[gtranslate]
Connect with us

News

[Review] Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood – Delivers A Powerful Horror Punch!

Published

5 years ago

on

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood (HHN) delivered quite a powerful horror punch this year! HHN has always strutted its talents and continues to be one of the top Halloween Haunts in Southern California, and this year was no exception. With the absence of the event in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it felt fantastic to walk the park once again and experience the Halloween Haunt season. 

After the park’s 2020 hiatus, I had no idea what to expect, and I was pretty nervous. Would it be a dud? Or would the park come in hot and offer something slightly new? For the 2021 season, Halloween Horror Nights offered six mazes along with an intense Terror Tram Ride. Some mazes were repeated from past years but still delivered. The Curse of Pandora’s Box, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and finally, my favorite, Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives. The park offered three scare zones on the upper lot to companion the mazes, Chainsaw Rangers, Demon City, and Universal Monsters: Silver Screen Queenz, where female monsters were promoted. The park’s Grand Pavilion Plaza was decked out to the theme of De Los Muertos and gave a space where guests could chill and grab an adult beverage. 

Grand Pavilion Plaza – Dia De Muertos

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Usually, with unbearable crowds and wait times of 2-3 hours for some mazes (I always recommend front of the line), I didn’t witness wait times hit past the sixty-minute mark this year. The crowd seemed relatively controlled, and there was not an overwhelming amount of people stuffed into the park, and it was sold out; this may have been the result of Covid-19 protocols. In regards to the theme park’s approach to protocol, the park seemed to be very cautious. The theme park required that all guests and employees wear their masks in mazes and indoor spaces; however, I witnessed all employees following mask protocols outside of these spaces. About ninety percent of the guests I noticed were wearing masks outside of these spaces well. Everyone appeared to be well behaved along with the scareactors; they were masked up as well. I was delighted, and in The Bride of Frankenstein Lives maze, the Bride wore a surgical mask, and it presented a fitting aesthetic as her new role as the MAD doctor! I was very appreciative of the park’s sensitivity and approach to the following protocol. As of October 7, if you attend amusement parks in Los Angeles County (including Universal), you’ll have to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours before entering the park.  

Favorite & Least Favorite Attraction

My favorite part of the experience this year, hands down, was the Terror Tram: The Ultimate Purge. I had always felt that the park had oversaturated itself with The Walking Dead and Purge theming in the years past. Still, this year’s Terror Tram experience inspired by The Purge franchise, with the most recent release The Forever Purge, was the perfect dose of fright for the evening.  The Terror Tram utilizes the studio’s iconic backlot and the massive setpiece from War of the Worlds. This experience will make you feel like you’re amid a real-life purge from the set decorations, the atmosphere, and the costumes. The Terror Tram also features a photo with Norman Bates right in front of the Psycho house, and if you listen closely, you may hear mother calling for him. 

Terror Tram: The Ultimate Purge.

Terror Tram: The Ultimate Purge

Terror Tram – The Ultimate Purge

If you are cramped for time and had to choose one maze to skip this year, I would say it would be The Exorcist. When the maze initially debuted a few years back, I remember it not giving me that wow factor; it was just dull. This time around, the feeling was the same. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed looking at the set pieces, and it does capture some of the most haunting and famous scenes from the classic film, and it does an excellent job of depicting the battle between good and evil, I just was not “feeling it,” and it felt recycled as you traveled from room to room.

The Exorcist

Themed Foods & Goodies

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood has plenty of food and beverages to choose from. Fans of  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre maze can dine on Leatherface’s infamous Texas Family BBQ and savor a variety of unique, horror-inspired food offerings. The Roadhouse BBQ-style restaurant run by cannibals features grilled favorites such as:

  •       BBQ Pork Ribs
  •       BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich served with crinkle-cut fries
  •       Texas Chili & Cheese Nachos: Texas Chili with smoked brisket and chuck roast topped with cheese, pickled   jalapeños, and sour cream drizzle
  •       22″ Monster Hot Dog
  •       Sweet Dessert “Bloody” Funnel Fingers with Powdered Sugar & Strawberry Sauce
  •       Specialty Cocktails

 In Plaza de Los Muertos, guests are invited to toast the living and celebrate the dead at a themed bar with a choice of draft and canned beers as well as handcrafted cocktails – Marigold Floral Crown, Smoked Margarita, and The Chamoy Fireball – served in a festive light-up skull mug. Inspired by Los Angeles’ diverse culture, the menu at Little Cocina includes:

