Universal Halloween Horror Nights 2024: The Best New Haunted Houses, Ranked

Everyone has their benchmark for when "Spooky Season" officially starts. Mine? Universal Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights. It's not just a collection of haunted houses and maniacs with (safe to use) chainsaws revving in your face. Halloween Horror Nights is a communal celebration where we face our fears together, laugh-scream with strangers, and maybe sip specialty cocktails in the process (the Die-Tai at Isla Nu-Bar gets my recommendation). That's all thanks to John Murdy, creative director and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights here in Los Angeles, and his amazing collaborators.

How does this year stack against past years? Hollywood is still the scrappier sibling compared to Orlando. Hollywood spans less space and receives less attention, and that means Murdy's team faces more challenges. If your only option is Universal Hollywood, please take advantage of Halloween Horror Nights as always — just don't watch any YouTube walkthrough videos out of Orlando.

So, let's get to the good stuff — a comprehensive ranking of this year's Halloween Horror Nights houses in Hollywood. We'll leave out the Scare Zones, but be sure to say hello to the "Murder of Crowz" (as they try to gobble you) and square against "Luchadores Monstruosos," where werewolf and sea creature luchadors will flex on you. The royal "Skull Lordz" unleash their gothic court of the dead on entrants, and the "Chainsaw Punkz" bring CBGB energies with their head-bangy brand of anarchy. It's all fun and games trying not to spill your beer while an actor on stilts in a bird-person costume runs you down, but you're here for the mazes, and we've got you covered on 2024's must-sees and save 'em for laters.

Here's your chance to watch Chucky host a late-night talk show! It's a fun, bite-sized experience for "Child's Play" fans who want to hear a Chucky impersonator answer live studio questions like he's filling in for Jimmy Fallon (I'd sign that petition). You'll giggle, and maybe get soaked by "blood," but here are two crucial bullet points:

1. It was almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit at midnight opening night, and any bit of temperature control is vital. If you're overheating and in need of a chilly break, "Late Night with Chucky" is in an air-conditioned theater. Hell yeah.

2. Did "Late Night with Chucky" confirm season 4 is on the way? To my knowledge, following the #RenewChucky movement on social media, I haven't seen any acknowledgment of a renewal. Meanwhile, during the show, Chucky's sidekick announcer made blatant comments like, "Can we expect that in season 4?" No mention of being stuck in limbo. I'm not the only journalist asking this question, either — is this our "Chucky" season 4 announcement?

Universal's haunted house architects consistently find unique ways to spotlight the studio's classic monsters. Last year, "Universal Monsters: Unmasked" highlighted the B-squad creatures. In 2021, "Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives" was my favorite house of the whole event. So what happened this year?

Universal announced their first all-female crossover of classic monsters with "Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines," said to star Saskia Van Helsing, She-Wolf, Anck-Su-Namun, Countess Marya, and The Bride of Frankenstein — if you attend Orlando.

Hollywood's version of "Eternal Bloodlines" is a skeletal version sans werewolf women and mummified mammas. Even worse, the "haunted" attraction felt more like indie theater skits without excitement. I'll give Universal's crew the benefit of the doubt and presume 90% of the house's actors were on break because I could spot the not-so-hidden locations where Van Helsing's daughter might leap for a quick jolt — but for at least half the maze, no one was home.

"Eternal Bloodlines" is one of the only mazes to tell a coherent story, tracking Saskia on her quest to kill Dracula's daughter with the help of Frankenstein's bride. That, itself, is cool! Transylvanian castle decor blends with Frankenstein's stone-laid hideout for unfortunately similar backdrops, but stained glass and Universal Monster signatures are as vibrant as ever. It's a shame the maze offers zero thrills beyond another banger Slash score. No 2024 Hollywood maze better depicts the massive gap in quality between Los Angeles' and Orlando's production value.

"Female Rage: The Maze" was my most anticipated house coming into Halloween Horror Nights — alas, heartbreak. If you can't hit every maze in one night, "Eternal Bloodlines" is an easy skip.

If bustin' makes you feel good, you might rate "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" (the house) higher. There's nothing atrocious about the experience. It's an up-close wander through milestone events in the "Frozen Empire" sequel, including cameos by Vigo the Carpathian, Zuul, Slimer, and those pesky Mini-Puft goobers. You'll enter through Ray's Occult Books and conclude face-to-face with Garraka's "Death Chill" breath right before Spirit Halloween versions of the film's heroes save your hide. Ghostbusters fans, especially those who enjoyed "Frozen Empire," won't have much to complain about — who doesn't want to be trapped inside a snow globe themed after their favorite intellectual property?

Well, me. Someone who's a casual fan of 1984's "Ghostbusters" but not much else in the cinematic franchise, and who was left frigid cold by "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."

