The devil’s in the details, as they say, an adage that is exceptionally true at Halloween Horror Nights, where dastardly deeds occur by night but by day the haunted houses become places of beauty, revealing the artistry behind the scenes.
Universal Orlando’s art and design team carefully crafts craziness into every corner of the all-new haunted attractions they unveil each year at the anticipated Halloween event. And every year the theme park offers lights-on, behind-the-scenes tours during the day, away from the screams and scares to allow guests to take their time and appreciate all the fine details that go into it. This year, Universal expanded their Unmasking the Horror tours to include two separate versions spanning six of the eight haunted houses: An American Werewolf in London, The Walking Dead, Evil Dead, Cabin in the Woods, La Llorona, and Resident Evil.
Now, just in time for Halloween, we bring you inside each via the exhaustive photos below, pointing out a few fun hidden references and easter eggs along the way. Unfortunately, no video was allowed during these tours this year, but the hundreds of photos here leave nothing unseen. (We do have video of all eight haunted houses under show conditions here.)
An American Werewolf in London
After attempting to woo director John Landis for around five years, he finally gave Universal Orlando permission this year to produce a haunted house based on “An American Werewolf in London” and their passion for the property shines through the experience. With an extreme attention to detail following every step of the classic horror film, this experience is among the highest rated at Halloween Horror Nights 23.
It all begins at the Slaughtered Lamb, the iconic pub that sets the stage of the film and informs everyone to “beware the moon.” It’s been recreated perfectly at Horror Nights, tempting to just pull up a chair and order a drink.
A closer look at the bottles on a table reveals a reference to last year’s event, featuring the 20 Penny Circus act.
Crossing the English moors, guests encounter a cemetery that pays tribute to a few of Universal Orlando’s extinct attractions: Jaws and King Kong. These tombstones were created for last year’s street experience.
The highlights of this haunted house, and perhaps this year’s entire event, are the incredible werewolf puppets Universal Orlando created with intricate attention to accuracy from the film. They’re human-controlled from behind with a steering wheel for movement and a push button to make the jaw operate. The first one encountered is a full bodied puppet, seen under show conditions mauling a victim, while the second pops out of the darkness face-to-face with guests. Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe these creations.
The next couple scenes put guests inside David’s nightmares as seen in the film, from the hospital to his living room.
A closer look at one of the bloodied victims reveals a Woody Woodpecker shirt, one of Universal’s own mascots.
Bullet holes line the walls and furniture, shot up by deranged Nazi demons.
Then guests see the film’s famous werewolf transformation scene right before their eyes, recreated using an elaborate costume. Pedals control the legs and feet while the actors’ real head and arms pop through the floor, completing the effect.
Just like in the movie, a few Disney knick-knacks populate this apartment scene.
Into the tubes of the London Underground, another werewolf attack is the most startling of all. This set also features a rare detail in a Horror Nights house, a ceiling, and a curved one at that at the insistence of Landis.
Inside the movie theater, guests encounter undead Jack amidst the rather dead moviegoers. The source of the carnage is revealed to be the werewolf at the end, having just mauled what appears to be the Usher from Halloween Horror Nights’ past – or at least his flashlight-holding hand.
In Piccadilly Circus, Horror Nights creative director Mike Aiello couldn’t pass up an opportunity to fit in a traditional London police call box, a nod to “Doctor Who.”
It all ends with a bang as the werewolf is put down, but not before one last close encounter.
More photos from An American Werewolf in London:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
Cabin in the Woods
Like Werewolf, Guests have also ranked Cabin in the Woods high this year, noting its impressive recreations of movie scenes, making visitors feel like they’ve stepped into that freaky world. From the namesake cabin to a trip down into the facility just as the “purge” button has been hit, there’s no shortage of insanity inside. But while the characters of this show are truly the stars, the scenes feel like the real Hollywood sets.
Indeed even the wolf’s head is mounted on the wall, perfect for a make-out photo op during the Unmasking the Horror tours.
Recognizable locations from the cabin include the mirror room and ultimately the basement filled with knick-knacks that are used to ultimately choose victims’ own doom.
One actor in the basement hides behind hanging film strips. A closer look reveals a print of “Psycho” and a couple other yet-to-be-identified films. (Any help?)
Once the purge button is hit and guests enter the facility, madness ensues through the cube room, bloody elevators, and past the infamous Merman.
The final room of Cabin in the Woods not only features film characters, but also brings back a few from Halloween Horror Nights history, including Jack the clown, the Caretaker, and a gruesome creature from The Thing.
More photos from Cabin in the Woods:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
The Walking Dead
Though “The Walking Dead” on AMC is hugely popular, having just debuted to 16 million viewers for the season 4 premiere, the Halloween Horror Nights haunted house isn’t particularly interesting with the lights on. It’s exciting while walkers are haunting it at night, but by day it’s mostly a series of rooms filled with brick, concrete, and metal. After all, it’s meant to be gritty real rather than featuring over-the-top looks like many of the other mazes. But it does have its interesting moments.
The haunted house is based on season 3, but seems to play out backwards, starting with the events in Woodbury and leading back to the prison. It all begins with walker Milton, then leading into the Governor’s office.
The fish tanks holding walker heads are drained each day and refilled the next night for the event.
Next to the Governor’s chair is a hairbrush filled with bloodied walker hair, from the man brushing his undead daughter’s head.
The escape from Woodbury provides a few noteworthy details on the trip to the prison.
There’s a makeshift driving range, a reference to a past time seen on the show.
And Universal has paid tribute to Carla Young, a stage manager who sadly lost her battle with cancer recently.
The prison winds through chain link fences with its tower overhead. Despite its size, it’s easy to miss amidst the chaos under the dim show lighting.
Note the raven perched on the railing. There’s one in every haunted house.
The cell blocks reveal more references to the show, including a dead woman in a corner who looks a whole lot like Lori, post-childbirth. And there’s a phone nearby that can be lifted to hear her voice.
A half-eaten body effect is demonstrated by tour guides.
Ultimately the experience ends up in the famous cell block that Rick and the gang spend much of season 3 inside, with Hershel’s leg still lying around.
More photos from The Walking Dead:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
Evil Dead
The haunted house based on the 2013 remake of “Evil Dead” is quite repetitive with the lights on, as the same scenes are replicated multiple times over throughout the experience. Under show conditions, these duplicate scenes represent different moments from the film taking place in the same setting. But without actors, the scenes just look like different angles on the same room – which is what they are. Regardless, there is plenty of gory fun to be found inside.
It starts outside the maze where the large red wall by night is revealed to be a large white wall by day, used for a variety of film and TV production techniques.
The book of the dead starts the madness.
The main cabin room has been intricately recreated in a scene that features a scrim in the corner featuring projection effects.
A quick trip through the forest brings guests back into the living room where a “blood vomit” effect was never fully realized. I saw it in action only once, the rest of the time simply leaving two actresses on top of each other on the floor.
The bathroom features a quick startle scare from the shower, with an actress plunging a shard of glass into her cheek.
Just past that is a rather odd room off to the right, fully decorated yet completely unused during the experience. The graphics on the wall have a watermark across them reading “Reference Only,” so something definitely went wrong in here.
The kitchen is particularly memorable, filled with bloody moments stemming from a handheld meat slicer.
Back into the living room again, demon Mia has now been chained under the floorboards with a handy shotgun nearby.
Changing scenery, guests travel into the depths of the cabin and ultimately through the woods to its exterior for the grand finale.
Some of the details along the way can be a bit baffling when seen during the lights-on opportunity.
These lights-on tours occasionally offer an opportunity to peek behind the walls as well, revealing just how uninteresting the backsides of these elaborately detailed mazes are.
More photos from Evil Dead:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
Resident Evil
The haunted house based on the “Resident Evil” video game series, specifically the second and third installments, is definitely not the scariest or highest rated this year, but it is a wonderful walkthrough opportunity for fans of the games, particularly with the lights on. There are ample references to tiny details of the series along with a few from Horror Nights history.
The first scene features “Aruka’s” from the beginning of Resident Evil 2, a reference to Sakura, a Street Fighter game character (also from Capcom).
But looking in the distance, an Elm St sign is easy to find, from “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
This is Raccoon City, complete with a marked police car that Leon normally stands on during show hours.
Tony’s Pizza is not only from the game, but also includes a familiar Horror Nights face.
It’s none other than creative director Mike Aiello himself, as he portrayed Sam Meetz from the “Leave it to Cleaver” haunted house a few years ago.
The Resident Evil adventure continues through the kitchen and into a laundry facility.
There, guests get a close encounter with the iconic zombie dog / cerberus.
Around the corner, Lickers have invaded.
And there are plenty of rejuvenating herbs lying around.
Nemesis attacks from above using a gatling gun just before entering a save point room, complete with typewriter and ammo for restocking.
Then the game is paused with a static scene featuring statues of Leon fighting off Tyrant as the T-virus canisters go flying.
Winding through a back alley, graffiti lines the walls including one featuring game character Hunk.
It all culminates in another battle with Nemesis outside the Raccoon Police Department with a helicopter overhead and Lickers swarming.
More photos from Resident Evil:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
La Llorona
Lastly, La Llorona is the only Universal original maze to be featured on this year’s lights-on tours, leaving out Havoc and Afterlife. It’s a beautiful haunted house set inside an old Mexican church, but ultimately descending into another world.
The facade hides the large tent behind it, which gets brutally hot during the day if the air conditioner isn’t cranked up.
The experience begins in the chapel amidst a funeral for La Llorona’s drowned children.
It continues through stone corridors into a cellar where La Llorona materializes via a video projection Pepper’s Ghost effect.
Those who experienced The Forsaken haunted house two years ago should recognize this cellar.
Halls of children’s skeletons lead up to the maze’s most shocking moment, seeing La Llorona hovering over her freshly-drowned kids in the river. Like the fish tanks in The Walking Dead, this river is drained and refilled daily.
Passing through a watery portal, guests find themselves in the haunted and disturbed world of La Llorona as she weeps for her lost children, ending the haunted house.
More photos from La Llorona:
(Photos by Ricky Brigante and Michael Gavin)
Halloween Horror Nights 23 continues at Universal Orlando for three more nights: Halloween, November 1, and 2.