It was a hot August afternoon at Universal Studios Hollywood as we stood with Halloween Horror Nights Creative Director John Murdy, about to take a tour of a brand new haunted house for 2023. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count confronted us with a façade resembling a Good Guys Toy Factory. Here, Murdy explains that Chucky has constructed what is essentially a killing machine of a haunted house. We, the HHN visitors are the stars and, what’s worse, the target. Chucky’s goal is to kill as many park visitors as possible and we are on the list. Easily one of our favorite annual traditions, an HHN haunted house preview only serves to get us more excited for the things to come.

We enter the Good Guys factory and the beautiful art direction from Chris Williams is on display. The color palette screams “Chucky” with its banana yellow and red trim with blue accents.

What follows is a greatest hits, literally, of Chucky’s masterful murder skills. When Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count was announced we raised an incredulous eyebrow. How could Chucky be pulled off in an immersive haunted house? Suffice it to say that we are now eagerly awaiting our first trip through.

Murdy and crew have taken a very literal approach to Chucky. There will be no little actors in suits running about. No, Each Chucky will be to the scale that he would appear in real life. Each figure is a custom-built animated figure. Impressive

One of the scenes that captured the tongue-in-cheek humor of the property was a demented family Christmas scene. Chucky ornaments populate the tree and mayhem abounds.

There is also a hospital scene in which Chucky attempts to defibrillate every visitor.

Of course we can’t forget the household havoc that the devious doll inflicts on a happy home.

SPOILERS AHEAD

At this point I would like to offer fair warning that we are reaching the finale room of the house. It contains a rather impressive figure that, even out of operation, left us impressed. Fair warning.

Last chance.

Okay. So we enter a forest populated with a Chucky army. Everyone is here including…

MEGA CHUCKY!

Murdy poses with the actor-operated Mega Chucky figure that will terrorize guests.

Honestly, this is now one of our most anticipated houses on the roster. This echos the tradition of the “funny” houses originated at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and finds a new, savage voice for it.

We can’t wait to journey into the fog when Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood opens Thursday, September 7th. See you there!

Haunted Houses and More

The full lineup of fear continues with eight haunted houses plus the Terror Tram experience:

• “The Last of Us” is based on Naughty Dog and Playstation’s award-winning post-pandemic video game.
• “Stranger Things 4” transports guests to Hawkins, Indiana where they will face off against the evil Vecna in the fourth season of Netflix’s original series.
• “The Exorcist: Believer” features a terrifying new chapter as Chris MacNeil fights a nefarious demonic force which has possessed two girls.
• “Universal Monsters: Unmasked” expands on the Universal Monsters legacy with horror icons The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame coming together for the first time ever in a chilling new story.
• “Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count” features the infamous slasher doll and his best kills throughout the series and films.
• “Evil Dead Rise” brings guests to a new twisted tale in the Evil Dead franchise, based on the 2023 box office hit.
• “Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America” includes Latin American folklore’s most terrifying ghosts and creatures.
• “Holidayz in Hell” takes visitors on a petrifying trip through a series of psychotic seasonal celebrations.
• “Terror Tram…The Exterminatorz” puts guests on the world-famous Universal backlot and in the middle of an insect uprising led by the devious Larry Larva whose goal is to exterminate humans from the Earth. Horror fans will also walk along the Jupiter’s Claim set from Nope where they will encounter The Tethered from Us in an epic crossover from two of director Jordan Peele’s epic blockbusters.

Scare Zones

• “El Terror de las Momias” is a Latin-themed scare zone and an extension of the “Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America” haunted house that takes guests on a desperate attempt to escape an ancient army of unearthed mummies.
• Located on New York Street, the “Toyz” scare zone dares guests to play in the toy box of terror where a wicked toymaker used dark magic to bring his evil toys to life.
• A welcome wagon of “Ghostz,” featuring a horde of blood-soaked, chainsaw-wielding ghosts, gather at the entrance to Halloween Horror Nights to rattle nerves.

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. Click here for more information about each ticket type, Terms and Conditions and to purchase tickets.

Halloween Horror Nights runs select nights from Thursday, September 7 through Tuesday, October 31 at Universal Studios Hollywood and Friday, September 1 through Saturday, November 4 at Universal Orlando Resort. Due to popular demand, event nights are expected to sell out and tickets should be purchased in advance.