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Sneak Peek At Universal’s HHN 2019!
Sneak Peek At Universal’s HHN 2019. John Murdy – Has been the Creative Director/Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood since 2006. Prior to that Murdy had a long career with Universal Creative as a Show Writer and Creative Director, working on projects like The Revenge of the Mummy Ride and the re-invention of the world-famous Universal Studio Tour. Today we were fortunate enough to receive a glimpse of Halloween Horror Nights 2019 with an exclusive day time tour of three mazes: Creepshow, Frankenstein Versus The Wolfman, and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.
Tickets Can Be Purchased By Clicking here!
The terror begins Friday, September 13th and on select evenings through November 3rd!
Creepshow was the first of the three mazes that we toured on a very warm August afternoon. The artwork is absolutely beautiful and creepy, the comic book was really the inspiration for this entrance. Halloween Horror Nights Creative Director, John Murdy, explains what to expect in Creepshow.
“There are five stories that you go through when you through the maze. Three from the 1982 film and two from the upcoming Shudder series which airs this September and also the Prologue and Epilogue inspired by the film.” Murdy further explains “Working with Greg [Nicotero] and knowing him for so long one of the big advantages first and foremost is that he is a makeup artist. So when we got into the new TV Series we were able to use the actual molds that Greg created for all of the creatures and monsters on his new show. So when you see the mazes what you see are the characters wearing the exact same things that were used from the television series. Part of the conversation with Greg was how to approach the maze and we both kind of landed on the same idea. Creepshow is inspired by comic books specifically DC Horror comics from the 1950s, so we decided to really embrace that comic book esthetic in the maze.”
“The very first part of the maze we are going to walk through is if you are walking through the panels of the comic book, we are using those to foreshadow the five stories that you are going to experience in the maze. The other thing that we thought that would be fun to include the kind of goofy adds that you would always find in the back of the comic books – The 99-pound weakling that gets sand kicked in his eyes, how to become a muscle man, or how to get an authentic monkey’s paw, or giant inflatable monster, so we have those re-created as well in the maze.”
The second maze was one that I did not know too much about, ‘Frankenstein Meets Wolfman.’ Murdy talks about his love for Universal Monsters and how this particular maze was important to him. So last year (2018) we did Universal Monsters I resisted doing that maze for thirteen years because I am a huge, huge fan of those films and that is the whole reason I do what I do today. From the age of four, I was obsessed with the classic monsters and I always have been. I have always been fairly realistic about my love for the Universal Monsters and I know in heart of hearts as much as I love those movies it is really hard to scare people the same way you could scare them in 1931 or in some of these cases the 20s. At the same time, I really hated the idea of completely throwing away what was iconic and classic about it for the sake of reinvention.”
The third and final maze we visited really needs no introduction, as soon as I saw the outside of the maze there was no doubt that we are going to be in for a treat – Killer Klowns From Outer Space. This maze is going to be based on the cult 1980s film and the maze will transport guests to the small town of Crescent Cove that has been taken over by a pack of murderous clowns, but this isn’t any clowns they’re from Outerspace! Cotton candy, circus tents, and ice-cream – you’ll come face to face with these sinister klowns! The production team didn’t hold back on any details, this is very evident in the photos below.
We just scraped the surface of what to expect at Halloween Horror Nights this year! And without a doubt, I am sure this event will be monumental, with practical and special effects and original ideas, guests are going to have a hell of a time!
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Movies
‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments
It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.
We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.
“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”
That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”
Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:
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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening
Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.
Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.
Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.
Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.
Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.
The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date
Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.
Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.
These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:
According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”
Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.
Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.
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