Continuing our Halloween Horror Nights Unmaking the Horror Tour at Universal Orlando Resort coverage , we now move into an adapted intellectual property with “Freddy vs Jason”!
As explained in our “Halloween Horror Nights 25 Unmaking the Horror – Body Collectors Recollections” article, the Unmasking the Horror Tour gives a unique up close and personal “lights on” experience with several of the mazes at Halloween Horror Nights 25. Being a big Halloween Horror Nights fan, I love these tours for that reason, but more so for the in depth look at the stories being told in these mazes that are often missed as visitors are sent through the maze night after night. Many times I get a new perspective for the maze, but none more for HHN25 than the tour for “Freddy vs Jason”.
“Freddy vs Jason” on the surface is a pretty simple story: 2 of the biggest horror icons battle it out to see who reigns supreme. Like I said, simple story, and really all you need. But how they get to the final battle was completely lost on my first visit through the maze. So to better explain, here is that story.
SPOILER ALERT. Before I continue, I want to give an extremely necessary warning: the rest of this article will set the stage for an experience walking through the maze and the story of “Freddy vs Jason” with the addition of pictures and a photo gallery. If you have not yet experienced this amazing maze and do not want any spoilers in way of description or photos, stop reading this article now!
Full tour picture gallery below the following description:
The experience begins in familiar territory – Camp Crystal Lake. The site of the many a grizzly murders from the Friday the 13th franchise.
The area is littered with Jason’s victims and we get our first face to face encounter with Jason Vorhees himself, a scareactor portrayed by a hulking 6 foot 7 or taller actor.
We move inside the nearby cabin, it’s the counselors bunks. One counselor has already met his fate at the hands of Jason. Looking around there are a lot of pictures on the wall. These pictures we were informed on the tour are of the creative staff, their family and pets.
Moving from the bunks to the showers, we get our first glimpse at Jason nemesis for this story – Freddy Krueger. A series of 3 glass panes revealing the face of Freddy light up as we pass through a small hallway:
From there we enter the showers, and more of Jason’s victims:
Before leaving and heading to the next scene we run into Jason’s mother – or at least what’s left of her in the shrine built in the bathtub at the end of this room:
As we pass the shrine, we hear Jason’s mother pleading for Jason to kill, as her pleas grow stronger, her voice morphs and deepens as it turns into dream-realm commands from Freddy himself.
We exit the cabin and find ourselves outside. We’re in front of a white house numbers 1428 Elm Street. outside the house 2 young girls with a jump romp chatting the familiar verse “1,2 Freddy’s
Inside the house, there is no question that Freddy Krueger has return as his arrival is written in blood on the wall. Turning the corner, we see several of his most infamous kills in a showcase with Freddy himself popping in and out of the doorways:
We’re lead into the dream world, a world where both Freddy and Jason’s corporeal demise meet. This was a detail I did not understand on my first walk through. After having it explained, it made the experience far more exciting. First, a walk through the boiler room were Freddy Krueger was burnt alive. From there, a twisted, rusted version of the boiler room takes shape in a mind bending mirror maze.
The boiler-room maze begins to unwind as the pipes and walls soon get covered with water plants and bark drawing us underwater to where the young Jason Vorhees drowned at Crystal Lake followed by the sinking shrine of his long dead mother:
From there the battle begins. Jason and Freddy lock arms disappearing behind a projection screen where a fight that could never be duplicated in real life plays out.
After the next turn, we see Freddy taking his at Jason, followed by a spot light showcase of Jason dominating Freddy:
From there, we’re left to wonder who is the victor as we return to Crystal Lake,that is until one of two endings happens as either Jason holding a Freddy’s severed head appears from behind a black curtain, or Freddy holding Jason’s mask jumps out.
For me, Halloween Horror Nights 25 was mostly about the history and original properties from the years of HHN past. My first walk through Freddy vs Jason was fun, but at the time all I needed to do. After my unmasking the horror visit, this maze quickly grew on me, and now with the event about to come to a close, Freddy vs Jason has quickly become one of my favorite mazes at Halloween Horror Nights 25.
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