Universal Studios Hollywood kicks off on Thursday, September 5, and runs through select nights until Sunday, November 3. Today we share with you a preview of the meaty terror that awaits inside The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface. The original concept house is based on the beloved franchise. But as Creative director Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights Creative Director, John Murdy explained, they wanted to tell a new story.

 

We met Murdy just outside the façade of the new experience, which is nestled in a slender strip of space behind the Transformers: The Ride 3D attraction. For those keeping track, it’s the space used for Holidayz In Hell in 2023.

Up to this point, Universal Studios Hollywood has done a total of 6 previous Texas Chainsaw Massacre houses. So, for the 7th visit to this franchise, Murdy decided to tell a new story. Always referenced but never seen in the films, guests will arrive at the Hooper and Henkle Meat Processing plant. Yes, folks, we get to visit the family slaughterhouse. What could go wrong?

Murdy explains that as guests journey through this living nightmare they will come face to face with the various versions of Leatherface that have appeared in all 9 of the films that feature the character. Each mask that Leatherface wears will be apropos to the various tasks that we will witness him doing.

We enter the first room in the processing plant and witness the beginning of the slaughter process. Here victims hang from hooks that wait to be sent into the kill chute.

 

We next head into the chute where Chop Top and others drive the crowds further.

 

During the walkthrough, Murdy explained the research that went into creating this nightmare. He offered a brief history of the meatpacking industry and how it originated in Chicago. The streamlining of slaughter was perfected at that time, years before Ford created the assembly line. Here the Sawyer family just switch the victims from livestock to live humans.

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights is known for its use of scents in their haunted houses to heighten the terror of the experience. Noting this tradition Murdy was asked what smells might be featured in this experience and what they smelled like. Murdy’s answer was, “Not good.”

We eventually reach the cleaning room, where everything that was not used is boiled down, and disposed of. In this scene water will obscure the black lining of this enclosure. Under the proper lighting, it will appear as if it’s a collection of blood and fluids collected on the dank floor.

Of course, meat has to be shipped in ice via boxcar. We briefly pass through the malfunctioning holding freezer in hopes of escaping.

After surviving the actual slaughterhouse we are treated to a visit to the Sawyer family graveyard and home. Here the clever butchers have created a memorial to butchers of the past. In a rather shrewd move the family has repurposed old store signage for use as tombstones. Upcycling indeed.

Of course we get our iconic moment with Leatherface to cap everything off and the house comes to an end… Or does it?

Other notable experiences include The Purge: Dangerous Waters, set in the WaterWorld venue, and multiple scare zones such as Luchadores Monstruosos, Chainsaw Punkz, Skull Lordz, and Murder of Crowz. Previously announced haunted houses include A Quiet Place, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines, Insidious: The Further, Monstruous 2: The Nightmares of Latin America, and Dead Exposure: Death Valley.

Horror enthusiasts and film aficionados can now mark their calendars for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, as tickets are now on sale. The event kicks off on Thursday, September 5 and continues on select nights until Sunday, November 3. Visitors will experience eight brand-new haunted houses, numerous chilling scare zones, and the famed Terror Tram.

A variety of Halloween Horror Nights ticket options are available for purchase to the Universal Studios Hollywood event, including General Admission, Universal Express, After 2 P.M. Day/Night, the Early Access Ticket, which provides access to select haunted houses beginning at 5:30 p.m. (subject to change), in advance of the scheduled 7:00 p.m. event opening time, the premium R.I.P. Tour and popular passes, Frequent Fear and Ultimate Fear, which enable guests to experience the scares again and again. Click here to purchase tickets and for Terms and Conditions.

Stay and scream with a Halloween Horror Nights Vacation Package at Universal Studios Hollywood. Sample package includes one daytime General Admission ticket, one General Admission Halloween Horror Nights event ticket and accommodation at a Universal Partner Hotel. Click here for more information about each ticket type and here for vacation packages, plus Terms and Conditions. Universal Studios Hollywood Vacation Packages are sold by Universal Parks & Resorts Vacations