The most fun you'll have with this maze is playing Mini-Puft I-Spy as you spot all the hidden troublemakers. Maybe they're riding a rat in the sewers or being melted by a laser beam (complete with toasty marshmallow smells). Otherwise, this New York City tundra falls victim to the family-friendly qualities of Ghostbusters movies that can't enact full-throttle scares — just in case younger fans venture into the fray. Ghouls outside Garraka are held behind double-sided mirrors, while setups involve Ghostbusters pointing their proton packs at something — a snacking Slimer, the Ecto-1, or Garraka.

Murdy's special effects specialists do shine in choice moments. Proton packs aren't firing actual streams, replicated by colorful tube lighting on walls that actors align with their nozzles. Iced-over settings are washed with fake powder and arctic conditions that look glacially rad. I'll give a special shout-out to the first scare actor you encounter, standing as still as a statue — seemingly unthawed — until he bellows and steps forward. Our performer nailed the "frozen stiff" pose too exceptionally, spooking the daylights out of whoever was behind me in line.

But, if you're not a superfan of the property, there's nothing more than atmospheric appreciation here. You shuffle through recreations of Ghostbusters backdrops, hear some Ray Parker Jr. — then it's over. It's just not what I'm, in particular, looking for at Halloween Horror Nights.

Another year, another Terror Tram takeover — but I'll admit this year's theme is an upgrade (low bar). Blumhouse's Terror Tram redesigns Universal's iconic backlot, including The Bates Motel, the downed aircraft, and other filmic landmarks. Blumhouse has already licensed titles like "The Black Phone" and "The Purge" for prior houses, so expect plenty of reused costumes, yet a few details help mask the typical Terror Tram experience.

The tram starts as usual, with a driver and host shuttling you to the backlot while a video package plays Blumhouse trailer clips. Then, you reach an entrance where M3GAN is waiting for you. A black, neon-outlined arch represents a doorway into the Blumhouse, which is a clever touch. You'll exit the tram as usual, approach M3GAN, and just as you're ready to pass the threshold into Jason Blum's universe, all the production company's "iconic" villains come sprinting out of a side curtain, standing behind M3GAN, revving their chainsaws. It's a neat lineup, even though "iconic" is limited to the titles utilized for the maze.

From here, you'll walk the uphill paths of typical Terror Tram maps. "M3GAN" kicks things off with a few platforms you'll pass by, all depicting scare actors dressed as the AI bestie murdering Funki employees. Then, it's a two-for-one section featuring "Freaky" and "Happy Death Day," taking over Norman Bates' domain. Fake corpses dressed as Tree Gelbman litter the ground, while Millie Kessler (possessed by the Blissfield Butcher) busts out of motel room doors, chasing other Trees. It's a mishmash, a bit confusing, and over quick — Blumhouse blocks off areas where other Terror Tram takeovers erect insane murder traps for added violence.

Next is "The Black Phone," which couldn't be more of an afterthought (continuing The Grabber's bland Horror Nights legacy). You'll walk down a nondescript funnel where The Grabber, holding a black balloon, watches you. One more tries to scare you, but it's poor placement. You turn the corner, and another Grabber watches you walk by — no atmosphere besides an outdoor stroll.

You'll finish, as usual, walking through Universal's iconic "War of the Worlds" set, the wrecked Boeing 747SR now overrun by Purge Night maniacs. We've encountered these psychos before when "The Purge" took over the Terror Tram — but the production value is still too enormous to ignore. Purgers dressed as Statues of Liberty, deranged teddy bears, and the iconic "Kiss Me" deviants all snarl in your face as you behold all the mechanical destruction. Scare actors are having a blast in Purgeland, which helps the climax overcome lesser points beforehand — a standard Terror Tram experience.

"The Legacy of Leatherface" isn't the first Leatherface Horror Nights maze and won't be the last. This year, Murdy honors the Sawyer clan's chewed-raw legacy in a slaughterhouse compound. You'll enter "Hooper & Henkel Meat Processing" (wink wink) past a cow-headed man (?), immediately smacked by nostalgia. A shelf of Leatherface's fleshy masks through the decades establishes the maze's encompassing timeline and prepares you for its gallery appeal.

There's a grossness and grime to the plant, as human and animal meat is carved in front of your eyes. Barrels filled with sludge and skulls are accompanied by butcher's block scents — familiar characters lash out as you pass their gore-slathered workstations. Grandpa Sawyer, Leatherface, and The Hitchhiker wave their tools of punishment at you while "juices" (water) squirt from tonight's prime cuts — in other words, you'll be hungry for dinner after this maze.

