Halloween Horror Nights is in full swing at both Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. We visited Halloween Horror Nights at the Universal Orlando Resort in the middle of September and found out we really loved some houses and scare zones, while others fell a bit flat.
Here are our ratings of the houses and scare zones.
Houses
The Last of Us
Rating: 5/5
In what was probably the most highly-anticipated house of the night, The Last of Us did not disappoint. There were plentiful scares that kept you on your toes, and the house was game-accurate which kept fans in awe as they traversed through the house. The first run-through was good (it was the first house we went through), and the second time we went through it, it only got better. It was overall a great house, especially if you’re a fan of the game.
YETI: Campground Kills
Rating: 5/5
The storyline for YETI kept you intrigued throughout the entire house, and the design of the house and the Yetis were incredible. One thing that stood out for this house, though, was the mix of humor thrown into the house. The use of all different characters to give you jumpscares, and not just the Yetis, really kept you on your toes.
The Darkest Deal
Rating: 5/5
The Darkest Deal was like living in a movie; you saw the entire story from start to finish, which only made you feel more immersed. Universal really outdid themselves with their original houses, and The Darkest Deal only proves how scary these houses can be on their own.
Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings
Rating: 5/5
The use of the storyline and the eerie atmosphere in this house made it even scarier. The jump scares were accurately placed, and you just felt unsettled the entire time through it.
Stranger Things 4
Rating: 4/5
Knowing the story of Stranger Things season 4, made this house easy to walk through and follow. It was fun to see iconic scenes brought to life, coupled with seeing multiple Vecnas that jumped out to scare you. Overall, it was just a really fun house.
Universal Monsters: Unmasked
Rating: 4/5
The story was great; it was fun to see old-school Universal monsters brought to life. The scares were fruitful and added a bit of nostalgia with the familiarity of the monsters.
Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
Rating: 4/5
The characters being brought to life in this house were great to see; at the end, they give you the choice of going a certain path and the concept of choice made it really unique.
Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
Rating: 3/5
While the house was entertaining, it definitely could have been better. There was the use of many screens, and at one point, you think the house is over but you have to go through another entrance where it starts up again.
The Exorcist: Believer
Rating: 3/5
It was interesting going through a house for a film that wasn’t out yet; it made the characters almost not as scary and seem out of place.
Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins
Rating: 2/5
While this house seems to be either you hate it or love it, for us, it just didn’t live up to what it could have been. It seemed to rely too heavily on the audience being scared of the Circus aspect.
Scare Zones
Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood
Rating: 5/5
This was easily the largest scare zone and had fantastic music and scare actors to accompany it. It made it even more creepy that they were easily able to blend into the crowd, keeping you looking over your shoulder the whole way through.
Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged
Rating: 4/5
This was a fun area with great, interactive scare actors. At one point, while waiting for a drink at a nearby booth, one of the scare actors came up and in character, was interacting with people and jokingly asking for their drink. It was the interactions that really excelled in this area.
Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror
Rating: 3/5
In this scare zone, there was a constant use of fog that made it especially creepy; never knowing when something was going to pop out at you. I only wish it were bigger and there were more scare actors. It seemed really sparse, and I feel like with a bigger area and more actors, it could be a contender for the best zone.
Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror
Rating: 2/5
Much like the house, I think the overuse of the circus theme made this area hard to remember.
Dark Zodiac
Rating: 2/5
We also rated this low due to the lack of scare actors in the area when we went through it, and that it just didn’t seem scary enough for us to make it a memorable zone.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando continues through November 4. You can read more about the event and grab your tickets, here.
