Here’s something I find terrifying: an artificially Intelligent doll becoming self-aware. And this year, during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, prepare to encounter just that. M3gan has taken over the Terror Tram and gave it a little AI upgrade of its own. You did say you wanted to be scared…right?
This year on the Terror Tram, you’ll encounter some of the most terrifying horror icons out there, brought to you by Blumhouse. You’ll be hunted down by iconic creatures from your favorite horror movies wielding chainsaws, knives and machetes, as you attempt to escape their murderous intent and the possibility of possession.
Welcome to Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse.
Terror Lives in the Backlot
If you’ve never experienced Terror Tram before, then you’re in for a (frightening) surprise! Although Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) continues to scare countless horror fans every year from coast to coast, Terror Tram makes the Universal Studios Hollywood event truly unique.
Terror Tram offers horror fans the chance to walk on the backlot and experience things beyond their wildest nightmares. Roughly the size of a football field and full of actual movie sets from some iconic films, the backlot is basically a playground for the HHN creative team. With a space so massive, the cast of scareactors is just as big. And so are your chances of you getting jump-scared!
“It’s a cast of well over 100 performers,” says Universal Studios Hollywood creative director and executive producer John Murdy. “So that’s creating costumes and makeup and masks for [all of them]. Then you get to training. When you’re just doing a haunted house that’s done in one night. But for Terror Tram, it’s so big that we have to do it over two nights. So it’s a lot different than just doing a haunted house.”
And as a guest experiencing this attraction, you’ll really feel the difference. Prepare to wind your way through the backlot (on foot!) and encounter the different portals that’ll take you through the nightmares Blumhouse has to offer.
Blumhouse Nightmares Come to Play
This year, John says he and his team had to top their own work as Terror Tram celebrates Blumhouse’s 15th anniversary. With M3gan as your host, you enter the horrifying worlds of some of your favorite Blumhouse movies, including “Insidious,” “The Exorcist: Believer” and “The Purge.” Our journey begins within the “Black Phone” universe — in fact, we step into scenes from the new, yet unreleased “Black Phone 2,” in theaters October 17. So it’s really a sneak peek for the fans. Not only fans of Halloween Horror Nights, but of horror in general,” says John. “They’ll encounter this new iteration of the Grabber.”
And if that’s not making you break out into a cold sweat, you’ll walk right into the exorcism of Katherine West and Angela Fielding in “The Exorcist: Believer.” Be afraid as you become completely immersed in what the HHN creative team is calling “Demonic Vision:” a red fog which descends over everything and the walls will turn black with mold. The air will ring with growls and screams as you run to escape the demons trying to take you alive.
Then, you’ll find yourself stepping into the night where all crime is legal for 24 hours: “The Purge.” Walk into this tribute to “The Purge” franchise where countless masked figures are ready to attack you with butcher knives, baseball bats, machetes, axes and sledgehammers at the ready. Yeah, good luck getting out of that one.
As for M3gan, she appears throughout the attraction, making sure you’re terrified every single step of the way. “You’re going to keep running into her and it will keep getting worse as you go along.” John says.
Enter the Blumhouse
The experience ends with a final scene inspired by Blumhouse’s motion logo. You know: the clip that plays at the beginning of every Blumhouse film, with the slamming door, floating chair and the single swinging lightbulb illuminating the Blumhouse logo on the wall. Well, if you’re like me and have always wanted to step inside that eerie scene, then this is your chance.
“We’re going to take you into that house but there’s a little twist to this.” John says. “M3gan’s going to be in there, but it’s going to be an AI generated house of M3gan’s own creation.”
Sure, M3gan generated this version of the Blumhouse logo. But trust me when I say: There isn’t anything artificial about the terrors that await once you enter the Blumhouse.
“The fact that it’s located on the world-famous Universal Studios backlot and it’s the one time out of the year that our guests get to come up close with these iconic film sets,” says John. “I think that’s what makes Terror Tram so special and an iconic part of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.”
Come and experience the nightmares that live in the backlot on Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Hold on to your sanity, it’s about to get real!
Have you purchased your tickets for Halloween Horror Nights? Purchase them here. And remember, never go alone!
The post Behind-the-Screams | Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse at Halloween Horror Nights 2025 appeared first on Discover Universal.
