Universal Studios Hollywood kicks off the haunt season in Southern California with the opening of Halloween Horror Nights. This world-class Halloween event features two shows, four scare zones, the Terror Tram, and eight haunted houses. That’s not to mention a handful of the park’s popular attractions including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, Transformers 3D: The Ride, Jurassic World, and The Simpsons Ride.
As the birthplace of the classic monster movie, Universal Studios Hollywood is the appropriate epicenter of terror. What makes the Hollywood iteration of HHN so interesting is, of course, the location. You are literally in the space that captured Bela Lugosi as Dracula in 1931, The Creature from the Black Lagoon in (1954), or Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960). This is sacred ground for horror fans.
For 2024, Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights delivers a consistent slate of scares with a few unexpected standouts. Did they get The Terror Tram right this year? Brace yourselves.
In this review, we will give you a rundown of all the HHN offerings and let you know which ones are a DO NOT MISS. We will also share our strategies for seeing the most in a single night.
While we will not cover them in detail, you can read about the exclusive merchandise and a devilish menu that caters to all dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, alongside indulgent treats for adventurous eaters here.
Scare Zones
As guests make their way through the park’s foggy corridors, they might encounter 4 separate scare zones.
Luchadores Monstruosos – DO NOT MISS
As guests pass through Parisian Street or exit the Mostruos 2 House, they will encounter our favorite scare zone of the night, Luchadores Monstruousos. The Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, all get the Mexican Wrestler treatment here and they stalk visitors for victorious scares. Let’s face it. Luchadores are RAD and this zone is a ton of fun.
Skull Lordz – DO NOT MISS
This ubiquitous scare zone is unmissable as it sits at the crossroads near the front of the park. Royal skeletons hold court under the flame tower, pursuing their next victims. The performers in this space must bring their A-Game as it is such a high-traffic spot. Amid the bustle and chaos, those performers need to constantly move and surprise guests. Treat yourself and make time to visit this scare zone to watch these fine performers at work.
Chainsaw Punkz
Universal Hollywood always features a band of shrill chainsaw-wielding monsters at the front of the park. This isn’t as much a scare zone as it is a notion. The performers here know what their job is; Sneak up to a distracted guest and fire up that chainsaw. It works for the basic scares, but aside from the actors, who are, themselves the zone, there isn’t much here.
Murder of Crowz
At the tattered intersection between the entrance to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the construction for the upcoming Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift mega-coaster, is the beautiful, if sparse, Murder of Crowz scare zone. Stilt performers loom over guests in beautiful jet-black crow costumes that feature articulated beaks and glowing red eyes. While fog effects wouldn’t be a great idea in this busy area, a bit more lighting to wash the space in some color would push this one over the edge.
Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse – DO NOT MISS
The Terror Tram is surprisingly good this year! We would go so far as to say that it might be a stand-out for 2024. The new Enter The Blumhouse theme lures guests into a nightmare trail populated with such Blumhouse hits as M3GAN, The Black Phone, Freaky, The Purge, and Happy Death Day.
The experience begins as we take a ride on the studio tour tram down to a drop-off spot where M3gan awaits. Suddenly, a host of other Blumhouse icons come out of nowhere and the chase is on. We cross through facades resembling the Blumhouse house logo into the various scenes. They use the route normally used by Terror Tram, but there is an attempt at creating a new path under the existing constraints.
We were honestly impressed with the Terror Tram overall this year for its stab at reinvention, the wonderful talent that was relentless, and the pacing that all just seemed to hit right.
Shows
The Purge: Dangerous Waters – DO NOT MISS
What is it about The Purge: Dangerous Waters that makes it so fun? The show features a pretty basic plot where the elites hide out during The Purge (12 hours where nothing is against the law and violence is encouraged,) and rebels infiltrate the compound. But to answer the question, we aren’t here for the story. We are here for the spectacle and man does this show have it. In fact, it bests the Waterworld show which occupies the same space during the day by way of eye-popping lasers and lighting effects. Of course, a healthy dose of gore is welcomed. Gallons of blood are spewed from the performers, things go boom, and the stunts are awesome. This one is fun, just go see it.
Late Night with Chucky
The hilarious concept of Cucky as a late-night talk show host is squandered in this all-too-short live show presented in the Dreamworks Theater. Guests enter the foyer and are greeted by a crowd warmer. This attendant instructs everyone to scan a QR code shown on a screen to ask Chucky a question. The gimmick is live interaction with the killer doll. But the interaction is dubious with only a handful of questions used before segwaying into a promotion for the Chucky TV show on Universal’s Peacock subscription service. Honestly, the promotion isn’t the issue. We expect that. The problem is that the live show delivered the gimmick briefly, and then sent us on our way. There’s an easy fix here. Let Chucky field a few more questions. Problem solved.
Houses
Ah yes. The raison d’être of Halloween Horror Nights, the extraordinary collection of haunted houses. Here we feast on 8 haunted houses for 2024 all of which maintain an impressive level of quality. There were no real stinkers, well, metaphorically anyway. The houses ranged from IP or IP-inspired concepts to original nightmares dreamt up by Creative Director, John Murdy and his team. Thankfully, there isn’t another Exorcist: The Believer. Everything is solid, ranging from acceptable to exceptional.
The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy
The Weeknd loves horror. With his signature red jacket and the edgy spelling of his name, we are treated to another journey into the mind of this tortured musical artist. His first foray into haunted houses at Universal Studios Hollywood was inspired. This house is even more elaborate, featuring a trilogy of nightmare scenarios. Sadly, the house gets way too obtuse for its own good. This thing is beautiful, but baffling. The effect is muted scares and the lingering question, “Why was there a miniature Weeknd popping out of the bathroom sink?” Our advice is that if you have an Express Pass, go enjoy The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy Bar first, responsibly, that is, and then hit this house.
