Directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, 'Poltergeist' was a critical and... [+]
The iconic supernatural horror film, Poltergeist, is being brought to life for the first time ever at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
Directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist garnered critical and consumer success when it first premiered in 1982. Made for $10.7 million, it grossed $76.6 million at the domestic box office, unadjusted for inflation ($241.54 million adjusted), spawning two sequels and an awful reboot.
Back in 2016, John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights, told me: “I'd love to see the Poltergeist happen, the original in particular. I love that movie. Growing up seeing the clown, in particular, freaked me out.” Now, his dream is coming true.
Considered to be one of the scariest films of all time, Poltergeist paved the way for a new era of supernatural ghost stories. This living representation of the groundbreaking original movie will take guests, at the events in Hollywood and Orlando, into some of its most iconic scenes to encounter memorable characters that spawned their first true nightmares. The maze will lure guests to the Freeling family house built atop a cemetery where malicious ghosts threaten the lives within. From the underground graveyard to ghostly apparitions, guests will come face to face with infamous scenes from the film, including the iconic flickering TV screen, the menacing beast from beyond and the pool filled with floating corpses.
As guests cross into the ‘light,’ they will find themselves surrounded by a surreal landscape of vanishing walls, floating furniture and a creepy clown with a menacing smile. In a rush against time, guests will be forced to make it back to the world of the living or be trapped forever. Poltergeist is the fourth, but won’t be the last, maze to be announced for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event in Los Angeles.
The recently confirmed The First Purge, based on the latest installment in the franchise, will see murder, mayhem and pandemonium coming alive as the annual Purge grips the country, suspending all police, fire and emergency services for 12 consecutive hours as law-abiding citizens are transformed into anarchists.
Stranger Things, inspired by the first season of Netflix’s smash hit show turned cultural phenomenon, was the first maze to be announced for the 2018 event. It will give guests the chance to brave the Upside Down and confront the supernatural. The show made worldwide stars out of the largely unknown cast and a cultural icon and household name out of Millie Bobby Brown and her iconic character, Eleven.
The second maze to be announced for this year's event at Universal Studios Hollywood was Trick ‘r Treat which is based on Legendary Pictures’ cult, and critically-acclaimed, Halloween classic. It will transport guests to Warren Valley, Ohio on Halloween night to celebrate the holiday’s dark traditions. Recreating some of the anthology’s most iconic scenes, it invites brave thrill-seekers to become entwined within the secrets of this sleepy suburban town.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood begins September 14, 2018. Tickets are on sale now.
