Director

**Paulo Ravinski** better known as **The Director** is one of the icons of *Halloween Horror Nights*.

## History

### Background

#### Origins

Paulo Ravinski was a man born in Eastern Europe (possibly Slovakia). When he was eight years old, Ravinski took a liking to shooting birds with his BB gun then recording their deaths with his father's video-camera. This lead to Paulo developing a love for film and for recording the pain, suffering and death of living things on film while having various pretentious film values.

Ravinski's first known project was a film called *The Widow's Eye* in which he carved his actress' eyeball. The actress sued Paulo, and the Slovakian film industry banned Paulo from working in the country. Paulo was forced out of the country and relocated to the United States of America to continue his film career.

Other films made by Ravinski included *The Blood Letting* and *Death Procession* which presumably also included Snuff film content. Another film which he made was *Clowns Are Always Laughing on the Outside and Crying on the Inside* where he used questionable methods to make a clown cry and laugh at the same time. He also made a film where he murdered someone in a bathtub, and another where he invited a lonely man with no family to his home then murdered him. Ravinski was also known for murdering his own fans when he met them in person, not letting people get close to him.

#### 13 Years in the Making

In 2003, Ravinski's work caught the attention of Universal Studios who hired him to film his most recent horror-film in *Islands of Adventure*. Ravinski turned much of the theme-park into twisted film sets where he tortured and murdered guests on camera. For legal reasons, Ravinski was not allowed to bring his films onto Universal's premises.

The Director also ran auditions for his newest project where he used a wheel to determine what deadly animals to trap in a box locked onto their heads. In one area of the park, he shot a fantasy themed film called "Immortal Island" in-which creatures of an "Ice Queen" and "Fire King" battled. Other confirmed film projects included: "Night Prey", "Ship of Screams", and "Psychoscareapy" (revolving around the Shadybrook Asylum).

The Director made his base out of an abandoned drive-in theater known as " Director's Die-In" or "The All Nite Die-In". Here he attacked and terrorized guests for his film. After these events, the Director considered the "All Night Die-In" to be one of his finest moments.

#### Horror Nights Nightmares

**Note**: *The year setting of this haunted house is unknown, but it came out around 2004 so may be set around that time.*

At some point, Ravinski was hired to work on a Universal Studios film inspired by the Halloween Horror Nights incidents called "Horror Nights Nightmares" produced by L. Surphlis and R. West, co-produced by W. Robinson, while written by K. Babel and M. Aiello. Ravinski was brought on to be the director of certain scenes, during which time crew-members were told not to look Ravinski in the eyes, not to interfere with the scene, and not to participate in the scene.

On the thirteenth day of filming, October 13th, it was noted around time of Paulo's filming in the schedule that two crew members went missing (though they were later located and had the production manager contacted). The Director did seem to murder several of his actors for his scene. For some reason, a VIP tour group was allowed onto the closed set and were attacked by the Director and the other Halloween Horror Nights icons at the event including: Jack the Clown, the Caretaker and Eddie Schmidt.

#### Sweet 16: The Director's Cut

In (presumably) the year 2006, the Director was summoned by the Lord of Darkness to celebrate the sixteenth cycle of Halloween Horror Nights, along with the Caretaker, Jack the Clown, and Elsa Strickland/The Storyteller. Once called forth, the Director was presented with a woman bound in a bathtub whom he filmed being electrocuted to death.

To celebrate the sixteenth cycle of Halloween Horror Nights, the Director made a "Director's Cut" film to celebrate which was projected in a lagoon, after annotating over documents of the lagoon's first use in projecting during 1995. The Director considered this to be the "Ultimate viewing experience". Also in the archives, the Director found documentation of a movie/experience/incident called "The People Under the Stairs" which he thus intended to remake to be even better.

Also in the archives, Ravinski accessed archives of the "Psycho Path Maze", either a haunted house based on Psycho (1960), or a documentation of crimes committed by Norman Bates at the Bates Motel. Ravinski wrote "A truly horrific masterpiece clings to its parental locations. Every artist needs a jumping off point, a birth place for fear if you will, and this lobby and grand parlor are where the madness was born.". Ravinski also made notes about taking particular inspiration from Norman Bates in his shooting,

#### Terror Tram

On the October 20th of 2006, it was announced that the Director was banned from the Universal Studios backlot. He was sighted on the backlot regardless, causing Universal Studios Hollywood's Senior Vice President and General Manager to state "We've devoted extensive resources to finding this character and we hope to have him in custody before this weekend's Halloween Horror Nights event". The director would hijack a studio tour of guests and force them through his murderous film sets.

