The reigning king of Halloween haunts, Universal Halloween Horror Nights, once again has opened and continues to create a marriage of classic horror and current chills! When the sun goes down, the Hollywood themed amusement park turns into a horrific party of frights that is hard to beat. As you walk into the park, you are greeted by two go go dancers that get the party started. Warning…this is your last hint of sanity as you enter the park and it is less than sane itself.

Titans of Terror is the first maze you will hit and is a great start. This maze focuses on Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface but they are separate. Each icon gets his own narraration and section. Lots of decor and solid scares. Plus if you are a fan of these films, there are lots of little easter eggs to make you smile in between the screams. For me, Freddy doesn’t fit we these two but I think I simply have out grown the dream master. He was definitely my least favorite part but overall this maze rocks.

Next was Horrors Of Blumhouse. This maze was split in three like Titans of Terror. The first was The Purge and it is definitely chaotic! It feels dangerous in the best way! Happy Death Day is good but would have  had more resonance if the film had all ready been out. Probably the best part of the maze is Sinister. The most disturbing parts are represented in real life and they don’t shy away from the violence. AWESOME.

Terror Tram was a nightmare as usual and not in a good way. It is a great idea on paper but it suffers from lack of order. Once you get off the tram, it quickly turns into a mess of an area. The atmosphere of the backlot is lost and you feel like cattle being herded from one area to another. Just bad.

Things pick up downstairs with Insidious: Beyond the Further. Nothing but goodness here. This is the super version of the maze and uses all that Insidious has to offer including parts of the new film. The best thing is that it gets more and more twisted as you go deeper into the further.

Ash Vs Evil Dead was OK. I really wanted more but the walk through Ash’s room was pretty awesome and the whole maze picks up once you get to the cabin! You will see some old friends as well. Good stuff.

American Horror Story Roanoke was good. Not being a fan of the season overall, it did have some striking imagery that was put to good use. Guys with pig masks are just plain disturbing.

Saw: The Games of Jigsaw. Speaking of guys with pig masks…we got more of it with Saw. This was a greatest hits more than anything and even included scenes from the upcoming film. Its a good experience but I still thing Saw should be more interactive.

The crowning achievement this year was The Shining. It is amazing! You get to walk through the film and essentially through Jack’s deteriorating mind. Everything you could possibly want is there including…SPOILER ALERT…THE BLOW JOB BEAR!!!!! I hope they keep up the classics because John Murdy and his team are blowing it out of the water.

All in all, it;s another great year for Halloween Horror Nights. Go get your scare on!