The actors from the labyrinth “A Quiet Place” speak ASL

Halloween Horror Nights 2024 touts itself as being home to a groundbreaking haunted house that will use American Sign Language (ASL) “for the first time ever.”

Given the size of the country's Halloween scene and the countless underground attractions hidden within it, that's a hard claim to prove. But at least at Universal Studios' mega-popular annual event, the new A Quiet Place experience is actually making history.

“What struck me so much when I first saw John Krasinski's film was the level of detail he puts into telling an authentic story, especially with the character of Regan,” creative director John Murdy told IndieWire during the event's opening night on Sept. 5 at Universal Studios Hollywood. (The attraction is also available at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.)

“We wanted to tell the story of his film in the same authentic way, so we put a lot of effort into it,” he said. “We worked with our in-house experts here at Universal Studios and all of the actors in the cast, and brought in people who are experts in ASL.”

Casting deaf actress Millicent Simmonds (“Wonderstruck”) as the deaf lead character in the 2018 sci-fi favorite and its 2020 sequel, “A Quiet Place Part II,” was a win for authentic representation in action that underscored the brilliance of Krasinski’s directorial debut. The thrilling and terrifying universe of “A Quiet Place” revolves around an invasion of blind aliens who hunt humans by sound. Scares are unavoidable in the attraction, but the illusion is the same — starting with a silent pre-show video that uses open captioning and teaches simple ASL to people waiting in line.

“As you walk through the house, you'll see our performers use a lot of American Sign Language, and that's in the DNA of Horror Nights,” Murdy said. “We always try to be as authentic as possible to movies, TV shows, music, artists, video games and everything else we feature at the event, and try to nail every single detail.”

Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl were nominated for Best Sound Editing at the 91^st Oscars for “A Quiet Place.” In an interview with Forbes, Murdy described some of the cutting-edge techniques he used in designing the haunted house. It's remarkably quiet at times, but subtle frequencies filter in from all directions and there are more speakers hidden than in any Horror Nights maze to date. Four life-sized animatronic creatures, another rarity, appear in the haunted house.

“We've been doing horror nights for 19 years and we've really seen the horror genre evolve over time, especially with the advent of streaming,” Murdy said. “There are just so many different types of horror being made today and the genre is constantly evolving. As curators, we try to appeal to all of those different tastes.”

Box offices are doing well overall, and the recently released prequel film A Quiet Place: Day One proved that the franchise's fan base remained solid in June. But questions remain about the uncertain future of Hollywood more broadly. That's especially true for business in Los Angeles, where the effects of a potential mass exodus of industry professionals are still being felt.

Asked about the role of live events in the horror ecosystem, Murdy said Halloween remains “a huge boon to the industry. We're in a movie studio. The people we work with every year at Horror Nights – if it's someone drawing views of a set, it's most likely someone who's a production designer on a movie or TV show.”

This cross-pollination should be a welcome bright spot for any cinephile who complains about the cost of tickets to Horror Nights…or the wait to get into A Quiet Place. More work means more jobs, and authenticity is a hallmark of worthwhile storytelling in any entertainment medium.

“We use all of this film talent because they've worked with us for 15 years or more in some cases – and they're happy to come in and freelance for us in the props and costume department,” Murdy said. “Many of the people, men and women, who do this work come from production.”

Halloween Horror Nights takes place on selected dates in Universel Studios Hollywood from September 5th to November 3rd.