Just got a press release regarding Universal’s big haunt for October 2007. By now, if you’re interested in this sort of thing, you probably already know that Leatherface, Jason, and Freddy are joining the Universal Classic Monsters for 2007, but there are some more details you will find interesting. (Of course, unanswered remains the question of why Universal felt the need to include slasher movie icons from the ’80s when they already have their own line-up of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.)
Read the press release below – and see a video of last year’s Horror Nights UPDATE: The 2006 video has been replaced with one from 2007, which represents the presentation as described in the press release.
Universal City, California – Three of the big screen’s most infamous horror icons, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and Leatherface, join forces for the first time to invade Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” as The Entertainment Capital of L.A. brings to life New Line Cinema’s legendary horror film franchises, “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in the Southland’s most intense interactive Halloween experience. This year’s “Halloween Horror Nights” will feature four new mazes and a new edition of the “Terror Tram,” allowing guests to venture on foot through Universal’s legendary back lot.”Halloween Horror Nights” will be held on Friday and Saturday nights, beginning on October 5 and extending to Sunday, October 28, culminating on Halloween, October 31. The event dates are: October 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 26-28 and 31. The event will begin nightly at 7:00 p.m.; closing hours vary by night throughout the event.Freddy, Jason and Leatherface will each be featured within his own labyrinth of carnage, elevating the “Halloween Horror Nights” experience to appalling levels of madness and mayhem, levels that could only be realized by fiends as grisly as Jason, Leatherface and Freddy.Each of the mazes will capture the gruesome tone of the notorious films to catapult horror fans to an excruciating level of intimacy often kept at a safe distance by virtue of the movie screen.
The popular “Terror Tram” experience– unique to Universal Studios Hollywood-allows guests to disembark from Studio Tour trams and walk among the historic sets of the Universal backlot, birthplace of the horror genre. The backlot experience-incorporating such Hollywood landmarks as Psycho House, Bates Motel and the “War of the Worlds” airplane crash disaster scene-will play a pivotal role in the reemergence of Freddy, Jason and Leatherface where guests-victims will weave through the debauchery and fall prey to their tortured, sadistic minds. Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” will also feature a series of specially-created, spine-tingling entertainment adding an alarming element to the overall Halloween experience. Highlights include the new “House of Horrors” maze where Universal’s most notorious monsters will descend upon guests as they navigate the creepy confines of vampire lairs, cannibal caves and psycho film slashers.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s favorite attractions will remain open for the nighttime Halloween Horror Nights experience, but many will feature a menacing twist. The standing sets and themed streets of the theme park will be transformed into a bloodbath, as if scenes from horror films that were left on cutting room floor exploded to life. A transformed “WaterWorld,” “Jurassic Park-In the Dark,” the “Revenge of the Mummy” psychological thrill ride roller coaster and “Terminator 2:3D” will all seem like tranquil respites from Jason, Freddy and Leatherface’s bedlam.
“Chucky’s Insult Emporium” will provide a mix of menace and humor to the event, and the ingenious sleight-of-sight performances by two internationally renowned stunt magicians, Kevin James and Brian Bushwood, will feature an original mix of unusual feats from risky fire-eating stunts to tactfully hammering nails into eyeballs and sawing people in half before literally re-attaching them before guests’ very eyes.
For more information on “Halloween Horror Nights” and to purchase advance tickets, including the popular combo-day-and-“Halloween Horror Nights” ticket, please access www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com, call 818-622-3801 or visit the Universal Studios Hollywood ticket booths. Various promotional offers include tickets for as low as $29 with any Coke can or special coupon from Del Taco restaurants. “Halloween Horror Nights” tickets will also be sold in advance at Vons Grocery Stores where consumers can save up to $22 off a ticket with the purchase of any Coca-Cola product.
The terror of Jason, Freddy and Leatherface will also extend to Universal Orlando, where the theme park will be celebrating its 17th annual event, thus making this year’s “Halloween Horror Nights” the largest bi-coastal event in the U.S.