Inside Universal Forums

Welcome to the Inside Universal Forums! Register a free account today to become a member. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members and unlock our forums features!

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.

Halloween Horror Nights 2020 Old Speculation Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
I wanna see originals that aren't gimmicks. Orlando level ideas with Hollywood style execution is the bare minimum.
Probably wouldn't guarantee that until we have some new blood on the team, doesn't seem like originals are Hollywood's forte, though it could be that I've misread their character and this year had particularly gimmicky originals just out of fear that the GP wouldn't accept them otherwise, so who knows, maybe next year we'll get some deeper concept stuff.
 
Here's my speculation list:

STRONGEST POTENTIAL LOCKS --
Stranger Things 3 (I think they'll feel the need to do this out of pure redemption. And TBH, this was pulling the longest lines of the event along with Us and Killer Klowns, even up until the final day of the event -- word of mouth didn't destroy that maze, nor the fan hype. This is bigger than The Walking Dead and that was around for 4 years.)
Universal Monsters: House of Dracula (Just seems like the next logical step)
IT (As the number 1 most-wanted property for like 3 years straight, even after the abysmal reviews and performance of the second film, it's amazing this is still pulling interest -- can't be ignored at this point and they have to do something)
The Conjuring (Part 3 is hitting theaters next year, it's TIME!)
Candyman (Us was very popular and they don't have to necessarily base it on the new one if they don't want to risk it -- the property is ready -- although I'm certain it'll weigh towards Peele's version)
Beetlejuice (Huge crowd favorite, was featured for Throwback Thursdays, would finally give us a Tim Burton maze, was talked about for HMH at WB and that never panned out -- Universal could swoop on that opportunity)
Two or Three Original Mazes (Luckily we've grown to this point; taken us a while, but we're finally there that we could assume we'll always have original mazes from now on)

WILD CARDS --
Doctor Sleep (Shining maze sequel), Halloween (capitalize on HKills, either with H5, H20, or RZ's remake), Chucky (capitalize on the show), The Thing (just because it's time).

WITH SOME LUCK --
Scream (the rights have been settled, just depends if Murdy wants to do it), Hellraiser (still awaiting that remake), Zombieland (while the BO performance is similar to the first one, the second film's buzz is meager and I don't think this has quite the appeal to make a comeback next year), Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright has a horror movie coming out next year, might be a good time to throwback to this film, also depends if his new film is ripe for Haunt treatment itself)

NOPE --
Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre -- all dead....for now.
 
Orlando has something in one of their houses this year that might beg to differ which is why I say what I do. So it might just apply to them.. but its why I'm being coy about it that way.
 
Sorry to be late, but here are a few of my picks:

Beetlejuice: I never thought this could ever come to the event. Then GhostBusters brought in the biggest crowds HHN has ever seen. This one has been speculated by everyone, and completely makes sense for the more family-friendly vibe Horror Nights is trying to promote. We know and love the character at the park, and the sinking ship that was HMH is sure as all not using him (even if I want them too). There's just enough to create a maze, and the Tim Burtonites will flock to it without thought. I'm really considering this.

Hill House: Disclaimer that I haven't watched the show. It sounds fantastic, but is a big investment for the little amount of time I have. Netflix's connection to Horror Nights has been pretty great, and without real reason to do ST3, they can use Hill House to bring in younger crowds that don't have a connection to the older, cult franchises. The show seems to have a dark tone that would be great to replicate in a house, and Netflix will probably demand a soundstage, which is a win for all of us.

Mexican Original: As soon as I went through Holidays, I knew this had a chance. It seems they purposely didn't add Mexican holidays, since they would almost be mandatory in such a mixing pot city. LA's latino dem loved La LLorona, and they have the safety of having increased cultural knowledge when compared to Spirits and Demons. They can reuse quite a bit from El Cucuy and La Llorona, and maybe even use the skull throne figures from pandora for an Aztec/mesoamerican section.

Creepypasta original/Slenderman/Russian Sleep/ Channel Zero: The inclusion of a Momo type character in Spirits and Demons shows that horror nights is trying to appeal to younger horror trends. Mixed with the mention of Channel zero in the survey, their strengthened connection with sony (zombieland, GB), and new Russian Sleep Experiment movie (is that still happening?), I think an original take on creepypasta, or an IP house from a creepypasta based movie, could be very likely. NGL, I don't want this to happen since I know every vlogger (cough cough JPLAND21 cough) will make a "REAL JEFF THE KILLER:wow:" video, flooding all maze POVS with 9 year old kids asking if the blood is real.