Murdy's decorators upped their "dangling objects to walk through" game in "The Legacy of Leatherface," forcing us to push aside flayed, full-body skin flaps. They're unsightly and squishy like you're brushing against bloody tissue as flayed corpses dry. Leatherface keeps pursuing as you navigate Hooper & Henkel's cannibalistic industrial structure, scoring a few solid jumps, and then you're heading to the landmark Sawyer house. Past the tombstones and piggy diner statues, up the porch steps, and into the foyer where Leatherface's "hidden" workshop exists — that's that.

Is it gruesome fan service? Heck yeah. Does it honor the franchise by letting characters like Chop-Top celebrate the barbequed brutality horror fans crave? Double check. So what's the problem? Lulls between the house's best scares feel like familiar villains are there to hang out, not threaten Horror Nights patrons. It's in no way a failed house, just a ho-hum maze of hacked-apart bodies that — like "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" — is built for the superiest of superfans.

James Wan's "Insidious" is one of the scarier PG-13 horror films. The Further is a huge reason why. It's a shame how "Insidious: The Further" doesn't fully realize the spiritual middle-ground's full potential. Patrons enter a building where "The Red Face Demon" looms as a shadow in his workshop — we see through the crimson-tinted windows. It's one of the better maze entrances, immediately presenting nostalgic danger.

Inside the house, we're treated to a fast-forward that recaps Dalton's tether to the fiery-faced adversary. Deepend red, theater-grade curtains line the walls where "Insidious'" recurring antagonist pops out at us. Faceless, wooden dummies represent characters without any likeness (probably for legal reasons) until we catch up with "Insidious: The Red Door." My favorite stretch is the recreation of one of my favorite scenes from "Insidious," when Josh Lambert enters "The Further" and sees lost souls frozen like department store mannequins. There's an eerie creep factor as fog lays thick cover for primetime haunts, but the second half isn't as rewarding.

After we cross the red door's threshold — you can't miss it — we're greeted with a vomit scene that stinks of upchuck. I'm all for immersion, but it's not my favorite usage of the sensory tool. From here, scares take a backseat as we're shuffled through glimpses of "Insidious" movies that try to play greatest hits but feel jumbled. The Cranes and the Wheezing Demon are most prominent, and our Michelle Crane nailed her cameo, but the excitement dies despite a threatening narration about Mr. Demon being hot on our tail. The house tries to generate tension by whispering words about imminent danger, but when we reach the demon's lair, he lunges once more, and that's pretty much everything.

The lulls are momentum stoppers, and judging by comments on some YouTube walkthroughs I watched to jog my memory, Orlando destroys Hollywood's version. The atmosphere is rich and drenched in red lighting, and details have plenty of visual appeal (the demon's toys-strewn lair), but the pacing is the greatest evil of "Insidious: The Further."

The Weeknd returns after a surprisingly freakish debut in 2022, and the musical artist's strange sensibilities lure us back like a radio-friendly siren's song.

"Nightmare Trilogy" plays tracks from The Weeknd's fifth studio album' "Dawn FM," focusing on the Purgatory and Paradise aspect of Dante's Divine Comedy. Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) wants us to feel the surreal "terror" of celebrity lifestyles. There's one hallway of arms reaching out to grab you, plastic surgery baddies who cackle in your face, paparazzi parasites, and entire rooms made of money. The purgatorial elements reflect being stuck in a constant barrage of creative turmoil and inescapable fame. A blacklight chamber full of head-sized eyeballs, strobe lights that distort your vision, wonderful usages of blackened tunnels with one single spiraling light luring you forward — it's a head trip.

Throughout it all, The Weeknd is on a journey of transformation. We're stalked by this miniature, newborn-sized The Weeknd who appears at the start. We later see scare actors dressed as adult The Weeknd, his head being cut open with a circular saw, or his neck sliced open with Lil' The Weeknd popping out of his stomach like a Xenomorph baby. There's so much of Abel's anxieties transferred into a perverse expression of constant eyes watching your every move, which makes for — once again — another original vision that's as Kafkaesque as it is Silent Hillian. Complete with an insectoid transformation that greets you on the way out, past the pure-white angels.

In an interview with Forbes, Murdy says, "There are a lot of effects in there and a lot of crazy stuff that we've never done before." The Horror Nights team loves working with The Weeknd, which is evident in this maze's wildly masochistic descent. Between the mesmerizing lighting rigs, halls of mirrors, the skyline house entrance with a "DJ" platform, and other destabilizing production effects, "Nightmare Trilogy" stands out for its customized musical freakshow. I hope, upon the release of The Weeknd's next album, he returns to Halloween Horror Nights.

How cool would an immersive "A Quiet Place" haunt be where, if you make too much noise, you attract Death Angel haunters? That's not Universal's maze; it's your typical linear walkthrough, but it's still an impressive technical feat. While "A Quiet Place" isn't the scariest or most exhilarating attraction at this year's Halloween Horror Nights, practical Death Angels make my animatronic and puppeteer-loving heart swell twenty sizes.

