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A fairy-winged Vanessa Hudgens wants to lure unsuspecting trick-or-treaters into the “ultimate haunted house” in a new virtual-reality experience created by horror wizard Eli Roth exclusively for Meta.
“Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat,” from his Crypt TV banner, will take viewers on a Halloween adventure that goes horrifically awry — culminating in a frighteningly immersive haunted house. Written and directed by Roth, the 30-minute, 180-degree VR experience will premiere in Meta’s Horizon Worlds and Meta Quest TV on Friday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. PT. If you don’t have a Meta Quest 2 VR headset, the experience also will be available to watch on Crypt TV’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
The “Trick-VR-Treat” story unfolds from the POV of a teenager in the most exciting Halloween neighborhood in town, who is invited inside the infamous haunted Dollhouse by a mysterious young woman dressed as a fairy (Hudgens). Viewers then enter a living nightmare inside the now-decrepit former home of the Dollmaker, who years ago made toys for all the neighborhood children. But the glue she used was toxic, and everyone who played with the toys died — including her own two daughters.
It’s the first virtual-reality project for Hudgens, who costars alongside Will Sasso (“F Is for Family,” “Mom”).
“I had such a blast working with Eli Roth, Crypt TV and Meta to bring this terrifying tale to life,” she said in a statement. “To consider how the viewers will have an immersive experience in 180 degrees really adds so many exciting and new elements to playing a character. I don’t want to give too much away but I can say, for certain, that you will be spooked… and you’re going to love it.”
For Meta, Roth’s “Trick-VR-Treat” is yet another attempt to push virtual reality into a mainstream-entertainment medium, although of course there’s no guarantee VR will ever match, say, the ubiquity of social media platforms. The tech giant’s other partnerships have included a VR experience based on Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” Earlier this week, Meta unveiled a pact with NBCUniversal to bring Peacock, “The Office” and other properties into VR and introduced the pricey $1,500 next-gen Oculus Pro headset, which promises superior graphics and the ability to capture natural facial expressions and eye tracking.
Roth said he’s been a VR user and filmmaker since the first-generation Oculus Go came out in 2018. “I love the format for storytelling and have wanted to make a truly immersive horror piece for years,” said Roth. “I wanted to build the ultimate haunted house, and Meta enabled me to bring my vision to life.”
The “Trick-VR-Treat” was produced by Roth’s Crypt TV, Cream Productions and Light Sail VR. In a Q&A with Meta’s VR team, Roth explained that “once I stopped thinking of this as a ‘short film’ and started thinking of this as an immersive haunted house, it really freed me up to go wild and use every corner of the frame.” In a staircase shot toward the end of the piece, he said, “I’m subtly directing which way you should look, but truly all four quadrants of the frame are being used and each one has a different scare.”
Mina Lefevre, Meta’s head of development and programming, commented, “We feel fortunate to be working with one of the biggest names in horror, Eli Roth, and continuing our partnership with the amazing team at Crypt TV, along with talent like Vanessa Hudgens who all will make this a very special viewing experience for fans of the genre.”
Hudgens, whose credits include “High School Musical,” Netflix’s “The Princess Switch” movies and “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” previously appeared in Season 3 of “Eli Roth’s History of Horror” docu-series.
Hudgens and her best friend, GG Magree, had cameras follow them on their spiritual journey in Salem, which Bunim-Murray turned into the feature-length unscripted film “Dead Hot.”
Vanessa Hudgens is going on a spiritual, supernatural journey — and wants to take viewers with her.
Hudgens teamed up with Bunim-Murray Productions to produce an unscripted film, “Dead Hot: Season of the Witch,” Variety has learned exclusively. The project documents Hudgens’ journey in Salem, Mass., along with her best friend, musician GG Magree, as they set out to learn about witchcraft, ghost hunting and connecting with the spirit world.
“Dead Hot” is in post-production, and the project is currently being shopped to outlets. Banijay Rights, the international distribution division of Banijay (which owns Bunim-Murray), is handling distribution.
Hudgens and Magree recently wrapped shooting their eight-day journey in Salem. The duo stars in the 90-minute reality film, which is described as an “intimate journey into the supernatural realm” that serves as a “coming-of-age story that explores identity, feminine power and sisterhood.”
Both Hudgens and Magree are self-taught students of witchcraft, who have been experimenting and connecting with the spirit world for much of their lives. After an experience in Northern California somehow went awry, they realized they needed to seek out proper mentorship and training. That’s when the best friends set out on a pilgrimage to Salem for a masterclass in witchcraft — and brought the cameras along to chronicle their journey.
“They’ve been doing little spells since they were kids, and they were just really interested in that world,” said Julie Pizzi, president of Bunim-Murray Productions.
