The film “Insidious: Chapter 2” has been converted into a maze similar to a haunted house, at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
Universal Studios will be hosting the maze on select dates beginning September 20th through November 2nd. It will be part of Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, which features “The Walking Dead” maze, “Evil Dead”, and other recent creations.
The maze contains the traditional “boo!” scares that most haunted houses possess, but it will take park-goers through the journey similar to that of the characters in the “Insidious” saga. The focal point of the movie, Josh Lambert, went into “The Further” to retrieve his son and did so. Josh’s soul did not return; he was possessed by a blood thirsty murderer in spirit form. Chapter 2 turns the tables and the son, Dalton Lambert, has to enter “The Further” to guide his father and a friend back to the real world.
The afterlife, or “The Further”, is the realm occupied by un-rested souls of the dead that Josh gets stuck in. Much like the movies, there are two parts of the maze: the first portion represents the first movie, and the second represents the second part of the movie. The second portion is conveyed by taking park-goers into “The Further”, hence the title.
“Insidious: Chapter 2” Producer, James Wan explains the sequencing of the movie: “We wanted to pick up from where the last one left off straight away,” he said.
The Creative Director of the maze called “Insidious: Into the Further”, John Murdy, interviewed the “Insidious” team via YouTube. In it, he talked touched base on process in creating the mazes alongside Halloween Horror Nights Art Director, Chris Williams. “Whenever Chris[Williams] and I are trying to translate a feature film into a live haunted attraction, we’re trying to nail all the things that are important to the fan base,” said Murdy.
The maze forces park-goers to venture through the dark. “The Idea that you could walk through the attraction and go from our world to the other worldàit was so exciting to us,” said writer of the film, Leigh Whannel. “I think the fear of the unknown is huge with the audience.”
Ticket prices for the maze vary by day and are subject to change. VIP or “front-of-the-line” passes are in the $100 range and are available online for a discounted price. Food will be served directly after the VIP experience.
The sequel left room for another chapter at the end of the movie. Elise, the woman who helped Josh “forget” his abilities, continues to roam around the world as a spirit helping people plagued by supernatural occurrences. She visits one family at the close of the movie and gasps in fear in a point-of-view shot. The viewer is not shown what she sees.
Insidious: Chapter 2 was created with a relatively low budget of only $5 million. The jumped to the number one spot at the box office on opening weekend. As of September 18th, “Insidious: Chapter 2” has grossed over $45 million and still counting.
Visit: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/hollywood/2013/attractions.php for more details on pricing and extras.