  • Beef Birria Tacos with Red Sauce
  • Green Chili & Cheese Tamale, served with salsa Roja
  • Grilled Elote Corn brushed with lime butter and topped with spices
  • Horchata Churro Bites
  • Chamoy Pineapple Spears

Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood

In the shadow of “Jurassic World—The Ride,” guests can eat and drink at the Terror Lab, which is modeled after an experimental test lab gone wrong, complete with an eerie neon glow. The Lab’s menu features:

  •       French Bread Pizzas: house-made hoagie roll topped with either cheese or pepperoni
  •       Mixed Drinks on ice (Vodka Mule, Rum Mai Tai, Paloma, Margarita)
  •       Specialty Cocktail, including one with an insect lollipop
  •       Seasonal “Halloween Horror Nights” Beers  

Final Thoughts

Overall, Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2021 was a memorable experience, and the park did a phenomenal job just considering that they came off of hiatus. The lack of scare zones was the only downfall that I can point out; in the past, Univeral has had ramped up their scare zones, usually having around five. I get it in the grand scheme of things; I am sure there were quite a few uncertainties, the biggest one, would there be an HHN this year? I am sure glad that park decided to move further and give us Horror Nights this year. I often wonder what we would have got last year, in 2020? I was also pleasantly surprised that the Harry Potter area, including the ride, was opened; in the past, this event was closed during the horror nights. Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights is a definite recommendation. From my observations, a front-of-the-line pass was not as crucial as it had been in past years. 

Norman Bates outside the Psycho House – Terror Tram.

Halloween Horror Nights will run on selected nights now through October 31 at Universal Studios Hollywood. You can purchase tickets by clicking here. 

For exciting updates and exclusive “Halloween Horror Nights” content, visit Hollywood.HalloweenHorrorNights.com, like Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood on Facebook; follow @HorrorNights #UniversalHHN on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat; and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Related Topics:

News

This Week in Horror: DC Goes Full Body Horror, A24 Has Its Chainsaw Man, and The Bone Temple Is Finally Yours

Published

22 hours ago

on

April 24, 2026

By

Good week. The Clayface trailer dropped and made DC relevant to this website for the first time in a while, A24 put a director on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining, and we got some interviews worth reading. Here is all of it.

Clayface Has a Trailer, and It Is Exactly What You Want

The Clayface trailer landed Wednesday, and it is DC’s first real horror film. Not horror adjacent. Not dark. Horror. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose face gets disfigured by a gangster. He turns to a scientist, played by Naomi Ackie, who transforms his body into clay. Then the body horror starts.

James Watkins directed, which is the right choice. He made Speak No Evil and before that The Woman in Black, and he understands how to make dread feel physical. The screenplay is by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. That combination should tell you everything about the tone they are going for.

A24 Has a Director for Texas Chainsaw Massacre and His Last Film Cost Under a Million Dollars

Texas

Deadline confirmed that Curry Barker is writing and directing A24’s reimagining of the 1974 original. Barker made Obsession for under a million dollars. Focus Features paid north of fifteen million to distribute it. It sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 hired him before it even opens, which opens May 15.

Kim Henkel, who co-created the original with Tobe Hooper, is executive producing his own creation’s reimagining. That is either a blessing or a haunting. Probably both.

Astrolatry Is Going to Cannes and We Talked to the Actor Who Faced the Creature

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase on May 16-17. The film has a sentient severed penis that grows into a ten-foot practical creature with spiky teeth. We interviewed star Ethan Daniel Corbett about what it was actually like to act against it. Short answer: genuinely terrifying. Long answer is on the site.

The Bone Temple Is Home

28 years later: Bone temple

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hit 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday. If you held out from the digital release in February, now is the time. The 4K presentation is supposed to be great. Extras include audio commentary and a deleted scene. If your gonna watch The Bone Temple, why not watch it where the snacks are better.

Continue Reading

News

Astrolatry Built a Ten-Foot Practical Penis Scorpion

Published

1 day ago

on

April 24, 2026

By

A sentient severed penis grows into a ten-foot creature with spiky teeth. Genre cinema is doing fine.

Astrolatry follows Elliot, played by Ethan Daniel Corbett, who is every ingredient for quiet catastrophe assembled in one man. Socially isolated. Physically isolated. Craving dopamine and finding it in the wrong places. The romance guru pipeline, followed to its logical conclusion. Elliot does not just spiral. He loses a piece of himself, literally, and that piece does not cooperate.

Corbett described it as “a horror satire, a trippy mind-fuck roller coaster” and “a modern retelling of Maniac,” both of which are accurate and neither of which adequately prepares you. Director David Gordon is making his feature debut after shooting 14 films as a cinematographer and he is swinging for the fences.

