A new maze at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights has inspiration from “The Thing,” Universal Studio’s upcoming film.
Universal’s theme parks have partnered with the “The Thing” producers, Strike Entertainment’s Marc Abraham and Eric Newman (“Dawn of the Dead”) to create an experience that is authentic to the horrors the film will bring to audiences. Everything involved in the maze–the sets, audio, musical score, creature and character references–are all based on the film. The maze is described as “[a]n abandoned scientific research facility in the midst of a vast and frozen Antarctica”:
The new haunted house will offer guests an unprecedented first-hand preview of the much-anticipated thriller in advance of its October 14 release. Guests will find themselves in a series of face-to-face encounters with “The Thing,” an alien creature that can transform itself into an exact replica of any living being. “The Thing” maze will recreate the spine-chilling suspense from the film, confronting guests with the paranoia and fear that comes from being trapped inside the film’s Antarctic Thule station. The shape-shifting alien could be anywhere or anything. Will they survive?
The maze is an eerily authentic set that will provide the same intensity, paranoia, and fear the movie will bring to audiences.
“We want people to live the film and experience the same terror that affects the film’s characters,” said Newman. “Our collaboration with Universal’s creative teams brought the vision of the film to life. We’re excited for Halloween Horror Nights guests to experience ‘The Thing’ in this frighteningly real way.”
The maze will be open at Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights September 23 and through select nights until October 31.
The film “The Thing” is a remake of the 1981 John Carpenter film in which “paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers as they’re infected, one by one, by a mystery from another planet.” The film will be released October 14.