Editorials
Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights Orlando is a Communal Celebration of Our Holiday Season!
If you needed something to signal the official countdown to Halloween it would be Universal’s annual Halloween Horror Nights, which simultaneously takes place in both Hollywood and Orlando parks. While every state in the country is blessed with various haunts and mazes, Universal is the only one that’s jam-packed with licensed properties from all of the biggest horror films. Armed with a studio and theme park-sized budget, Horror Nights always delivers the terrifying goods on an epic scale and drops fans directly into their favorite genre films. While I’ve been blessed to have been to Horror Nights Hollywood on several occasions, this was the first time I experienced the event in Orlando, and it did not disappoint.
While Hollywood opens with a glamorous red carpet affair, Orlando is a more communal experience that bleeds all over the park. As Horror Nights marks the beginning of the Halloween season for myself, it’s the same for tens of thousands of locals who pile into the park to wait up to four hours just to experience these incredible mazes together. It’s a celebration of our holiday season that’s shared from soul to soul who high-five each other as they exit each attraction and wish the next group the best of luck.
This past Friday, the fans in Orlando showed their dedication by braving 100% humidity (that felt like 107 degrees), waiting in massive lines to walk through “American Horror Story: Volume 2”, “SAW: The Games of Jigsaw”, “The Shining”, and “Ash vs Evil Dead” mazes, and to bid farewell to the annual “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” show that’s become a Horror Nights staple. The latter was an unexpected celebration, a jam-packed and electric crowd that screamed and cheered (and even cried) for the pop culture-themed show that will end its astounding 26-year run this season. In a world filled with so much tension, it was pleasing to witness everyone being excellent to each other…
Orlando’s Horror Nights feels much larger than Hollywood’s, filling the streets with performers and five massive scare zones. The highlight, of course, was the strip dedicated to Michael Dougherty’s anthology Trick ‘r Treat and the stories within the film. With pumpkins hanging from the trees, several characters could be seen stalking victims while Sam could be seen popping up with his pumpkin-candy in more than one spot. You can watch our walkthrough of the scare zone over on Facebook.
It was quite exciting experiencing The Purge scare zone, a chaos-filled New York strip that is populated with iconic imagery from the film and flickering signs warning of the 24-hour Purge.
My personal favorite was Invasion!, a throwback to 1955 where aliens have crash-landed into the park and are abducting human for horrific experiments. The vibrant UFO prop was mighty impressive and I loved the mixture of different kinds of aliens that would approach and scare you. It’s also one of the more colorful scare zones that lights up the night.
While scare zones keep it fun while grabbing a Halloween-themed drink and walking between each attraction, the main events are the mazes that are a mix between famous horror properties and original creations made exclusively for the park. There is, however, a surprising difference between Orlando and Hollywood – while the Los Angeles-based event wraps a story around each maze (with a beginning, middle, and end), Orlando’s focuses more on cool imagery and scares. So, while the former is more like walking through an actual movie, the latter is way scarier. If you’re going to make the trip out to one you’re going to have to pick your poison.
Of the mazes, the big winner was “American Horror Story: Volume 2”, one that will make you feel the wrath of the disturbing “Raspers” and infamous serial killer Bloody Face from Asylum. They also transport you to Salem where the witches of Coven are lurking around every corner, while the ghosts of the blood moon from Roanoke are ready to jump out at you. Experience a tease of the maze over at our Facebook page.
We also surrendered to the overwhelming “shine” and the murderous ghosts inhabiting the eerie Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, another highlight of the event. What I loved about “The Shining” was how abstract and bizarre it was, making it feel as if you were experiencing your own “shine”, while also depicting famous scenes from the film including the bloody elevator and party massacre. The finale was killer, making us escape the snowy maze as Jack pops out of hedges ready to axe whoever crosses his path. Head over to our Facebook page to watch some of our walk-through!
While there’s also wicked mazes for “SAW: The Games of Jigsaw” and “Ash vs Evil Dead”, one of my favorites was easily the original “Dead Waters”. The maze looked like a scene out of “Resident Evil 7” as we entered a rotting half-sunken riverboat and the skeletal remains of a Voodoo Queen’s victims.
Whether it’s Orlando or Hollywood, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is hands down the best haunt I’ve ever been to by a longshot. The collective experience and love for Halloween mixed with high-quality attractions (not to mention that the rides are also open) make this more than just an event, it’s something hardcore horror fans must experience at least once in their lives. What’s even more insane is that Horror Nights is so jam-packed with bloody goodness that it’s impossible to experience it all in one night, and offers so much bang for your buck that you’ll have no choice but to return multiple times through its closing night on November 4th.
Get tickets and more info at the official website.
A full breakdown of the mazes include:
- THE SHINING: The visually intense psychological thriller is now the most terrifying haunted experience imaginable.
- SAW: THE GAMES OF JIGSAW: The traps are set. All that’s missing is you. The Jigsaw killer has returned to torment you with his twisted take on poetic justice.
- AMERICAN HORROR STORY: VOLUME 2: Experience three horrifying stories in one disturbing house as a deranged cast of characters seek not only your life, but your soul.
- HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE: From the deranged filmmakers behind Insidious, Sinister and The Purge comes the Horrors of Blumhouse. They’ve all come back to haunt you.
- ASH VS. EVIL DEAD: The STARZ original series, Ash vs Evil Dead, expertly blurs the line between horror and comedy in this horrifically hilarious addition to Halloween Horror Nights™.
- DEAD WATERS: Enter a pestilent swamp that oozes evil, the hellish realm of the Voodoo Queen. If you fail to escape, you’re in for a gut-wrenching sacrifice.
The Fallen - THE FALLEN: You’re about to be caught in the crossfire of the eternal war of light versus dark and no one will be saved.
- SCARECROW: THE REAPING: At a long-abandoned Depression-era farm, vengeance takes root, and the only harvest that will be reaped is you.
- THE HIVE: The crumbling house on 19 Hemingway Lane harbors a nest of bloodthirsty vampires. If you awaken them, you will face a savage, bestial hunger.
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
You must be logged in to post a comment.