How The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ Was Turned Into Haunted Houses at Universal Studios (Exclusive)

The 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 The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare. 

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 After Hours,’” 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 Horrors of Blumhouse and La Llorna. “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.