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Halloween Horror Nights '19 General Discussion

There's plenty of IPs, Universal just has to cut more lucrative deals so other studios will want to keep playing ball instead of trying to make their own events that just self cannibalize the industry.

IT or Conjuring would be HUGE. Halloween, oddly, is still very hot. There's plenty of SUPER recognizable, semi-current and SCARY IPs that have not even been touched that are fair game. The Ring. The Grudge. The Descent. The Thing. Predator. Alien. SCREAM. Amityville. Some are problematic because of whatever studio owns it, obviously, but that's my point. Joint ventures, MAN!!!

Ghostbusters has proven to be mostly negative of a reaction from the GP. House of 1000 Corpses will be very "uhhh what's that again?" Creepshow's announcement will excite nobody. Killer Klowns will get a meep out of a few, but ultimately it'll have no line. Frankenstein and Wolf Man already hasn't generated that big of an impact while most disliked the Stranger Things maze as it didn't even register in the top 4 mazes last year on the surveys. It was a big merch seller, but will people play "fool me twice?" (ofcourse they will, but is that going to be their only selling point?) Holidayz in Hell will be big for the people who only went last year. The only thing that'll get people to go is US and even that had mixed GP reactions in comparison to Get Out.

This year is going to flop if it doesn't have one more big IP swinging in there somewhere.

Curse of the odd numbered years. Just you watch...
 
There's plenty of IPs, Universal just has to cut more lucrative deals so other studios will want to keep playing ball instead of trying to make their own events that just self cannibalize the industry.

IT or Conjuring would be HUGE. Halloween, oddly, is still very hot. There's plenty of SUPER recognizable, semi-current and SCARY IPs that have not even been touched that are fair game. The Ring. The Grudge. The Descent. The Thing. Predator. Alien. SCREAM. Amityville. Some are problematic because of whatever studio owns it, obviously, but that's my point. Joint ventures, MAN!!!

Ghostbusters has proven to be mostly negative of a reaction from the GP. House of 1000 Corpses will be very "uhhh what's that again?" Creepshow's announcement will excite nobody. Killer Klowns will get a meep out of a few, but ultimately it'll have no line. Frankenstein and Wolf Man already hasn't generated that big of an impact while most disliked the Stranger Things maze as it didn't even register in the top 4 mazes last year on the surveys. It was a big merch seller, but will people play "fool me twice?" (ofcourse they will, but is that going to be their only selling point?) Holidayz in Hell will be big for the people who only went last year. The only thing that'll get people to go is US and even that had mixed GP reactions in comparison to Get Out.

This year is going to flop if it doesn't have one more big IP swinging in there somewhere.

Curse of the odd numbered years. Just you watch...
Not every year needs a cultural relevant IP(S) to make it good. 2016 survived because it had good properties that although aside from AHS weren't too cultural/GP relevant but it survived because of incredible execution. You can have any lineup ever but execution is what really matters.

2015 is a great example. A pretty great year but let's look at the lineup. On paper okay Crimson Peak is cool but uh oh don't think the GP will like. Love Halloween. People will be confused as to why AVP is coming back. Not many are excited for TWD coming back. Some people are excited for Insidious and it will work for GP. And the GP didn't like TITE3D on paper. Aside from TITE3D and Halloween (Which was okay) 4 of the 6 mazes were great. It turned into a pretty good year.

I don't think the Even Numbered/Odd Numbered theory even works. It's that we improve every even year and go worse every odd year. Okay well 2018 is nowhere near as good as 2016 or 2014. And 2019 doesn't seem like it's literally gonna get worse than 2017. Most likely WAY BETTER.

HMH had relevant IPs like IT and Conjuring last year and it flopped. Why? Because of poor direction and execution. Again you can have any lineup with properties the GP/Fans love or hate but execution of those properties is what really matters.

Last year the GP HATED it. Like the GP really hated last year according to surveys and stuff so to me it seems the lineup is a step in the right direction and the creativity and things we have heard and I have heard sounds pretty solid to me.

This event doesn't need relevant properties or today's properties. It needs good properties with excellent execution. Something Hollywood has consistently messed up recently with 5 of the 7 mazes last year being okay (Aside from Monsters and Poltergeist) and all of the mazes in 2017 having huge problems. HHN Hollywood needs good and complete mazes that's what it needs.
 
