It all started when I got the severed arm in the mail. It came wrapped in a bloody rag inside a large wooden box with a black bow on top. “To: Patrick, From: Jack” read the tag. The arm rested inside, clutching a selfie-stick in rigor mortis. Carved into the flesh was my invitation to Halloween Horror Nights. A simple card would’ve sufficed but hell, this is the 25th anniversary of HHN. And Jack’s back.
While HHN doesn’t kick off until tomorrow night, I had the absolute pleasure of being treated to a preview of the event – which over the past 25 years has become the premier Halloween event in the nation. I’ve lived in Orlando for five years and it’s a huge deal in these parts. But people fly in from around the world to visit the beautiful madness that is HHN. This year the HHN team even did a press tour in the UK and Ireland. For its 25th incarnation, they pulled out all the punches with bigger houses, more “scareactors” than ever before, more nights, and a collision of the past and present that brings classic icons and scare rooms back to life. It’s a celebration of where HHN has been and where it’s going.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” smiles Jim Timon, the Senior VP of Entertainment for Universal Orlando Resort, talking about the first HHN in 1991. Back then it was known as “Fright Nights” and consisted of one house that ran on the weekends. As it became an annual event, it eventually outgrew Universal Studios and had to be moved to Islands of Adventure. In 2006 it moved back to the main park and “horror came home.”
HHN’s creative director Mike Aiello exhibits a rabid enthusiasm when discussing the event, calling it a “big horror toy box” that him and his team get to play in every year. Aiello, who started at the park counting guests as they went on the Jaws ride, is a diehard horror fan himself and that passion shines through in every small detail of the houses. He was at the very first HHN and has a lot of memories from over the past 25 years. One of the best parts of his job, he explains, is “creating new memories” for the park’s guests.
I’m sure seeing their faces as they step out of the houses is another big joy. That perfect combination of fear and laughter, that’s the goal. Having walked through five of this year’s nine houses last night, believe me when I say they knocked it out of the park, through the windshield, and embedded it right into the driver’s skull.
HHN prides itself on delivering new content every year. Even when they’re working with the same property, the house is different. They’ve had a Walking Dead house for a few years now, for example, but each year the house is fresh and updated for the latest season. “That’s atypical in the theme park world,” Jim says. “It’s special, each house only happens once a year.”
That being said, they may have bended the rules a wee bit this year with the return of the American Werewolf in London house. It’s one of their top 3 houses of all time (having first appeared in 2013) and Jim explained, “It felt good to bring one back.” They’ve made some tweaks, particularly in the wolf puppets, which look amazing. I was able to see them up close and personal (with the lights on) and the detail and mechanics are like you’d see in the movie. They even utilized Rick Baker’s original molds! And their eyes! My god, their eyes! For the transformation scene, they’ve even used the old hole-in-the-floor trick, same as Baker did in the film.
John Landis, who’s returning to HHN this year, gave his stamp of approval on the house. Not without some criticism, however, Aiello explained that Landis howled for “More blood! More blood!” He also helped them improve a scare in the “See You Next Wednesday” theater room.
Alongside the rich details and easter eggs in each house, there’s an astounding amount of planning that goes into how to scare the hell out of people. To keep the hundreds of people moving through a house, Aiello explains, “They’re always scared forward.” Meaning, the actors are trained to scare guests at a certain point as they pass that causes them to jump forward, rather than backwards or just stop in place. When you see the massive crowds at HHN, you’ll understand this propulsion is a necessity.
The designers are also incredibly crafty with the almighty misdirection. Houses are meticulously laid out to get you to look one way while the scare comes from the other direction. As many times as I sensed it coming and knew I should be watching my left, BAM, I’d get spooked from the right. I even managed to scare myself one time – in the huge Freddy vs. Jason house.
The house begins with a trip through Camp Crystal Lake. Off the bat I was anxious because typically the first room in a house is small. But the Crystal Lake section starts off in a BIG room where Jason has a lot of places to pop out of. After walking through cabins, being egged on by Mrs. Voorhees, and being terrorized by a whole lotta Jasons, you enter Elm St.
From what they told us, this is the first time they’ve had a to-scale façade in the middle of a maze. Straight up, you walk up to 1428 Elm St. Two little girls playing jump rope deliver the first creep out in Freddy’s world. Then once you walk through the red door, all bets are off. You’re in Freddy’s nightmare. And yes, I scared the hell out of myself in the boiler room section. They had mirrors everywhere, man. I was so keyed up I looked in one, saw myself, and jumped. It happens!
The last third of the Freddy vs. Jason house is the actual rumble itself. Utilizing live actors and video, the house puts you in the ring with the two icons. Who wins? I won’t reveal that but it may not be the same ending for everyone. HHN is crafty like that.
I’ve never seen an episode of The Walking Dead (I’m busy!) but I can say that HHN’s house is impressive. It traces the latest season from beginning to end – starting in Terminus and going through a flooded food pantry basement, churchyard, and more. I may not be familiar with the show, but all I know is there was something very gnarly going on behind a revolving door.
Before we could enter the Walking Dead house, we had to wait outside the R.I.P. entrance (HHN’s version of V.I.P.) while there was a character change. A line of walkers getting ready to scare the next batch of visitors shuffled by in front of us. Even outside the house, these devoted actors stayed in character. I got growled at!
After Walking Dead it was on to the Further. Ho boy. This one was a doozy. The Insidious house is more atmospheric than the others. There’s still PLENTY of scares, but there’s an atmosphere achieved that I feel was thicker than in other houses. Once that initial atmosphere is established, the Insidious house is relentless. You enter the Lambert house, which is incredibly detailed, and make your way through Dalton’s nightmare, into the Further. That slippery bastard the Red Faced Demon is around every corner, as is Michelle Crane and the Bride in Black. And without spoiling anything, there’s a room the designers dubbed the “touchy feely room.” Yeah, buckle up for that one. Also, keep your eyes peeled for Billy from Dead Silence.
Leigh Whannell helped the designers work on the house and that’s one of the great things about HHN. They don’t just acquire a property and run with it. It’s a collaborative process where the filmmaker works with the Universal team room-by-room. Leigh Whannell, John Landis, Greg Nicotero – they all provided input and signed off on the houses.
The final house they took us through was the pièce de résistance: “Jack Presents: 25 Years of Monsters and Mayhem.” It’s a walk down memory lane of sorts, where some of the biggest scares and HHN icons have come out to play once again. There have been several HHN icons over the last quarter century – from little Cindy Caine to the Storyteller, the Director, and the Caretaker. This tremendous house is an homage to them and their big daddy, Jack.
Jack was the first HHN icon back in 2000 when the creative team decided the event needed a face – an icon who could encapsulate what HHN is all about. “People reacted to him negatively, in the positive way possible,” says Aiello. Meaning, people loved to be scared by Jack. So it’s only fitting he returns as the ringmaster of HHN 25.
Also in the 25th anniversary house are several rooms honoring the great Universal monsters: Frankenstein’s monster, the Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy, and more. It’s a really special segment of the house that warms the heart, honors the past, and doesn’t fail to deliver chills (that damn Phantom got me good).
The other houses this year are The Purge, Run: Blood, Sweat, and Fears, Asylum in Wonderland 3D, and Body Collectors-Recollections. And of course, in between houses, you’ll walk through “scare zones”, where essentially the experience of the houses bleeds out into the park itself.
We’ll have further HHN coverage coming soon here at Bloody. HHN Orlando runs select nights Sept. 18-Nov. 1.
