Universal Studios is rolling out its houses of horror across the country—opening three major hubs that monster fans can make their Halloween season travel destinations—in this month’s theme park news.
io9 was invited by Universal to experience the very big bag of tricks and treats the theme park creatives are unleashing into the world for fandom fiends seeking thrilling frights. On the West Coast, Universal Studios Hollywood prepares to open the vault with the Fallout house inspired by the Prime Video series and Bethesda video game franchise, alongside its other horror property offerings, come September.
Meanwhile in Las Vegas, AREA15 has opened the gates of Universal Horror Unleashed, a desert warehouse that holds haunted gateways to chilling cinematic experiences. And of course things are already getting started at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando with Terrifier’s Art the Clown being set loose alongside the Five Nights at Freddy’s gang.
Universal Studios Hollywood Fallout lights on tour
HHN Hollywood creative director John Murdy walked through the Fallout house with press to explain the story guests would be experiencing nightly during the Halloween event’s run. “Going through the series, my initial reaction was, ‘Wow, this is a huge world,’ and there’s three different kinds of storylines going on with the show. There’s Lucy’s storyline where she’s searching for her father, there’s Maximus’ storyline with the Brotherhood of Steel, and then there’s the Ghoul and his storyline—kind of going from being a TV actor cowboy to his transformation into this bounty hunter character.”
“So what we decided ultimately to do is we would pretty much be following in Lucy’s footsteps,” he shared, as we saw the under-construction vault setting for the wedding leading to her eventual breakout through the vault door.

“So we’re gonna be taking you from the vault to the wasteland, meeting all the characters along the way,” Murdy continued, and elaborated that Hollywood’s version of the house will offer different set pieces than Orlando. One major difference is that the West Coast will get the mutated Yao Guai bear, whereas Florida will get the Gulper.
Murdy knew one thing for certain: “And then for us, when I saw the Super Duper Mart sequence, which is actually the fourth episode of Fallout, I was like, that is tailor-made for a finale to a Halloween horror house because it’s when all the ghouls are breaking out.”
Murdy acknowledged that the Fallout house would also include many Easter eggs for the show and the games, such as a final scare piece to hype up season two of the Prime Video series.

Murdy also discussed the making of the other major horror video game and now movie franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s with press on a more extensive and detailed BTS tour showcasing the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop puppets, which can be found here.
Universal Horror Unleashed at AREA15 Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, Universal’s year-round horror haven is now officially open with houses that feature The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Universal Monsters, The Exorcist: Believer, and HHN West’s fan-favorite Scarecrow. The Sin City attraction, which io9 attended as a media guest, is the gem of AREA15 Zone 2; it aims to attract immersive-experience fans to a new side of the Strip that elevates experiential entertainment and dining.
Universal Horror Unleashed features spooky sips and eats in addition to live acts, including HHN East’s icons Jack the Clown and Chance—who perfectly suit the chaotic clownery of Vegas.

Many HHN fans will notice that neither Orlando nor Hollywood features a Universal Monsters house this year and that’s because of Universal Horror Unleashed. And when we say it’s the best one yet, we mean it mostly because it finally debuts the Creature From the Black Lagoon as part of the action.
There’s a whole under-the-sea sequence where you wade past seaweed to come face-to-face with the creature that is swimmingly well executed. On top of that you’ll encounter Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride, the Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy—along with the Gill-man—in an all-out mash that you’ll want to go through over and over again. For ticket information visit here.

Universal Studios Orlando HHN and Epic Universe
While we haven’t yet visited HHN Orlando, the fun officially kicks off this weekend with the annual event’s opening. To celebrate, Art the Clown from Terrifier has taken over the social media account to show he’s taken Jack’s place as the resident clown at Universal Studios in Florida.

And of course, if you’re hoping to see the Universal Monsters while you travel to the East Coast, you can make a day of it at Epic Universe with a visit to Darkmoor and Frankenstein Manor for Monsters Unchained—and then of course go scream your face off at HHN. There’s also no telling what monsters you’ll run into; there could be an Invisible Man or a wild Ygor looking for the Frankenstein creations.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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![A24 Wants You to Be Nice About Its Google AI Deal
Earlier this week, we learned A24 entered a research partnership with Google’s DeepMind unit. The reactions were… not happy, to say the least. And like many who’ve let generative AI into their hearts, the film studio’s now left playing defense for its widely panned decision. In a statement to Wired, A24’s communications rep Sophia Shin stressed the “research” part of its Google partnership. “We’re working side-by-side with DeepMind’s researchers to learn, iterate, and build, having an active hand in shaping new tools and workflows,” she explained. “This is about learning and helping pain points in workflows behind the scenes. […] It exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. While acknowledging A24 doesn’t love “any of the current AI outputs onscreen in Hollywood,” Shin considers this partnership a bit of a necessary evil. “We’d rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines,” she stated. The promise of further artist agency and “a seat at the table” are common shields from genAI users, but it doesn’t seem to be working here. Fans consider this move ironic and a betrayal, given Backrooms director Kane Parsons recently called the tech “cultural and economic rot” and wished he could just snap it out of existence.
Before that, the studio didn’t seem to have much interest in generative AI. In 2024, it came under fire for using the tech to create posters for Civil War, while months later, its horror film Heretic had a disclaimer promising it wasn’t made with the technology. But Hollywood’s become gradually more accepting of generative AI and its supposed potential for the filmmaking process. In that sense, maybe it was inevitable for A24 to fall in line. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #A24 #Nice #Google #DealA24,generative ai,Google DeepMind A24 Wants You to Be Nice About Its Google AI Deal
Earlier this week, we learned A24 entered a research partnership with Google’s DeepMind unit. The reactions were… not happy, to say the least. And like many who’ve let generative AI into their hearts, the film studio’s now left playing defense for its widely panned decision. In a statement to Wired, A24’s communications rep Sophia Shin stressed the “research” part of its Google partnership. “We’re working side-by-side with DeepMind’s researchers to learn, iterate, and build, having an active hand in shaping new tools and workflows,” she explained. “This is about learning and helping pain points in workflows behind the scenes. […] It exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. While acknowledging A24 doesn’t love “any of the current AI outputs onscreen in Hollywood,” Shin considers this partnership a bit of a necessary evil. “We’d rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines,” she stated. The promise of further artist agency and “a seat at the table” are common shields from genAI users, but it doesn’t seem to be working here. Fans consider this move ironic and a betrayal, given Backrooms director Kane Parsons recently called the tech “cultural and economic rot” and wished he could just snap it out of existence.
Before that, the studio didn’t seem to have much interest in generative AI. In 2024, it came under fire for using the tech to create posters for Civil War, while months later, its horror film Heretic had a disclaimer promising it wasn’t made with the technology. But Hollywood’s become gradually more accepting of generative AI and its supposed potential for the filmmaking process. In that sense, maybe it was inevitable for A24 to fall in line. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #A24 #Nice #Google #DealA24,generative ai,Google DeepMind](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/03/Backrooms-1280x853.jpg)
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