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Nobody will care how well executed the mazes are if they're not even enticed to go through the front gate by what's being offerred. This event is getting more and more expensive and the crowds are getting harder and harder to please. Hollywood has conditioned its fans into wanting IPs and it's their own dang fault for pushing that upon them in the first place. At this point, everyone knows the scare tactics anyway. Everyone knows you're just going to be conga lined through every maze packed like sardines. Everyone knows every time you go into the dark, something loud and bright will pop out.

We talk a lot about the death of HHN on these forums and how it's getting worse and worse and it'll just flop. All the years before, that was silly because of the momentum it had going. This year has no momentum from the last 2 years and there's no properties this year to build it even further. Everyone here talked about Ghostbusters like it was going to be the savior of the event and the GP reacted the complete opposite to that announcement.

This is the first time in more than a decade that I can myself say, that yes, HHN is on the verge of flopping with this upcoming year if that's all it has in it's arsenal. If this year doesn't bring them in and doesn't hit a homerun creatively (and even if it DOES, you'll still mostly have an empty park), then in 2020 we're looking at a deadzone even if the IPs are good because it'll just be "oh yeah, it was that expensive place that used to be cool but then it was always the same scares and they never had Freddy or Jason, who cares, let's just go to Knotts instead -- at least it's cheap and they try something new, plus they have rides lulz bye."
 
Nobody will care how well executed the mazes are if they're not even enticed to go through the front gate by what's being offerred. This event is getting more and more expensive and the crowds are getting harder and harder to please. Hollywood has conditioned its fans into wanting IPs and it's their own dang fault for pushing that upon them in the first place. At this point, everyone knows the scare tactics anyway. Everyone knows you're just going to be conga lined through every maze packed like sardines. Everyone knows every time you go into the dark, something loud and bright will pop out.

We talk a lot about the death of HHN on these forums and how it's getting worse and worse and it'll just flop. All the years before, that was silly because of the momentum it had going. This year has no momentum from the last 2 years and there's no properties this year to build it even further. Everyone here talked about Ghostbusters like it was going to be the savior of the event and the GP reacted the complete opposite to that announcement.

This is the first time in more than a decade that I can myself say, that yes, HHN is on the verge of flopping with this upcoming year if that's all it has in it's arsenal. If this year doesn't bring them in and doesn't hit a homerun creatively (and even if it DOES, you'll still mostly have an empty park), then in 2020 we're looking at a deadzone even if the IPs are good because it'll just be "oh yeah, it was that expensive place that used to be cool but then it was always the same scares and they never had Freddy or Jason, who cares, let's just go to Knotts instead -- at least it's cheap and they try something new, plus they have rides lulz bye."


:...:
 
I love how you guys are all acting like a unfinished facade reveals weather or not Creepshow is coming, it’s legit a box right now be patient lol

*it was a joke*

Idk @DTH this year does have some heavy hitters. Stranger Things 3 is one of the biggest things of the year and the maze will be crowded as hell, Us will also probably average hour long waits. Ghostbusters should be a pretty popular maze since I think it’ll have the Poltergeist effect. If last year proved anything to me it’s that people will wait for anything, even Blumhouse was getting long waits the night I went.
 
I love the whole Ghostbusters thing. I am super excited for it. I’ve been a Ghostbusters fan all my life since a little kid. I used to sleep with the 12 inch vinyl soundtrack that was gifted to me like it was a teddy bear. I’m ready for this one! It actually pushes me to commit doing VIP for two nights in a row this year.

This is my first post and I have been following this forum for a while now. I like seeing what everyone thinks about the event. Seems like there are a lot of skeptics in the room. I think this event will be awesome this year. It’s only my 3rd year going to HHN. I have been to 2017’s and 2018’s. Last year’s 2018 HHN was pretty bad. 2017 really showed me what HHN can do. It was our first time but man, I really had a good time and felt the event was on point. The Saw maze was awesome! But yes, 2018 wasn’t good for me. The Terror Tram was so bad and everything last hear felt nothing like how well 2017 was.

All in all, I think it’ll be good this year. I could really do without Stranger Things. I think the show is highly overrated and stupid. The ST maze last year was weak and a waste of space for another opportunity. The mannequin props were trash. The set pieces were trash. It’s really something when you can say the Blumhouse maze with all its black walls was better than the Stranger Things maze. Really, they should have just moved on.
 
