HHN 32-Unofficial Speculation and Expectations

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It’s almost February, which means that there isn’t anything good happening with haunt season just yet. And that also means that everyone is being tight lipped about this year’s Halloween Horror Nights lineup, if they know anything at all. Let’s face it. It’s boring!

So, let’s talk a little about what we could possibly see, what we think we will see, and what we want to see this year for HHN 32, and Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood. Now, keep in mind that we haven’t actually HEARD anything yet. We may not hear anything at all, and we don’t claim that anything I’m typing is legit. I also don’t claim it’s not legit…for the record. We’re just going to throw a bunch of stuff at the walls and see what sticks. It’ll be fun!

…I promise…

What We Know

Let’s get into the known knowns. The things we know that we know.

1. Last year was amazing-Seriously, HHN 31 was kind of genius. The theme of the event was Halloween! No, not Michael Myers, but he was there too, but the holiday itself. Everything had to do with everything we love about the holiday. Witches, music, demons, candy, trick or treating! It was a great old school throw back to what made Halloween awesome for most of us as kids. The colors and schemes were old school, the houses were old school. Heck even the merchandise was old school! The movie-based houses were down, and the originals were up. There was that magic in the air, and it was an all-out blast. It was a reminder that Universal is at its best when the creative team is left to be creative, and allowed to go nuts. It’s also a reminder of what the event used to be, and how it didn’t rely on scary movies, or popular movies and TV shows to bring the crowd.
2. CHUCKY IS BACK-This we know for sure, because Universal has already announced that an all-new maze is coming to Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood and Orlando. The house will be based on the Chucky TV show, and if we had to guess, at least season 1, if not seasons 1 and 2. Brad Dourif plays the maniacal doll, as madness and carnage ensues. For those complaining that “Chucky is used too much”, keep in mind that Chucky has not had his own house since 2009, and 2018 “Revenge of Chucky” scare zone. Maybe he’s been used in Hollywood a bunch, with Scare Tram, and Cult of Chucky mazes, but Orlando has been relatively Chucky free for quite some time. Can we say the same thing about Michael Myers??
3. Back to the Studios-Once again, Halloween Horror Nights Orlando will be at Universal Studios Florida. There will be no two parks, there will be no Volcano Bay…no lava monsters. Sorry gang, but it’s on the website as of today. If it changes, we’ll be the first to let you know, but as of now. One Park to rule them all.
4. They’ll have to get creative with space and lines- This isn’t the first time that construction has caused a ruckus, and likely it won’t be the last. However, one of the main areas for mazes is going to be under construction. Well, technically, the entrances to those mazes will be under construction, as Kid Zone is now behind walls, and gearing up for a huge makeover. Allegedly there’s going to be an all new Dreamworks kids area, but that’s all we know. We also know that if you thought the death march for Bugs: Eaten Alive was long, we have a feeling that you ain’t seen nothing yet. But we also know that Fast and Furious was used for a house last year, and the line for that was great, and we’ve heard that there could be more mazes located in that area as well…so don’t fret too much. If anything, Halloween Horror Nights has mastered is the art of making you wait in line.

What We Think We Know

Alright, here’s where we get into the part of things that make sense, but making sense doesn’t mean a thing. Keep in mind that we don’t know anything for sure, but common sense tells us this COULD happen.

1. Stranger Things could return- Let’s not just say Stranger Things, but Netflix in general could make a return to Halloween Horror Nights. Why do we think that? Well…money. According to rumors (nothing more just people yapping), Netflix and Universal got along pretty good with things last year. We would have seen a return of Stranger Things, and possibly Fear Street. So, what happened? Well, money happened, at least we guess. Stranger Things is hot, Fear Street is hot. So, naturally, get as much money as you can! But Universal has a budget…so likely they couldn’t justify spending everything on Netflix. So, what could have changed? Read the news! Netflix is bleeding money and could definitely do with some goodwill from its fans. Especially since they want to stop password sharing and add ads. Yeah, Netflix, if you’re reading this…let HHN have Stranger Things 4. You’ll make a lot of people happy, and you’ll make tons of money.
2. Last of Us- Another thing that we heard was supposed to happen. Last of Us was supposed to be released on HBO Max last year, but it got pushed back to this year. And apparently, it’s worth the wait. With the shakeup of last year happening, it stands to reason that Universal and WB reopen the box on this and hopefully get to let guests scream through that world. But then again, just because they were open to do something last year, doesn’t mean they’ll want to do it this year.
3. Evil Dead Rise-Yet another thing that was supposed to happen last year, according to rumors, that famously fell apart at the last minute. Evil Dead Rise was supposed to be only on HBO Max, but the execs saw it and said, “oh no, this needs to be in theaters”, and of course they’re right. They also pushed it away from HHN for that same reason. It was a bummer, but Hellblock Horror was a lot of fun. So, not really mad about that one.
4. Blumhouse-Oh Blumhouse is already having one heck of a year. And it’s looking like it’s only going to get better! The possibilities are endless, from yet another anthology house, with several films, or individual films. Let’s talk about that a bit later, but for now, let’s just talk about the fact that with three Blumhouse of Horror houses under their belt, and a slew of new Blumhouse movies coming this year, it’s likely we will see the horror mega studio yet again this year.
5. Universal Monsters-This is pretty much a given, but we should expect to see another Universal Monsters house this year as well. But what? It’s likely going to be another “vs.” house, where we see monsters pitted against each other in a fight for supremacy…but then again. This year marks the 100th anniversary of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. That film kicked off the “monster” craze, and is seen to be the first “monster” movie. However, some can argue that the first monster movie was actually Phantom of the Opera, and many more argue that Dracula is the first proper Universal Monster movie. For my money, the Hunchback of Notre Dame is the first “Classic Monsters” movie, simply because of the make up effects of Lon Chaney, and the grotesque nature of Quasimodo. Sure, he was just a man, but let’s forget all of that for a while and just go with Hunchback as the first. That means that the Monsters are 100 years old this year! And let’s go all out with a classic Hunchback of Notre Dame house. Picture it: a huge looming cathedral, gypsies running for their lives, the Hunchback all over the place, in your face, ringing bells. It would be amazing. Of course, I’m still waiting for my Creature from the Black Lagoon House. So either way, Monsters is usually a win.

