2022 Halloween Horror Nights Review

2022 Halloween Horror Nights Review. We had the pleasure of joining the team at Universal Halloween Horror Nights on opening night to come and preview the whole event. We got into all 10 houses, the 5 scare zones, and watched the Ghoulish! water show. We can now give an honest review of what we saw.

We will set the tone by saying the writer who went to the event is a chicken! He hates jump scares and prefers to not feel the fight or flight response. That writer was me. So now we can switch over to the singular and say I. I am a wuss, I like funny scares. I like MNSSHP. So, with that out of the way you now can understand my hesitation in doing HHN31. Luckily, I had some good friends, who love Horror Nights, almost a little too much, who pumped me up to find joy in this. I am looking at you Piano_Rob.

You can also watch our Spoiler-Free House Walk-Through below. Mature Audiences Only.

Related: New Halloween Horror Nights Merchandise at Universal Orlando

Halloween Horror Nights Review

Halloween Horror Nights Review

With that out of the way, we can get into it. What impressed me most was the feeling that I have never seen Universal Studios so well reimagined! How they do it is impressive and massive, it wasn’t just a little spider web and a few pumpkins. They changed the feel of the whole park. it felt massive when you walk through the front gated and directly into a scare zone.

Scare actors greet you, and make their presence felt immediately. Walking around adds an amazing vibe to every scare zone you walk through. This is where the whole event gets its scary vibe from. The actors and the fog and the scenery, lighting, and audio all add up to make the park feel different and spooky, and wonderful.

My absolute favorite scare zone was Graveyard: Deadly Encounter. The Fog, and greyness, felt dreadful and beautiful all at once. If you are going, wait till later in the evening to hit this one. Spend some time walking around and take it in for all it is worth. Not to say the others aren’t just as good, but this one is special.

Last week we wrote a preview of the houses and gave them a rating score of /10. Let’s go back to what we had rated each house and see what we think of them after we ran through them. (Ran through is the proper term because I was a chicken to start with). You can read our house preview here and follow along.

Halloween Horror Nights Review

The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare

Prepare to enter the macabre mind of The Weeknd in this haunted house as he stalks your squad through the surreal nightmare of his After Hours music. A slasher carving a smile at an otherworldly rave. Bandaged maniacs performing extreme plastic surgery. A grotesque mannequin masquerade. His nightmare is now yours.

10/10 – Leave it to the Weeknd to make us as excited as we ever have been for a scare.

Update – 9/10 – So dang good, 3rd house we did so we were ready for this. The WEEKND theme and soundtrack make it really good. Won’t give away the story, but I was impressed. The only reason it did not score higher was too many strobe light effects.

Halloween Horror Nights Review

Halloween

Gather your friends and visit Haddonfield, Illinois, where Michael Myers is about to don his mask and embark on his first brutal spree. Silent. Merciless. Relentless. He’s the embodiment of pure evil. You don’t want to go alone as you go back to where it all began. This year, step into the original 1978 horror classic, Halloween.

8/10 – Michael Myers and the original 1978 version brings us back to our younger teen years and wanting to be frightened on Halloween

Update – 9/10 – What Universal and the writers of the story did so dang good. The history of Halloween comes alive in this house. The ending was creepy and we ended up running out of the house after being scared to death.

The Horrors of Blumhouse

Step inside a new double-feature of Blumhouse horror. Your scream squad will find yourselves trapped between a frantic teen and the ruthless serial killer she’s swapped bodies within Freaky. Then, you’ll try to make a desperate escape from the dark basement of The Grabber before you become his latest victim in the terrifying The Black Phone.

9/10 – Scaring us in the theaters since 2007 with The Purge, we have high hopes for Blumhouse, and will be bringing a change of underwear.

Update – 5/10 – Meh, it is done in the Fast and the Furious queue and showroom, and if you know anything about the ride, then you can imagine anything would be better, except this.

Universal Monsters: Legends Collide

If you thought one Universal Monster was scary, how about three? Better summon your scream squad, ‘cause you’re about to get caught in the middle of an epic battle between The Wolf Man, Dracula, and The Mummy, together for the first time ever. Their mission: To find the amulet that will break their curse. And they’ll destroy anyone who gets in their way.

