Are you like me and you’ve wished for a year-round Halloween Horror Nights installation somewhere? Every November 1st (or around there) I get that empty feeling knowing that I have to wait almost an entire year for more frights, scare actors, and haunted houses. But what if there was a way to enjoy that feeling and the smell of fog machines all the time? Well, Universal has answered that question with Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas, Nevada. The installation is in the Area 15 section of the city, and it opens on August 14th, 2025.

While it might not have as many haunted houses as your normal Halloween Horror Nights event, it still has four frightening houses for any horror hound out there. They include Universal Monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrow: The Reaping, and Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer. For seasoned Horror Nights veterans, that might be a bit of a disappointment because we’ve seen basically all four of those at various Halloween Horror Nights events since 2021, but fear not. These might be retreads from a name perspective, but they are not exact copies on content.

It’s not just haunted houses at Universal Horror Unleashed, there are shows, food, drinks, merch, and even roaming characters for guests to enjoy and run away from. You can get tickets starting at $59 for Nevada residents, $69 for one-time general admission access, and $99 for unlimited general admission access. Those prices go up depending on what day and time of year you’re going, the $99 price point only really begins starting in November and goes up to $149 for weekends in October, the prime time for haunts.

Without further ado, let’s get into the details of Universal Horror Unleashed (Click here for more details).

Universal Monsters – Grade: A+

I might be a bit biased because I love the classic Universal Monsters, but this house is among the best that Universal has ever put on at any of their events. It’s filled to the brim with classic monster characters, and even has easter eggs for sharp-eyed guests to find. There are scenes like Frankenstein and his monster being created, Dracula and his brides, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame warning passerbys.

As for the scares, there are several moments where monsters absolutely come from all sides to ensure that you’ll be frightened. The best part about this is that there’s no wasted space. No hallways with just black walls. It pays to go through multiple times to see monsters like the Bride of Frankenstein, who pops up near the end of the house. It’s an all-around masterpiece of the haunted house medium.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Grade A+

The Texas Chainsaw Massacire is one of the scariest movies ever made. That translates really well to a haunted house like the one at Universal Horror Unleashed. The one even has a special moment with an actor, that makes you think one of the guests has been abducted and murdered by Leatherface. You go through the first film, meeting Grandpa and the rest of the Sawyer family. The one thing that separates this from previous iterations of TCM is the fact that there are just SO MANY Leatherfaces in this house. It feels like every inch of the house is covered in scare actors.

If you like the sound of chainsaws and some creepy-looking visuals, this house is among the best out there. It’s really a terrifying experience.

Scarecrow: The Reaping – Grade A+

Scarecrow: The Reaping was the one that I was most intrigued by. Was it going to be a carbon copy of the old Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood house? Was it going to be something new? Well, in this case, it’s much different than the previous version of it. There are environmental effects, stalks of corn to run into, scarecrows that blend into the walls, ones that come out of the darkness, and just all around some great scares here.

This event in particular does a great job of using one scare actor for multiple scares. There’s even a scare at the end that is triple-filled with great moments of terror. They also use big screens for a tornado scene that’s breathtaking.

The Exorcist: Believer – Grade B+

This was much better than the previous house at Halloween Horror Nights. That house was empty, lacked any real scares, and came out BEFORE the movie did, so it didn’t really have a story to speak of. This version of the movie is much improved, with tremendous set dressing and nice scares. The only thing that drags it down from the other three is that it is slightly bare when it comes to scare actors, still. You have some scenes from the movie here, and the possessed girls in the house are jawdropping with some of their makeup.

I enjoyed this one a lot more the second time around as well, it’s scary, and even includes The Exorcist theme.

The Food, Shows, And Other Oddities

So what else is there to do at Universal Horror Unleashed outside of the houses? Well, there’s a show featuring Jack and Chance that has dancers, contortionists, and more with audience participation as well. You can grab food, drinks, and see the Universal Horror room that features pictures and characters from movies like M3GAN and The Black Phone. Finally, there are various characters walking around that you can interact with and some that’ll scare the crap out of you. It’s as immersive and entertaining as you want it to be.

The food here is easily the weakest part of the experience. That’s not to say that it’s bad, but it’s just serviceable. There are tacos, flatbreads, salads, BBQ, and desserts, but they just didn’t impress me that much. I only got to try one drink, but the one I had was good, it was Jack’s Brew at his bar near Scarecrow: The Reaping.

The best part of Universal Horror Unleashed is the attention to detail, though. There are so many details throughout that you might miss if you’re rushing through. The horror hounds of Halloween Horror Nights are truly going to love this event. It’s made as a taste of what the main event is like, but it stands on its own feet as well.

Universal Horror Unleashed is some of the best frights you can have, and it’s year-round. Horror heads are going to love this installation. If you can’t wait for Horror Nights, this scratches the itch and then some. Universal has a massive hit.

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