MAN what a fortnight it has been. We went from the 7th HHN tracker straight into Midsummer Scream and just prior to that, the announcement of not one, but two mazes! Since HHN Tracker 7 we got the announcement of the epic, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blood Brothers maze and the highly anticipated Freddy VS Jason maze. The line up is rounded out by Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield, The Exorcist, and the all-new Krampus maze based on Michael Dougherty’s 2015 film. We have plenty of Q and A to review from Creative Director Halloween Horror Nights, John Murdy from his prolific @HorrorNights Twitter feed along with current pics from the construction sites. Let’s get started.
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 1
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 2
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 3
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 4
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 5
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 6
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 7
Question and Answer
Mr. John Murdy is a Tweeter par excellence. with over 79k followers this has become the front line access for fans to the inside scoop on Halloween Horror Nights. Murdy tweets hundreds of messages a month during the busy season, interacting with fans and responding to their questions. Recently he held one of his famous Q and A sessions via Twitter when strange things began to occur due to the supposed Exorcist curse…
Since we’re getting close to the next maze announcement, gonna do a quick Q&A on HHN 2016. Answering 5 questions only! Fire away!
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
You know the drill…tweet me your questions. I’ll pick 5 to answer and follow those I pick…will retweet question, followed by answer
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
@HorrorNights can you give us any info on frequent fear passes this year?
— Sally Hatake? (@SallyXIII) August 4, 2016
Answer: Well Sally…I can’t give out too many details on that other than to say that we will have a multi-night pass this year..
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
…I believe those passes will be available once tix go on sale…I would guess around middle of this month.
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Twitter is having weird re tweet issues again (or maybe its the curse of The Exorcist???) so I’ll have to tweet the next 4 questions…
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
OK…now the TV in my office just turned on by itself. I think its The Exorcist curse again! Someone check the number of tweets I’ve liked
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
(Ignoring the TV) Eric @modernnage asked if the remaining maze properties are new to HHN or have been featured at the event before…
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
ANSWER: They are ALL NEW TO THE EVENT…The ones yet to be announced have NEVER BEEN AT HHN BEFORE (ooooo aaaaa)
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
My apologies to Erica @modernnage for calling her Eric. It was the name of the Phantom of the Opera after all. : )
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Answer: Yes! Thanks for reminding me! I completely forgot about that. The connection was her song, “Dream a Little Dream”
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
I have been informed by multiple people that I have “666” likes. That explains the TV randomly turning on and off by itself….
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Someone tweet something witty so I can like it
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Answer: Some stress? Creating this event is like making multiple movies at once! EVERYTHING IS STRESSFUL!!!!!
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
However, I did sample the “scents” for this year today…that wasn’t too stressful. And some were nice…pumpkin, lavender, fresh cut grass.
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
But there was also dead body, rotting flesh, gangrene, vomit…those were awful
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Last question…make it a good one
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Answer: No (shocker). Taking a break from 3D. There wasn’t a property that really worked for that this year….
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
that ends a long streak going back to House of 1,000 Corpses…but couldn’t imagine Exorcist, FVJ, TCM or Halloween 3D (or the others)
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
That’s all for now…stay tuned…something is coming soon…sooner than you think…I think…
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
The Exorcist
Speaking of, we are more than excited to see this new maze, based on the 1973 film The Exorcist, come to life. John Murdy and his partner, Art Director Chris Williams worked for over 12 years to get the rights to produce a walkthrough based on this property. Will it be worth the wait?
When asked what the goal of the attraction would be, Murdy said he wanted to make guests know “what it felt like to be possessed.” That is a lofty goal, but one that he and the team at Universal Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights is up to.
We can practically hear Tubular Bells right now.
Below we see recent pictures from Sunday that show the construction of the maze in the extended queue of the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster.
The front of the attraction will feature a two story facade that resembles the Washington D.C. home in which the film was set.
Guests will exit around the backside of the maze.
Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield
Following up on the highest rated maze or house at any Halloween Horror Nights anywhere in the world, is Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield. A direct sequel to last years maze based on the first film, Hell Comes to Haddonfield follows exactly the play by play of the film Halloween 2.
We begin at the Doyle home where Dr. Loomis has shot Michael Myers in the chest 6 times before Michael disappears into the night. After leaving the Doyle home we venture through a back ally and on to the hospital where Michael continues to pursue Laurie Strode. This is the perfect follow up to last years maze and we hope that it carries the same intensity and trueness to the spirit of the film.
The Doyle Home Facade
In the back we can see hospital doors awaiting installation as they sit in the path of the emergency exits in the back of the maze.
Krampus
The most recent announcement, Krampus was all but confirmed as the highly detailed facade developed in the backlot. Based on the 2015 horror comedy from writer director Michael Dougherty, Krampus followed the story of what happens when one family doesn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas. Below, Murdy has some fun on Twitter, toying with fans before the big reveal.
You better watch out, you better not cry…Krampus is coming to town! #UniversalHHN https://t.co/fn7WZ6qJno
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Not going to say too much more for now. If you want to learn more about the maze and HHN, check out our panel this Sunday @ScareLosAngeles
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
The maze is under construction right now on the backlot, where Crimson Peak was in 2015.
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
Very excited to have @Mike_Dougherty join the HHN family of horror filmmakers who have been part of HHN over the years!
— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) August 4, 2016
GIGANTIC SLASHER ANNOUNCEMENT
Since our last HHN Tracker, Universal made the huge announcement of not one, but two mazes featuring three of the most iconic slashers in cinema history. Below is the artwork.
Freddy Vs. Jason
Of course we are crazy excited to enjoy the epic battle between Freddy Vs. Jason. This carry over from last years Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights will be familiar in concept but will be new from the ground up. As was explained on the recent panel at Midsummer Scream, the maze will take guests through decrepit Boil factories and spooky woods. The ending will also change every time you visit declaring either Freddy or Jason the winner.
MAZE 6
We had originally posted that this project was thought to be the Texas Chainsaw Massacre maze. However we were incorrect, as pointed out by our readers, leaving this maze for a future announcement. The maze behind the trompe-l’œil backdrop is a yet-to-be-announced maze. A) we got that one wrong B) that is AWESOME because that means one more announcement! Thanks you guys!
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers
Finally we reach what we believe will be Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers. A sequel that is meant to fit between the original Tobe Hooper film and Texas Chainsaw massacre 2, Brothers depicts the cannibalistic family as successful caterers, celebrating the arrival of one of their own from the Vietnam war. It’s an odd choice but very very original.
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 1
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 2
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 3
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 4
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 5
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 6
- Universal Hollywood HHN 2016 Tracker 7
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Texas Chainsaw was actually confirmed to be in the Waterworld Queue! The maze you mistook it for is something that hasn’t been announced yet! 🙂
Murdy confirmed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre maze is located in the Waterworld queue. The pictures posted are of an un-announced maze
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers is currently in construction in the Waterworld Queue not where From Dusk Till Dawn was. That maze has yet to be announced.
The other maze is being built in the Waterworld que right now (actually Texas Chainsaw is being built there and the third backlot maze is the one that hasn’t been announced yet).