I know.. I'm super mega late in posting this but.. my Halloween Horror Nights 2019: Fear To The Max/Maximum Screamage/Your Worst Fears Live Here review..
IPs:
Stranger Things Vol 2: 6/10 = I like Stranger Things and I kinda dug last year's maze.. but as far as this year's goes.. eh, it wasn't really scary but there were some set pieces I liked like the pumpkin patch.. If they... oh who am I kidding, this IP sold the most merch and tickets this year so WHEN they bring this back next year, I hope they amp it up.. But eh, only did this maze twice and that was that..
Creepshow: 10/10 = I LOVED Creepshow!! I really loved the quirky comic book facade, the Father's Day scene with the head cake was well done, the Crate was terrifying as hell.. loved seeing the transition walls be comic book pages.. I even dug the ShudderCreep scenes.. which made me want to check out the Creepshow reboot on Shudder.. I think I should get on that.. I wouldn't mind seeing this again at some point with the remaining Creepshow 1 stories they didn't use and maybe Creepshow 2 scenes and more ShudderCreep scenes..
Ghostbusters: 9 and 1/2 out of 10 = WEEEE GOT ONE!!! I LOVED Ghostbusters!! I loved seeing the firehouse facade, the Ecto-1 in the garage, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the library scares, the Slimer scene, and even a creative use of black walls with the ghostly realm and seeing ghosts from the other films in the GB franchise in those rooms.. Oh and of course, getting to sing and dance to the theme song while in the queue and exiting the maze.. It wasn't meant to be scary but it was a great celebration of this IP
Us: 10/10 = I got five on it... This maze was so intense and creepy.. very aggressive and brought every single aspect of Jordan Peele's haunting tale to life.. Every scareactor was aggressive and it felt so true to the movie.. I enjoyed this maze so much.. The Tethered scene at the end is what got me the most..
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: 10/10 = PT Barnum said it so long ago, there's one born every minute, don't you know!! I LOOOVEEDD Killer Klowns From Outer Space!! This maze was a celebration of how over-the-top and fun the movie is.. Very colorful and zany but also scary.. It was fun seeing all those iconic scenes from the movie.. including the spaceship, the cotton candy cocoons, the police officer ventriloquist dummy and Klownzilla!! Really loved this maze and getting to sing along to the theme song.. I also remember getting sprayed with water in this maze.. they brought back water effects, woohoo..
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Meets The Wolf-Man: 9 and a 1/2 out of 10 = A worthy follow-up to last year's perfect Universal Monsters maze.. the sad and mournful gypsy music set the tone for what we would expect.. a tale of a man and monster both cursed by fate.. seeking answers.. The gypsy camp, the castle ruins and of course, getting scared by Frankenstein and The Wolfman was just pure awesomeness.. Also, Slash's music was great this year like it was last year.. Hopefully they'll release the score again..
House of 1000 Corpses: 8/10 = RIP Sid Haig.. This maze was decent.. it was nowhere near the much grittier 2010/2011 3D version that we all fondly remember.. but it was a decent representation of this iconic movie.. it was great seeing the Murder Ride and the Firefly house again and Captain Spaulding..
The Walking Dead Attraction: ... yeah, it's the same as it always is and was.. no real change here...
ORIGINAL MAZES: FINALLY we got two originals again!! Yay!! Okay, on with the review!!
Holidayz In Hell: 10/10 = For years, we had gotten scarezones like Dark Christmas, Hell-O-Ween and the original Holidayz In Hell scarezone.. it all seemed like it was building up towards this maze.. and when we finally got this maze.. it was worth the wait.. Where do I start? I really loved this quirky, creepy funhouse take on the Holiday icons like Turkey and Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.. The postcards were so cool, the Easter room was delightfully disturbing.. complete with another water effect.. the Halloween room with the jack-o-lanterns was really creepy and awesome.. The Valentine's Day room was just WRONG!! lol.. the Holiday songs by Figure really helped sell the sinister yet campy tone of this maze.. Really loved Holidayz In Hell.. Would I want this to return? Um.. sure.. if they can do different ways of portraying the scenes.. but still making it sinister yet campy..
The Curse of Pandora's Box: 10/10 = Anything can be acquired.. anything your heart desires.. Well, my heart desired a really bonkers original maze from HHN and dammit, this maze delivered on that!! The creepy occult shop at the beginning really set the tone, the UV/neon nightmares that Pandora unleashed on us were scary but fun.. I loved the Medusa room and the spider monster room.. This hands down was a top 3 maze for me.. Would I be down for a sequel maze? As I said with Holidayz In Hell, yes, but give us new scenes and ideas that continue the storyline and not just rehash the original entirely.. Pandora is a character I wouldn't mind revisiting.. she is terrifying as hell..
Terror Tra-- oh, that's right, huh?
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I'm still mixed on whether it should come back or stay in HHN's past, honestly..
Scarezones were also really cool this year: Spirits of The East was a really cool scarezone with interesting character designs.. The dragon demon scareactors were cool.. I'm still LOL-ing at the fact they had a Momo scareactor in the zone.. Christmas In Hell was cool.. continued that quirky yet creepy vibe of Dark Christmas and Holidayz In Hell.. Fallen Angelz was an interesting chainsaw zone with the bejeweled skull designs and the biker jackets.. the Prophets chainsaw troupe were also really cool with the demented vintage Halloween masks.. Toxxxic Tunnel... was Toxxxic Tunnel.. good actors and energy.. and All Hallow's Evil.. oh.. my dear All Hallow's Evil.. This scarezone was great and I loved the various vignettes depicting the various pagan festivals that led to Halloween.. I especially loved the reuse of La Llorona in a vignette.. I'd so be down for original mazes based on Spirits of the East and All Hallow's Evil in the future..
Shows: Didn't see Jabbawockeez, I'm sure it was the same ole, same ole.. You get tired of this show after a while.. I saw the Beetlejuice show at Throwback Thursdays with the 80's cover band.. wow, I'd love if Universal gave us a 2nd show with Beetlejuice that incorporated dark comedy, illusions, puppetry and a rockin' soundtrack.. That's a show I'd see.. and it would cut down on all the heavy crowds I saw this year..
My overall thoughts on HHN 2019: Definitely one of the strongest years of HHN Hollywood.. I was really impressed by the event this year.. comedy mazes, original mazes, it was an unusual but very well-done year.. The crowds were horrendous but the event itself was really fun this year.. My final rankings of the mazes would be..
10. The Walking Dead
9. Stranger Things
8. House of 1000 Corpses
7. Creepshow
6. Ghostbusters
5. Killer Klowns From Outer Space
4. Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman
3. Holidayz In Hell
2. The Curse of Pandora's Box
1. Us
With that said, bring on Halloween Horror Nights 2020!