Universal Orlando and Blumhouse hosted the fourth annual BlumFest at Universal CityWalk this past Friday, celebrating some of the latest films from the horror hit-makers, including M3GAN, The Exorcist: Believer and Five Nights at Freddy’s. We were lucky enough to be invited out, so here’s a recap of the day’s events.
BlumFest started in 2020 as a virtual showcase of Blumhouse’s upcoming projects. Last year, they held their first in-person event at Universal Orlando, and this year’s event continues on that new tradition. We started out at the Cinemark Theatre for a screening of the unrated version of M3GAN, a movie I had already seen twice, but was just as enjoyable the third time around. The film has such a great premise and is altogether just a really fun time.
Some fun BlumFest and Halloween Horror Nights photo-ops could be found inside the Universal Cinemark.
After that, we were led over to Rising Star for a two-part panel presentation. We first got to hear from some creatives behind this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event, where they talked about the process of bringing The Exorcist: Believer house to life concurrently with production on the film, some of their favorite houses from throughout the years, and a whole lot more. You can watch the full panel below, featuring Mike Aiello, Senior Director of Entertainment Creative Development; Lora Sauls, Assistant Director of Creative Development and Show, Direction for Art and Design, Entertainment; and Charles Gray, Show Director of Creative Development Art and Design, Entertainment.
Watch Full Halloween Horror Nights Creative Q&A Panel at BlumFest 2023:
But before the panel, we were treated to a stage version of the epic dance performance from the horde of M3GANs that can be found at Halloween Horror Nights. When I attended HHN this year, I didn’t get a chance to see the M3GANs, so I was happy I got the chance to see them up-close at BlumFest!
Watch M3GAN Horde Perform at BlumFest 2023:
The panel ended with an appearance from Michael Simmonds, who served as the director of photography on The Exorcist: Believer, as well as the recent trilogy of Halloween films. He talked about his work, including the differing approaches from The Exorcist compared to Halloween and some of his other projects. It was easy to pick up on his passion for his work, believing that no one else could show the same enthusiasm he does to create some of the inventive camera tricks and unique imagery used in these horror films.
After that, I checked out the Blumhouse Photo Experience in CityWalk near Universal’s Great Movie Escape. It featured four different photo-ops putting you into the worlds of The Exorcist: Believer, M3GAN, The Black Phone and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Don’t worry if you didn’t get a chance to snap a picture, because this immersive new photo experience will be open on most Halloween Horror Nights event nights through the end of this season.
The event concluded with a screening of The Exorcist: Believer, which was released in theaters that very day. I’m a fan of the original The Exorcist from 1973, and I think this film did a decent enough job of continuing its legacy. A very strong first half was let down by a somewhat meandering and nonsensical second half, but it was still a pretty enjoyable film.