Also while here, he used the set of Dracula's castle from the movie *Van Helsing* (2004) as setting for his new film. This became the Director "Slaughter House Party" featuring what appeared to be several famous monsters, or actors recreating said horror roles for Ravinski. Amongst these figures of horror were Freddy Krueger, the Wolf Man, a clown, Chucky, Michael Myers, a Bride of Dracula, Leatherface and Hannibal Lecter.

While in Hollywood, the Director returned to his career of independent filmmaking. An article on *Independent Filmmaking* was written in support of Ravinski by P.B. Scotsmore.

#### All Nite Die-In: Take 2

In 2006, the Director worked on the film "All Nite Die-In Take 2" under *P.R. Independent Productions,* possibly due to notes about the footage from the first All Nite Die in not being usable upon review. Shooting was known to have occurred on the October 30th and October 31st of 2006. The sets which he put his actors through included recreations of the horror films: *Scream* (1996), *The Ring* (2002), *Hellraiser* (1987) and *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991).

#### Twenty Years of Fear

In 2010, the paranormal-investigator organization *Legendary Truth: The Collective* inadvertently released the ancient deity *Fear* from his lantern prison at Universal Studios. On September 24th, Fear took over Universal to celebrate his, "Twentieth Cycle" and summoned five heralds, one of whom was the Director as his herald of Sacrifice.  Truth launched a mission to oppose Fear, and were ultimately able to trap him within his lantern along with his heralds and various other monstrous supernatural entities.

#### Icons Captured

While trapped inside of Fear's lantern, Ravinski continued to torture and murder people, and terrorize some humans who entered the lantern.

### Development history

The Director's primary actor in ads and other materials was Gianni Garofalo.

## Appearances

### Halloween Horror Nights

#### Halloween Horror Nights 13

The Director was icon for this Halloween Horror Nights.

##### All Nite Die-In

The Director was main-antagonist of this attraction.

#### Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16

##### The Arrival

Director was one of the four icons summoned by Lord of Darkness.

##### All Nite Die-In: Take 2

The Director was main-antagonist of this attraction.

##### The People Under the Stairs

The website revealed this was the Director's attempt at a "Remake" of the 1992 Haunted House.

##### Psycho Path: The Return of Norman Bates

The Director had several notes on Norman Bates and the Bates Motel found on the website, possibly connecting him to the story of this haunted house.

#### Horror Nights Nightmares

The Director had his own scene in this haunted house, being a director on the Horror Nights Nightmares production.

#### Tribute Store

In 2020, a casting-call from Paulo Ravinski appeared in the HHN Tribute Store along with a circus-inspired poster of him. In 2023, he and other icons appeared on the cover of the "Halloween Horror Nights Mystery Game" fictional board game.

## Trivia

* At Singapore's first Halloween Horror Nights, the character was known as **Billy Skorrski**. He was also known as **Pavel Pranevsky** for Hollywood's revival event. HHN originally referred to the character as **Paolo Ravinski**.
* The Director does not like horror films including the supernatural. He does however love Civil War photographs, the classic Universal monster movies, and grainy '70s horror films.
	+ The Director's dislike of supernatural horror fiction is somewhat ironic given how the old Universal movies he liked heavily featured the supernatural, how the world of Halloween Horror Nights is supernatural, and how the Director became a herald for the god Fear then bound within his lantern realm. It is also odd given his film, *Immortal Island*, which revolves around fantastical creatures.
* The Director's movie characters the Ice Queen and the Fire King appeared in some later HHN attractions under unknown circumstances.
* Immortal Island's theming was inspired by the now defunct attraction, *Dueling Dragons*.
* Immortal Island's scarezone featured the Rat Lady who has been a recurring Halloween Horror Nights character since the original *Fright Nights*.

## External links

* *The Director on Halloween Horror Nights wiki.*

## References

1. ↑ Interview with the Director
2. ↑ All Nite Die-In: Take 2 digital/promotional materials