Event Report: Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood & the Eyegore Awards

Halloween Horror Nights kicked off on Friday, September 19th, with the Eyegore Awards, an award show honoring filmmakers, special effects artists, musicians and more in the genre. Even though it’s exciting to see these legends receive recognition for their efforts, what’s really important about this ceremony is that it gathers like-minded people to celebrate our love for horror movies.

Just as Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick commented on presenting an Eyegore award to Greg Nicotero, “This is actually one of the only times we get to hang out, because he’s in Atlanta, and [Robert] Kirkman works in another part of the city, and I work on my stuff, so this actually brings us together to get to spend time together.”

Undoubtedly, the most thrilling moment of the Eyegore Awards was watching special effects guru Rick Baker present an award to his American Werewolf in London comrade John Landis. It was so enthralling listening to Baker reminisce about being an aloof monster sculptor, who was so taken aback when he let extrovert Landis into his private studio for the first time. Baker recalled actually being slightly scared by Landis’ energy, as he had never before let anyone into his little sanctuary but how, ultimately, Landis changed his life for the better.

Another fun moment was when Chris Hardwick and Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman presented the brilliant Greg Nicotero with an award for all of his magical makeup FX work on countless programs. The Walking Dead, Death Proof, and Sin City were all regarded as some of his greatest works, but I must admit I was wholly surprised that there was not a single mention of Evil Dead II in an event made for horror movie fans. However, the moment was still very touching, and quite hilarious too, as Chris Hardwick and Robert Kirkman struggled to quit giggling and recite their speeches while gently caressing one another.

Once the award show was over, it was on to the mazes.

For me, the An American Werewolf in London maze was far and above the rest. From the minute you enter the doors of The Slaughtered Lamb, until you barely avert the werewolf’s clutches and make your exit, every inch of the haunted house is filled with homages from the original film. Bar patrons at the entrance yell at you to “Beware the moon!”, while further into the maze, David Kessler thrashes violently in his girlfriend’s flat in a recreation of the famous lycanthrope transformation. There’s even a room dedicated to David’s Nazi werewolf nightmare scene, complete with machine gun-wielding monsters, and the massacre of David’s entire family. The maze was clever, thorough, and a wonderful dedication to one of horror’s most iconic films.

Another maze that really went above and beyond was Face Off: In The Flesh. The makeup and prosthetics were top-notch, the “scare actors” were full of energy, and the maze itself was so long, it was worth waiting for. Sadly, Terror Tram: Invaded by The Walking Dead wasn’t as successful. First of all, if the maze is named after the tram that guests ride to the haunt site, then it should have been a spookier drive over. Instead of showing a trailer for the upcoming season of The Walking Dead, the tram should have been a more theatrical experience, perhaps by having random walkers try to attack the vehicle as it makes its way through the darkness. Also, once the guests arrive at the actual area, all of the undead and production sets are so sparse and spread out, it feels more like you’re going on a hike than walking through a haunted house location. Furthermore, it became clear that much of the set design was simply re-used from past events, like the crashed plane from the War of the Worlds maze.

Another big disappointment was the Clowns 3D Music by SLASH maze. When the mere sight of an everyday clown is enough to rattle a person’s sense of safety, it’s hard to dismiss such a lackluster haunted house. The majority of the haunt was just walking by neon colored walls, made slightly creepier by 3D glasses. Towards the end of the maze, the empty spaces were finally filled with scare actors dismembering shaky fake corpses, but in general, the entire haunt was grosser than it was scary, far too short, and truthfully, forgettable.

Overall, I loved the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights experience. It really captured the Halloween spirit, and made me excited for October and all of its activites.

For ticket information and event dates, follow this link! Check out some pics from Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood and the Eyegore Awards below.