A Quiet Place – DO NOT MISS
The all-new A Quiet Place house is spectacular. Based on the events of the first two films, the house is located on the upper lot, in the space formerly held by Evil Dead Rise in 2023. This is easily one of the more ambitious houses conceived by Murdy and his team with a collection of jaw-dropping creature effects, the inclusion of American Sign Language (a first in a house,) and the innovative use of sound.
We begin only hearing the creatures as we traverse a forest. Soon we are at the family farmhouse and all hell is breaking loose. Creatures are around every corner and despite the mayhem, we are urged to remain quiet. We get to see the infamous basement scenes from the first film and the train and the steel foundry from the second film.
What makes this house pop off are the creatures, the set pieces, and the sound. This is one thrilling walkthrough.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – DO NOT MISS
For the record, We were not the biggest fans of the first iteration of a Ghostbusters House at Universal Hollywood’s HHN. This time, however, we are warming up to the idea with Frozen Empire. This walkthrough gets the balance of zany and hair-raising right. We enter the facade of Ray’s Occult Books and are thrust into a Manhattan that is facing a total freezeover in July.
We visit various locations including the famed Ghostbusters headquarters as the new crew of paranormal police chases down the big baddie causing the chill. With all of the icy scenes, we found it strange that there were no climate control effects. While passing through frozen set pieces we were sweating. It was an odd disconnect.
Overall though, this one was fun with a handful of worthy jumpscares.
Insidious: The Further
Eeeesh. Another Insidious. Okay, okay, let’s give it a shot. Based on the prolific franchise, Insidious: The Further pulls us into the spirit realm for encounters with all of the frightening ghosts and demons known from the films. We get all of them, The Bride in Black, The Woman in White, The Man Who Can’t Breathe, Lipstick-Face Demon, Smash Face, Long Haired Fiend. The precise lighting design is the highlight of this house with the exact tones of red and cyan used for both the doors and The Further respectively. There is also a keen eye kept on the element of darkness. The talent was also brilliantly on point.
Still, with the collection of ghosts, not to mention smells, We weren’t overly impressed. It’s not the fault of the designers or the talent. This is just a tired property outdone only by The Purge. Can we go further than The Further?
Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines
Van Helsing’s daughter and the Bride of Frankenstein team up to take down the Brides of Dracula in the narrative-driven Eternal Bloodlines. We approach the mausoleum facade of the house in the cavernous Stage 12 as Saskia Van Helsing leers at us from behind a wrought iron fence. It seems that she and The Bride of Frankenstein are set on killing off the vampiric bloodline once and for all. With brilliant original music by Slash and some wonderful performances, this house is only mildly entertaining.
We enter the house and instead of a fully themed walkthrough, we enter a series of vignettes bookended by black hallways and chapter breaks. What’s here is great, but we would have loved to have seen the level of execution enjoyed by previous Universal Monster incarnations in Hollywood.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface – DO NOT MISS
Situated behind Transformers 3D: The Ride is the wonderfully grotesque The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface. Mining every iteration of Leatherface from all nine of the films produced, Creative Director John Murdy chooses to highlight each one by way of a tour through a meat packing plant. This is a tour of the Sawyer and Hewitt family meat packing plant, often referred to but never shown in the films. The walkthrough is loud and gruesome, a fitting homage to the chainsaw-wielding madman.
We approach the Hooper and Henkle Meat processing plant that sits behind a chainlink fence. Out front, a young Leatherface wearing the head of a cow, paces back and forth like a caged tiger. We enter the facility and see a collection of masks used by Leatherface for the various jobs in the facility. From here we enter the bloody tour that replaces livestock for humans as the characters from the films make cameos along the way. The experience culminates with a visit to the Sawyer cemetery and home, before a final barrage of boo box attacks.
While a fitting tribute to the horror icon, the name of the house is a bit off. This isn’t about Leatherface’s Legacy, it’s more a Texas Chainsaw Massacre Universe house showing us that the Sawyer family knew what they were doing with their victims. That inconsequential thought aside, this is a fun one filled with nasty set pieces and surprises.
Monstruos 2: The Nightmares of Latin America – DO NOT MISS
The minute this house was announced, we were thrilled and eager to return to the world of Latin lore. This time around we are faced with such terrifying creatures as El Cucuy, El Charro, and El Cadejo. Monstruos 2: The Nightmares of Latin America begins the same as its predecessor from last year. We enter a crypt on the invitation of a skeletal figure outside and we begin to face our darkest fears.
Each encounter with a monster is broken up with chapter breaks. After wandering the fetid corridors of the crypt we enter a room with an alter and a poster that proclaims the creature ahead. Then we attempt to survive while being pursued by utterly nightmarish creatures.
Art director Chris Williams again nails the look of the various scenes, including the crypt, a cantina, a humble Mexican home, and the lair of the Cucuy. Nearly every inch of this walkthrough is highly detailed and themed, fully immersing visitors in a rustic and primal dreamscape.
They knocked this one out of the park again. We can’t wait to return!
Dead Exposure: Death Valley
We LOVE an original concept house. Dead Exposure: Death Valley is certainly that, if a little light on the extensive details that we have come to expect from the other houses. We enter a remote government facility where a van has just crashed through barriers and all hell is breaking loose. It seems that this compound is the home of frightful experiments on both animals and humans. The further we go, the more twisted the experiments become. The subjects turn on their captors, and we must find a way to survive.
This house is a fun one for sure. If you are a fan of those crazy atomic-age monster movies this one is right up your alley. I will say that the talent in this house was high energy and very much engaged in the scare. Make sure to enjoy this one after dark so that you can fully enjoy all of the UV lighting and projection effects.
Tickets
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
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