Issuing a dare to "Live Your Worst Nightmare" Universal Studios Hollywood ratcheted up the intensity level of its highly anticipated "Halloween Horror Nights" event and kicked off opening night with the 6th Eyegore Horror Awards honoring actors, directors and writers for major achievements in the horror film genre.

This year's eclectic Eyegore Award honorees included Julie Benz, star of "Dexter" and the upcoming Saw V," and Tobe Hooper, director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist. Also receiving awards were actors Bill Moseley, the famous "Choptop" from Texas Chainsaw Massacre II and star of Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects," George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" and the soon-to-be release "Repo: The Genetic Opera," in which he stars opposite Paris Hilton, and Gunnar Hansen, who created the Leatherface character in Texas Chainsaw Massacre and stars in the upcoming Escape of the Living Dead.

Presenters included legendary producer and director and 2007 Eyegore Award recipient Roger Corman, whose resume features over 400 movies, and rock singer Ogre from the band Skinny Puppy. Actor Corey Feldman, star of Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Lost Boys, Friday the 13th films and "The Two Coreys" served as this year's Master of Ceremonies.

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Previous Eyegore recipients have included Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Tilly, Janet Leigh, Karen Black, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie and Clive Barker.

"Halloween Horror Nights" pairs Hollywood's top entertainment scenic and special effects artists with a cast of thousands to create terrifying new experiences including the theme park's unique "Terror Tram: The Nightmare Tour" - an excursion that expands to double the length of previous Halloween tram experiences -- and for the first time, incorporates a series of spine-chilling mazes and a stopover at the infamous "Psycho" house and a walk through the tortured landscape of "War of the Worlds." The "Terror Tram" will also showcase a rare and exclusive first look at Universal Pictures' The Wolfman on the LCD monitor aboard the trams.

"Halloween Horror Nights" feature the return of two other notorious horror icons: "Friday the 13th's" Jason Voorhees and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's" Leatherface, each featured in his own meticulously crafted maze of shock corridors.

Universal Studios Hollywood's favorite thrill-ride attractions will also remain open for "Halloween Horror Nights" nocturnal affair, many with menacing twists. "The Simpsons Ride," "Jurassic Park - In the Dark," the "Revenge of the Mummy" psychological thrill-ride roller coaster and "WaterWorld," aptly transformed into "Slaughter World" for the occasion, will all seem like tranquil respites from the mayhem of Jason, Freddy and Leatherface. The standing sets and themed streets of the theme park will also be transformed into a bloodbath, as if scenes from horror films that were left on the cutting room floor had exploded to life.