With Halloween approaching, many people who seek thrills go to Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights. Horror Nights transforms the amusement park into a place of terror, featuring many horrifying haunted houses, animatronics, mist and lighting effects, and scare actors. The annual event runs on select nights between Sept. 4 to Nov. 2 starting from 7 p.m. and in the early morning hours.
The main highlight of the event is the haunted houses. This year, Universal Studios features eight haunted houses in total. Every house is based on a certain film and has unique designs. However, the most impressive part is the details of the props. The walls and sets of the haunted house looked straight from the movie it was featuring. Each house relies on many quick jump scares and an eerie atmosphere to keep the guests on edge throughout each house. Although the line for every haunted house was hours long, the guests were still willing to wait in line for the thrill and suspense.
Horror Nights relies heavily on special effects, including lighting, mist, and animatronics. Whenever there is a jumpscare, the lights flicker, creating an extra moment of shock. Fog effects cloud up the path ahead, making it impossible to predict when the next jumpscare will be. In addition, the animatronics bring the scene to life. This is especially evident in the houses Five Nights at Freddy’s and Monstruos 3: The Ghost of Latin America. The animatronics at Five Nights at Freddy’s would have their hands and feet moving and eyes tracking the guest, further enhancing the experience for the houses.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s was my favorite because of the lifelike animatronics,” said sophomore Henry Wu adding that, “The eyes of the animatronics would look at you creepily, like a person would do.”
While there are fewer animatronics in Monstrous 3: The Ghost of Latin America, the animatronics are huge, and have terrifyingly realistic animations. One scene showed a monster eating a person.
While the houses and effects are spectacular, the scare actors are the real heart of bringing the terror to life. They wear ragged clothes and unsettling facial expressions, bringing the character they are portraying to life. What makes the jumpscares effective is the timing; actors will often wait and find out when the best time to scare the guest is. This includes scaring a person looking at their phone or hiding behind a wall, waiting for the next unaware guest to walk by. Their energy and precision keep the guests uneasy while they are inside the park.
When asked about the scare actors, freshman Darren Leung said, “They were pretty good at doing their job, [as they] would sneak up on you.”
Horror nights are not just about a night of fright, it is also about the art of the event. Universal perfectly blends cinema into real life performances. The props of the haunted house, The mist and flickering light effect, and the makeup of scare actors were all designed perfectly to immerse the guests.
