Universal Horror Make-Up Show featuring Blumhouse is the announced reimagining at Universal Studios Florida at Universal Orlando Resort. The live show will explore Hollywood horror effects, from classic monsters to modern movie scares.
Universal scheduled the original show’s temporary closure to begin May 12, 2026, to make way for a reimagined experience.
Audiences will discover how Hollywood’s top special effects artists have terrified moviegoers for over 100 years.
Universal says more details are coming soon.
The original show’s movie-making roots
The Horror Make-Up Show opened on June 24, 1990, a couple of weeks after Universal Studios Florida’s grand opening. Its original format borrowed from nighttime talk shows, with Universal’s horror films as the subject. It fit the park’s “riding the movies” theme.
Over the years, the show evolved into an act featuring a host and a make-up artist. Two actors took those roles, giving audiences an inside look at how filmmakers created horror movies.
The performance combined scripted scenes, film clips and gag bits, including a knife gag. Performers also worked improvisation into the act. Comedy was part of its identity.
In a 2020 interview, performer Robyn Kelly said a ton of people don’t even realize the show is here. Summer Aiello said one Annual Passholder of four years had never seen the show until wandering in one day. Kelly called the Passholders and die-hard fans part of the family at Horror Make-Up.
How performers made the show their own
Aiello and Kelly explained how the script left room for their own comic choices. The performers delivered movie-making facts and history while adding moments shaped by their personalities.
The pair brought different professional backgrounds to the stage. Kelly came from an acting career in Los Angeles. Aiello’s theme park work included performing, hosting and singing.
Between them, they had close to 40 years in different roles at Universal Orlando Resort. Their experience ranged from hosting live game shows to directing Christmas shows and voicing a mystical fountain.
They also described a change in who played the show’s roles. Kelly said women had performed only the host role when she started at the venue.
By their interview, Aiello and Kelly could decide which character each would play before sketching an outline together. Sometimes, they settled the choice with rock, paper, scissors.
Source: Universal Orlando Resort; Discover Universal
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