Zombie Joe's Urban Death Tour of Terror Returns for 2017

Zombie Joe's Underground, North Hollywood, CA

It's shaping up to be another packed Halloween season this year, with plenty of big, traditional haunts and unique, independent operations competing for the patronage of fans of the spooky.  On the latter end of that spectrum is one of our favorites, Zombie Joe's Urban Death: Tour of Terror.  This condensed version of their regular, annual Urban Death show mixes a haunted maze with horror theater to provide an unsettling and memorable experience. 

We paid a visit to the Tour of Terror last year and really enjoyed ourselves.  It is definitely a unique experience, and in this, their fifth year of putting on the Halloween overlay, the horrors promise to be even more macabre and disturbing!  The show already has a cult following, and if you're into a more surreal and visceral medium of horror, buy a ticket and make a visit!

Image courtesy of Zombie Joe's.

From the press release:

Holy Smokes! Urban Death: Tour Of Terror Haunts Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group in North Hollywood for Its Fifth Year of Nightmares

This Halloween season the darkened doors of Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group will slowly slip open and summon guests inside to experience Urban Death: Tour of Terror. The show will run on Friday and Saturday nights, October 6th - October 28th, plus Monday October 30th and Halloween night, Tuesday October 31st.  A special press and haunters performance will be held Thursday, October 5th at 9 pm.

Tour of Terror takes ZJU's signature show, Urban Death, a series of horror vignettes designed to shock, delight and titillate audiences, and transforms it into an immersive haunted experience.  The show will steer theater-goers and thrill-seekers through a terrifying performance and maze of inexplicable horrors, unfathomable monstrosities, and the disturbing spirits that walk among us.

The doors to the lobby opens five times an evening as guests are led through the maze in groups of two or three. Guests are provided with only a muted flashlight to guide them.  Once through the maze and into the theater the flashlight is taken away and the show begins.  After the show they are again given flashlights to walk back through the maze, where new performances and haunted surprises await them.

The fifth year promises to be the biggest, scariest and best yet, as co-directors and creators Zombie Joe and Jana Wimer keep pushing the show to new heights.  Drawing on twelve years of Urban Death performances, the duo knows exactly how to twist the knife. The maze and show has evolved each year, pushing into new and surprising territory and promising an unforgettable experience for newcomers and returning fans.

Image courtesy of Zombie Joe's.

For the last four years the event has been heralded by fans and critics alike for the imaginative quality of the scares and the talent of the performers within the maze. Between Yelp (4.5 stars) and Facebook (4.8 stars) Urban Death: Tour of Terror has left reviewers shaken.  A few examples:

"Best horror experience you'll find. Stuff straight from a nightmare, unique; this theater focuses on amazing acting skills to bring us into a walking nightmare. Couldn't recommend more." - A Five Star Facebook Review

"Urban Death was exactly what I was hoping for, and more! It was creative, dark, and unique to anything I have ever seen. The actors were phenomenal, and you could tell they were passionate about their work." - A Five Star Yelp Review
 
"Urban Death: Tour of Terror is the adult costume that Halloween wears when it goes trick-or-treating here in Los Angeles – and we love every last drop...become familiar with the world of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theater Group and get your tickets NOW for Urban Death Tour of Terror!" - Rick West Editor in Chief Theme Park Adventure and Co-Creator Midsummer Scream

“This year’s cast is epic,” explains co-director and producer Zombie Joe. “We're so excited to bring this show back for its fifth year and bring the audience into our world. The show is a labor of love and you can see our blood, sweat and tears in every scream.”

“This show is intense,” says actor Abel Horwitz, who has performed in Urban Death 100+ times. “Hearing the screams and shrieks of the audience is such a rush. We know our show is as scary, if not scarier, than anything the big theme parks can throw at you.”

Image courtesy of Zombie Joe's.

As the show’s popularity continues to grow in leaps and bounds – bringing more and more guests into the theater each year – we recommend two things: buying your tickets early, and visiting the show for the first two weekends it runs. The closer we get to Halloween the more shows we sell out.

Urban Death: Tour of Terror is an experience that creeps deep inside the brain and refuses to let go.  You've been warned.

DETAILS:  Urban Death: Tour of Terror Haunted Theater Attraction, ages 16 and up.

WHEN:  Friday and Saturday nights, October 6 - October 28, Monday, October 30 and Tuesday, October 31st, 8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:45 pm and 11:30 pm. Special Haunters and Press-Performance Thursday, October 6th, 9:00 pm (please reach out to Zombie Joe at ZombieJoes@gmail.com  or 818-202-4120 for comp press tickets).
WHERE:  Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group:  4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601

BACKSTORY:  Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group aka Z.J.U. was born in August of 1992 in a small industrial garage in Northridge, California.  The Underground continues to push the limits of live progressive theater as a vital experimental art form in honor of the famous Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and George Lucas.

Image courtesy of Zombie Joe's.

Urban Death created in 2005 by Zombie Joe and Jana Wimer, Music by Christopher Reiner

TICKETS: $15, can be purchased at the door, online at: ZombieJoes.Tix.com, or by calling 818-202-4120 (NOTE: Due to the popularity of the show, we highly recommend purchasing tickets early).

WEBSITES: www.ZombieJoes.com and www.UrbanDeath.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ZJUTheater/
TWITTER: twitter.com/urbandeath_zju
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/urbandeath_zju