Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights is about to get groovy.
The Weeknd (nee Abel Tesfaye) returns to Halloween Horror Nights this year with a brand-new experience The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy. This marks the musician’s return to Universal’s spooky season offering, after 2022’s After Hours Nightmare, which used the mythology surrounding his 2020 album “After Hours” as a jumping off point. (The Weeknd has been making noise on social media recently about the conclusion of a “trilogy” of albums that began with “After Hours” and continued with 2022’s “Dawn F.M.”)
This new house “provides fans an authentic, one-of-a-kind horror experience with surprises at every turn and music by The Weeknd scored by seminal producer, artist, and seven-time Grammy-award winner Mike Dean,” according to the official release. Does this mean the new album will be out beforehand? Or is there a chance that the haunted house will be your first opportunity to hear new music?
Additionally, Universal Studios has announced a Blumhouse theme for their annual Terror Tram, a takeover of the iconic Universal backlot tour. Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse will see guests “encounter some of the most frightening characters from Blumhouse’s popular franchises, including ‘M3GAN,’ ‘The Black Phone,’ ‘Freaky,’ ‘The Purge’ and ‘Happy Death Day.’” Additionally, if you spring for the R.I.P. Tour, you’ll gain exclusive access to the Jupiter’s Claim area of the backlot, themed to Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” (For the past couple of years, on the regular tour, they’ve done a mash-up of Peele’s “Nope” and “Us,” with the Tethered sauntering around Jupiter’s Claim.)
Leatherface also returns to Halloween Horror Nights with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface. The haunted house features “all-new storyline celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the original 1974 slasher film.” The new house is set in an abandoned slaughterhouse, where visitors will “will encounter the many iterations of Leatherface from all nine films in the franchise, dodging his relentless chainsaw at every turn.” It’s about time we entered the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” multiverse. If there isn’t at least a passing nod to the unforgettable “Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III” trailer, we will be disappointed.
Also, “The Purge: Dangerous Waters” stunt show will return from last year, occupying the Waterworld stunt show arena. This was one of the highlights of last year’s HHN. It’s making a welcome return.
These experiences join previously announced houses themed to “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” “A Quiet Place,” “Insidious” and the Universal Monsters. We’re also very excited about Dead Exposure: Death Valley, “an original concept house with petrifying radioactive zombies.”
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood begins on Thursday, September 5 and continues select nights through Sunday, November 3. A variety of Halloween Horror Nights ticket options for Universal Studios Hollywood are now available, including General Admission, Universal Express, After 2 PM Day/Night, the Early Access Ticket, which provides access to select haunted houses beginning at 5:30 p.m. (subject to change), in advance of the scheduled 7:00 p.m. event opening time, the premium R.I.P. Tour and popular passes, Frequent Fear Pass and Ultimate Fear Pass, which enable guests to experience the scares again and again.