The Creature

The effects company behind the creature has festival circuit work Corbett had already seen before signing on. He knew what they could do but he was not ready. “When I saw it in person it was kind of mind-blowing,” he said. “Everything that you see in this movie is practical. Very, very little else. It was genuinely terrifying to have a ten-foot creature coming at you with a big mouth and spiky teeth.”

A CG creature asks an actor to imagine something. A ten-foot physical creature on a set asks nothing. It just arrives. The fear on Corbett’s face in those scenes is not a performance. It is the normal reaction to a scorpion dick with sharp teeth.

Elliot

Corbett went into the character through the body. “I mainly focus on the physicality of it. Who this character is and who he is wholly. I strive in those kinds of moments as an actor.”

Gordon was explicit about the concept, the “nice guy” archetype and the overtly toxic one are the same problem, both aimed at the same object. That reading lands because Corbett does not play it as a reading. Elliot is not a symbol. He is a person.

Where It Is Going

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase at Cannes on May 16-17. “To be able to get into that kind of room on David’s first feature is incredible,” Corbett said. “To be in front of buyers and to showcase the film and potentially get distribution through that.” Frontières is the correct room. It is full of people who understand that the most extreme premise, executed with precision, is not a punchline. It is an argument.

Continue Reading

News

ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories

Published

2 days ago

on

April 23, 2026

By

A new player is stepping into the space, but ShoStak is making one thing clear right away.

It is not trying to be the next Netflix. It is not chasing TikTok.

“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”

That idea sits at the core of what ShoStak is building. Not just a place to watch content, but a system where creators and audiences connect in a way that feels very different from what we are used to.

The First 150 Competition Is Already Underway

ShoStak is kicking things off with its First 150 Competition, giving filmmakers a chance to present their story worlds and compete for the opportunity to move into production.

Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, then advance through multiple stages. Audience voting plays a role, but it is only part of the process.

Selections are ultimately shaped by a mix of audience engagement, creative execution, and overall project readiness. It is not just about popularity. It is about building something that can actually move forward.

For creators, it is a rare chance to get in front of both an audience and a structured development path at the same time.

One Platform, Built Around a New Model

Everything now lives under ShoStak.tv, where both creators and audiences come together.

Creators can sign up, develop their projects, and begin building their audience. Viewers can discover new series, follow story worlds, and engage with projects as they evolve.

ShoStak describes this as a cinematic ecosystem. Stories are not treated as disposable content designed to spike and disappear. They are built to grow over time.

And that growth happens in public.

Ownership Without Losing Structure

One of ShoStak’s core ideas is giving creators more control over what they build.

Filmmakers are positioned to:

  • Retain ownership of their intellectual property
  • Build direct relationships with their audience
  • Grow projects based on real engagement

At the same time, this is not a free-for-all.

There is still structure. Projects are evaluated, developed, and refined through a process that blends audience input with creative and strategic decision-making.

Instead of removing the system entirely, ShoStak is reshaping how creators move through it.

Development Happens in Public

This is where things start to separate from the traditional model.

Instead of developing behind closed doors, ShoStak allows projects to evolve in front of an audience.

Creators introduce their ideas, build a following, and expand their worlds over time. As engagement grows, so does the project.

It is less about waiting for approval and more about proving momentum.

Over time, that turns the platform into something larger than a development program. It becomes an open ecosystem where creators and audiences push stories forward together.

More Than Just Testing Ideas

Micro-series are a big part of ShoStak’s approach, but they are not just a testing ground.

They can be the final product.

The format allows creators to:

  • Tell complete stories in shorter form
  • Build long-term story worlds
  • Expand into larger projects when it makes sense

It is not about proving an idea and moving on. It is about giving that idea room to grow in whatever direction fits.

Why This Matters for Horror

Horror has always thrived outside the system.

Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding their audience without waiting for permission.

ShoStak’s model fits naturally into that mindset.

It gives horror creators a space to:

  • Build original story worlds
  • Connect directly with fans
  • Grow projects without losing control

And with early content like Civilian and Liminal already rolling out, it is clear the platform is aiming for more than just quick-hit content.

A Different Path Forward

ShoStak is not trying to compete by doing the same thing better.

It is trying to change how stories are created, developed, and sustained.

By combining creator ownership, audience engagement, and a structured development path, it offers something that feels closer to a creative ecosystem than a traditional platform.

Whether it works long-term is still unknown.

But for filmmakers looking for a new way in, it is opening a door that has been closed for a long time.

Continue Reading