How The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Was Turned Into Haunted Houses at Universal Studios (Exclusive)
etonline.comThe Weeknd is joining the likes of Michael Myers and Dracula at Halloween Horror Nights, where «Blinding Lights,» «Heartless» and other chart-toppers drown out the screams from park guests in .
To get all the behind-the-scenes details, ET spoke with John Murdy, executive producer of HHN at Universal Studios Hollywood, who worked closely with The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, to create a “surreal living nightmare filled with grotesque characters and themes” inspired by his music and short films. “Abel had a very specific idea.
He wanted to focus on what he would refer to as ‘the universe of ,’” Murdy explains. “He wanted to take that album and turn it into a haunted house experience.”Murdy’s team at Universal Creative soon realized just how suited The Weeknd was to brush shoulders with HHN’s other scary mazes, like the and. “There's something really dark going on [in Abel’s music videos.] In some ways, darker than a lot of other things we do,” Murdy notes.Not only that, but the horror elements extended into The Weeknd’s album artwork and live performances.
In his Super Bowl Halftime Show, the disorienting hall of mirrors sequence is retroactively a backdoor proof of concept for an HHN attraction.
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