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Halloween Horror Nights 21 Reviews & Photos

I went opening night, but sadly only got to do 4 houses because of the rain and the time I spent at Finnegan's :lol:
But here's my review for those houses

The Forsaken
This house could have been really good. But it's those masks! Those glowing eyes didn't work in The Spawning, and the didn't work for this house. Their eyes glow green so you can see them a mile away. I have to say I really liked the huge courtyard room and the tilted pathway room. 5/10

The In-Between
I started going to HHN since 09 so I never experinced a 3D house. But boy, did I love The In Between. It's very trippy and colorful. I really like some of the scareactors hiding spots, they blended in really well. I got a couple of decent scares. And a shout out to those squid demons in one of the first rooms. They got me really good. 8.5/10

Winter's Night
I don't know if I got lucky (pun not intended) timing in this house, but at least every room I got more than 1 scare. The scare actors were very energetic too. I really liked the bride that ran at you from the alley. The sets were just a generic graveyard, nothing special. This house was low on my anticipated list, but ended up being one of the best houses that night. The weather and snow really added too. 9/10

Nightingales
This was a really fun house to go through. Hearing the war going on above you sounded really cool. The nightingales looked good, but I have to ask, were there any of the banshees in their true form? (The picture Universal released on FB) I didn't see any. I really like the finale, especially because I got grouped by 3 scare actors. The only problem with this house was I saw some places where scare actors could be, but they weren't. Maybe I just got a bad run through. 8/10

That's it. But i'm going again this Saturday to get the rest done. I have express that day, so I will do all the houses again to see if any houses get better.
 
Confirmed by my RIP tour guide that the button doesn't do anything as far as guest participation. WHAT DOES HAPPEN THOUGH, is that when the clock attached to the button hits 00:00 an atom bomb like sound effect and a bright flash happen.

It took my 4th run before I saw it. Pretty sweet, but definitely all about timing. You can hear the counter getting close if it's about to happen. While standing in line for the house, if you watch the interior ceiling of the house (you can see through the gap of the roof and the walls), you'll see the orange flash and hear the BOOM every couple minutes. Pretty heavy effect.


As far as the green eyed characters in Forsaken --- I must be in the minority, but I actually dig them. It's different, and creepy. Not really concerned about the "hiding" factor, I just dig the atmosphere.
 
It took my 4th run before I saw it. Pretty sweet, but definitely all about timing. You can hear the counter getting close if it's about to happen. While standing in line for the house, if you watch the interior ceiling of the house (you can see through the gap of the roof and the walls), you'll see the orange flash and hear the BOOM every couple minutes. Pretty heavy effect.


As far as the green eyed characters in Forsaken --- I must be in the minority, but I actually dig them. It's different, and creepy. Not really concerned about the "hiding" factor, I just dig the atmosphere.

Agree with you on the eyes. The eyes made one of the effects at the end of the house. For HoH, the bomb effect is great, but Lincoln's reaction to it is priceless. My friends and I were cracking up.
 
A few daytime videos I took because I hadn't figured out nighttime shooting on my phone just yet :lol:

Uploading them now little by little :thumbs:

[video=youtube;Eyq6miUARLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyq6miUARLw[/video]

[video=youtube;KZqAjP4jCps]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZqAjP4jCps[/video]

[video=youtube;2F5AU2CKXlM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F5AU2CKXlM[/video]

[video=youtube;RT9zfpGlbhY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9zfpGlbhY[/video]

[video=youtube;RT9zfpGlbhY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9zfpGlbhY[/video]

[video=youtube;FMqhtJwF3fQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMqhtJwF3fQ[/video]

[video=youtube;Y_oLvIABnMY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_oLvIABnMY[/video]

[video=youtube;6J_2mO0LK2I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J_2mO0LK2I[/video]
 
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Thanks for the photos, videos, and reviews. It makes me so sad that I won't be able to go this year (went to HHN 19 and 20) so this is how I will have to live it lol.
 
Best year for houses!
Lots of good things to like about this year.

