Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Rises Again as Las Vegas Prepares for a Halloween Invasion of Zombies, Costumes, and Moonwalking
By Stacy M. Brown
Senior Global Correspondent
The dead are dancing again. Red leather jackets are coming out of closets, zombies are rehearsing their moves, and somewhere, someone is standing in front of a mirror trying to master Michael Jackson’s shoulder-shaking, foot-sliding choreography.
More than four decades after Jackson transformed a pop song into a cinematic horror spectacle, Thriller still owns a considerable piece of Halloween. Its fog-covered cemetery, grotesque creatures, synchronized corpses, and Vincent Price’s bloodcurdling laughter have become as familiar to the holiday as jack-o’-lanterns and haunted houses.
Now Las Vegas is inviting the living to join the dead.
From Oct. 24 through Halloween night, Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay will host its first Thrillerween, an eight-day celebration encouraging audiences to arrive dressed as zombies, ghouls, monsters, or the King of Pop himself.
The festivities include commemorative Thriller collectibles, photographs with cast members, merchandise discounts for costumed guests, and exclusive gifts for VIP ticket holders.
“Halloween and Michael Jackson are forever connected through the enduring cultural impact of Thriller,” said Alana Clapp, general manager of Michael Jackson ONE. “Thrillerween gives fans another reason to visit Michael Jackson ONE during one of the most exciting weeks of the year, while celebrating the artistry, imagination, and music that continue to inspire audiences around the world.”
Jackson understood something about horror that Hollywood had long exploited. Audiences loved being frightened, as long as they could enjoy themselves while screaming.
When Thriller premiered in December 1983, director John Landis and Jackson delivered a 14-minute short film that borrowed from classic monster movies and turned their familiar terrors into a dance party. Jackson transformed into a fanged creature, wandered through a cemetery with his terrified girlfriend, and joined an army of rotting corpses in choreography that millions would eventually attempt to imitate.
Price, the distinguished horror actor whose sinister voice could make a nursery rhyme sound threatening, supplied the narration and that unforgettable cackle.
And Jackson supplied the red leather jacket, the piercing eyes, and the movements that made even the undead look impossibly cool.
The video became a cultural phenomenon, helping establish music videos as an art form that could rival cinema. Its choreography escaped television screens and found a permanent home at Halloween parties, school assemblies, neighborhood festivals, and college campuses.
In Chicago, the annual Thriller flash mob has grown over 14 years into a major Halloween attraction. In Mexico City, costumed zombies have filled public spaces with Jackson’s signature movements. Dancers in Ohio have performed the routine during community Halloween celebrations, while Yale University students have turned their campus into a gathering place for the dancing dead.
Many of the participants were born decades after the original video premiered. They still know when to raise their arms, snap their heads, and shuffle forward in formation.
The choreography has become something of a Halloween inheritance, passed from parents to children, from professional dancers to amateurs, from the generation that watched Jackson premiere the video to youngsters discovering it on their phones.
In Las Vegas, the celebration comes as Michael Jackson ONE enjoys another honor. The production was recently voted the No. 1 Las Vegas show in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
The Cirque du Soleil production surrounds Jackson’s music with aerial acrobatics, elaborate choreography, dazzling projections, theatrical illusions, and immersive sound. Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, and Thriller are among the songs brought to life through a cast of dancers and acrobats.
The production has also drawn celebrity audiences. Jennifer Lopez and Anderson.Paak attended last month, according to show representatives.
While attendees can wear whatever costume they choose, Thrillerween organizers encourage fans to make the audience part of the spectacle. Guests can arrive in elaborate costumes, although venue rules prohibit masks, realistic weapons, excessive body paint, offensive attire, and oversized accessories.
Those who dress up will receive a special discount at the Michael Jackson ONE Boutique. All ticket holders will receive a themed collectible and have an opportunity to pose for photographs with cast members. VIP guests will receive an additional exclusive item.
The possibilities for the audience are nearly endless. Jackson’s red leather jacket. His glittering glove. The torn clothing and decaying faces of the cemetery dancers. The sharp suits and tilted fedoras of Smooth Criminal. Even the werecat transformation that sent his terrified girlfriend running.
And somewhere in that crowd, there will almost certainly be a fan convinced that nobody ever moonwalked quite like Michael Jackson, except perhaps the person wearing that costume.
The original Thriller album, released in 1982, became the best-selling album in history, and its title track developed a second life that few recordings have enjoyed. Each October brings another generation of dancers, another round of elaborate costumes, and another opportunity to hear Price announce that darkness has fallen across the land.
Jackson died in 2009, but the characters he brought to life in that cemetery have never stayed buried for long.
At Mandalay Bay, they will have eight days to roam among the living.
Thrillerween runs Oct. 24-31 at Michael Jackson ONE inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, with performances on select dates. Tickets and additional information are available at cirquedusoleil.com/michael-jackson-one/thrillerween.
And when that bass line begins, nobody will need to explain what comes next.
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