Halloween Horror Nights Orlando is in full swing! We were invited out for opening night and got a full sampling of what this season has to offer. Here’s a breakdown of the top three houses in Orlando this year and the best food on the HHN menu.
H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular
Our second house of the night was H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular, and I immediately knew nothing would top it. I was right. My favorite house of the season features returning HHN icon, disgraced horror host H.R. Bloodengutz. Guests will enter an abandoned TV station taken over by Bloodengutz (who has recently escaped from imprisonment).
Within the walls of the TV station, guests will be greeted by the host himself before journeying into scenes from each of the horror movies he’s presenting as part of his Halloween marathon. This anthology house unfolds as a horror comedy with plenty of scares.
House Highlight: Keep an eye out for the room done entirely in greyscale. Step into a graveyard for a familiar scene where everything – including the scare actors will make you feel as though you’ve stepped right into a classic black-and-white comfort horror film.
HHN has notoriously used these anthology houses as a testing ground for concepts later developed into full-blown houses. Think of it as a proof-of-concept short film developed into a feature film.
Assistant Director of Creative Development and Show Direction for Universal Orlando Resort's Halloween Horror Nights, Lora Sauls, shared that the greyscale concept has been brewing for quite some time. The creative team wasn’t quite sure it had legs to carry a full house on its own. If this tiny taste of what a greyscale house could be is any indication of what’s to come, it not only has legs, it’s got wings as well.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled for an entire greyscale house in the future.
Sauls’ hometown of Carey, Ohio, serves as the setting for H.R. Bloodengutz’s TV reign. A couple of fun Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans: The family photos within the house are Sauls’ actual family photos. The “C” on the letterman jacket in the greyscale graveyard is a nod to Carey.
Elsewhere in H.R. Bloodengutz’s demented movie marathon, be prepared to encounter tiki vampire girls and disco-dancing zombies. This house feels distinctly Halloween, and the attention to detail is incredible. It’s more than you can catch on a single walkthrough, so double back if you can.
Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness
What an incredible tribute. The premise for this one is that a group of acolytes has decided to try and resurrect the Prince of Darkness. Fans will be transported through iconic Ozzy imagery (including the single “Bark at the Moon which was featured on FANGORIA cover # 35).
The Osbournes were directly involved in creating this house, with Sharon personally approving every step of the way. It’s a meticulous homage of a journey through some of the late rock star’s career highlights.
Major house highlight — An actual storm. Wind and rain will swirl around you in absolute chaos as lightning strikes. An impressive feat.
Each room builds on the wow factor, culminating in the grand finale of… the Crazy Train, of course. Avoid videos of this if you can because having it revealed to you in real time is an incredible experience. I was giddy as hell over it.
One word of warning- this house smells amazing when you first enter. The scent in the second room was hands down the most offensive to my nose in the entire park. And that includes the cannibal house!
Hellraiser
This one was high on the list for most anticipated house, and it did not disappoint. Right off the bat, you enter by stepping into the Lament Configuration. Chains, flesh, and your favorite Cenobites dominate this house. And of course, the ultimate Hell Priest of our nightmares, Pinhead himself presides over the whole thing.
In certain stretches, you can see other guests making their way through the house, but it’s done in a way that feels like it should be a mirror. And the fact that it’s not does something funny to the brain. It’s disorienting, adding to the overall uneasiness of Hellraiser.
For anyone familiar with the franchise, you’ll know that pleasure and pain are the primary principles of this world. The creators made it a point to bring that balance to life in the house. You’ll find plenty of skinned and flayed morsels, but don’t think they skipped out on the sex. It’s not overly present, but it is included because what is Hellraiser without the carnal pleasure?
Covering the first three entries in the franchise, this is a stellar example of how to capture the essence of a cinematic world and translate it into a walk-through house. Clive Barker was personally involved and sent a handwritten letter of thanks to the HHN team. In fact, all the correspondence and collaboration was done by snail mail. And it more than paid off.
The Best Thing I Ate At HHN Orlando
Fried PB&J Bites
I sampled plenty of the special menu items offered for the season, and it was all plenty good. But the Best Thing I Ate in the entire park was the fried peanut butter & jelly bites. The bites are part of the Stranger Things-themed menu, and if you find yourself in Downtown Clown Town, head down a crimson lit alley.
You’ll find a booth serving up bites, and another “ticket booth” serving booze. This is where you’ll pick up your goodies. As the alley spits you out, you’ll likely find a deceptively long line. But fret not. It moves quickly, and the bits are more than worth it. The delicious fried dough bites come in a tray of 3, with a side of jelly dipping sauce. Grab your Fried PB&J Bites at Crosshairs Coop Food Booth
Rigatoni Ritual Pie
This is not the first time HHN has played in the realm of pasta pizza. And for good reason. The two individual ingredients are delicious on their own. With their powers combined, they are unstoppable. Give me a pasta pizza pie any day. This year’s offering: the Rigatoni Ritual Pizza. A cheesy, garlicky baked pasta pizza available at Louie's Italian Restaurant.
Sinners was another incredible house with an insane level of detail, but if I go down that path, I’ll start listing every single house, and that sort of defeats the purpose of a best-of list! It’s admittedly hard to choose when they’re all great. Check out our full list of all the houses coming to HHN.
Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights is now open, get your tickets here.
