Halloween Horror Nights '19 General Discussion

[Freak]

My scare zone wish the main entrance to kung fu panda is going to be a clown themed french street a universal monsters scare zone part 2 a chainsaw scare zone in spring field and lower lol I would love that in tunnel a zombie themed then a ip scare zone in metro sets houses wish list chucky ahs clut it universal monsters maze 2 the thing purge tv series Halloween 2018 Original Maze finally terror tram I hope it’s a ip themed but who cares then shows I want to see something else besides jabberwocky‘s but I would love to see dance crew form Orlando’s Halloween horror nights come over to Halloween horror nights Hollywood but we will see that’s my halloween horror nights Hollywood wish list

*gasps for air* I ran out of breath just reading that. Periods are your friend.

 

[foodstampsFTW]

Inb4 we get 6 Purge houses and ST2.

 

[Joey]

 

[MacMillian Crew]

My speculations for next year:

1. Stranger Things (season 2): I know a lot of people didn't like our Hollywood version (especially with how Orlando's came out), but honestly it's pretty much what I was expecting it to be since it was speculated about before the April announcement. It had all the scenes I was expecting, and I knew some environments, especially compared to Orlando's, would be scaled down smaller because that just seems to be Hollywood's thing. Although season 2 is considered the more horror-themed season, I do know that the demodogs will most likely be the main antagonists in there ( I don't think the Demogorgon is in S2), as well as the Mind Flayer (which most likely will be mainly screens, and maybe 1 elaborate puppet).

2. John Carpenter's The Thing: Being a huge fan of the 2011 house, I really hope they utilize this version. I wouldn't doubt if they kept stuff from that maze somewhere in storage, and I wouldn't be disappointed if they rehashed those saved pieces from 2011's house.

3. Hellraiser: I love the first two films, and similar to how Halloween 1 and 2 (not the Rob Zombie versions) seemed to fit together like a duology, both movies should be executed in the maze, giving more characters, environments and potential scares.

4. Halloween 5: I know a lot of people on here either don't want this film or don't think it has a chance of coming, but I do believe Murdy and his crew definitely have the intention of bringing this chapter in the franchise to the event. It has diverse kills, some pretty interesting environments (barn, rundown Myers house) and it's Michael. At least doing this IP would bring Myers up to the same amount of times the other 3 Titans of Terror have been at HHN.

5. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: Repeating others here, but I'm sure we're gonna have a similar thing going with how the Trick 'r Treat scare zone last year in Orlando prompted them and Hollywood do that as a maze, just like their KKFOS sz was popular this year, so it's a given.

6. Blumhouse IP: Whether it's the upcoming Happy Death Day movie, HOB: Chapter 3, or even both with the former included in the latter, I know we're not getting an HHN event without Bluhmouse involved.

7. Original maze: Hearing about the scrapped maze that took place in Mexico sounded interesting, and given that, as many people pointed out, we're running out of IPs (or at least ones our creative team are willing to pursue or can even get the rights to), I think something original could help the event out!

Terror Tram: I'm fine with the idea of Crypt TV being in charge, as I've really enjoyed many of their videos and series.
Scare Zones: I'd rather have a Purge zone than have that IP take up Terror Tram or a maze spot honestly. Also, I wouldn't put it past Murdy to have him do a KKFOS scare zone, since he was willing to do both a zone and house for Trick 'r Treat, just like Orlando starting with the zone and then most likely doing a house.

IP's I wish they could get, but most likely will never come:
1. Scream (1996)
2. IT (Chapters 1 & 2)
3. The Conjuring (universe)

I haven't watched The Haunting of Hill House or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina yet so I didn't put them on the list.

 

[chris.g]

But I do think something needs to change with the "format" so to speak. Longer nights would be ideal, opening at 6 and closing at 3.

I agree but they'd have to go the open earlier route. I believe there's a law that doesn't allow them to stay open past 2. I could be wrong.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Another thing to say...who's to say that the Daytime Operations might affect HHN next year, for both coasts? I mean, hell; even Hollywood and Orlando came in with Daytime versions of Stranger Things. And Hollywood brought the Halloween spirit to a new level, with the character costumes and the Weekend-long event.

I'm more curious to know what's going to happen next year, purely as I get the impression that we are going to see some..shakeups, in a few regards.

Edit: Thinking of it more, especially as the thought came up in Orlando...who's to say, they couldn't bring back Poltergeist?

