Horror is a genre that never goes out of style, but if you’re on the lookout for stylish horror then look no further than Universal’s annual Halloween Horror Nights event. The scare-meisters at Universal have long established themselves as masters of their craft, but the question on our minds is how much terror can one person take before they run screaming into the night? In a bid to push the last vestiges of our sanity to the brink, we braved all ten of this year’s horror houses in one long, scream-fuelled night. Here are the horrific highlights…
1. Runners And Clickers And Bloaters, Oh My!
One of the most exciting properties ever to be gifted the horror house treatment, The Last Of Us makes its HHN debut this year and it doesn’t disappoint. Based directly on the PlayStation game rather than this year’s HBO series, this zeroes in on the story’s Pittsburgh sequence, where Joel and Ellie fend off hunters in the city, before fleeing through the sewers and getting embroiled in an almighty (literal) firefight in the suburbs. Eased in by Gustavo Santaolalla’s acoustic score, it isn’t long before you’re up to your arse in clickers, running for your life. Not only are the various infected just as blood-curdling as you’d hope (brace yourself for the first time a hulking bloater comes thundering out of the darkness), but you get to follow Joel and Ellie, with all-new dialogue recorded especially for the event by actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. Plus the maze is littered with Easter eggs for veterans of the game (workbench, anyone?). Be warned: when you think it’s all over, it isn’t.
2. Prized Possession
It’s rare that you get to experience a film in the flesh before you’ve even had a chance to see it, but David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer makes its three-dimensional debut at this year’s event - a full month before the film hits screens. Starting with two girls lost in the woods, it’s not long before we’re back inside, demons stalking the halls of their the hell-touched house, building up to a big finale where the pair of demonically possessed girls are tied to chairs, railing, ranting (and flying) as the power of Christ compels them. Father Merrin never had to deal with two of them! No spoilers here but suffice it to say this one is creepy to the max and bodes very well for the upcoming movie. Part of us was hoping for a final scare in which Taylor Swift emerged to scare the film away from its original release date but sadly that was not to be.
3. Double Dragon
Long time Universal theme park fans will have fond recollections the Dueling Dragons ride (later transformed into the Potter-themed Triwizard Tournament ride), which saw twin coasters fighting it out for dominance. Well, Dueling Dragons returns with a vengeance this year, but in more blood-curdling form, with two dragons (actually wizards) battling to see whether fire or ice will prevail. Elemental spell are the order of the day here, with some beautifully mystic sets, complete with glowing spell books and creeping fog. The highlight is the final stretch, which makes you choose one dragon or the other, leading to either a fiery or icy doom before you emerge into the humid night.
4. Doll House
This year sees Chucky taking over his own house, drawing inspiration not form the Child’s Play films but rather the ongoing USA/SyFy series based around everybody’s favourite killer doll. The twist on this one is that the ‘real’ Chucky has invaded the house and is routinely bumping off the tourists (tracked on a macabre kill count clock). Black comedy is the order of the day in this one, with constant commentary from the doll himself, as well as attacks by numerous tiny Chucky mannequins (as opposed to big people in oversized costumes). The mid-point fake-out where you think the ride is over, only to be thrown into a corridor full of violently unboxed Good Guy Dolls is an excellent surprise. And if you see a big red button at any point, maybe press it and see what happens…
5. Running Up That Hill
Chucky isn’t the only Master Of Puppets this year, however. Eddie Munson and co take the fight to Vecna as Stranger Things returns to HHN for its season-four-inspired house. This one not only sees the Upside Down’s dream master coming for your soul, but also litters the maze with all manner of details from the show, from creepy cuckoo clocks to the nasty zombats and, yes, Eddie’s stand-out Metallica moment atop the trailer. The mutilated corpse on the ceiling of Victor Creel’s trailer is an unsettling introduction, before Eleven goes full beast mode against 001 in the lab, and we finally face off against Vecna himself. When you see the dangling sheet, remember to look up or you’ll miss one of the coolest nods to the series as Dustin peers into the ceiling portal from the real world. For scares, attention to detail and fidelity to the source material, this might be the best Stranger Things house to-date.
6. Are We There Yeti?
Sasquatch has been a recurring favourite at HHN, with two previous houses tapping into Big foot energy to fuel their scares. This year’s takes the hairy heffalumps back to the 1950s and the great outdoors with Yeti: Campground Kills, where they proceed to eat those unfortunates communing with nature. If you enjoyed the ice yetis from Terror Of The Yukon back in 2019, then this one is for you. Huge, fuzzy monsters with slavering jaws lurk around every corner in this maze, the sheer size of some of them enough to send you wailing from the room - Bigfoot And The Hendersons this is not. A mix of flesh-and-blood scarers in suits and animatronic monstrosities hide within this house and the peek-a-boo windows showing people being dismembered inside their caravans is an especially grisly touch.
7. Monster Mash
Modern horror might be the cool option but spare a thought for the monster OGs, who make a welcome return to the park this year in the form of Universal Monsters Unmasked, which pits you against Dr Jekyll (and Mr Hyde), The Invisible Man, The Phantom Of The Opera, and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. This takes you from the catacombs of Paris, through the opera house and out onto the streets by Notre Dame cathedral - where a giant hunchack on a bungee cord menaces you from above in one of the most vertically spacious houses of the night. Walking through the Parisian rain (yes, you will get wet), then looking for the Invisible Man’s telltale bandages under ultraviolet light and being pursued through red-carpeted corridors by the masked phantom made this one of the most varied and fun houses of them all and proof beyond doubt that there’s still life in Universal’s pantheon of classic movie monsters.
Holiday Package Information
Seven nights at Loews Sapphire Falls from £1,576 per person (£3,152 total)
Seven nights at Loews Sapphire Falls in Orlando with Virgin Atlantic Holidays, including scheduled Virgin Atlantic flights from London Heathrow direct to Orlando, accommodation in Standard Queen room on a room only basis starts from £1,576 per person. Price also includes a Universal 3 Park Explorer Ticket and Halloween Horror Nights single night ticket.Price is per person based on two adults sharing a room and includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Price is based on a departure date of 26th September 2023. Virgin Atlantic flies direct to Orlando twice a day from both Manchester and London Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays is a member of ABTA and is ATOL protected. To book: www.virginholidays.co.uk or call 0344 557 3859.