I'm sure Universal will weep when they realize they made $100 less than expected because unfortunately this year will suck .
Why do you say that? Still 5 more announcements. And the Frankenstein and Wolf Man maze should be considered prime for success by how awesome Universal Monsters was last year. It was really one of the only good mazes last year.
 
Nobody will care how well executed the mazes are if they're not even enticed to go through the front gate by what's being offerred. This event is getting more and more expensive and the crowds are getting harder and harder to please. Hollywood has conditioned its fans into wanting IPs and it's their own dang fault for pushing that upon them in the first place. At this point, everyone knows the scare tactics anyway. Everyone knows you're just going to be conga lined through every maze packed like sardines. Everyone knows every time you go into the dark, something loud and bright will pop out.

We talk a lot about the death of HHN on these forums and how it's getting worse and worse and it'll just flop. All the years before, that was silly because of the momentum it had going. This year has no momentum from the last 2 years and there's no properties this year to build it even further. Everyone here talked about Ghostbusters like it was going to be the savior of the event and the GP reacted the complete opposite to that announcement.

This is the first time in more than a decade that I can myself say, that yes, HHN is on the verge of flopping with this upcoming year if that's all it has in it's arsenal. If this year doesn't bring them in and doesn't hit a homerun creatively (and even if it DOES, you'll still mostly have an empty park), then in 2020 we're looking at a deadzone even if the IPs are good because it'll just be "oh yeah, it was that expensive place that used to be cool but then it was always the same scares and they never had Freddy or Jason, who cares, let's just go to Knotts instead -- at least it's cheap and they try something new, plus they have rides lulz bye."
Uh-huh. Like Stranger Things won’t be enough to entice the GP? I would argue even Ghostbusters might interest some people despite the negative reaction.

“BUT THE EVENT WONT HAVE TEH SCARIES MOVIES DIS YEAR”

So? It’s not like HHN, which mind you, is smack-dab in the middle of the San Fran Valley, doesn’t have a big following already.
 
I still think there’s a chance Creepshow could be the original, however I’m leaning towards the show. I’m 99% convinced though that the facade will be a comic book, but it could also be this(as in the TV with the Creepshow logo):

View attachment 10235

Or potentially one of these from the trailer:

View attachment 10236

Just wanna chime in and say I don't think it's either of those. If you look in some of the pictures, there are windows cut out from the side. I expect more windows on the front in the future, and for there to be some kind of scene to be built inside the box.

Nobody will care how well executed the mazes are if they're not even enticed to go through the front gate by what's being offerred. This event is getting more and more expensive and the crowds are getting harder and harder to please. Hollywood has conditioned its fans into wanting IPs and it's their own dang fault for pushing that upon them in the first place. At this point, everyone knows the scare tactics anyway. Everyone knows you're just going to be conga lined through every maze packed like sardines. Everyone knows every time you go into the dark, something loud and bright will pop out.

We talk a lot about the death of HHN on these forums and how it's getting worse and worse and it'll just flop. All the years before, that was silly because of the momentum it had going. This year has no momentum from the last 2 years and there's no properties this year to build it even further. Everyone here talked about Ghostbusters like it was going to be the savior of the event and the GP reacted the complete opposite to that announcement.

This is the first time in more than a decade that I can myself say, that yes, HHN is on the verge of flopping with this upcoming year if that's all it has in it's arsenal. If this year doesn't bring them in and doesn't hit a homerun creatively (and even if it DOES, you'll still mostly have an empty park), then in 2020 we're looking at a deadzone even if the IPs are good because it'll just be "oh yeah, it was that expensive place that used to be cool but then it was always the same scares and they never had Freddy or Jason, who cares, let's just go to Knotts instead -- at least it's cheap and they try something new, plus they have rides lulz bye."

You don't think that's a bit dramatic?

And if there's one thing Aladdin and now, the Lion King has taught me, it's that the GA is not accurately represented by Fan Twitter. Ultra fans will complain about how Ghostbusters isn't scary. People off Twitter are presumably booking tickets by the dozen. I've talked with a good number of people who don't follow a Theme Park account on Twitter, and their favorite things last year were universally the Terror Tram, Universal Monsters and Trick R Treat. We don't represent everyone.