It probably wouldn't do much in the budget, as you have the assets already. And, it could allieviate some of the concern of budgets. Tag that along with a relocated Universal Monsters, and you may be able to do a little bit more for the event than prior.

 

[torr4nce]

I don’t want to bore with another list, so I’ll try to speculate loosely. Generally speaking, the event has followed a formula with three of the IP mazes each year for the past few years. That is, you have the blockbuster property, the cult hit property, and the classic property. For example, that’s AHS, Krampus, and The Exorcist in 2016, AHS Roanoke, Ash vs Evil Dead, and The Shining in 2017, and Stranger Things, Trick ‘r Treat, and Poltergeist in 2018. If we apply that formula to next year, it’s safe to say that Stranger Things S2 is our blockbuster and Killer Klowns is our cult hit. That leaves us with a classic property to figure out.

Personally, I’m looking to The Thing. Sure, the puppets would be costly, but it’s been done before. And if it made it to the too-good-to-be-true leaked lineup this year, then that means its chances of coming are arguably higher than any other property to be considered. The only other properties I see filling that slot are Hellraiser, Child’s Play, or Scream. They’d all be difficult to pull off because of rights issues but I think they’d make good replacements in the eyes of both hardcore fans and the general public.

 

[Rideguy70]

I know I'm a bit late to the party with this, but

All BLACK WALLZ - If they are gonna do it, own it. Do a maze entirely of black walls chock full of doors and boo holes. Even make it true maze like with different options to go.

It's been done already at SFMM a few years ago. Anyone remember Blackout, when it was at the old Log Jammer queue (then later moved to the now Kwerq theater)?

In truth, one of the most memorable mazes I've ever done was Nightmares at Canada's Clifton Hill (a year round attraction). It's 95% percent darkness. That said, you go in very small groups and experience a lot of tactile effects that really couldn't be done at a major theme park.

 

[Ridesandstuff]

roaming hordes?

 

[Freak]

I agree but they'd have to go the open earlier route. I believe there's a law that doesn't allow them to stay open past 2. I could be wrong.

There was one night in 2015 where they extended to 3. That was due to an attempted suicide on on the 101 that turned it into a parking lot.

 

[DTH]

Plus Disneyland does those 24 hour days (not in a few years though), unless this is a LA County thing. And I believe they close around 3 on New Years and such.
Either way, if we're talking day time, I think HHN needs to figure out some way to fix lighbleeds from tents. I understand they're necessary during construction, but right on opening night, just throw a sheet over the thing if you have to. This is especially crucial if they insist on doing dark scenes and box scares. Which reminds me, very often I'd see the curtain open at the scareactor's entrance so you can see outside the maze just a sliver. Not a huge deal, but could be fixed.

 

[rageofthegods]

I don’t want to bore with another list, so I’ll try to speculate loosely. Generally speaking, the event has followed a formula with three of the IP mazes each year for the past few years. That is, you have the blockbuster property, the cult hit property, and the classic property. For example, that’s AHS, Krampus, and The Exorcist in 2016, AHS Roanoke, Ash vs Evil Dead, and The Shining in 2017, and Stranger Things, Trick ‘r Treat, and Poltergeist in 2018. If we apply that formula to next year, it’s safe to say that Stranger Things S2 is our blockbuster and Killer Klowns is our cult hit. That leaves us with a classic property to figure out.

Personally, I’m looking to The Thing. Sure, the puppets would be costly, but it’s been done before. And if it made it to the too-good-to-be-true leaked lineup this year, then that means its chances of coming are arguably higher than any other property to be considered. The only other properties I see filling that slot are Hellraiser, Child’s Play, or Scream. They’d all be difficult to pull off because of rights issues but I think they’d make good replacements in the eyes of both hardcore fans and the general public.

I actually feel that the "classic" property is more like "effects-driven" (so tons of blackout actors in Polt and Exorcist, while the Shining had tons of projection effects and mirror work, as well as probably the most elaborate vignette Horror Nights has done with the Here's Johnny scene); it arguably goes further back with Halloween in 2015 and definitely AWiL in 2014. While the Thing is an amazing property that I'd love to see (it would've been perfect at the Mummy Queue), I actually think Hereditary would be a neat Effects-Driven maze to sneak into the backlot. I have a rough overview of how it would go.

Spoiler: Hereditary Spoilers!