HHN21003.jpg


HHN21004.jpg


HHN21007.jpg


Review to follow when I can upload more pics....
 
Based on two nights and a behind the scenes tour
I don't rate houses on a scare factor, as that is dependent on if you are a little girl or want to be one, I rate them more on atmosphere and the art direction. The sad thing about the houses is your really have to go through them multiple times to see everything and all the gags. The houses all had some great effects with a lot of water and wind that really improved the experience.
The houses were top notch this year and the zones were bottom of the barrel.
HHN was very loud this year and I found that very annoying, when waiting to get in or early in the night they should turn down the volume a couple of notches. Some of the house were way too loud and having guns fired in my ears just pissed me off.

Houses
1. Nightingales (9/10)
Some really good effects and lot good feeding scenes.
The facade, and walking under the tank, would have been a little better if it was set back and you could get a better look at it.

2. The Thing (8/10)
I give this one demerit for reusing the exact scene from 19, Liked the animatronics and the end was really cool.

3. The In Between (6/10)
First half of the house was very weak, but loved the second half. The demon heads were out of focus and the lattice room was under lit. The laser room was great, the string room great, and the symbols hallway were all great.

4. Nevermore (7/10)
Some good scenes and sets, loved the Ravens!

5. Saws n Steam (9/10)
This house was a real surprise and worked great. The water tanks and effects were awesome. Took a good premise from a lame zone and made it work.

6. The Forsaken (9/10)
This house was based off The Fog and I loved the height they were able to get in there, but it was not wide enough to fully appreciate it and the roof of the parade building should have been blacked out. The storm effect I really liked and the detail in there was incredible.

7. Winter's Night (8.5/10)
It was cold in there lots to look at, and I loved the grey scale at the beginning.

8. H.R. Bloodengutz (8/10)
Loved it. One demerit for no balloons at the dance.
Fun, fun scenes.

Zones
1. Acid Assault (7/10)
It only gets a seven because of the props and projections. Didn't really care for the costumes.

2. Canyon of the Dark Souls (7/10)
Good use of camouflage and guys with skull masks and hoods looked good and I liked the flame effects.

3. Grown Evil (9/10)
Loved the stilt guys and this was easily the best zone in years.

4. 7 (1/10)
What a waste of time and resources.

5. Nightmaze (.1/10)
What a joke.

6. Your Luck has run out (3/10)
Having people stand around is never a good idea and the evil Luck masks were too exaggerated.
 
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Houses and Zones in order from favorite to least:

1. Saws N Steam (10/10) Lots of great effects and atmosphere. The gore was used to great effect. The ending really got me. The actors were very into their roles. Easily the scariest house of the night.

2. Nightingales (10/10) I loved the banshees' appearance and I was on edge all through this house from the constant gunfire and twisting walkways. A close second.

3. Winter's Night (9/10) The facade was very impressive, especially combined with the cold and snow that hits you right away. Throughout the sets were good and the scares I got were good ones.

4. Nevermore (7/10) Amazing sets and props, this was the most impressive in that respect. I loved being in Poe's stories. Scares didn't do it for me though.

5. Forsaken (7/10) Impressive sets, I liked the open room for its creepiness and the slanted hall for the disorientation. Not very scary due to those bright green eyes. Loved the wind and water effects.

6. In Between (6/10) I liked the use of 3D and all of the fun house effects throughout. wasn't very scary, but disorientating and very trippy.

7. H.R. Bloodengutz (5/10) I loved the way they represented each holiday, but we were rushed through too quickly to notice all the details. The Christmas room was frankly hilarious and Arbor Day was the only one that scared me.

8. Thing (2/10) Dissapointing. I wasn't scared once. The strobe lights were way over used and I didn't feel a coherent story. This house was the only thing I didn't like about the event.


1. Grown Evil (9/10)

2. Acid Assault (9/10)

3. 7 (9/10)

4. Canyon of Dark Souls (7/10)

5. Nightmaze (5/10)

6. Your Luck Has Run Out (3/10)


Bill and Ted (7/10) I thought it was decent compared to last year, but still very stupid IMO. There really isn't much else to say about it.