Initial conversations with Hudgens and Magree revolved around doing a ghost hunting show. But as cameras were rolling and the two women were on their journey, they realized they wanted to produce something more spiritual. “They’re so into it,” Pizzi said. “As we got to know them, we realized that their curiosity in connecting with the spirit realm and paranormal and supernatural exploration was so much deeper than ghost hunting. It’s an exploration in the spiritual realm. It’s a lot about self love, and them finding their inner strength and power.”
The executive said the best way to describe the film is “The Craft” meets “The Simple Life,” noting the antics that Hudgens and Magree get into together. (According to Pizzi, one day they both showed up in sweatshirts that said “I’m A Witch.” And another day, they wore matching jackets that said “Creepers.”)
“It’s entertainment first, but there’s a real, personal, spiritual journey that they both have together,” Pizzi added. “It’s so emotionally raw that it really created such a beautiful narrative. It’s a lot about female empowerment.”
For Bunim-Murray — the shingle behind “The Real World,” “Road Rules,” “The Challenge,” “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and Lizzo’s Emmy-winning “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” — the project brings the company into a different genre with its spiritual subject matter. “Dead Hot” also moves Bunim-Murray back into film, a platform it has dabbled in the past, including 2003’s “The Real Cancun.”
“We’re storytellers. We can tell stories at all different lengths for all different types of consumers,” Pizzi said. “I hope this is the beginning of us being able to do more long-form. We’re working with so many streamers that don’t necessarily have a clock, so it does give some freedom and flexibility of how you can tell stories.”
Hudgens has discussed her fascination in the supernatural world before. During an appearance earlier this year on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Hudgens spoke about the paranormal experiences she said she’s had since she was a child, and revealed that she talks to ghosts. “I’ve accepted the fact that I see things and I hear things,” she told Clarkson. “The unknown is scary, but I recently was like, ‘No, this is a gift and something that I have the ability to do, so I’m going to lean into it.’”
Hudgens, whose early credits include Disney’s “High School Musical,” starred in Netflix’s hit “The Princess Switch” movies and was recently seen in the Oscar-nominated “Tick Tick Boom.” She is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, The Lede Company and Ziffren Brittenham.
Vanessa Hudgens has clearly found her groove when designing for Fabletics. The actress and singer is back with her second collection for the brand, which launches on Oct. 1, and this time, it’s full of pieces you can wear…anywhere. However, when speaking with InStyle, she adds that they’re especially perfect for the days leading up to Halloween.
“I love the transition from summer to fall because it means spooky season is upon us, and I love the color story that comes along with fall,” she says over the phone when talking about her inspiration. “It feels very ’90s-inspired. I always look back at my favorite fall spooky vibes, and it’s like, The Craft. I wanted this to be really personal, and it is exactly that. It’s a full collection of lifestyle, of things to wear going out, things to be active in, all within this palette that just falls into the spooky season so perfectly.”
Among the most versatile of the collection? An oversized, faux leather button-down, which is a layer that Hudgens says will come in handy for a variety of fall activities.
“It’s vegan leather, so it’s sustainable — be kind to the animals! — and it’s just a really cute fit [with the coordinating skirt]. I wanted it to feel like something you could wear out with your girlfriends, or just throw the button-down over your workout outfit when you’re heading to the gym. It’s still cool and fashionable, but functional.”Hudgens’ new drop isn’t all dark and spooky, though. She recently started experimenting with color in her own wardrobe, so it was only right that she added some brighter into the mix.
“I’m so obsessed with this green, it’s my favorite color,” she tells us, referencing the neon options. “I went from only earth tones and gem tones to being like, ‘Give me bright neon green.’ It’s iconic. I was just at the Michael Kors Show, and his collection, there were a couple of that beautiful, rich green colors, and I was like, ‘Oop — same thing.’”However, if you are thinking of Halloween, the actress and singer has you covered. She says she’s more into embracing a “specific vibe” while getting dressed than wearing a literal costume, and some of the fuzzy items are perfect for that.
“I feel like my whole wardrobe kind of changes over for spooky season, and I think that the green, fuzzy cardigan is amazing for that. You can wear that with a bunch of leather chokers and tons of silver jewelry — that’s a spooky vibe. And the black leather button-down and the skirt or the leggings with the little tank. And, again, leather chokers and silver chains — you’ve got yourself a spooky vibe.”
Clearly, Hudgens also has some specific accessory suggestions, which she says are always her go-to’s for this time of year.”
“Spooky season comes around, and I always put on my little black, almost bondage chokers. But, you know, they’re fashion!”
Everything in the latest Vanessa Hudgens x Fabletics collection ranges from XXS to 4X, with VIP prices starting at $12. You can shop all 13 pieces on fabletics.com.
