Blumhouse and Universal Have Considered a Halloween Horror Nights Movie

Every year the world’s premiere Halloween event takes place at Universal Parks around the world as Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights kicks off in Los Angeles, Orlando, Singapore, and Osaka. The special event features uniquely made haunted house attractions for guests to experience, some of them original ideas created by the team and others adapted from feature film and television properties that offer fans a chance to walk through their favorite movies and shows. Could there be more potential for the event though, perhaps on the big screen? Universal’s horror maestro Jason Blum says that it could come happen because conversations about such a thing have occurred.

“Yes! Definitely!” Blum told Collider when asked if “HHN” would be ripe for a horror movie. “We’ve actually talked about it. We haven’t quite figured it out, but there’s definitely a movie in Halloween Horror Nights somewhere.”

Blumhouse properties have been a staple of Halloween Horror Nights’ “houses” for years now with two “Horrors of Blumhouse” houses blending together scenes from The Purge franchise, Sinister, Happy Death Day, Unfriended, Truth or Dare, and Insidious. Even more could happen in the near future as well.

What some readers may be wondering is, how do you make Halloween Horror Nights into a movie? One route to take would no doubt be what became the plot for 2018’s Hell Fest, a slasher movie set at a theme park during its special Halloween event takeover. Considering the poor box office and critical reception of the movie that route doesn’t seem likely, but what many may not realize is that Halloween Horror Nights itself already has an extensive backstory and its own original characters ripe for the silver screen.

Many years at Halloween Horror Nights feature what they call an “Icon,” a lead character that ties the entire event, its themes, and various IPs/original houses together in a host-like role akin to the The Cryptkeeper Tales from the Crypt (who actually served as the first icon). After the Cryptkeeper was used, Universal would go onto create their own original icons including the likes of the serial killer clown Jack, his chainsaw-wielding brother Eddie, the evil Terra Queen, and many more. There’s also a number of original locations within this “continuity” including Shadybrook Rest Home and Sanitarium, a recurring insane asylum at the events.

This isn’t the only potential course of action that Universal and Blumhouse could take with turning Halloween Horror Nights into a movie. Every year in addition to developing the “IP” attractions where they bring to life the likes of Stranger Things and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Universal also creates all-new original houses and properties. Each of these houses come with their own intricate backstories, plots, and characters, with recent original houses including the Abominable Snowman themed “Yeti: Terror of the Yukon,” evil clown creation factory “Giggles & Gore Inc.,” and the pretty self-explanatory “Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces.” In fact, some original houses from Halloween Horror Nights have recurred throughout the years with the likes of The Nightingales, The Body Collectors, and more.

Perhaps there’s a middle-ground where both versions of these paths could become a feature film for Universal and Blumhouse, with a series of movies based on the original haunted house concepts and ideas created for the parks with the various icons appearing as the hosts for the films. Either way, there is frankly a lot of different ways that Halloween Horror Nights could become a movie, and it’s exciting to hear that conversations about such a thing have occurred.