Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights reemerges from the fiery pits of Hades with a handful of new frightening mazes and attractions that are sure to scare the pants off of anyone.
The scare fest kicked off opening night with a slew of celebrities walking the red carpet at the annual Eyegore Awards, honoring those who have created the most wickedly scary moments in horror film history.
Such awards went to actor Danny Trejo of “Machete Kills”, “Black Sabbath’s” Ozzy Osbourne, “Walking Dead’s” Melissa McBride and “Insidious” producer Jason Blum.
This years mazes were a terrifying mix of music, television and film. From the rocking sounds of “Black Sabbath” to the paranormal activity of “Insidious”, each attraction surpassed last years by enticing guests sixth sense.
One attraction that was the epitome of heavy metal was “Black Sabbath’s: 13-3D” maze.
Based on the songs from the bands album, it’s the first time the park’s used 3D video effects in one of their mazes. Guests are given 3D glasses and as they walk in, phosphorescent paint engulfs the room, camouflaging demons on stilts. It’s like stepping into a wonky acid trip where centaurs devour human flesh and green creatures emerge from the painted walls.
Black Sabbath fans will not be disappointed with this headbanging concert as they’ll find it difficult to not sing along in between screams.
The fan favorite of the night was the apocalyptic attraction “Walking Dead: No Safe Haven.”
In order to reach this maze guests will have to take a tram to the backlot. From here they must race through a demolished city filled with walkers and enter the abandoned prison. Inside guests must evade prison cells filled with half eaten walkers and enter the notorious Woodbury town. Fans of the show will quickly notice objects from season three like the governor’s floating zombie heads and Michonne’s zombie pets.
Yet, one of the most highly anticipated and most frightening mazes of the night was “Insidious: Into the Further.”
A far cry from the other mazes Halloween Horror Nights has produced in the past, guests will not be scared to death with bloody saws or tortured with disemboweled body parts.
Instead, they will be psychologically traumatized by eerie sounds, putrid smells and hidden demons.
The beginning of the maze starts out slow. Guests will see lamps turn on and off and hear original dialogue from the film in the background. The scare comes when objects begin moving by themselves, giving actors the OK to come out screeching and soon after a cacophony of sounds engulf the room and the lights go off.
Besides the mazes guests should make sure to enter the Purge Scare Zone and the Terror Tram. Nothing says terror like hiking amongst walkers and evading killer chainsaws! But guests should be prepared for non-stop scares, because no matter where they turn a decomposed zombie will be staring them down.
Overall the night was a demonic success with lines bulging to capacity as guests ran out screaming from mazes or simply tried out running knife wheeling Chucky dolls.
Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights will be open from September 20 to November 2.
