The Halloween season is upon us and that means Halloween Horror Nights has returned to Universal Studios Hollywood. This year’s event features eight haunted houses and the return of the Terror Tram, and while it’s a very difficult lineup to judge, I’ll do my best to rank them all.
9. Killer clowns from outer space
Killer clowns from space is one of the funniest features to be seen on Halloween Horror Nights. It’s just a crazy, campy movie that leans more towards the comedy genre than horror. It’s worked at Universal Studios Florida in the past, but this house just lacks the fright. There were a lot of great moments, but the scares just aren’t there and you can go all the way through wondering what you just experienced.
8. The horrors of Blumhouse
This may sound familiar to you if you’ve looked at mine Rankings of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida. While Freaky is a very funny movie The black phone just doesn’t translate well to a haunted house since the film is mostly set in one room. That being said, the Hollywood version of this house leans a bit more closely to the former, giving it a bit more space. That adds up to this house being just a tad stronger, but not by much.
7. Universal Horror Hotel
If you know, you know. Universal Horror Hotel is actually quite creative and features some impressive sets. However, in my personal experience, the fears just weren’t there. It’s a bit like a cookie cutter, with guests walking from one room to the next with a bogeyman bursting out of a door in each one. With a little added scare, this could be a very powerful house because the concept is there too.
6. Universal Monsters: Legends Collide
This is an easy choice for the most frustrating house of the year. It starts off great, with some great sets and the three familiar monsters that appear quickly. There are some great scares and even better pictures that will have you thinking this is easily the house of the year. And then you come across a section of hallway where nothing happens. And just when you’re wondering if the house is finished, it opens up again to a few more great rooms with an interesting finale. It’s so close to being perfect if not for a few impulse crushing hallways.
5. The Weeknd: Nightmare after hours
This is the big property at this year’s event and the wait times will let you know. However, for those who were skeptical about how well this would translate to a haunted house, no need to worry. This house offers tons of horrors surrounded by a party atmosphere. The world-renowned artist’s chilling music videos are re-enacted here and guests can venture through his twisted mind. And of course it has the best soundtrack of this year’s event.
4. Scarecrow: The Harvest
The hype surrounding this house is certainly there as this is sort of a sequel to a 2017 house featured at Universal Studios Florida. While it doesn’t quite live up to the original (as so often do with sequels), this house is bewildering and nightmarish. You will never know where the next fear will come from. Unfortunately, sometimes that means you miss it entirely because you’re looking the completely wrong way, but when they hit, they hit big.
3. The Terror Tram
I’ll admit there’s probably an East Coast bias at play here. Since I don’t have the Tram Tour in my backyard, it’s always exciting to ride any version of this world-famous attraction. Other than that, this year is just plain fun. Hollywood Harry welcomes you to his Halloween party, whether you want to attend or not. However, the real draw of this year’s attraction is stepping onto Jordan Peele’s set nope and be attacked by the Tethered Us. The scaremongers here do an amazing job and the whole atmosphere is fantastically spooky.
2.Halloween
Not much needs to be said about what makes this home so great. It’s a fantastic recreation of one of the most iconic horror films of all time. The cast do a great job playing these memorable characters and immersing the guests in the world of the film. Coming face-to-face with Michael Myers should be a regular part of Halloween season, and you can do that a few dozen times in this house.
1. La Llarona: The Weeping Woman
Now take this ranking with a grain of salt. I’ve wavered on my top pick, but the reason La Llarona went with it was because it’s easily the most intense house of this year’s event. If you’re not looking for this type of experience, you might want to skip this one. This house has some chilling horrors and makes great use of audio throughout. It also has without a doubt the best finale of any house this year. There have been a handful of HHN houses that can stick with you even after you exit, and this is definitely one of them.
Halloween Horror Nights 2022 is happening now, select nights leading up to Halloween at Universal Studios Hollywood.
