If you are a horror fan in Los Angeles you are most likely aware of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre. The North Hollywood theatre company has been at the forefront of experimental horror theatre for 20 years and has only gotten stranger and scarier. While their signature show URBAN DEATH plays in the spring or summer, it’s their annual Halloween offering that really pulls out all the stops, delivering the ultimate dive into terror.
URBAN DEATH: Tour of Terror is a hybrid mix of traditional haunted walkthroughs, immersive entertainment, and proper black box theatre that must be seen to be believed, much less understood. While the 40 minute show runs Friday and Saturday nights, now through November 1, We arrived about an hour ahead of the 8pm showing on Friday October 10, bought our tickets, checked in, and got in line. Yes, we were the first ones there, but the line quickly formed behind us.
Benevolent undertaker, Zombie Joe welcomed each guest at check in and dutifully offered everyone a piece of Halloween Candy. A mix of newbies and veteran Urban Death fans patiently waited along the sidewalk waiting to explore the terrors inside. Loooking at the entrance to the theatre it really doesn’t look like anything too special. A mocha brown stucco entrance with the vague letters Z. J. U. and a black fabric awning underneath do nothing to clue people in on the horrors inside.
Just before showtime, the director of this year’s tour of terror, Denise Devin, greets the crowd waiting for the 8pm show and asks us to huddle around for some quick ground rules. The first rule is that we must have fun. The next is that we must respect the theatre and the performers in it. They will not touch us, we must not touch them. We are instructed to fully turn off any light emitting devices including phones and smartwatches. (Glow in the dark clothing is also discouraged.) Finally we are reminded to have FUN!
Show time approaches and we are handed a nearly useless flashlight and told to follow the narrow maze of black plastic sheets and arrows. In this inky darkness we abruptly come face to face with nightmare fuel around every corner. Ominous figures suddenly appear from and offer a creepy, unnerving interaction before vanishing again.
Mercifully we reach the end of the maze portion of the show and are guided to find our seats in a blackbox theatre. Before us stands a performer nervously playing a violin. As the house fills shrill screams from the maze fill the air and the musician before us occasionally stops playing. Things grow increasingly dire for our violinist as, every so often she attempts to scream, but nothing escapes her mouth. Once everyone is seated the lights cut off to pitch black and we are in the world of Urban Death.
The format is simple. The lights rise on the stage, we see something ghastly, the lights fade. We witness a series of wordless vignettes that depict frightfully unspeakable horrors. Sometimes shocking, sometimes poignant, sometimes just raw nightmare fuel but always memorable. Over the two decades that Zombie Joe’s Underground theatre has been doing this show, it has amassed literally hundreds of these scenes. Here director Devin leans into the heavy darkness and odd romanticism of classic horror with pieces that explore loss and madness. This is a macabre collection of moments that relish desperation and insanity.
The final scene plays out and we are instructed to leave. The problem is that to get out we need to make our way back through the maze to face even more shocking surprises. Suffice it to say, you will for the first time, be relieved so see Lankershim boulevard once released from this mad creation.
URBAN DEATH: Tour of Terror is one of our top 10 must-do haunts in California. Rich with artistry, filled with fearless performers, and elegantly produced, this nimble theatre continues to deliver the single most frightening bang for your buck in the competitive California haunt market. Go see URBAN DEATH: Tour of Terror.
Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group presents URBAN DEATH TOUR OF TERROR: Haunted Theatre Attraction! FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS, OCTOBER 3 – NOVEMBER 1, 2025.
TIMES: 7:00p (SAT only) / 8:00p / 9:00p / 10:00p / 10:45p / 11:30p
WHERE: ZJU Theatre Group – 4850 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601
TICKETS: Advance tickets are $24 online at ZombieJoes.Tix.com ($28 at door)
WEBSITES: http://zombiejoes.
FOR AGES 18+ (Contains Graphic content, mature themes, trigger warnings and nudity).