7/10 – Apparently we are only getting half of the full story here, sharing the other half with Universal Hollywood. Still, this is going to be a fun one.

Update – I stand by the 7/10 and only half the story. Fun house, full of nostalgia, no real scares, but it is fun. I loved it.

These Bugs Are Out to Exterminate YOU!

Bugs: Eaten Alive

While touring a 1950s home of the future, you’ll be surrounded by the slime of bugs everywhere as hordes of many-legged terrors descend upon you and your scream squad. You’ll be dropping like flies.

NOPE! not even rating this one! Not doing it, in fact, this wins the scariest house ever. Move Along.

Update – With no prior rating means by default this one has the biggest jump. Seriously though, this house was absolutely amazing. It was neck in neck with the winner of the night for the most fun, outlandish, creepiest, and scariest house. This is so fun and gave me the first real ” Oh hell no!, Get me The F out of here!” in a good way. Final Score 9.75/10

They’re Bewitchingly Terrifying.

Spirits of the Coven

A coven of beautiful flapper witches will lure you into their 1920s speakeasy, reveal their haggish true form and turn your scream squad into a witch’s brew. They’ll be cackling; you’ll be screaming.

6/10 – This sounds like a blast. Intrigued by the look, could become a classic.

Update – 4/10 – We got to this house late and was our 9th house of the night. Generic and a placeholder house. Some fun elements, but this doesn’t mean skipping it! All the houses are worthy of going through, but this is one you can wait on.

Listen to Your Abuela and Beware the Chupacabras

Fiesta de Chupacabras

Visit a Latin American village where the legend of the creature Chupacabras is celebrated with a colorful fiesta. And the streets are lined with the crimson blood of tourists like you and your amigos.

7/10 – Outside Village sounds amazing. I feel like the ending will make or break this one.

Update – 7/10 is good. Fun and the “monster” makes some great and horrifying appearances.

Deeper. Darker. Deadlier.

Descendants of Destruction

Careful not to leave any of your scream squad behind as you descend the subway tunnels of a deserted New York. Lurking in the dark are hungry mutants looking to feast on the last remnants of humanity.

6/10 – Subway wasteland in NYC? I swear we see that daily when we travel that way on our visits.

Update – 6/10 – Yup, I was in an NYC subway. Exactly what you would think. I will say, this one gave me a great fright for 1 element, and I won’t spoil it.

As These Monsters Escape Their Prison, There’s No Escape for You

Hellblock Horror

Enter a prison whose savage inmates are monstrous creatures. If they break free from their cells, it’s a death sentence for everyone.

6/10 – We are prepared to be jump scared a lot during this!

Update – 4/10 – They all can’t be winners, but they aren’t horrible.

You’re Dead in the Water

Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake

In a New England fishing village, undead fishermen emerge from the waves to seek their revenge. You and your scream squad may have escaped their hooks in the scare zone. Now they’ll reel you in and drag you under.

5/10 – Please don’t get me wet! I don’t want to walk around the rest of the night wet.

Update – 11/10 – Winner of best House at Halloween Horror Nights. I am so sorry I didn’t give this the credit it is due prior to seeing it in person. I do not even know where to start, and I will try to be spoiler free. The theme is off the hook (haha, that is a good one) The whole house, warehouse, and Boat (Yes, Boat) look impressive. This is the only house where we felt like we entered a special place. It felt cold and scary, the mist was in the air, and the smell of the sea, dang Universal you deserve major accolades for this one. This is the MUST-DO!

Halloween Horror Nights Review

Wrapping this up in a nice hangman’s noose, how did we like it being a wuss? Halloween Horror Nights Review goes like this, This is a must-do event. I totally enjoyed myself. Not once did I think the night was too much for me to handle, in fact, I went out and got tickets for next week, so I can enjoy all the little things I missed.

You can still get tickets for upcoming Halloween Horror Nights here.

Halloween Horror Nights Review