INVISIBLE
MAN AND DRACULA:
Their posters were featured in the vault this year, so out of any of the Universal Monsters, their inclusion would make the most sense. Plus, they can piggyback off the Invisible Man movie they're releasing with Blumhouse next year. I think we all know Universal Monsters are coming back, just a case of who.

VERY WISHFUL THINKING Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet: The albums turning twenty next year, and that era was probably the most to be aligned with haunted house. Great industrial aesthetics, but I know it isn't happening.

EDIT: I'd diea very happy man if they did an Abott and Costello house, as impracitcal as it seems.
 
Sorry to be late, but here are a few of my picks:

Beetlejuice: I never thought this could ever come to the event. Then GhostBusters brought in the biggest crowds HHN has ever seen. This one has been speculated by everyone, and completely makes sense for the more family-friendly vibe Horror Nights is trying to promote. We know and love the character at the park, and the sinking ship that was HMH is sure as all not using him (even if I want them too). There's just enough to create a maze, and the Tim Burtonites will flock to it without thought. I'm really considering this.

Hill House: Disclaimer that I haven't watched the show. It sounds fantastic, but is a big investment for the little amount of time I have. Netflix's connection to Horror Nights has been pretty great, and without real reason to do ST3, they can use Hill House to bring in younger crowds that don't have a connection to the older, cult franchises. The show seems to have a dark tone that would be great to replicate in a house, and Netflix will probably demand a soundstage, which is a win for all of us.

Mexican Original: As soon as I went through Holidays, I knew this had a chance. It seems they purposely didn't add Mexican holidays, since they would almost be mandatory in such a mixing pot city. LA's latino dem loved La LLorona, and they have the safety of having increased cultural knowledge when compared to Spirits and Demons. They can reuse quite a bit from El Cucuy and La Llorona, and maybe even use the skull throne figures from pandora for an Aztec/mesoamerican section.

Creepypasta original/Slenderman/Russian Sleep/ Channel Zero: The inclusion of a Momo type character in Spirits and Demons shows that horror nights is trying to appeal to younger horror trends. Mixed with the mention of Channel zero in the survey, their strengthened connection with sony (zombieland, GB), and new Russian Sleep Experiment movie (is that still happening?), I think an original take on creepypasta, or an IP house from a creepypasta based movie, could be very likely. NGL, I don't want this to happen since I know every vlogger (cough cough JPLAND21 cough) will make a "REAL JEFF THE KILLER:wow:" video, flooding all maze POVS with 9 year old kids asking if the blood is real.

INVISIBLE
MAN AND DRACULA:
Their posters were featured in the vault this year, so out of any of the Universal Monsters, their inclusion would make the most sense. Plus, they can piggyback off the Invisible Man movie they're releasing with Blumhouse next year. I think we all know Universal Monsters are coming back, just a case of who.

VERY WISHFUL THINKING Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet: The albums turning twenty next year, and that era was probably the most to be aligned with haunted house. Great industrial aesthetics, but I know it isn't happening.

EDIT: I'd diea very happy man if they did an Abott and Costello house, as impracitcal as it seems.
See, if they focused on stories that haven't been ruined by the deviantart users (Russian Sleep Experiment, The Rake, Anasis Goatman), i would actually kill for a creepypasta maze. Though, it'll never happen in like dozens of years.
 
See, if they focused on stories that haven't been ruined by the deviantart users (Russian Sleep Experiment, The Rake, Anasis Goatman), i would actually kill for a creepypasta maze. Though, it'll never happen in like dozens of years.
I wouldn't rule it out yet. They seem to really enjoy basing their originals off of urban legends, so internet legends seems like a logical step. If they were to do it, I would think they'd pick like 3 stories, with one being well known, and the others higher in quality and horror content. As much as I hate creepypasta, a fully immersive Russian bunker could be insane.
 
Just rewatched Beetlejuice after probably 13 years, I think it has some serious potential for a maze, though I still don't know if I'm on board. I really don't see how they'd make it scary, or if they even really could outside of a few scenes, but part of me wants to see it come just because of the massive challenge it poses on visuals alone. I have a feeling if it does come it will be a pretty big chunk of the budget.
 