* Start with a facade of the house from the movie, with yelling and screaming coming from inside. The Treehouse is visible, smoking in the distance. (or Maybe, a little ambitious, they could have the house cut in half like a dollhouse, with each of the little rooms having a figure in the family staring out). There would be a projection effect with the Paimon shimmer-light closing in.
* Start in Annie's Miniature room. A ghostly Leigh is visible in the corner. There are faint and subtle "clucks" in the background.
* Go through a few forests into a little area where the car crash just happened. Charlie's head is visible, as is the telephone poll with the symbol scratched on the side. Annie is screaming "CHARLIEEEEEE" in the background. Several smiling cultists jump out from the bushes.
* transition to a small, house facade. At the window, a projection effect shows Annie ranting at Peter at the dinner table.
* Into the living room with the doll houses. On the table, an upside-down glass is going ballistic, and a sketchbook is rapidly flipping through the pages. A cultist jumps out from a side room. A side table has Peter's graduation photo with his eyes poked out, as well as the little latin runes scrawled on.
* past a hallway into Peter's bedroom, with the sketchbook full of his crossed out eyes. A fakeout scare with the falling volleyball happens. Charlie stands in the corner, and suddenly, hands jump out from under the bed.
* Into the closet and into the attic, where Grandma's dead body is hiding. There are, again, a cultist or two.
* back into Peter's bedroom, where there's a visitor on his ceiling. A twisted up Annie pops out of the closet, Chang-from-Roanoke style.
* And down a hallway back to the living room where all hell is starting to break loose. A suit covered in LEDs represents the father's smoldering corpse. A cultist appears at the side door, again. There is a smashed piano off to one side.
* Into a hallway where Annie is banging her head against the ceiling.
* Aaaaaaand into the Attic again, where this time there is an Annie performer "sawing her head off" with the piano wire. She's standing on a box behind a few other boxes to simulate hanging. She sprays on guests, while cultists pop up from behind.
* through the window and into the treehouse for the finale, which is set into a black wall to simulate the final shot. The Paimon statue is there, as are the arrayed cultists, some of whom are real.

That's rough and ignores quite a few scenes (the school-desk scene, Joan, the fireplace sketchbook, the sleepwalking confession, etc.) but it gets the major beats in, I feel. It could fit the Ash vs. Evil Dead / First Purge spot, or even the Poltergeist spot easily.

 

[DTH]

Do you think Hereditary could make the cut without fan support? It's not on that top 10 list of how many times those properties were mentioned. On top of it not exactly being primed for a Haunt, especially HHN, it sorta seems like a "why even bother?" Maybe in 5 years when it grows into it's cult status a bit more.

 

[rageofthegods]

Do you think Hereditary could make the cut without fan support? It's not on that top 10 list of how many times those properties were mentioned. On top of it not exactly being primed for a Haunt, especially HHN, it sorta seems like a "why even bother?" Maybe in 5 years when it grows into it's cult status a bit more.

It's certainly a longshot property in comparison to something like Scream, Halloween, Hellraiser or some of the Netflix stuff. But then again, A24, while not owned by Universal, has put some movies on their television section (and Universal wanted to invest in them for a while), meaning they have some working relationship. Plus, Hereditary has a ton of exposure as "the scariest horror film of the 2010's evarr" and it's getting serious Oscar buzz; it also made something liek $44m at the US box office, which is actually higher than Unfriended, Truth or Dare and Krampus. It's not like people don't know about the movie.

While it might not be a "clamoring for it" property like IT or the Conjuring, I think it'd be a sort of pleasant surprise for a lot of people, especially if rights get tangled up for Halloween, Hellraiser, Scream, etc. and they have to fall back on something else. Remember: no one was begging for Blumhouse part 2 and I don't remember much begging for Krampus, but then they turned up and ended up being pretty damn neat.

 

[chris.g]

Ugh I'd kill for Hereditary at HHN. Orlando would do wonders with it. Legit has the potential to exceed Exorcist on terms of intensity.

 

[hhnlover]

@rageofthegods dude. you need to make your own haunt someday man, you have a future.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Not to rain on someone's parade, but that was a last minute surprise that was a seeming group of hoardes across three locations not typically used for the event in scaring. Could it mean they may be considering roaming hoardes at more..dead areas? Maybe, but I don't think that means much for now.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

Panda Express if you're genuinely hungry for a meal.

Some would argue Panda Express doesn't even qualify as a decent meal. Ever HHN I was at city walk for food. Which is an issue they need to sort out. You either need to eat before hand or leave early to enjoy the fine dining establishments at city walk. The rule of no re-entry is stupid.

