Halloween Horror Nights is back for another spooky season of horror at Universal Studios Hollywood, opening September 5 and running on select nights through November 3. With eight scary mazes, an exclusive menu of food and beverages, and a newly designed Terror Tram as one of the Universal Studios Hollywood rides still open during Halloween Horror Nights 2024, there is plenty for guests to experience. Fans of the A quiet place Franchise will be thrilled to learn that one of the new labyrinths follows the events of the first two films, The guests are in the middle of the action and have to hide and remain quiet so as not to attract the dangerous creatures.
Guests must suppress their screams if they want to survive the terrifying, post-apocalyptic world. A quiet place. Like the Abbott family, You must be calm when traveling from the farmhouse to the forest and then to the foundry. As soon as you make a noise, monstrous creatures that can hear the slightest sound will hunt you down and silence you forever.
Screen Rantalong with several other media outlets, had the opportunity to visit Universal Studios Hollywood and preview two of the exciting haunted houses for 2024. John Murdy, Creative Director of Halloween Horror Nights, led a tour of “A Quiet Place” and explained what this one of the most challenging and extraordinary labyrinths they have ever attempted. Murdy also explained how closely they worked with Paramount to bring the films and creatures to life in a way that does them justice.
Three things make the Quiet Place labyrinth unique
ASL was used extensively in the design
Standing outside the A quiet place Labyrinth, John Murdy discusses what makes this labyrinth so different from the 114 houses Universal Studios has built into their Halloween Horror Nights events over the years. He explains that there are three things – Audio, American Sign Language and the creatures.
When people saw ‘A Quiet Place’ in the cinema, many thought it was a silent film. But it’s never really silent, it just feels that way because of clever tricks used in the audio design.”We came across what we call Nearfield Audio Design.” says Murdy. “Usually in a Halloween Horror Nights house there are very, very large speakers up on the roofline, hidden from the guests“With A Quiet Place they did the opposite.”We had to use very, very small speakers, lots of them, and then try to get them as close to the guest as possible.”
The second thing is the use of American Sign Language. John Krasinski had a very specific vision for his film. He cast a deaf actress for the role of Reagan and incorporated ASL into the film, not only in terms of Reagan’s way of communicating, but also in terms of other family members. “We knew that was a very important part of the film, so we wanted to try to incorporate it into our house, and we do that in two ways.”
First, while you wait in line, there are video displays explaining the backstory of this world. It’s all in ASL.”We hired a deaf actress who works here at Universal Studios Hollywood. There’s literally no sound except for a few static beeps and bleeps because it’s like this survivor from the world of The Quiet Place is telling you what you need to know to survive.” What she repeats again and again are some basic signs you need to know if you want to survive in this worldwhich are then repeated by the live actors in the labyrinth.
The final difference is the creatures. Anyone who has seen the movies knows how massive they are. They are not used in the films but are created by CGI. This means that John Murdy and his team had to find a way to get them to the “A Quiet Place” maze:
“Last year we built a house with Chucky. Chucky was really the test case for future things like this. Chucky was the first time we used animatronic figures. We built 17 animatronic Chuckys last year, but they’re very small. They’re about 2 1⁄2 feet tall. These guys are very, very big. So what we’re doing is a combination of puppetry and fully developed animatronic characters. In this house you’ll encounter ten creatures. Six of them are puppets. Four of them are animatronic figures.”
Bringing the terrifying creatures to life
Puppets and animatronics were the key
As already mentioned, There are six creature puppets and four creature animatronics scattered throughout the labyrinth. These were all built on location in Hollywood. In fact, Universal Studios Orlando is also working on A Quiet Place, and Hollywood created its creatures. Shipping such things is often not cost-effective, but with something so essential to the story, they knew they had to produce it in Los Angeles, Murdy said.
“Our makeup artist built them all and we shipped quite a few, along with La La Chooza from Monstruos, because they’re doing Monstruos this year, our house from last year. That doesn’t happen that often because when you ship things, especially big things, across the country like that, it’s not very cost-efficient. But in this case, because the creatures were so important and we started looking into animation and we have the benefit of having the mechanical engineers working here to design everything for us, we decided to collaborate in that way on this particular thing.”
Murdy admits that These creatures are by far the most complex animatronic figures they have ever created. Chucky was quite complex, but this was their test run to see if they could physically pull it off and how they would survive the several months the event lasts. The team began working on the designs for these creatures during Halloween Horror Nights last year, and physical construction began earlier this year.
These creatures become more and more terrifying as you progress through the maze. Not only because they appear when you least expect it, but also because of the level of detail and work that goes into making them. They look just like the creatures from the movies, with their sharp teeth and no eyes. The plates on their heads open into different positions, which is demonstrated throughout your time in the labyrinth.
Perfectly capture the feeling of the films
Sandy paths muffle the sound of footsteps
Already at the beginning of the A quiet place Labyrinth, guests will notice the attention to detail. For example, There are sandy paths like in the movies that you can walk on to muffle the sound of footsteps. Murdy explains that there are many human actors in the cast of this maze, but they are not necessarily placed there to scare guests. They are there to advance the plot and bring the authenticity of the film to life:
“We do a lot of what we call cause-and-effect triggers. We know our guests. We know they’re not going to be quiet. There’s no way they’re going to be quiet, even if they’re constantly told that in the preview. So we’re going to punish them every time they disobey. There are a lot of hidden banner sensors in this house, so if you get close to something, it’ll trigger a sound.”
One of the many details brought to life is the use of grey painted boards in the farmhouse. In the film these are the ones that don’t squeak. There are also fairy lights hanging outside to warn guests of impending danger.
When guests are in the barn, It feels like you are walking into the middle of the movie. Here, the family soundproofed everything to protect the newborn and prevent it from attracting other animals with its noises. They built a special box that is insulated with a lid and then they put an oxygen mask on the baby. This is how they try to hide the sounds the baby makes from the animals. Murdy explained the inspiration for the maze with this scene:
“A creature gets into the barn and breaks a water pipe, and the whole basement fills with water, so the baby box is floating in the reeds like Moses. Then this creature comes out of the water, and that’s what we do. (There’s a) fully animated character, and it will rise out of the water. All the areas you see that are black will be filled with water. Actually, it’s not that much water, but we color it in so you can’t see the bottom. As it rises, you’re being bombarded with compressed air. This room is a really good example of the work of our props and costume team. You have to create and make all these things.”
As with the live actors in this labyrinth, some scenes are not meant to be frightening, but they are there to advance the story and expand the plotas Murdy explained.
“We work with the studios to get as many photos as possible. Of everything. And then we have to reproduce them and try to get all the little details of the scene right. There’s always a towel hanging over this one particular oven because they hide in it and they use it to not close it off completely so they don’t run out of oxygen.
There’s a part of the storyline with Emmett where he had a whole family, but he’s the only one left. So all over his little hideout down here in the furnace, there are drawings of his family. So it’s a very representative scene. It’s not necessarily meant to scare you. It’s just meant to convey the ending of the second film.”
About Halloween Horror Nights 2024
It is a popular annual tradition
You’ll never feel more alive than when you’re scared to death at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, Southern California’s scariest Halloween event. Bring your friends and you might just survive. Ramp up the horror with a RIP tour or express-access ticket. Or maximize your scares by staying near the screams with a hotel and ticket package.
Halloween Horror Nights 2024 at Universal Studios Hollywood will take place on select nights from September 5 to November 3.
Tickets can be purchased here as ticket sales are separate from the general admission price for the park.