Orlando has something in one of their houses this year that might beg to differ which is why I say what I do. So it might just apply to them.. but its why I'm being coy about it that way.

I reallyyyyy don't tend to take those preview easter eggs seriously unless they're explicitly defined by the design team as teases.
 
I'll only speculate on what seems logical to me..so not the full list but:

Mexican Original (original #1)
UM3 (original #2)
??? (original #3)
ST3
3 from Hell
Bringing back Michael given the recent movie and the upcoming duo of movies
TWD is always included in the 10 (hopefully sticking with 10 next year)

That leaves 3 I don't have a clues.

With all the requests for it, I'd love to see him go for Hill House.
 
I'll only speculate on what seems logical to me..so not the full list but:

Mexican Original (original #1)
UM3 (original #2)
??? (original #3)
ST3
3 from Hell
Bringing back Michael given the recent movie and the upcoming duo of movies
TWD is always included in the 10 (hopefully sticking with 10 next year)

That leaves 3 I don't have a clues.

With all the requests for it, I'd love to see him go for Hill House.
I don't see 3 From Hell, as it wouldn't be a large draw for the event but require Universal to get the rights from Lionsgate. I'm pretty sure they only considered House last year since it could accompany the marketing for 3 from Hell. I'd only see them do it if they brought on Saw for another year, which could happen with the new Chris Rock saw coming out, but doesn't seem like a deal Lionsgate would go for.
 
I don't see 3 From Hell, as it wouldn't be a large draw for the event but require Universal to get the rights from Lionsgate. I'm pretty sure they only considered House last year since it could accompany the marketing for 3 from Hell. I'd only see them do it if they brought on Saw for another year, which could happen with the new Chris Rock saw coming out, but doesn't seem like a deal Lionsgate would go for.
Pleeeeeeease no more Saw. When they brought it back in 2017 it was easily one of the worst houses they've ever done. To bring back Saw would be lame.

3 From Hell isn't happening. HoTC was towards the bottom of rankings. Both Corpses and Saw are tired IPs that need to be left alone.
 
Pretty sure Murdy said they were aiming to do a Firefly Family trilogy maze but the movie wasn't done in enough time (or something) so they so just settled with doing HOTC again. Might have misread that, though -- I think he said it in a Twitter Q&A. So it sounds like Lionsgate was playing ball, and I would think that a 3 From Hell maze is still on the table if the team wants it. I personally didn't love the movie, but I do think the Devil's Rejects is great and a Firefly Family Trilogy would have been really cool, IMO. But after this year, I'm ready to move on. I agree with Freak, there will be some repeats next year but I don't think Firefly/Zombie content will be among them.

EDIT: Found the Tweet I was talking about. Actually sounds like it could be possible, gonna change my tune here. Unless people really, truly hated this maze, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more.

 
Last edited:
Pretty sure Murdy said they were aiming to do a Firefly Family trilogy maze but the movie wasn't done in enough time (or something) so they so just settled with doing HOTC again. Might have misread that, though -- I think he said it in a Twitter Q&A. So it sounds like Lionsgate was playing ball, and I would think that a 3 From Hell maze is still on the table if the team wants it. I personally didn't love the movie, but I do think the Devil's Rejects is great and a Firefly Family Trilogy would have been really cool, IMO. But after this year, I'm ready to move on. I agree with Freak, there will be some repeats next year but I don't think Firefly/Zombie content will be among them.

EDIT: Found the Tweet I was talking about. Actually sounds like it could be possible, gonna change my tune here. Unless people really, truly hated this maze, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more.


Learning that honestly makes the last room make a lot more sense as an ending. I could maybe see Devils Rejects, but since 3 From Hell didn't do all that well critically or financially, and the maze scored pretty low on GSATs I don't see think it'll happen next year.
 
Learning that honestly makes the last room make a lot more sense as an ending. I could maybe see Devils Rejects, but since 3 From Hell didn't do all that well critically or financially, and the maze scored pretty low on GSATs I don't see think it'll happen next year.
BTW, are GSATs public or anything? I have seen people referencing them the last couple years but I never know where or how they access them.
 
BTW, are GSATs public or anything? I have seen people referencing them the last couple years but I never know where or how they access them.
They tend to get leaked by a handful of cast members and then spread around like crazy by everyone else, since they're kept much less under wraps than most other info. Murdy tends to reference them as well, though usually only the top 3 or so.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top