Matt Konopka visits Universal Horror Unleashed and opens the crypt on what makes it a must-visit destination for genre fans in Vegas.
During the fifteen years that my wife and I have been together, we’ve developed a few traditions. We order from a handful of takeout places every Thanksgiving. We visit our friends in Arizona every Memorial Day. And we celebrate our wedding anniversary each Halloween by attending Universal Horror Nights in Los Angeles. The event features a variety of haunts both original and based on popular horror properties like Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street. It transforms the park into a nightmare terror-land for fans like us who want to kick back a few themed-drinks and get the screams scared right out of us. So, I was thrilled when I heard Universal would be bringing something similar to Las Vegas as a year-round event dubbed Universal Horror Unleashed.
I finally had the opportunity to descend into the off-the-chains realm of Unleashed this past weekend. My friends, it’s a must for your next visit to the city that never sleeps…one that just might scare some of you out of ever sleeping again.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. Come with me as I tell you my tale from the crypt of Universal Horror Unleashed.
I step out of my ride to meet the towering warehouse located in Area 15 off S. Rancho Drive. The sun’s still out, so I don’t have much to be worried about…yet. The scariest of creatures mostly come out at night. Mostly. But, as I enter the 110,000 square foot space, darkness swallows the light whole. I follow the sounds of heavy metal into a massive, neon-lit space where the sinister festivities have begun. and —a frightening twist on the Joker and Harley Quinn—are forcing a young woman to dance for her life. Don’t worry, it’s all part of the act. One that doesn’t end all too well for the mesmerizing dancer.
Jack the Clown
Chance
All around me, gothic décor catches my delighted eye. Cobwebs hanging over long-dead corpses. Glowing-red sarcophagi. Eerie mannequins standing on an overhead walkway. Vampiric aerialists swing from platform to platform, licking their lips at the fresh meat that has entered their domain. Joke’s on them. I’m sweating garlic from the pasta I ate earlier.
There are four of these “scare zones”, populated by vampires, killer clowns, hulking psychopaths and creepy dolls. At the center of them all looms “The Boiler”, an eye-catching bar that makes you feel like you just stepped into Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler. I half-expect Robert Englund to be serving drinks and giving me an unnerving side-eye. Luckily for attendees, the bartenders are a lot nicer than Englund’s character of Mr. Gartley.
Along with the scare zones, there are four “houses” to choose from:
The Exorcist: Believer
Scarecrow: The Reaping
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Universal Monsters
I wasn’t a fan of the film, Believer (understatement), so I decided to tackle my least anticipated first.
After passing by various occult objects, I enter a house where the whisperings of a young girl fill the air. A red glow seeps into the halls. I feel like I’m entering Hell. Though ultimately my least favorite of the mazes, Believer does an excellent job of immersing fans into the world of Exorcist. I pass by scenes of possessed girls spasming in response to prayers, attempting to remove the unclean spirit. Scare actors covered in “pea soup”. There are even a few demons popping out of corners and giving me a good yelp.
The thing I notice right away is how much more frightening these mazes are than the ones I’ve attended in Los Angeles. Not because the houses themselves are all that different…but because of the unique set-up of Unleashed. Unlike other Universal Horror locations, the Las Vegas venue has a policy of sending you through the house one group at a time rather than a stream of people. Since I’m by myself, that means I’m going it alone. I’ve never experienced a haunted house that way, and it had my heart beating a little faster. When you’re the only one roaming the premises, the attention of every scare actor is on you. Not the person in front of you. Or behind you. You. That means you don’t miss a single thing…and it doesn’t miss you, either.
I crept much more slowly through the houses of Unleashed than I have through any other haunted house. I was genuinely nervous about what might pop out around the corner, with no one else around to make the experience feel safer. This is probably the closest you can get to an extreme haunt without the actors being able to touch you.
Next up…The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (it should be Chain Saw, but whatever).
Leading up to the house, I pass by the iconic image of that corpse that opens the film, along with a projector playing the ominous text crawl. And then I enter the Sawyer home.
Personally, there’s nothing that unnerves me more at events like these than the sound of chainsaws revving. Remember how I said you’re alone in these houses? That means no screams ahead of me to blanket the sounds of my worst nightmare. The only thing I can hear is the rumbling of saws ready to whip out at me from the dark.
As for the house itself, it’s an excellent recreation of the film experience. From Leatherface ripping open the sliding door to the classic dinner scene and a terrified Sally crashing through a window, The Texas Chainsaw house gets fans up close and personal with Leatherface and his demented family. I even got to watch him saw the head off a corpse and then hold it up to me, proud of his work. Nice guy, that Leatherface.
Following nearly losing my own head (and mind), I enter the cornfields of Scarecrow: The Reaping. An original house based around a movie monster that I adore (see my list of best scarecrows in horror), I pass through an atmospheric cloud of fog and into an old barn home. Here, I come to appreciate the sheer size of the Unleashed space. A big part of what makes the Universal Horror locations all so immersive is that they’re built within enormous sound stages that allow the creators to go all out. I don’t just tiptoe through a creaky farmhouse, but through an expansive cornfield, as well. There may not be stars above, but the empty darkness makes me feel like I’ve been dropped into the middle of the movie Scarecrows. Thankfully, I survive the scythe-wielding straw men and make it to the final house…Universal Monsters.
I grew up a monster kid obsessed with the likes of The Wolf Man, Dracula, the Mummy, etc. The Universal Monsters house contains them all. After passing by busts of each classic creature, you first enter the world of the Wolf Man. His howls echo through the halls, the first of various areas dedicated to each of the monsters. I especially dig the swampy surrealism of walking through the Black Lagoon before nearly getting my throat bitten by Dracula’s bides. A few encounters with the Count himself, the Hunchback, and an electrifying scene with Frankenstein’s Monster, and I make it out of the last house with all my limbs still attached. I’d say unscathed, but my thumping heart says otherwise.
Surviving hordes of monsters builds up hunger, so I head to the Premiere’s House, a horror-themed restaurant located within Unleashed. Sitting down, I notice I’m surrounded by all things Blumhouse. The Grabber’s black van sits in one corner. In another, M3GAN takes photos with brave guests. And on one wall, Five Nights at Freddy’s plays on an enormous screen. Dinner and a horror movie…this place is a genre fan’s dream come true.
The menu features an array of ghoulish delicacies, from The Cook’s Chili Fries to a Green Monster salad and The Believer flatbread. Not trusting what’s really in those fries, I go with the Twisted Tater tacos, soyrizo topped with tater tots, onion, cilantro, avocado and spicy salsa. Delicious. It’s exactly what I need to refuel my bravery and do it all again.
Like any haunted house experience, you’ll probably encounter a much livelier Universal Horror Unleashed during the Halloween season. But, if you want a more personal scare, you can go any time of the year when things are a bit quieter…meaning you can hear your heart beat louder. The one group at a time policy makes for a personalized sense of terror unlike any other Universal Horror haunt. I’ve never been as nervous going through a haunted house as I was during Unleashed.
Because the event runs year-round, you’ll likely rarely see Unleashed as packed as an average Universal Horror Nights evening. But Unleashed more than delivers on the scares and an entertaining, horror-themed night out. It’s a scream that’s fun for the whole family. Just make sure to fill out your will before you go. You never know if the monsters will decide to make your stay permanent.
Universal Horror Unleashed is a year-round horror in the heart of Sin City.