Also, you can't say the GA will think that the event has never done Freddy and Jason because haha poor memory and then turn around and say that House of a Thousand Corpses will flop because it's been done before. That logic doesn't make sense.

Also, if there's one silver lining to how ridiculous the lines have been in recent years despite maze count increases, it's that the reason is that more people are going to the event.
 
The Hollywood version of HHN will 100% live and die by the intellectual properties on display. I’ve been saying that since I joined this board, lol. The GP reaction to Ghostbusters is very telling to me. People have their opinions, but at the end of the day, I understand and share the criticism. It’s one thing if Ghostbusters is kind of a fun experiment alongside some other heavy hitters, but as a main focal point IP, alongside ST and (presumably) Us, it’s a little confusing. GP will ask, “Where’s the Halloween remake? Where’s Hill House? Pet Semetary? Where are Freddy and Jason?” And even as someone who’s starting to understand how these things unfold, and gets the nuances surrounding getting IPs, i’m also kinda asking those questions to be totally honest. Ultimately HHN is a victim of its own success, they’ll do something amazing or hype-inducing like Shining/ST, but the GP doesn’t get how unique and rare that kinda stuff is and then just expects it to happen year in and year out.
 
As a film and box office fan, I've long ago accepted that Twitter does not necessarily represent what the GP thinks about something. Twitter hates Disney live action remakes, GP power those movies to a billion dollars worldwide and "A" cinemascores. Film Twitter loved Blade Runner 2049 and Detective Pikachu, and both of those movies were massive disappointments BO wise. Twitter disliked HHN 2017, according to Murdy it was the highest rated year they ever had.

Twitter doesn't like GB? Are we sure that translates to GP won't like it when it comes? Or is Twitter not representative here? It's a tough distinction to make, because they often overlap, but they diverge just enough to where it's a frustrating dance to read the room. Personally, I think Ghostbusters is doing its job: I mention HHN sometimes to friends at University, and the general consensus is that Ghostbusters sounds cool and they may come with me, the horror weirdo, this year. It's widening what kind of fans are coming to the event. Anecdotal, sure, but I'm not sure how instructive the opinions of the HHN Twittersphere is in this case.

Plus, I'm sure HHN as an event has to cater to fans just like any other media property. But if that's all they did, we'd be on Myers incarnation number 17. A little experimentation with what kinds of fans they want to attract shouldn't be discouraged, else we get repeats of years like 2010.
 
Not to mention I remember last year there were people complaining on twitter about the Universal Monsters maze, claiming it was a cop-out and a rip-off of the House of Horrors; also complaining about how it was an excuse for not getting more recent IPs (e.g. The Nun and IT Chapter 1). Lots of GP individuals usually contrast with the opinions on this forum. I remember going through Trick 'r Treat 3x last year with my group, and all the groups before and after us claimed they loved it and said it was one of the best of the night. Similar reactions were shared for The First Purge maze too.
 
Yeah, from my experience all it takes is one IP that the GP really wanna see to get them to buy a ticket, and then they'll go through whatever else is there. This year Stranger Things and Us will likely be those two ips. I dont agree that having a few cult properties every year will kill the event, or people saying something isn't scary, you can have the scariest maze to date and there will still be people who go through and say they weren't scared, years like 2015 were popular enough to warrant extensions, even with there only being really Insidious, Walking Dead, and maybe Halloween to draw in the GP, and even the GP were tired of walking dead by then.
 
Not to mention I remember last year there were people complaining on twitter about the Universal Monsters maze, claiming it was a cop-out and a rip-off of the House of Horrors; also complaining about how it was an excuse for not getting more recent IPs (e.g. The Nun and IT Chapter 1). Lots of GP individuals usually contrast with the opinions on this forum. I remember going through Trick 'r Treat 3x last year with my group, and all the groups before and after us claimed they loved it and said it was one of the best of the night. Similar reactions were shared for The First Purge maze too.
The First Purge really kind of fell short with me. I went in expecting to have Skeletor stalking me. None of that happened, it was just a generic Purge maze. Nobody in there with the simulated red eyes. Nothing that actually connected visually or feel-wise of the actual film’s identity. Kinda disappointed me. But the Universal Monsters maze was pretty amazing. Poltergeist was on point. Stranger Things was so weak and the Eleven Waffles was disgusting and a terrible idea. I honestly have to say I’m not looking forward to Stranger Things but I’m looking forward to everything else.
 
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