It’s that time of year again, when the theme parks go all out for Halloween events, and nobody does Halloween fright quite like Universal Studios, with their history of making horror films for over 80 years. The hugely popularHalloween Horror Nightsfeatures the most authentic scares from some of the biggest horror properties in film and TV, and this year it’s trying something new with“The Horrors of Blumhouse”maze, combining the four films fromThe Purgefranchise with the twoSinisterfilms and the upcomingHappy Death Day(in theaters on October 13th).
Collider was recently invited to preview the extensive new maze to find out from maze creatorJohn Murdywhat went into bringing all of the little details to life, and also chat withJason Blumabout why these three properties were chosen and what he’s most excited about with this live experience. We’ve included the highlights of the interview, along with a list of 10 things to know about the maze and some preview photos. All images are viaChristina Radish.
Collider: What made you want to do a maze that combines different Blumhouse properties?
JASON BLUM: It was actually our idea and we pitched it to John [Murdy]. We’ve done our own live events, in the past. We did Blumhouse of Horrors. We did aPurgelive event ourselves, separate from Horror Nights. John and I have known each other a long time, and I said, “It would be so fun to do this with you guys!” They do it better than we do. We’ve been talking about it for a couple of years, so I’m psyched to finally have this.
Was there much thought put into which properties you’d include in this maze?
BLUM: Sure, there was a lot of thought. Not every scary movie fits. You have to have big set pieces.The Purgeis perfect because conceptually it’s so perfect for a live event.Sinisteris one I’ve always wanted to do and never done. So, we chose the movies that we thought would make the best live experiences.
Were you looking for similar themes, at all?
BLUM: No, we weren’t looking for similarities in the storytelling. We were looking for characters or set pieces that would be conducive to a live scare. That’s what we wanted.
What do you personally enjoy about these three properties?
BLUM: Every movie lives in your brain in a very different way. First of all, my role on every movie is different. My role onSinister 1was very different from my role onSinister 2. AndSinister 1was the first movie I did with Ethan [Hawke], so that was the beginning of working with him on a bunch of different things. And then, we didThe Purgetogether, so I think about that. On the firstSinister, we had a production disaster, so I think about that. It’s very personal to me, the experiences that happen over about 12-month period of making the movies.
People aren’t going to know what to expect fromHappy Death Day, since it doesn’t open in theaters until October 13th. What should they know about it, coming into the maze?
BLUM: The cool thing aboutHappy Death Dayis that we’ve never done a maze based on a movie that hasn’t come out yet. Usually, people have already seen the movie by the time they come to the maze. I think there’s something fun about going through the maze, and then a week or two later, seeing the movie. What’s different aboutHappy Death Dayis that you get the live event before you get the movie, if you do it at a particular time. We’ve never done that before, and I think that’s really cool. The other thing is thatHappy Death Dayis a collaboration between Blumhouse and Chris Landon, who’s a very talented guy that I’ve done five movies with. We did four of the sixParanormal Activitymovies with Chris Landon, so we have a long relationship. He’s as good as anyone at making scary stuff fun, and what people can expect fromHappy Death Dayis not only a great Friday the 13thscary movie, but it’s also a fun movie.
Do you think about spoilers, at all?
BLUM: We do. We think about spoilers and we try to stick to stuff that’s either been seen in the trailer or that’s not going to give anything away. If you go through theHappy Death Dayexperience, there are no spoilers for the movie.
Do you think that people will experience the maze differently, before and after they get to see the film? If they’re coming to Halloween Horror Nights before the movie opens, do you recommend they return to walk through it again, after they’ve seen the film?
BLUM: That’s up to them, if they want to come back, but it’s always different after you’ve seen the movie. The live experience brings back an image of the movie, so if you liked the movie, then for sure, come back because you’ll experience it in a different way.
At this point, are you desensitized to horror and scares, or is it still as fun and exciting for you?
BLUM: It’s definitely still as fun and exciting. We’re always trying to top ourselves and to do it better. I’ve never done a movie where I haven’t learned at least one thing, so I like to thing the longer we do it, the better we get at it. That doesn’t mean our movies are always better. Sometimes we miss the mark, for sure. I am desensitized to the scares in our movies because I’ve seen them so many times, but scares in other movies still get me very scared. When I go through the mazes for our movies, even if I’ve been through the maze before, I jump very far.
Are you somebody who loves Halloween?
BLUM: Yeah, I am. I love Halloween. It was my favorite holiday, as a kid. My mother and I used to start making my costume in early August. By this point, we’d have a lot of it together. At our company, we have no Christmas party. Our annual party is a Halloween party. I love Halloween. I love dressing up. I dress up, all year round, in various outfits, and I get really dressed up at our Halloween party. Now, I have a little kid, so hopefully our daughter will like Halloween as much as I do.
What’s coming up next for Blumhouse?
BLUM: We’re doing the fourthPurgemovie, which comes out next summer. We haveHappy Death Dayon Friday the 13th(in October). We haveInsidious: The Last Keyin January. And then, next year, we have a couple other movies withThe Purge, that we haven’t announced yet. There’s a couple other original scary movies that I’m also excited about. I can tell you that there are at least two, but I can’t tell you what they are yet. And we haveHalloweenin October, a year from this coming October, which I’m very psyched about. I’m excited about that.
When are you shootingHalloween?
BLUM: That’s top secret. But I can tell you that we will be opening a movie, next October, calledHalloween.
And you haveGlass.
BLUM:Glassis the following year.Glasscomes out in January 2019, a year fromInsidious.
What can you tease fans aboutGlass? Would you describe it as a superhero movie?
BLUM: Of course, it’s a kind of superhero movie, for sure. I do consider it that, yeah. It’s very different. I would say it’s not a Marvel movie, but a superhero movie.
How willSpawncompare to current superhero films?
BLUM: ThisSpawnmovie is a kind of superhero movie, but a very different kind of feeling superhero movie. I like the idea of low-budget superhero movies. It’s cool.
Are you drawing from any specific story arcs from the comics?
BLUM: Yeah, for sure. Todd [McFarlane] is doing it. He’s directing it, which is very cool, so we definitely will.
Do you know when HBO plans to releaseSharp Objects?
BLUM: We just finished shooting that. It was a long shoot, but I think that series is going to be really good. I’ve very excited about it. That will come out next year, too. Sometime next year, on our TV side. Our TV business is very active. We’re doing a lot of things, but that’s, for sure, one of the biggest.
10 Things to Know About “The Horrors of Blumhouse” Maze:
Halloween Horror Nightsis at Universal Studios Hollywood on select nights from September 15ththrough November 4th, and tickets and special offers are availablehere. And be sure tolearn more about HHN’s maze here.