 

[Freak]

Plus Disneyland does those 24 hour days (not in a few years though), unless this is a LA County thing. And I believe they close around 3 on New Years and such.
Either way, if we're talking day time, I think HHN needs to figure out some way to fix lighbleeds from tents. I understand they're necessary during construction, but right on opening night, just throw a sheet over the thing if you have to. This is especially crucial if they insist on doing dark scenes and box scares. Which reminds me, very often I'd see the curtain open at the scareactor's entrance so you can see outside the maze just a sliver. Not a huge deal, but could be fixed.

Yes. Please. Lightbleed has become such a serious issue. They need to cover up those tents better. Hopefully the freak downpour will push them to give them better covering.

I actually feel that the "classic" property is more like "effects-driven" (so tons of blackout actors in Polt and Exorcist, while the Shining had tons of projection effects and mirror work, as well as probably the most elaborate vignette Horror Nights has done with the Here's Johnny scene); it arguably goes further back with Halloween in 2015 and definitely AWiL in 2014. While the Thing is an amazing property that I'd love to see (it would've been perfect at the Mummy Queue), I actually think Hereditary would be a neat Effects-Driven maze to sneak into the backlot. I have a rough overview of how it would go.

Spoiler: Hereditary Spoilers!

* Start with a facade of the house from the movie, with yelling and screaming coming from inside. The Treehouse is visible, smoking in the distance. (or Maybe, a little ambitious, they could have the house cut in half like a dollhouse, with each of the little rooms having a figure in the family staring out). There would be a projection effect with the Paimon shimmer-light closing in.
* Start in Annie's Miniature room. A ghostly Leigh is visible in the corner. There are faint and subtle "clucks" in the background.
* Go through a few forests into a little area where the car crash just happened. Charlie's head is visible, as is the telephone poll with the symbol scratched on the side. Annie is screaming "CHARLIEEEEEE" in the background. Several smiling cultists jump out from the bushes.
* transition to a small, house facade. At the window, a projection effect shows Annie ranting at Peter at the dinner table.
* Into the living room with the doll houses. On the table, an upside-down glass is going ballistic, and a sketchbook is rapidly flipping through the pages. A cultist jumps out from a side room. A side table has Peter's graduation photo with his eyes poked out, as well as the little latin runes scrawled on.
* past a hallway into Peter's bedroom, with the sketchbook full of his crossed out eyes. A fakeout scare with the falling volleyball happens. Charlie stands in the corner, and suddenly, hands jump out from under the bed.
* Into the closet and into the attic, where Grandma's dead body is hiding. There are, again, a cultist or two.
* back into Peter's bedroom, where there's a visitor on his ceiling. A twisted up Annie pops out of the closet, Chang-from-Roanoke style.
* And down a hallway back to the living room where all hell is starting to break loose. A suit covered in LEDs represents the father's smoldering corpse. A cultist appears at the side door, again. There is a smashed piano off to one side.
* Into a hallway where Annie is banging her head against the ceiling.
* Aaaaaaand into the Attic again, where this time there is an Annie performer "sawing her head off" with the piano wire. She's standing on a box behind a few other boxes to simulate hanging. She sprays on guests, while cultists pop up from behind.
* through the window and into the treehouse for the finale, which is set into a black wall to simulate the final shot. The Paimon statue is there, as are the arrayed cultists, some of whom are real.

That's rough and ignores quite a few scenes (the school-desk scene, Joan, the fireplace sketchbook, the sleepwalking confession, etc.) but it gets the major beats in, I feel. It could fit the Ash vs. Evil Dead / First Purge spot, or even the Poltergeist spot easily.

While I enjoyed Hereditary, I wouldn't mind seeing it as a house, but I'm not really anxious to see it. There are several other films I want to see turned into houses before Hereditary.

Some would argue Panda Express doesn't even qualify as a decent meal. Ever HHN I was at city walk for food. Which is an issue they need to sort out. You either need to eat before hand or leave early to enjoy the fine dining establishments at city walk. The rule of no re-entry is stupid.

Agreed. Orlando allows re-entry, which makes them 100x better than us right there. lol

Totally off-the-wall, but after seeing the worm puppets done in Fright Fest's Sewer of Souls, I would actually love to see a Tremors house. That would have some really rad creature effects!

 

[Presto95]

Universal will never get Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Like someone else said, WB owns it and more importantly, it was on a survey they sent to guests this year for potential properties they’d like to see next year at Horror Made Here.