Forget birthdays. Forget anniversaries. Forget Christmas. For horror aficionados, there’s nothing like Halloween Horror Nights. Nearly every year since 1991, Universal Orlando has transformed into a premier event that – even three decades later – still leads in a rapidly-expanding industry. Harnessing all might of Universal’s in-house creatives, storytellers, scenic designers, and owned & licensed IP, the event is an increasingly-massive presence on the company’s calendar, cash flow, and prestige.
Every year, fans wait with baited breath (concocting “speculation maps,” watching for construction, and prepping for viral reveals) as Universal unveils a completely refreshed lineup of “scareactor” filled haunted houses, “scarezones,” and in-park entertainment.
But if you ask the well-initiated, a sort of morose blasé seems to have fallen across the “HHN” community for this year’s “Halloween Horror Nights 33,” insisting that something is off – even if no one seems to be able to put their finger on exactly what the issue may be. But we have some ideas. Take a look at our list below. Have you noticed any of these issues at Halloween Horror Nights this year? And what should Universal do to combat them in the future?
1. The icons
In an era where theme parks have gone hard on proven, blockbuster IP, Universal is often held up as a company that never ever develops attractions without a movie tie-in. But actually, that’s not true. Halloween Horror Nights in particular is filled with “original” characters, stories, and settings – from individual mazes packed with their own “lore” to entire mythologies that unite the entire event in one overarching frame story.
One legendary aspect of Horror Nights is the events’ rotating cast of “icons” – central characters whose backstory is intricately woven through the event. The Caretaker oversaw the event in 2002; the nefarious Director in 2003; there was the Usher inviting guests into the cinematic lineup of 2009, or the elderly Storyteller who wove the realm of Terra Cruentus in 2005. And of course, there’s no beating Jack the Clown – a recurring force who’s returned again and again. 2023 introduced Doctor Oddfellow – the carnival maestro behind Jack – who appeared throughout the event’s houses and scarezones.
As evidence of just how engrained the icons are, the 2010 event introduced the silent figure who’d been secretly orchestrating the other icons all along (the embodiment of Fear), whose lantern realm entrapping the icons became the setting for 2021’s “Icons: Captured” maze.
Not every year of the event has a clear, defined icon. Especially in the modern era, explorable websites packed with Easter eggs, in-depth lore and central “icons”, and secretive, puzzle-like house reveals have mostly been replaced by tweet announcements. But this year’s icons are… well… kinda lame.
“Sinst3r” & “Surr3al” are described as “demon queens,” theoretically embodying grotesque, bloody body horror and more mind-bending, otherworldly, cosmic horror, respectively. But they don’t really have a story, or a connection to the event, or that kind of truly “iconic” standing. Maybe they aren’t even trying to be “icons” in the classic sense, instead slotting closer to “lead characters” we’ve seen in the past like Lady Luck, the Terra Queen, or Bloody Mary. But these two certainly make 2024’s HHN feel like an ‘off year.’ Speaking of which…
2. The Opening Act
“Scarezones” (i.e. haunted transformations of sections of the park) are an essential ingredient in what makes Horror Nights, Horror Nights. You only get one chance to make a first impression, which is to say that every year, the scarezone occupying Universal Studios’ Front Lot and Production Central tends to be the one where the event defines itself. That “opening act” scarezone is meant to be an onslaught of characters with a sort of dark, demented, party-like atmosphere for guests being herded in like cattle. That’s what last year’s scarezone – Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror – pulled off.
But this year’s entry – Sinist3r and Surr3al’s “Duality of Fear” – majorly misses the mark. Despite the clever conceit of choosing whether you’d like to face grounded visceral horror or unhinged cosmic horror, this scarezone is… well… the two queens standing on a truss over the crowd and vamping while a random smattering of scareactors walk around. There are no sets, no real props, and unfortunately, no “duality” or choice at all.
To be fair, this is allegedly in part because of a major change-up at the Studios park. Much of the former “Production Central” (serving as the park’s Main Street) has been co-opted as part of Minion Land, putting Horror Nights designers between a rock and a hard place. Squeezing “Duality of Fear” into this tiny footprint – and without a strong, grounded setting or characters like Dr. Oddfellow and his carnival provided – means that right away, Horror Nights 33 feels… different.
And that’s not all…