Let’s See What Sticks

Alright, here’s where we just pull it out of the crack and see how close we get. Let’s remember that there’s no guarantee any of this is right, I’m just giving you some kind of something to play with until we get our next announcement.

1. We could see our next announcement soon-The next announcement could come as early as this Friday. Why? Transworld Haunt Show. The mega Halloween themed convention is set to kick off this Thursday and go all weekend. There will be a very special panel on Halloween Horror Nights with none other than T.J. Mannarino at the helm. It seems like as good a time as any to drop our first original house, all while talking about the details and history of the event, as well as the future.
2. Theming is everything-While HHN has gotten away from a solid theme every year, last year was a pretty good indication that some of the old ways are slowly creeping in. So what could happen with HHN 32? Well…how about movies that are 32 years old? Or maybe a sequel to last year in which the Pumpkin Lord could return in a huge new house? There are so many ways it could go, that it’ll be interesting to see what happens. And speaking of Pumpkin Lord…
3. Isn’t it Iconic…dont ya think-Soooo…Jack comes back a lot. Dude, we get it…you’re the most recognized icon of Halloween Horror Nights. Give it a rest. People clearly love an Icon and have tried making Pumpkin Lord their unofficial Icon. So why not just give it to him? All hail the Pumpkin Lord, Enter the Realm of the Pumpkin Lord…the marketing writes itself. Since we have Chucky, and it’s a pretty good bet that M3GAN will also be part of the festivities, why not have toys be the focus and let Sindy come out and play for real this time? Or how about something fresh, oozing and new? Universal, I’ll say it since everyone else is screaming it…give us another Icon! Come on, we’ve played nice and we’ve gone along with your crazy “New age of Darkness” for almost ten years. And, let me be blunt…you’re running out of properties to adapt, especially since Disney owns almost every single horror franchise now, thanks to the Fox merger. We’ve been good fans, we’ve come even the weakest of years, so what do ya say?
4. The Exorcist-It is one of the most influential horror movies of all times. Universal has adapted it before, and this year Blumhouse is going to release a direct sequel to it, giving it the 2018 Halloween treatment. The film is also 50 years old this year, and while Universal doesn’t pay much mind to a lot of anniversaries (their own excluded), they would be missing out on a huge opportunity.
5. Insidious-Again, we have a fifth movie coming out this year. It’s another Blumhouse picture, and it’s been used at HHN twice before, and it was excellent as a standalone house and the highlight of that year’s Blumhouse of Horrors house.
6. M3GAN-This film is as hot as it gets. It’s aimed at teenagers and those who love scary dolls, and who else wouldn’t love a show down in park between her and Chucky…plus, you know you want to see that dance.
7. IT-This movie has been done by Warner Brothers for their Horror Comes Home event, on the actual set that was used for the movie. While Universal can’t compare with that, they can do it unlike anyone else has. There’s also the new HBO Max show “Welcome to Derry” which is a prequel of sorts to IT and is said to feature the murderous clown.
8. Friday the 13th-Okay, hear me out. The two creators of the franchise were in a really bad legal battle for years. Last year, they hashed it all out in court and there is not one, but two new Friday the 13th projects moving forward. First there’s the new Camp Crystal Lake series from the writer of the NBC show Hannibal (amazing show, find it on Netflix), which will be on Peacock. And of course, there’s a new movie from the original Friday the 13th Producer. While Jason has been at HHN a few times, with Freddy vs. Jason being the last, there has not been a proper adaptation of any of the standalone Jason movies. I love the original Friday the 13th, but we get no Jason in it…so how about Part 2? Or let’s get even more bold, and Jason X? Let’s get the Friday the 13th mania hopping like Universal did with Michael Myers in 2014! Jason for 32!
9. JAWS-I know…crazy idea. Stupid idea. But I’m tellin ya, it’s brilliant. So, there’s no way you can really adapt the original movie into a house (I mean, you can, but why would you). So, let’s take the camp of the last three films and blow it over the top with a brand-new story, and include some of the props from the old Jaws ride…if there’s any left. I’ve told this on other sites, so I’ll retell it here. JAWS: Curse of Amity. We walk into the now abandoned town of Amity Island, and we go through the town seeing all the people that have fallen victim to the shark. We see others that have been affected in a bad way by the events of the town. All of these ghosts are here, forever tormented and never leaving. As we go deeper into the town, we end up at the beach, and in the water, where we see the wreckage of the Orca, and see the shadows of the shark from overhead. The last scene sees us being attacked by the mangled remains of Jaws, probably from JAWS 2, as he’s the most intact (and hopefully Universal still has that animatronic. I’m tellin ya, it’ll work! After all, if you can make bugs work…you can make the shark work again.

What do you think? What are some of your dream scenarios, and what do you think we can actually stand to see at Halloween Horror Nights this year?

Let us know over on our Discord @ discord.gg/hhn in the hhn-32-speculation channel!

For more information about Halloween Horror Nights, visit the official website!