Universal Studios Hollywood has announced its final maze for this year's Halloween Horror Nights — a return to the studio's roots.
Universal Monsters will feature the studio's classic horror film icons, including Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula's Bride, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Invisible Man. (Okay, I really want to find out how they handle that one!)
And to bring the collection to frightening life, the maze will include an original score by acclaimed rock guitarist Slash.
"This is the second time we've had the great fortune to collaborate with Slash on a Halloween Horror Nights maze," Creative Director John Murdy said in a statement, "and it is a distinct honor to bring his expertise to the event where guests can enjoy a truly exclusive opportunity."
"As a fan of horror movies and of Halloween Horror Nights, I jumped at the chance to once again collaborate with Universal Studios Hollywood to produce what might be interpreted as a soundtrack for the maze," Slash said in the statement. "I wanted to compose a score for the legions of infamous characters featured in the maze to elicit a greater sense of terror for the guests. In the end, the goal is to ultimately make the guests feel as if they are playing an integral role in a classic Monster movie."
Universal Studios recently tried to reboot its line-up of classic monsters into a cinematic "Dark Universe," led by the recent Tom Cruise The Mummy. That movie flopped, but the Monsters remain beloved by many, and Halloween Horror Nights provides the perfect venue to keep these icons fresh and relevant for their most loyal fans.
There is no reason why this franchise can't become as vital for Universal as the princesses are for Disney or the Looney Tunes for Warner Bros. They just need the right creative team creating films that will connect with modern audiences. Maybe this maze can spark that creative process? Here's hoping.
To recap, here is the line-up for Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights this year:
Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is an after-hours, hard-ticket event that starts September 14 and runs select evenings through November 3. Tickets are available on Universal's website.
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This house should have been in Orlando too. Seems like USF is forgetting the foundation it was built on.
Ditto what Thomas tskogg said above. Under-utilizing the Classic Universal Monsters is downright criminally creative negligence. Forget about the old ill conceived Castle Dracula attraction in Hollywood. Please, please give these legends their own dark ride, preferably in their own land. And bring on more merchandise! To not feature (and profit from) these characters is dumbfounding.
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The past few years I've managed to go to both USO and USH but the excitement isn't there for USH like it use to be. Although some of the houses would be the same, the scare zones where completely different and at times better than the haunted houses. Not sure if I'll head to USH this time after my USO visit as I'll be going to Cali for WB Horror lives here. Although I do like the Jabbawockeez dance crew, the performance lacks any type of Halloween thematics.