2006
Pavel Pranevsky, aka “The Director”, has been the subject of a lot of concern and rumour around Universal Studios since the reported disappearance of a visitor some time ago. It’s understood he will be allowed to publicise his new film during the event, and may even be shooting on the back lot during Halloween Horror Nights.
Attractions:
- Terror Tram: The Director’s Cut
- The Asylum (Shrek 4D queue area)
- The Mutaytor Dance Party (Back to the Future Plaza)
- Universal’s House of Horrors (Van Helsing)
- Carnival of Carnage (Flintstones area)
- Fear Factor Live: Dead Celebrity Edition (Castle Theatre)
- Chucky’s Insult Emporium
- Scare Zones (Streets on Upper Lot: New York Street, London Street, Parisien Courtyard, Western Street)
- SlaughterWorld (naughtier version of WaterWorld)
- Jurassic Park: In the Dark
- Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride
- Chainsaw Brigade
- Zombie Go Go Dancers
2006 Press Release – Short
THE DIRECTOR’S CUT– Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of LA, will blur the line between frightful illusion and grim reality with its presentation of ”Halloween Horror Nights” beginning Friday the 13th of October. The event will be helmed by “The Director” ― a sociopathic cinematic auteur – who will convert Universal’s working studio backlot and the theme park’s most popular rides and attractions into terrifyingly realistic settings for an intense and enveloping vision of mayhem. By creating the ambiance of a true “horror genre” production, “The Director” will set the stage for a transformative horror experience. Universal Studios Hollywood presents Halloween Horror Nights on Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 31. More information at www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com
2006 Press Release
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD RE-INVENTS THE THEME PARK HALLOWEEN EXPERIENCE WITH “HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS” RETURNING UNIVERSAL BACKLOT TO ITS HORROR ROOTS FOR SEVEN NIGHTS OF TERROR BEGINNING FRIDAY THE 13TH OF OCTOBER
Universal City, California, August 7, 2006 —Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., will reinvent the Halloween theme park experience this year with “Halloween Horror Nights,” creating the ambiance of a true “horror genre” production, incorporating scenic and special effects resources of the studio’s famed backlot for a transformative horror experience.
“Halloween Horror Nights” will extend over seven nights beginning Friday the 13th of October and continue Oct. 14, 20-21, 27-28 and on Halloween, October 31.
The “Halloween Horror Nights” experience will be staged as a production by “The Director,” a mysterious and demented horror genre auteur who will convert Universal’s working studio backlot and the theme park’s most popular rides and attractions into terrifyingly realistic settings for an intense and enveloping manifestation of mayhem. Actors and guests will intermingle seamlessly for an immersive experience that will shatter pre-conceptions, transcending notions of horror genre theatrics and “Halloween maze” experiences to take visitors to a state of extreme dread, shock and terror.
For the first time in the studio’s 93-year history, guests will be able to disembark from studio trams and walk among the historic sets of the Universal backlot, birthplace of the horror genre. The backlot experience—incorporating such Hollywood landmarks as Psycho House and the War of the Worlds disaster scene—will play a central role in “The Director’s” Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” production, a scenario that calls for guests to be transported into eerie, darkened sets while subjected to disorienting and unnerving interactive experiences.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” will also feature multiple performances by trance music/performance artists The Mutaytor, a multi-media ensemble that was formed at the legendary Burning Man Festival by members of Oingo Boingo, Supertramp and other musical and theatrical groups. The Mutaytor’s blend of pyrotechnics, stunt performance, tribal dancers and pounding percussion–a riotously surreal techno-retro-funk-audience—will add a spine-tingling and alarming element to the overall Halloween experience.
Specially created entertainment pieces will bring added production value to “The Director’s” scenario. Among them, “Chucky’s Insultorium” will provide a mix of menace and humor to the event while the “Carnival of Carnage” will feature the best of medieval torture artists, sword swallowers, fire and glass eaters, human pincushions and those with a hearty appetite for cockroaches, worms and maggots.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s favorite attractions will remain open for the nighttime Halloween Horror Nights experience, but many will feature a menacing twist. The standing sets and themed streets of the park will be transformed into scenes from “The Director’s” dark vision. “WaterWorld” (transformed into “Slaughter World” for the occasion) “Jurassic Park—In the Dark,” the “Revenge of the Mummy” psychological thrill ride and the twists and turns of the “Back to the Future” will all seem like tranquil respites from “The Director’s” bedlam.
Universal’s “Halloween Horror Nights” comes to life for seven nights over the course of three consecutive weekends: October 13-14, 20-21 and 27-28, and 31. The event will begin nightly at 7:00 PM.
Tickets are available online at www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com and range in price from $34.00 to $39.00 when purchased in advance. For more information on Universal’s “Halloween Horror Nights” log on to www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com or call 818-622-3801.
Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., is a full day, movie-based theme park featuring such unique and groundbreaking attractions as “Revenge of the Mummy—The Ride,” “Shrek 4-D,” “Terminator 2: 3D,” “Jurassic Park-The Ride” and the world-renowned behind-the-scenes Studio Tour and includes the adjacent CityWalk, a unique dining and shopping promenade featuring 65 entertainment-themed restaurants, clubs, shops and movie theaters.
Universal Studios Hollywood (www.universalstudioshollywood.com) is a unit of Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of Universal Studios, a part of NBC Universal.
NBC Universal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.
The Asylum Maze (construction and in use)
Fear Factor Live: Dead Celebrity Edition – Contestant Intro Footage
2006 Daytime Photo Gallery (photos by Erin and Christian, 12 October 2006)
2006 Night Photo Gallery (photos by Erin and Christian, 12 October 2006)