Let’s Talk about This Year’s Ten Halloween Horror Nights Houses

Halloween Horror Nights opened on Friday, September 1^st.

Thousands of thrilled fans stampeded Universal Orlando Resort in anticipation of another thrilling event.

We’ve now taken a look inside all of this year’s Houses and are ready to tell you all about them!

Let’s talk about the ten Halloween Horror Nights Houses for 2023!

Warning: There ARE spoilers ahead!

Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings

I’ll start each section with a video that shows the experience within the House.

I’m giving you a warning ahead of time so that you know. If you don’t want to be spoiled, do not click the YouTube video below this sentence.

On opening night, Universal officials allowed some people on special RIP Tours to record video inside the Houses.

I honestly don’t know whether that will be the case during later visits. So, let’s appreciate that we have these!

Before the event started, we’d learned the least about Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings and The Darkest Deal, which we’ll discuss in a moment.

As this clip shows, the premise here involves a nasty town that has devolved into a cult.

Apparently, their attitude is, “It’s us or them!” You’re them. And if they don’t kill you, well, the “lest we all die!” chant feels pointed.

This one offers straightforward terror, and I dig it. Bloodmoon is probably the most conventional of this year’s new Houses.

Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count

What’s a HHN event without an iconic, frequently franchised horror character?

For 2023, we get two of them, not counting The Last of Us or Stranger Things. If you want those included, it’s 40 percent of this year’s Houses.

Anyway, Chucky provides exactly the comic-horror tone you’d expect, as a Chucky Audio-Animatronic greets you.

Later, you meet some adults cosplaying as Chucky. Whether they’re willing or not is up for debate.

Finally, Chucky comes at you with a knife, which just feels right.

I’m a big fan of forward-facing assaults at HHN. This one checks all the boxes for me.

The Darkest Deal

There are places in the deep south where you can become one of the greatest blues musicians ever.

All you need is a certain moral flexibility, a disbelief in the afterlife, and a map that takes you to the crossroads.

The residents of The Darkest Deal have checked all three boxes, although they may be reconsidering the eternal damnation portion.

Universal deserves a lot of credit for the brilliant visual of that contract at the beginning. The surprising scare soon afterward is a happy bonus.

After that, well, I like the House as a whole, but it’s a bit too straightforward for my tastes. This story feels a bit incomplete or at least truncated.

Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins

The character who killed Jack the Clown plays a significant factor in this year’s event.

Dr. Oddfellow’s backstory connects to most of the Scare Zones, and the character’s origin story unfolds in this House.

Let’s just say that mistakes were made along the way. Jack the Clown doesn’t strike me as the kind you want to become a mortal enemy.

I don’t get a strong “forgive and forget” vibe from that…undead clown thing.

Diehard HHN fans already knew a lot of what’s on display at this House, but it’s still exceptional.

The moral story is that you should never bury someone unless you’re pretty sure that they’ll stay dead.

Otherwise, random undead clown attacks are a thing.

Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate

Everyone will possess a differing opinion on this year’s event, but I consider three of the Houses more significant than the others.

Dueling Dragons is definitely one of them, as it tells a unique story…and a fantasy one at that.

Generally, Universal doesn’t play in the fantasy sandbox with HHN, as it has The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for that.

Thankfully, someone this year asked the right question.

If people flock to Universal Studios for Harry Potter, wouldn’t they like a House with wizards and dragons?

That answer is HARD YES!

Dueling Dragons provides an innovative series of visuals, lighting the internal organs of Scare Actors.

Then, guests gain the rare opportunity to decide how the story ends, as they pick a side.

The video I linked shows the ice side. Here’s the fire ending:

The Exorcist: Believer

Here’s an oddity as far as HHN Houses go. This movie hasn’t come out yet!

In fact, The Exorcist: Believer just made some news last week when it switched release dates to avoid the sudden appearance of the Taylor Swift concert film.

From now through October 6^th, you must guess how this House parallels the film.

We also know that the movie is part of an intended trilogy, which means we might get two more Houses that debut before their film counterparts!

Still, I found this House to have a sameness to it relative to other Exorcist Houses we’ve seen in the past.

The Scare Actors are definitely into their parts here, though!

The Last of Us

This House and the next one are the others I’d describe as the significant ones for 2023.

Anyone familiar with The Last of Us will find a familiar set of stories unfolding in this House.

Still, this one finds the perfect balance between what fans want to see and easily understandable for those unfamiliar with the franchise.

You’ll hear from Joel and Ellie, as the voice actors from the video game franchise have recorded new dialogue just for this House.

Also, the Clickers look right. Even better, Universal saves the sounds they make until a seminal moment in the House. It ramps up the terror factor.

Stranger Things 4

WOW!!!

This is me marking out right now.

I’ve been with Stranger Things since the beginning, having binged season one that July weekend in 2016.

Every time a new episode debuts, we drop what we’re doing to catch up on the latest story.

I thought season four was especially good. The tone that the trailer established with the Separate Ways remix hinted at a stylistic masterpiece.

Sure enough, the Running Up That Hill story arc from season four transfixed social media and triggered a resurgence for 1980s musician Kate Bush.

Even better, one of the new characters, Eddie Munson, stole our hearts.

Eddie appears here in probably his finest moment from the series.

Also, a cheerleader shows up. If you remember the season, yes, I mean that one. It’s…grim.

Stranger Things 4 perfectly encapsulates the brilliance of the show’s fourth season. I love everything about it. This is one of my favorite Houses ever!

Universal Monsters: Unmasked

Universal took an unusual, potentially divisive approach this year.

The typical Universal Classic Monsters have taken a backseat to some of the unheralded ones.

The Invisible Man and The Hunchback of Notre Dame play a bigger role this year, as does actual murder.

Even for an HHN House, watching someone get their spine ripped out is…a lot.

Quasimodo’s appearance in this House is absolutely legendary, though. I’m gonna remember that one for a while.

YETI: Campground Kills

Shadow Creek State Park isn’t a fun place.

I mean, the park ranger here seems far more invested in his own personal problems than in you, the customer.

Also, the projections on the walls indicate that frequent Yeti attacks occur here, which feels like something they should warn tourists about before visiting.

While what I said about the straightforward nature of The Darkest Deal applies here as well, I just like this one better.

 

 

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