I did ride Rockit for the first time at night and it was a very cool experience.
 
Ah, that makes much more sense now. It did do something for me, however. It allowed Abe Lincoln to sneak up next to me and give me one of the greatest scares of the night. :lol:

Didn't A&D say there would be some type of button again this year at the tweet-up or was this what they meant?
Yeah it worked great for a distraction and if you walked really slow you got to see it light up.
 
This was my first visit to HHN, and I really enjoyed all of the houses and most of the scarezones. Since I can’t compare it to previous years from my own experience I’ll stay away from ratings and just share my overall impressions.

WARNING! Spoilers ahead.

Haunted Houses
The Forsaken: I definitely felt the atmosphere of dread and danger that the house was trying to convey. The cathedral and courtyard scenes had great atmosphere, and I found the forsaken themselves to be both unnerving and threatening. There were a few scares that were given away by the green eyes, but the creepiness and energy of the actors made up for the loss in surprise factor. The scene in the ship, while interesting, wasn’t particularly scary, but I did get a solid two-part scare in the finale that left me with good impression.

The In-Between: I really like the way the story was presented here (as others have said it’s reminiscent of Dead Exposure). The fairly normal opening scene in the dorm room was a great contrast to the bizarre world of the in-between, and returning to the now trashed dorm in the finale was a great conclusion that ties in perfectly with the online backstory. The 3D worked well, and the laser room was a particular favorite of mine (feeling the “light” was a nice touch). When the scares hit, they were intense. The winged demons in particular really know how to work their space and use the costumes and e-prompts to get a great scare. The only room that let me down a bit was the string room. It looked pretty cool, but both times I went through the scareactors were just kind of hanging back among the strings. Could just be another example of how timing is everything. Overall, the expectations I had after hearing other reviews were met.

Nevermore: Each scene had just the right combination of eye-candy and scares, and on my first run there was no one in front of me so I managed to catch just about all of the scareactors’ attention. The portrait gallery was especially memorable for me, as I caught it while the strobes were going off and got hit by both of the dead brides. The only gripe I have is that in three runs through this house I only once saw the axed wife in the Black Cat scene. There’s really not much else I can say that hasn’t already be said, but I’ll echo that this is a great house with fantastic detail, great attention to the source material, and some memorable scares. And one more thing…I was legitimately concerned that those raven beaks were going to poke my eye out.

Saws n’ Steam: Into the Machine: I’ve always like the steampunk aesthetic, and I had a lot of fun seeing it in a more gruesome light. Loved how it opened with a little dig at a certain other “great big beautiful tomorrow,” and the use of the scrim effect was clever and almost funny to me. Some sections seemed a little less detailed than the other houses, but the set pieces that stood out were really memorable (moving sawblades, leg filet, extraction pistons, flesh aquariums). My timing was a little off in this one, so I only got about two or three solid scares, but the overall atmosphere and effects pieces made up for that in my opinion.

H.R Bloodentgutz: I had a ton of fun here. The pre-show video was hilariously gruesome and set up the backstory pretty clearly. The Bloodengutz in the first room played the part well, and I got to interact a bit and get him to press the red button on my second run. Again, some of my timing was off in this house (managed to just miss the feaster bunny and giant tree both times) but the campy atmosphere had me chuckling the whole way through. I got decent scares out of zombie Washington and Pocahontas, and the Thanksgiving room was just as absurdly grotesque as I hoped it would be. Does anyone have any advice on how to get the Munsters theme song out of my head?

The Thing: Very intense, I thought. From the façade to the end of the house I had the overwhelming sense that this base was getting torn apart from within and I had to get out. The whole house was really loud and the costuming was what I expected from a Thing house (not much variety though). Lots of animatronics here, and I got a good scare from the alien in the finale. I could see where poor timing kills this house, but I got lucky and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.

