Illustration by MICHAEL SHAW/Daily Bruin
By Emilia Hwang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Once upon a time, holidays came with fool-proof directions:
simply eat cheeseburgers and have a happy Halloween. Nowadays,
there tends to be more to properly executing a night of frightening
festivities than merely obtaining a McDonald’s Happy Meal
packed in the timeless florescent orange trick-or-treat pumpkin
pail.
At Universal Studios Hollywood, a night of movie-themed madness
can be yours. With comparably easy-to-follow directions, the
all-new “Halloween Horror Nights” opened Friday the
13th and continues select nights through Oct. 31.
There’s only one catch ““ this frightful outing might
be a little terrifying to a college student’s wallet. The
price of entry, however, is a value when considering the hours of
interactive fear and fun brought to you by the world’s
largest movie studio and theme park.
For $39, the event promises a night packed with scary special
effects, strange shows and macabre mazes, all staged by experts
from the entertainment industry.
 Photos by Universal Studios Rob Zombie
depicts his distorted vision of the American dream in "Rob Zombie’s
American Nightmare" at Universal Studios Hollywood’s interactive
haunted encounter. Guests enter the park and are immediately
greeted by bloodied chainsaw thrashers, walking bushes with
flashing eyes and other assorted “scaractors.” The
grounds are sheathed by a constant layer of fog concealing the
numerous nooks and crannies that welcome surprise encounters.
With so many activities to chose from, fright seekers
shouldn’t waste too much time summoning up the courage to
plunge into numerous and varied haunted house-style mazes. While
“Blood Theatre Maze” features plenty of gore, silly
string and smokey mirrors, “Clive Barker’s
Harvest” is more of a science fiction attraction.
Multi-platinum recording artist, screenwriter and director, Rob
Zombie takes you through his disfigured vision of the American
dream in “American Nightmare,” another hellish maze.
After waiting in line for an hour, experience the popular
maze’s nightmare rooms adorned with hanging bodies and other
features of gross anatomy.
“The Undertaker: No Mercy” is a maze based on the
disturbing forces that shaped the life of the World Wrestling
Federation superstar. Startling scenes entice the wanderer’s
attention, focusing it on big meat lockers and a man whipping
chains at a carcass.
 The nightmarish forces that shaped the life of WWF
superstar Undertaker are unearthed in his
attraction.
Straight out of Sunnydale, the attraction based on the popular
TV series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and
“Angel,” recreates actual sets and features some of the
most dreadful demons of the night. Visitors traveling the maze will
feel like extras on the sets of these vampire-themed shows.
Nevertheless, when guests have had enough of monsters and
mutilated body parts through the romping from maze to maze, they
can rest and reinvigorate their tired bodies (and your body will be
tired after pumping out all that fright adrenaline). One hundred
percent virgin Bug Juice can quench the visceral thirst with three
different flavors to choose from, including black ooze (black
cherry), greenbug juice (lime) and red bat’s blood
(cherry).
Tired remains can also recuperate in one of the many theaters
scattered around the park which feature various horror shows.
Before entering the “Carnival of Carnage,” guests are
greeted by warnings directed to the squeamish. They are alerted to
the dangerous, disturbing and sometimes offensive nature of the
side-show-style acts.
“We want to send you into therapy,” the man at the
door announces. “That’s our goal for the
night.”
The high-budget freak show features medieval torture, sword
swallowing, fire eaters and human pincushions. The startling talent
of George the Giant steals the show, as he beats a nail into his
nose and then proceeds to eat live cockroaches, worms, maggots and
finally, balloon animals.
Other Horror Night shows include the “Animal House of
Horrors,” with pythons, cockroaches, bats and rats, the
“Theatre of Blood” featuring Universal’s classic
horror films full of slashers, monsters and evil spirits, and
“Chucky’s Insult Emporium,” where guests are
invited to be offended by the appalling doll.
Furthermore, guests are invited to sample the theme park’s
regular fare from “Terminator 2: 3D,” “Back to
the Future ““ The Ride” and “Jurassic Park ““
The Ride.” Experiencing the chilling 84-foot drop into the
frigid waters of the infamous dinosaur adventure, however, is an
adventure that should be anticipated and avoided, unless
hypothermia is on the thrill-seeker’s list of Halloween
treats.
Novelty items and souvenirs pierce the night, from glowing
Halloween wands worn around the neck, to a soft and flexible light
up mouth that fits under the teeth.
Light-up devil’s horns additionally adorn the heads of
park-goers young and old. This fashion accessory of choice will
only set you back another five dollars.
Functional and clever, a large shot glass keepsake features the
stages of rigormortis, from gravely ill (marked at the bottom of
the glass) to “R.I.P.ped” (at the top) for $4.72.
Finally, open after most of the attractions have closed is
“The Flintstones Rock Vegas.” Guests can end the night
by pressing their luck and testing their skill at a variety of
carnival games (in which they could possibly take home a Halloween
Kermit the Frog in a pumpkin).
All in all, “Halloween Horror Nights” is not worth
selling your soul for. With mazes and shows that don’t always
justify spending the $39, plus parking, as well as standing in
lines all night, there are plenty of other ways to celebrate the
Halloween season that don’t require shelling out your
Stafford loans.
If you have the funds, however, Universal Studios offers a
variety of ways to amuse yourself for the evening that will
preclude you from devouring an entire candy-filled pumpkin pail.
After all, Halloween only comes once a year, so the memory of a
night of frightful fun may be worth the splurging.
HALLOWEEN: Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween
Horror Nights” runs on Oct. 27, 28, 29 and 31 from 7 p.m. to
1 a.m. Tickets are $39 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster
locations, at Universal Studios, Spencer Gifts or online at
www.halloweenhorrornights.com.
For more information call (818) 622-3801.