Universal Studios Hollywood will unlock the famous, "Don't Open, Dead Inside" doors to its new daytime attraction based on the AMC hit series "The Walking Dead" on July 4, but Annenberg Media got a sneak peek.
Greg Nicotero, "The Walking Dead"'s executive producer and director, was among many who were there to celebrate the scare-filled experience. Nicotero described how the attraction was carefully worked on by production teams and special effects crews with Universal to ensure that guests would be able to experience the authenticity of the show in person year round.
Nicotero's team partnered with Universal Studios to truly achieve a living representation of the show by using realistic makeup effects to breathe life into the decaying walkers and by developing a visually stunning set design that parallels many of the events that occur in the show.
"This is a great opportunity for [guests] to walk in the footsteps that Rick has walked in, that Daryl has walked in, by entering this attraction and getting a little bit of the greatest hits of what we've done over the last six years," Nicotero said.
Dozens of decomposing "walkers" surrounded the gates around the event and the show's theme song played, barely covering the zombies raspy snarls, to signal the cue to enter the dimly lit attraction.
Just like in the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead," guests begin at an incredibly detailed set of the Harrison Memorial Hospital, just like the character Rick Grimes did. As you make your way through the gloomy blood splattered hospital, the iconic "Don't Open, Dead Inside" doors greet you with realistic looking animated hands that are reaching out to grasp you.
As you make your way out of the hospital set, either by choice or by having a "walker" jump out at you and snarl at you, one of the next displays is the burning cabin scene. The special effects in the set design are graphically and visually intense. A burning "walker" emerges from the flames and it seems as if you are actually in the show.
The immense level of detail in the next prison scene displays the effort that went into the attraction. Dozens of props from "The Walking Dead" are scattered throughout the set. The prison cells are filled with blood and gore of both animatronic "walkers" as well as acting humans who reach out to scare you when you least expect it.
The final scene takes you through a dark warehouse with a mass of zombies waiting for you. The elements from the finale are so closely replicated to the TV series, that it's interesting and disgusting all at the same time.
While it's a thrilling experience, there aren't as many gut-wrenching pop out scares as there are during Universal's annual Halloween Horror Nights. However, there will be more hoards of "walkers" during the Halloween season for this attraction.
Still, there's a lot of excitement that comes from the amount of detail in replications and references to the show. Even if one isn't familiar with the show, it's a thrilling experience for all.
Reach Staff Reporter Gabriela Fernandez here. Follow her on Twitter here.
Annenberg Media