This year, filmmaker Eli Roth, acclaimed director of blockbuster horror films such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, makes his commercial directorial debut with Universal Studios' new Halloween Horror Nights television spot, entitled "The Mourning After." Halloween Horror Nights kicks off at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort on Friday, September 15. The commercial begins airing after the Labor Day weekend and can be seen below, along with a behind-the-scenes making of video that includes the extended Director's Cut version, and a photo of the filmmaker on the set.
With Roth's creative direction and filmmaking expertise, the compelling 30-second commercial becomes one of the most cinematic, horror-film-inspired, Halloween Horror Nights commercials ever created. "The Mourning After" spot follows a group of friends as they attend an unusual Halloween costume party and unfolds with a series of suspenseful twists and turns that begs for more. Viewers will see an array of hidden references woven throughout the spot that pay tribute to the horror films and television-themed mazes guests will encounter at this year's Halloween Horror Nights events.
These include FX's critically-acclaimed, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television series, American Horror Story, Stanley Kubrick's psychological horror film, The Shining and the upcoming SAW: The Games of Jigsaw movie. Roth is a long-time fan of Halloween Horror Nights and has previously served as a creative consultant for the event, including a Hostel-inspired maze. He said the commercial gave him the opportunity to combine a love of horror films with how those films are brought to life within Halloween Horror Nights. Here's what Eli Roth had to say about directing this commercial.
"I first got involved with Halloween Horror Nights as a fan. I felt that I was in a horror movie and I didn't want it to end. For this spot, I wanted to pay homage to these brilliant and scary films, and yet put my own spin on it."
Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 20 years, guests from around the world have visited Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. The streets of each coast's event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing "scare-actors" lunge from every darkened corner. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are erected throughout the event, based on everything from iconic slasher films to hit horror television series to haunting original stories.
For more information and to purchase tickets to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort, visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com. For exciting updates and exclusive Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood content, visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood, like Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood on Facebook; follow @HorrorNights #UniversalHHN on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat; and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube. Take a look at the new Halloween Horror Nights ad below, along with the behind-the-scenes video with the extended cut.