It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to create the fake blood, cause real sweat, and elicit the occasional tears at Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. It may only be open for a month, but the hugely popular event requires a lot of planning, hard work, and attention to details. Unlike some Halloween events, where a dingy maze, a couple of black lights, and a couple of kids in cheesy costumes constitutes a haunted house, Halloween Horror Nights incorporates lavish themeing, sophisticated sets, impressive effects, a cast of hundreds, and an emphasis on storytelling to embellish the primal scares.
The all-horror-film themed Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida, which is called Ripped from the Silver Screen for 2009, offers eight haunted houses featuring characters from movies such as Saw and Chucky and scare zones such as Lights, Camera, Hacktion!!! (You gotta love the names.) I had the chance to chat with Universal's T.J. Mannarino, director of art and design, and Susan Moore, design manager, about the creative process for Halloween Horror Nights. Read the article based on my conversation with the scaremeisters who helped create Halloween Horror Nights.
Photo: One of the haunted houses at Universal Studios Florida for Halloween Horror Nights 2009 will be Dracula: Legacy of Blood. Universal 2009. Used with permission.