Huffington Post – AMC’s “The Walking Dead” takes a bite out of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights

Jim Hill

12 years ago

AMC's "The Walking Dead" takes a bite out of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights

Fans of AMC's "The Walking Dead" will be running
— not walking — to Orlando and Hollywood later this year. Especially after they
learn that this Emmy Award-winning television series is going to be recreated
as an elaborately themed maze for this year's Halloween Horror Nights events at
both Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood.

In an interview yesterday, John Murdy — Creative Director
at USH — revealed that this deal (which — FYI — is the first time ever that
a TV series has served as the inspiration for a HHN maze on both coasts) has
been in the works for the better part of a year.

"Ever since 'The Walking Dead' first premiered on AMC
back on Halloween night in 2010, we've been huge fans of this television
show," Murdy explained. " It had everything that we look for when it
comes to Halloween Horror Nights. Great
environments and iconic characters. Which is why we then reached to Greg Nicotero,
the co-executive producer of 'The Walking Dead,' to see if he'd be interested
in working with us to reimagine this hit AMC series as a maze."

And because Nicotero is a longtime HHN fan (For years now, Greg's
been making annual trips to the Hollywood version of this seasonal event just
so he can then experience the thrills & chills that Murdy and the team at
Universal Creative put together), he immediately sparked to the idea of turning
this acclaimed television series into a physical space that people could
actually wander through and experience.

"I'm like one of those truly hardcore fans. You know, those
guys who fly to Martha's Vineyard just so they can then go swimming where they
shot 'Jaws,' or those people who walk through the cemetery from 'Night of the
Living Dead' ?," Nicotero said. "So when Universal came to us and
said that they'd like to create a Halloween Horror Nights maze which would give
fans of 'The Walking Dead' the opportunity to place themselves inside the show
and then experience scenarios that came straight from Season One and Season
Two, I immediately said 'Yes.' "

Mind you, because Greg was already a Halloween Horror Nights
fan, he insisted that the "Walking Dead" mazes that Universal would
be building on both coasts be the ultimate HHN experiences. Which is why he and
his team at KNB EFX Group are going all out to make these mazes feel as real
and authentic as possible.

So what did Nicotero do next to make this actually happen? To learn more about what lies in store for Halloween Horror Night fans in both Orlando and Hollywood, either click on the headline above or go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/amcs-the-walking-dead-tak_b_1683177.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment