Halloween Horror Nights 2009 – Terror Tram & Shaun of the Dead Video

Here is Hollywood Gothique’s second video from the 2009 Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Hollywood – featuring the Terror Tram: Live or Die tour and the Sean of the Dead scare zone. Both attractions show the extent to which Universal tried to mix things up for this year year, adapting familiar terrain to new purposes. The London street set has housed fog-bound Victorian-era horror in years past, and though we are sorry to see it go, the “Sean of the Dead” theme perfectly slots into this area. Likewise, the Terror Tram still takes you on a walking tour of the back lot, past the Bates Motel and through the WAR OF THE WORLDS plane crash, but this year it is haunted by monsters from different film franchises (MY BLOODY VALENTINE, HALLOWEEN), and there is a military feel to the zombie insanity, as if the army were trying – and failing – to quell the outbreak.

The back lot is the perfect setting is for scares – it feels like being lost in the wilderness on a dark night – and sound effects add to the intensity, suggesting horror even when none is apparent. Some props and set pieces have been re-used. The campground-type section where Jason lurked in 2009 is now haunted by the homicidal miner from MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and the wooden outdoor maze that housed Leatherface now features Michael Myers from HALLOWEEN.

Our favorite section is the “Containment Zone,” which is loaded with zombies and reminds us of the 2006 Halloween Horror Nights. Although this area is not that much changed from previous years, the addition of military personnel and equipment adds to the mayhem.

But don’t take our word for it. See for yourselves…