endeavor to date!
My friends and I have a tried-and-true system to UHN, which I will not share here lest everyone follow suit (wink, wink). However, because it was still September when we went, I don’t think many people were in the Halloween spirit just yet and we were able to do all the mazes (except The Walking Dead, which is year-round now) and three rides, and I was even home by 11:30p! This being the “slasher” year for UHN, I think it was one of my favorites all around.
- Halloween 2: Since we got there on the earlier side, we were still in sunlight during this one, which was unfortunate because we could see the light in between the walls/fixtures in some places, taking us out of the moment. I also don’t think Michael Myers as a physical presence is all that scary (to me), so this one wasn’t very scary. My group got a kick out of the scare-actors that had to repeat the same brief scenes from the movie over and over again, and this house more than any other really reveled in the use of space. Several areas were completely dark with nothing jumping out at us. The anticipation was a killer! The end of this house was a little confusing though.
- Krampus: The movie itself wasn’t scary to me. I thought it was pretty fun and campy, like Evil Dead 2 meets Gremlins, so I wasn’t expecting to be scared in this one, and I really wasn’t. BUT I really liked the sets. Outside was a snow-covered house with Krampus on the roof and an angry snowman in the yard, welcoming us inside. There was a scare-actor walking around the line covered in killer frost-bite make-up. I thought the Krampus dummies/actors (?) were really well-done and I also really liked the “snow”-covered room (it was hot out that day) filled with angry, melting snowmen.
- Freddy vs Jason: This was my favorite house this year. First, I really love the movie FvJ; it’s campy fun. Like Alien vs Predator in prior years, I get a kick out of being stuck in between two evil characters. There was an area where Jason was mirroring where I was going, so I played it up a little, during which Freddy was sneaking up behind me. I turned around and jumped at Freddy, only to turn back and have Jason on my other side! The leader of our group got turned around at one point and a Freddy had to break character a little and point to the correct way out.
- American Horror Story: This one only dealt with Murder House, Freak Show and Hotel. The ambiance was really great, with clear transitions from one theme/season to another. I think the creepy characters (like the “addiction demon” from Hotel, and “bondage guy” from Murder House) were the best parts. A part of me wishes they switched out Freak Show for Asylum, since it had much scarier imagery, but then I would have missed out on the top-notch Freak Show dummies.
- The Exorcist: This one was more of a movie walk-thru, in that I mostly saw scene recreations instead of jump-scares. That could also have been because I was in the “off” group; we were either before or after all the “death face demons” jumped out. There were a few well-done Reagans throughout the house, the backwards stair climb included. The infamous “pea soup” scene was fun, but whatever substance was used smelled AWFUL. We couldn’t get out of that room fast enough. The stand-out for me here was the scene in which Reagan faces Pazuzu. Iconic.
- Terror Tram: In previous years, this had been The Walking Dead or The Purge. This year was an original idea from Eli Roth featuring evil clowns. I don’t suffer from coulrophobia, so the idea of clowns doesn’t bother me, even if they’re evil. On the tram, we’re shown a short video about the story behind the scary clowns, which was actually really fun and well-done. We got kicked off the tram around the Bates Motel and walked through that and the War of the Worlds set, the entire length populated by angry, evil clowns. In a few instances the path split and met back up again after. I was bummed out because we didn’t get to see everything on both paths. The issue with the Terror Tram as a whole is that so many people are dropped off and go through together, meaning you can see the scares coming ahead of you. At one point we were pretty much stopped, waiting in line to continue. If there’s one thing I’d suggest you skip, it’s this one, especially if you’ve done it before in prior years. If you’re scared of clowns though, maybe it’s a must!
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: This was my second-favorite house of the night. The house was right next to the Waterworld show set, which was kinda neat to walk through. Leatherface, being such an intimidating presence, got some great scares in, especially with the jolt of the chainsaw. This house borrowed from the series of movies, so I didn’t get all of the references, but the set and props were amazing and gruesome! The intricate bone-and-flesh designs were shudder-inducing. If I remember correctly, a Leatherface got me good on the way out.
- BONUS MAZE: The Purge: This wasn’t an advertised house, but a gauntlet of sorts set up in the middle of the park. There was no line (brilliant) and we just walked through almost like a “normal” scare-zone. It was pretty short, but I thought the set-up was really neat and fun, especially the lit-up cars and masks straight out of the movies.
- BONUS: Mummy Ride, Jurassic Park Ride, Transformers Ride
