Universal Studios unleashes first all-female Halloween haunted house to counter 'male-centric' genre
Universal Studios Hollywood featured its first all-female monster maze as part of the park's annual Halloween Horror Nights event from September to October.
Universal Studios hopes to "create powerful female characters" to reinvent the "male-centric" horror genre at its annual Halloween event.
Earlier this year, Universal announced the themes of eight new haunted mazes as part of the Halloween Horror Nights 2024. One new addition was called "Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines," a new all-female horror character attraction featuring the Bride of Frankenstein, Van Helsing’s daughter, She-Wolf and Dracula’s daughter.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Halloween Horror Nights creative director John Murdy revealed this was intentional to push back against the "hierarchy" of Universal movie monsters that have been "all guys."
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"I want to create powerful female characters," Murdy says. "When horror started, it was pretty male-centric. Even into the ’80s — it was Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Michael Myers. That's what we started doing. It was that genre of horror. But as time has gone on, and the event has grown and evolved, we've kept an open mind about embracing all horror."
Murdy said the inspiration came from the popularity of a 2021 haunted maze that was centered around the "Bride of Frankenstein," giving him the confidence that an all-female take on the attraction could work.
"I really love the female-centric take," Murdy says. "I have two daughters, and honestly I have probably one of the world's largest collections of Universal Monsters paraphernalia. It's in my house here in L.A., so since the time they were babies, they were in the monster room. I have pictures of them kissing the busts of Frankenstein, so they knew this as normal as kids. Like me, they have a weird emotional attachment to them, and I want to create powerful female characters for my kids."
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"My 11-year-old is coming for the first time," Murdy added. "Up until now, she's never asked, but she said, 'I think I'm ready.' And I want her to see female representation."
"Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines" opened on Aug. 30 at Universal Orlando and Sept. 5 at Universal Studios Hollywood. It is expected to run on select nights until Nov. 3.
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