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Last week, we had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Halloween Horror Nights At Universal Studios Hollywood, joining John Murdy, Creative Director and Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights, for a daytime walkthrough of two of this year’s houses: Hellraiser and Evil Dead Burn.
Even with the lights on, both houses were incredibly impressive. More importantly, the walkthrough gave us a chance to see the extraordinary amount of detail that goes into scares guests may experience for only a few seconds.
Hellraiser: A Long-Awaited “White Whale”
For Murdy and the Halloween Horror Nights team, Hellraiser has been a long time coming.
“I think we could characterize this house as, like, a white whale house,” Murdy told us. “A house we’ve always wanted to do.”
Murdy explained that rights issues had long complicated bringing Hellraiser to the event, but the necessary rights eventually became available. The house draws from the first three Hellraiser films, with the Labyrinth serving as a way to transport guests between memorable locations and moments from across the movies.
“We knew that we wanted to use, kind of, the idea of the Labyrinth… to take people to different scenes from different films,” Murdy explained.
Along the way, guests encounter Pinhead, Butterball, Chatterer, the Female Cenobite, Dr. Channard, Frank, Julia and more.
One sequence combines hospital imagery from the three films, while another takes guests into the Channard Clinic for one of the house’s most ambitious effects: Dr. Channard in Cenobite form, appearing to float into the room beneath the enormous appendage attached to his head.
“This whole room is built for one element, which is Dr. Channard as the Doctor Cenobite,” Murdy said.
The attention to detail extends all the way down to Pinhead himself.
“Every single one of those nails is 3D printed, custom,” Murdy revealed.
The team even recreated the Pillar of Souls after discovering the original prop had been sold at auction to a collector.
“We were like, ‘What do you think? Is there another one? Somebody made a duplicate?’ You know, but no. So we had to build it.”
Murdy also shared that Clive Barker personally responded to seeing his franchise brought to Halloween Horror Nights, sending handwritten letters thanking the creative teams.
“He was just overjoyed about being able to see his franchise brought to Halloween Horror Nights after all these years,” Murdy said, noting Barker’s appreciation for the “attention to detail” and the “love” and “passion” put into the experience.
Evil Dead Burn: Blood, Fire and Deadites
From the Labyrinth, we headed into the considerably bloodier world of Evil Dead Burn.
The experience immediately captures the distinctive visual language of Evil Dead, including the franchise’s iconic tracking-camera perspective. Pages from the Book of the Dead appear around guests as its forbidden words are recited, while Burned Will begins stalking them through the house.
And yes, things get bloody very quickly.
One particularly gruesome encounter features Deadite Thea holding a corkscrew.
“She’s got the corkscrew in her hand. And she says, ‘Killing me is easy.’ And she slashes her throat from ear to ear, and you get sprayed with blood,” Murdy explained.
Another sequence finds Alice battling Deadite Susan with a brush cutter.
“You get sprayed with blood, of course,” Murdy joked.
As the house progresses, the environment itself begins to fall apart. Guests eventually return to a living room that appears to be engulfed in flames before heading through the woods toward the construction-site finale.
Burned Will repeatedly stalks guests during this section, and creating his charred appearance required the team to develop a specialized printed bodysuit with UV-reactive hot spots.
“Because he’s basically a charred corpse, it’s hard to translate into another performer,” Murdy explained.
The UV elements help create the illusion that Will’s burned body is still burning as he emerges from the darkness. Guests will also encounter additional Deadites, including Deadite Jessica, as they make their way through the experience.
The house eventually culminates at the construction site with Alice, Will, and a jackhammer, accompanied by the appearance of burning embers.
Just Wait Until the Lights Go Out
Walking through Hellraiser and Evil Dead Burn during the afternoon gave us a completely different appreciation for what goes into Halloween Horror Nights. From custom 3D-printed Pinhead nails and massive Cenobite effects to UV-reactive burned bodies, simulated fire and plenty of blood, there is an enormous amount happening behind the scares.
And we saw all of this with the lights on.
Once darkness falls, the effects come alive, and the scare actors take their places; both houses look ready to offer fans of Hellraiser and Evil Dead plenty to scream about at Halloween Horror Nights.
Event Dates by Month
- September: September 3–6, 10–13, 17–20, 23–27, and 30
- October: October 1–4, 7–11, 14–18, 21–25, and 28–31
- November: November 1
You can purchase tickets by clicking here.
