Harold Goldstein
Misty fog surrounds the environment as you walk steadily toward the next amusement ride that awaits ongoing customers, the shrieks of a chainsaw pervades your ear while your legs instinctively move faster to get away from the ongoing screams behind you. This is what awaits you in Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. A blend of gruesome special effects, heavy rock music and terrifying creatures waiting to pounce make this horrific event a must for any horror & thriller lover. This year’s event is built on a central theme: to ‘live your worst nightmare’. Between the top and lower lot, there are four horror mazes to survive. Three of the mazes is based on Universal’s most renowned horror figures: Freddie Kruger, the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface and Jason, while the fourth maze is based on many of the old movie monsters such as Frankenstein and Dragula. Also, small sectors, called ‘scare zones’, throughout the theme park have their own unique themes with ‘scare actors’ who spook unknowing tourists as they walk to rides and mazes. Most of these themes include chainsaw-wielding clowns and pig-faced maniacs, radioactive zombies hunted down by the military, plague-infested medieval villagers and urban legends from London such as Jack the Ripper. The biggest attraction so far is the Terror Tram Studio Tour where customers can actually walk around the back lot of Universal Studios for the first time and get to see what it is like to walk through an actual horror movie. Although rather tame and ‘Disney-esque’ in the daytime, Universal Studios has a very grimy and rundown feel during the Halloween event. The moment you set foot into the park, you get a sense of uneasiness and that stays with you the entire time. The mazes are simply incredible having their own distinct rhythm and detail to the horror figure that they are based on. A great example is the Nightmare on Elm St. maze where specific scenes from the film series are used to make you feel like you’re walking through a living nightmare. The new studio tour attraction is one of the best in the park. It begins on the tram with the tour guide showing the audience a video of the history of nightmares. After the video is over, the tram stops near a dirt road due to ‘technical difficulties’ and the audience has to walk the whole way to the next tram. When the tram leaves, the audience walks through the backlot passing by various sets such as the Bates Motel and the Psycho house, the mountain road passing Crystal Lake, and the War of the Worlds set featuring an airplane crash and a torn-apart neighborhood. While walking, the audience is terrorized by Chainsaw-wielding pig-headed maniacs, axe-holding psychos, and Freddie Kruger himself. After surviving the walk and getting back onto the tram, the audience is presented with a ‘special’ preview of the upcoming horror remake ‘The Wolf Man’ and is then transported off the tram and back into the park. It is a great way to end your Halloween fright night with the studio tour, giving you just enough spooks to still feel tense when leaving the park. The only real complaint that I had was the lines to the mazes. The lines felt like a maze all by itself with waiting times being more than an hour. It felt very frustrating when you see that you are so close to the entrance of the maze only to realize you have to turn another corner to deal with more lines. But the end result is well worth the waiting. Overall, Universal Studios has overdone itself with this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. If you have nothing to do for Halloween than hand candy to kids, go to Universal Studios to find a new meaning to the word ‘scary’. Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 1 are the final days to attend the event. Go to http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/ for more information on the event.