Halloween Horror Nights returned to Universal Studios Hollywood on September 7 with eight haunted houses, three original scare zones, two new live experiences, and an all-new Terror Tram experience. Universal was kind enough to invite me out for opening night, and I was fortunate enough to experience all of this year’s haunted houses. Here are my thoughts on each, along with my ranking of this year’s houses.
1. Stranger Things 4
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of “Stranger Things,” but that’s not what locked in the “Stranger Things 4” house as my number one pick for 2023. In fact, I would probably call it a tie between the “Stranger Things” house and my number two house, which I’ll get to in a moment. “Stranger Things 4” is my number one because it checked all the boxes for me. The flow and story of the house were solid and took you through several key moments of season four of the Netflix series. It also had exceptional sets from Eddie’s trailer facade that you enter through to the upside down for the last face-off between Eleven and Vecna. Finally, the lighting effects for many of the scene elements made the experience much more believable. From Eleven banishing Henry Creel to the Upside Down in Hawkins lab to the particles floating through the air as you made your way into the Upside Down. And it gets bonus points for making us relive those heartbreaking final interactions between Max and Lucas.
2. Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
Like “Stranger Things 4,” “Monstruos” checked many of the boxes for me, which is why I said before that I felt this could be a tie in many ways. I have been excited about this house since John Murdy first announced it at Midsummer Scream. The story’s originality was a big one for me here as this house brought to life and brought attention to several terrifying creatures from Latin American folklore. Each with its own segment in the house; I only wished that Universal could have found a way to better introduce folks to these creatures and what they were. Beyond originality, the monsters helped push this house to the top for me. The main scenes in the house that prominently feature each of the monsters, including Tlahuelpuchi, La Lechuza, and El Sibón, were incredibly done, with the giant La Lechuza in her nest being a personal favorite.
3. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
When it comes to fun, “Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count” comes out on top. This house was a love letter to Chucky and all his fans and was a blast from the start. Chucky’s presence was felt as soon as you approached the house, thanks to the facade featuring a tower of Good Guy doll boxes that would occasionally come to life to feature Chucky inside one of them. Once in the house, it was all Chucky no holds barred as he slaughtered everyone in sight, from Tiffany to influencers. Each scene was capped with a screen where Chucky shared the current kill count with some classic Chucky commentary.
With an array of killing methods inspired by the franchise and an outlandish ending featuring a massive Chucky, this is a Chucky fan wonderland. Bonus points for drenching me in “blood” as Chucky gets chainsawed in half in the dining room scene.
4. Universal Monsters Unmasked
I always love it when some of the less marketable Universal Monsters get some love, and this house definitely does that. The house brings together The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame in a chilling story of how they’ve all gone into hiding deep within the Paris catacombs. I love the concept of this house, though I felt the execution fell a little short as I don’t know that I wholly followed the transitions from one monster to another. Admittedly, this house also felt short on scare actors when I went through, and I may have gotten a bit of a different experience based on what I saw in some videos posted after the event.
That said, the scare actors that were in this house were stellar. I particularly enjoyed the performance by the leading Hunchback performer as he conveyed the fear, confusion, and anger felt by this oft-misunderstood monster as he loomed over his hapless victim on the table.
How they handled the invisible man using blacklight and costuming was stellar, and how this scene plays out with the monster addressing you directly as you enter his room was particularly entertaining.
5. The Exorcist: Believer
Inspired by the soon-to-be-released film of the same name, “The Exorcist: Believer” highlights bits and pieces from the storyline of the upcoming Blumhouse film that follows two girls who go missing only to be returned to their families possessed by demons. What worked for me in this house were some of the scare techniques; in some corridors, the walls would essentially vanish to unveil the possessed girls on the other side. The sets on this one were also reasonably well done, and boy, did they have some fun with the smell effects in this one. What didn’t work here were the scares. I felt like I kept getting “scared” by the same possessed girl or demon throughout the house.
6. Evil Dead Rise
Based on the latest film in the “Evil Dead” franchise, this house was fine. Like “The Exorcist: Believer,” the house was set up to have a decent number of “scares.” This wasn’t a bad house. It just didn’t have a whole lot that stood out to me. I dug the opening scene with the mom in the tub, a scene that was seared into our memory from the film’s trailer. I also enjoyed the ending of the house, where things ramp up a bit, and you come face to face with the fused Deadite trio, which is first teased by a projected silhouette before being revealed in physical form later for a scare. Beyond that, the house takes you through key moments in the film where you mostly come face to face with Deadite Mommy.
7. The Last of Us
This should have ranked higher. I love “The Last of Us” video games and loved the first season of HBO’s “The Last of Us.” This highly anticipated new haunted house takes guests into the world of Naughty Dog and PlayStation’s award-winning post-pandemic video game, as they venture alongside Joel and Ellie through an overgrown Pittsburgh and survive against Clickers, Hunters, and more.
Sadly, this house didn’t do it for me, and I wish it were due to high expectations, but the whole thing just felt like I was progressing through a never-ending gunfight. Most of the scares seemed tied to a creature jumping out and then being taken down by gunfire. That said, they didn’t skimp on detail from the game, and there are plenty of nods to the game and its environments throughout the house.
The highlight of “The Last of Us” is its monsters. Universal did a fantastic job bringing the infected to life, and the detail in the costuming was superb. The blacklight infected toward the end was also a nice touch. The monsters are also responsible for one of the best-staged kill scenes for 2023, as you watch one of the infected snap open the face and ultimately break the neck of one of its victims.
To be fair, I think I experienced this house with reduced actors, which may have hurt the experience. I’ve seen video since attending that shows several scenes with live actors who weren’t present during my walkthrough.
8. Holidayz in Hell
Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with this house. It’s still a great original concept with some great scenes, but somebody has to come in last, and since this house wasn’t new, this is where it lands. “Holidayz in Hell” takes visitors on a terrifying trip through seasonal celebrations gone horribly wrong.
This feels like a classic haunted house to me, and being that it’s a house built around all the holidays, I think that’s a perfect fit. There are no over-the-top special effects or gimmicks, just strong sets, each housing a different bit of the story with a scare actor at the heart of it.
This maze amuses me more than it scares me. I love the mall Easter Bunny scene with the terrified kids and, of course, the guy who blows off a few limbs playing with fireworks for the fourth.
Halloween Horror Nights continues on select dates through Halloween at Universal Studios Hollywood. Universal Studios Hollywood offers a variety of Halloween Horror Night ticket options, including General Admission, Universal Express, After 2 p.m. Day/Night, and the premium R.I.P. Tour, as well as the Early Access Ticket, which provides access to select haunted houses prior to the scheduled event opening (starting at 5:30 p.m., subject to change), and the popular Frequent Fear Pass and Ultimate Fear Pass. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/
Did you go to Halloween Horror Nights this year, or are you planning to? Let me know on social media what your favorite houses were! Want to see more from opening night? Check out my video below:
