So with this being my first year being able to crack out the long-term theme park bucket list item that was Halloween Horror Nights, naturally my mind is spinning with ideas about the kinds of mazes, scarezones, and experiences I'd personally like to see come to the world's premiere Haunt event. What I landed on was a theme I'm going to recycle from my Monster Madness project...I call it "The Art House". The opening scare zone will be a film festival with a demonic Director being the icon of the event (sort of a combination of Dr. Sweets from the Sweet Revenge scare zone with a touch of real world Hollywood skeeze thrown in for good measure). From there, the event would have a core theme of shining a spotlight on the more mental side of the scare, with mazes leaning into the A24 catalog for inspiration. Here's just some ideas I have. I definitely want to make this thread not just a place to work on my personal vision for the event, but also for other HHN fans to post their own spec maps and wishlists for the future.
Hereditary
Take a terrifying journey through the very heart of family dysfunction and bear witness to the shocking secrets lurking just behind closed doors. Iconic set pieces include the "dinner table" scene, the attic and treehouse finale, and of course a brutal depiction of the film's shocking act one death. Hereditary relies much less on proper jump scares and much more on the raw power of the actors, as a core piece of tension within this maze is going to be the siring raw human drama that critics and audiences have held the film up for. This will definitely be the maze with the most rigorous casting process as far as being able to fill out all the roles with professional stage actors.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: Infest the Rat's Nest
For this year's musical guest appearance, Australian physc rock icons King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (fresh off releasing their THIRD album of 2022) are here to make a mark on the event. Infest the Rat's Nest is based on the band's 2019 heavy metal concept album album a bleak future where the downtrodden are left on Earth to rot while the wealthy go to Mars to seek salvation. Think of it as Mad Max meets Wall*E. As the maze goes on you are introduced to the "Superbug" that wiped out humanity, discovery the harsh reality of "Mars for the Rich", and aim to "Self Immolate" into the Mars hierarchy by any means necessary. Using five songs from the band's brutal and blistering album along with imagery inspired by the band's long-term album artist, Infest the Rat's Nest promises to be among the most unique mazes at the event.
NOPE
The big headliner maze for this year, Nope goes above and beyond with the scale and effects as guests actually experience what it's like to come face to face with "Jean Jacket" as it hovers directly above you. In the maze's most terrifying and promoted room, guests will actually feel what it's like to be swallowed alive by the alien creature after trying to witness the "Spectacle" promised by Jupiter's Claim in the opening room of the maze which fully recreates the small Wild West theme park. All this plus a chilling "Gordy's Home" prologue room make "Nope" a sure-fire hit with perhaps some of the largest scale setpeices in Halloween Horror Nights history. This is a "Spectacle", after all.
Tusk
Here we come to the first "comedy" maze of the event, but make no mistake...this is more in line with the Bugs: Eaten Alive style of comedy that will still go out of its way to unnerve guests. Based on Kevin Smith's infamous and divisive take on The Human Centipede, Tusk will find guests coming face to face with the film's terrifying and eclectic walrus-loving villain, who's determined to make US future Mr. and Mrs. Tusks to add to his collection. The maze will act as a sequel of sorts to the film, with Justin Long's Wallace being the star walrus in his macabre collection.
Abbott and Costello's Monster Mash!
The star Comedy maze of the event and also an unpredictable and fun use of the traditional Universal Monsters IP pushing it into an entirely different direction. Monster Mash will see the single largest collection of Universal Monsters in one maze and serve as a grand finale to the storyline set up in this year's Legends Collide. Of course trained comic actors playing the legendary duo will also be present screaming their lungs out and going out of their way to hide from the monsters, which in turn makes US the center of attention in a game of hide and seek against the world's most famed comedy partners in crime. The grand finale of the room will even feature a clash between Frankenstein's monster and the one and only Herman Munster, truly bringing the parody and comedy crossover elements of the maze full circle in a really memorable way. And don't worry, this Herman will most definitely be modeled after the Fred Guinn version.
Escape from Azkaban
Yes, this would be under the assumption that Universal could basically pull the "you're a terrible person" card on JK Rolling to get her to let up on the no Potter during HHN thing, because let's face it...Azkaban would be an EPIC maze setting that would truly bring THE star franchise of the parks into the event in a big bad way. I imagine you could make a pretty decent transition from London to the Fast and the Furious area as far as location goes. I actually see the storyline being set post-Deathly Hallows with Umbridge playing the role of the main villain, and obviously a ton of Dementors and fellow prisoners would serve as a great cast of scare actors. The vertical design of the prison could also lead to some interesting design elements, crafting a landscape that needs to be navigated upwards and not just straight through.
I Can't Believe I Survived!!
An original maze that is a take on nature survival documentaries mixed with elements of Lord of the Flies as we stumble upon a society of feral people who have crash landed in the wilderness years before we got here. Other natural hazards such as bears, a forest fire, and the seering cold of a full on indoor BLIZZARD are all different touches to be added to perhaps the maze with the most real world horror.
The Grim Grotto
Essentially taking on a similar premise to Fiesta De Chubacabras and Spirits of the Coven in the sense that this maze is all about the locals luring tourists into a deadly situation. In this case, it's a full on 1950s tourist trap Tiki Bar with all the fixings including a full treehouse bungalow. After getting the VIP tour, things take a turn for the worst as the locals start to get a bit more hostile and were led to the caves surrounding the bay the bar overlooks. In the grand finale we find ourselves being the attempted sacrifice of a huge sea beast that the entire island lives in fear of. This maze would serve as the cultural experience of the event and also work in a lot of cool indoor/outdoor effects including a full forced perspective erupting volcano lingering in the distance.
Candy Cane Lane
This will be the ultimate HHN tribute to the Grimm Fairy Tales, the original ones. Guests coming out of a dark and forboding spooky forest (complete with some of the scary imagery of the sort made famous by Disney's Snow White, but on a larger and more twisted scale), unassuming guests find themselves on the bright and cheery streets of Candy Cane Lane, a full neighborhood of Hansel and Gretel style candy houses complete with some of the theme park industry's most top of the line smell-ulators. Venturing deep into the individual houses however, guests find the candy walls half eaten and in a state of mold and decay. Venturing deep into the basement dungeon tunnel system connecting the houses, the heat in the room goes to a boiling point as we find ourselves in a rather fiery finale within the heart of a witch's walk-in oven.
Aronofski Academy
In this original maze, the theme will not be on one film but more the overall style and tone of an individual director. Darren Aronofsky for decades has been known as a go-to as far as putting anxiety on screen. In Aronofsky Academy, guests will come face to face with various "demons" of his filmography in a dance studio setting, with the themes and imagery of Black Swan taking center stage. Design-wise I see this being pretty similar to The Weeknd, with a relatively glitzy surface level design that has a deep seeded level of very personal demons simmering just below the surface. Take a course in the Aronofksy Academy and conquer your nightmares.
I'll post more when I had time. Just wanted to get the ball rolling on some of these concepts!
Hereditary
Take a terrifying journey through the very heart of family dysfunction and bear witness to the shocking secrets lurking just behind closed doors. Iconic set pieces include the "dinner table" scene, the attic and treehouse finale, and of course a brutal depiction of the film's shocking act one death. Hereditary relies much less on proper jump scares and much more on the raw power of the actors, as a core piece of tension within this maze is going to be the siring raw human drama that critics and audiences have held the film up for. This will definitely be the maze with the most rigorous casting process as far as being able to fill out all the roles with professional stage actors.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: Infest the Rat's Nest
For this year's musical guest appearance, Australian physc rock icons King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (fresh off releasing their THIRD album of 2022) are here to make a mark on the event. Infest the Rat's Nest is based on the band's 2019 heavy metal concept album album a bleak future where the downtrodden are left on Earth to rot while the wealthy go to Mars to seek salvation. Think of it as Mad Max meets Wall*E. As the maze goes on you are introduced to the "Superbug" that wiped out humanity, discovery the harsh reality of "Mars for the Rich", and aim to "Self Immolate" into the Mars hierarchy by any means necessary. Using five songs from the band's brutal and blistering album along with imagery inspired by the band's long-term album artist, Infest the Rat's Nest promises to be among the most unique mazes at the event.
NOPE
The big headliner maze for this year, Nope goes above and beyond with the scale and effects as guests actually experience what it's like to come face to face with "Jean Jacket" as it hovers directly above you. In the maze's most terrifying and promoted room, guests will actually feel what it's like to be swallowed alive by the alien creature after trying to witness the "Spectacle" promised by Jupiter's Claim in the opening room of the maze which fully recreates the small Wild West theme park. All this plus a chilling "Gordy's Home" prologue room make "Nope" a sure-fire hit with perhaps some of the largest scale setpeices in Halloween Horror Nights history. This is a "Spectacle", after all.
Tusk
Abbott and Costello's Monster Mash!
Escape from Azkaban
I Can't Believe I Survived!!
An original maze that is a take on nature survival documentaries mixed with elements of Lord of the Flies as we stumble upon a society of feral people who have crash landed in the wilderness years before we got here. Other natural hazards such as bears, a forest fire, and the seering cold of a full on indoor BLIZZARD are all different touches to be added to perhaps the maze with the most real world horror.
The Grim Grotto
Essentially taking on a similar premise to Fiesta De Chubacabras and Spirits of the Coven in the sense that this maze is all about the locals luring tourists into a deadly situation. In this case, it's a full on 1950s tourist trap Tiki Bar with all the fixings including a full treehouse bungalow. After getting the VIP tour, things take a turn for the worst as the locals start to get a bit more hostile and were led to the caves surrounding the bay the bar overlooks. In the grand finale we find ourselves being the attempted sacrifice of a huge sea beast that the entire island lives in fear of. This maze would serve as the cultural experience of the event and also work in a lot of cool indoor/outdoor effects including a full forced perspective erupting volcano lingering in the distance.
Candy Cane Lane
This will be the ultimate HHN tribute to the Grimm Fairy Tales, the original ones. Guests coming out of a dark and forboding spooky forest (complete with some of the scary imagery of the sort made famous by Disney's Snow White, but on a larger and more twisted scale), unassuming guests find themselves on the bright and cheery streets of Candy Cane Lane, a full neighborhood of Hansel and Gretel style candy houses complete with some of the theme park industry's most top of the line smell-ulators. Venturing deep into the individual houses however, guests find the candy walls half eaten and in a state of mold and decay. Venturing deep into the basement dungeon tunnel system connecting the houses, the heat in the room goes to a boiling point as we find ourselves in a rather fiery finale within the heart of a witch's walk-in oven.
Aronofski Academy
In this original maze, the theme will not be on one film but more the overall style and tone of an individual director. Darren Aronofsky for decades has been known as a go-to as far as putting anxiety on screen. In Aronofsky Academy, guests will come face to face with various "demons" of his filmography in a dance studio setting, with the themes and imagery of Black Swan taking center stage. Design-wise I see this being pretty similar to The Weeknd, with a relatively glitzy surface level design that has a deep seeded level of very personal demons simmering just below the surface. Take a course in the Aronofksy Academy and conquer your nightmares.
I'll post more when I had time. Just wanted to get the ball rolling on some of these concepts!