The maze has minimal variation, which pulls random moments from the entire franchise. John Krasinski's survivalist basement and the sequel's steel bunker locations are familiar. Scare actors are merely bystanders who've been ravaged by the Death Angel invaders, like the crying man standing over his slain wife, as we hear the alien clicks rapidly approaching. You keep shuffling, trying to stay ahead of the film's signature monsters, but those Death Angels look a-freaking-mazing.

From memory, I can't remember Halloween Horror Nights employing animatronic features and massive puppets so many times in a single maze. The first Death Angel you encounter is massive, lunging forward, screeching in your face. You might presume it's a one-and-done instance, but you'd be wrong. Scene after scene, Universal Hollywood's dedication to Death Angels "running" rampant creates a core Horror Nights memory (they can't leave their designated perches due to mechanical insides). Murdy's creative team brings these beasts to life through fluid movements, noise-seeking perspectives (puppeteers follow your steps), and astounding detail — these are top-tier effects you'd see on set.

"A Quiet Place" might not be the most inventive house regarding scares and originality, but I never stopped gawking at the Death Angels. Kudos to anyone involved with the sculpting, wiring, and cosmetic applications of these standout monsters.

"Dead Exposure: Patient Zero" is one of my favorite Halloween Horror Nights mazes ever, and "Dead Exposure: Death Valley" is a formidable follow-up. This year's sequel plays like a radioactive zombie flick that takes over a secret facility — think Area 51. Its vibes are containment out of control, visuals drenched in slime-green neons, and morbid imagination hitting on delirious levels. The maze doesn't wait until you're inside for a scare — a zombified vagrant springs from a security booth outside the house's entrance. This is the energy I want from all my Halloween Horror Nights attractions.

Once inside, we're plunged into the madness of a laboratory far beyond quarantine protocols. Scare actors are dressed in hazmat suits that save no lives, while we encounter animal test subjects that have escaped their cages and seek revenge (the monkeys are just an appetizer). You'll pass by glowing green canisters like "Re-Animator" by way of Troma and a stack of canisters filled with preserved zombies we see through glass windows, giving solid "Return of the Living Dead" callbacks. There's a very '80s-crazy, hardcore B-movie absurdity to the maze's aesthetic, including acid-eaten masks on scare actors with devoured flesh and bulging eyes, looking like Tar Man's caustic cousins.

Murdy's messed-in-the-head imagineers have so much fun adapting the "Dead Exposure" vibe to "Death Valley." Everything's supposed to be related to photographs, meaning the scenes have to be photogenic, and the "exposure" element leads to blacklights that would burst on film. Flickering green flames on screens light rooms filled with glow-in-the-dark liquids, like a stoner horror fan's dormitory poster. Plus, there are all the unsettling details, like vacuum-sealed humans or a refrigeration chamber where entire zombified bodies dangle, which you must push through (remember this air conditioning point).

My only complaint? "Death Valley" ends too soon. Time is not on our side — "Death Valley" feels like one of the shortest experiences and doesn't deserve that fate.

Last year, there was no better maze than "Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America." This year, "Monstruos 2: The Nightmares of Latin America" does the original proud by welcoming us into another round of Latin American nightmares.

This go-around, we confront the legends of El Charro, El Cadejo, and El Cucuy. If you're like me and are only familiar with El Cucuy, don't worry — the maze makes it incredibly easy to understand the dreadful folklore surrounding each menace.

El Charro and his steed manipulate innocents with gold coins and charisma as a morality test of sorts, stealing away anyone who accepts his offer. In the house's first setup, a festering, rotten horse charges at us, and El Charro busts through the door, shaking his gold coins over a dead body — no need to read between any lines. Gold is everywhere, as the dapper skeleton with glowing red eyes taunts us with shiny riches — but we see the hanging bodies dripping in a fluorescent goop.

El Cadejo is a dog-like creature that appears to weary travelers late at night, and if you see it, expect terrible things. As we trek through underground tunnels that stink of soil and rot, strewn with viney roots, animatronic El Cadejos keep us howling in shock. It's not an especially lengthy section, but the El Cadejo mongrels drooling and gnashing at you is some chef's kiss horror goodness.

Finally, we meet El Cucuy as he peers down from a rooftop next to a sack of drippy body parts. Our time spent in a traditional Latin American home is entrapment, stuck with El Cucuy as his projection scampers across walls, smiling at us while transporting fresh victims. There's a fantastic prop gag as gigantic El Cucuy claws reach toward us from under a child's bed, evoking A+ boogeyman imagery. Not to mention, the El Cucuy mask on scare actors sports a jagged-toothed grin that is sublimely despicable. Then we enter his cave hideout filled with discarded stuffed animals and other children's paraphernalia, his trophies that we gaze upon before bidding farewell to a massive animatronic El Cucuy that seals the experience.