Nightingales: Another loud and intense house. The scenery was great, and I thought they did a good job with the overhead space inherent to the trenches. There was just the right amount of gore here, and the smaller Nightingale sitting on the pile of bodies was particularly chilling. Kind of reminded me of a child sitting among a pile of Christmas presents, or something like that. There was no shortage of Nightingales, they were everywhere in their various forms. The final show scene with the machine gun was cool, but I didn’t really get any scares out of it. I look forward to maybe seeing the Nightingales come back for a sequel house.

Winter’s Night: Great house for atmosphere, and the relative lack of ambient noise made the ferocity of the actor triggered effects all the more startling. The cold, snow, and the façade all set the scene brilliantly, and I only wish I had more time to slow down and take it in. I saw the mirror trick with the spirit crawling up the stairs, but it wasn’t moving so I either missed it or it was down. Enjoyed it overall, and it served as a good contrast to the frenetic pace of The Thing and Nightingales.

Scare Zones

7: Got to see it in both forms, decent visuals but not all that scary to me.

Grown Evil: Best atmosphere in my opinion. Dark, foggy, long, and the actors were working their space and getting decent scares.

Acid Assault: The projections were pretty cool and the scareactors seemed to be getting plenty of scares, including some with chainsaws. The rat lady made an appearance as well.

Your Luck has Run Out: Short and foggy. I like that Lady Luck had at least some presence at the event, but they could have done much better with the space they had.

Nightmaze: Meh. Actors seemed to be spending more time moving the fences than scaring. A good concept that just doesn’t execute well.

Canyon of Dark Souls: Good atmosphere, and the black walls make it easy for the actors to blend in, but it was just too short.

Shows

Bill and Ted: I appreciated the pop culture references, but I kind of feel that the finale number went longer than I cared for. Overall I enjoyed the show.

Death Drums: Only saw about a minute of it then moved on. Wasn’t too interested.

Overall Thoughts

I can see why HHN gets all the praise and has the fanbase it does. Just about all of the houses were as rich in detail and story as I expected. A big plus, in my opinion, were the sound effects that accompanied the scares. I’m pretty used to the setup at HoS, where actors’ voices or slamming boo doors make up most of the scares, so for me it was refreshing that most of the scares at HHN were accompanied by loud, intense, and story-appropriate effects. Also, for all the stories I’ve heard about the ops shouting “move along” and ruining the atmosphere, I never once noticed this myself. I chalk it up to going on a night that wasn’t incredibly busy, but while I did notice the many ops within the houses, they never spoiled the experience for me. In the end, I squeezed every minute out of the night and had a great time doing it. It was a real treat to finally see HHN for myself and I look forward to making it part of my haunt season tradition from here on.
 
My gf and I went Saturday night and we did everything in one night. We did the passholder early entry and knocked out Nevermore, In-Between and Forsaken early. I really didn't mind Forsaken, and thought that the masks were creepy enough. The very first one I saw actually had his hand over his eyes, then he took it down, saw me and attempted the scare. So apparently they know their eyes give themselves away.

My favorite house of the night was Nightingales. Great sets, and easily the most energetic cast. One moment kind of frustrated me though. There was one hallway with a banshee right in front of you, and then one to the right, and we were behind some girls who screamed at everything, but they stopped dead when they saw the 2 banshees there and the banshees took this as an advantage. They were trying to claw at them and screaming and kept triggering their effects, but these girls were not moving. They started to back up, so I just went around them, and the banshees kept at it. I kind of felt bad stepping past them, but I know some Ops person would have come by and made us move anyway.
 
This was my first time at HHN and I had a blast. We got in early at 5:30 instead of 6:30, we didnt get the express pass and thankgod we didn't because it would have been a waste of money. We did the 7 houses out of the 8 in an hour !!! We didnt wait more than 20 minutes to get on a ride or house. I enjoyed the bill and ted show so i dont know what the big deal is. The only thing was that it seemed like there was a lot of houses that were war/gun related, and it got kind of repetitive.

Best house- Winters Night, the scenery blow me away once I walked in. I liked it because it wasn't noisy, and they didn't use all the loud noises to scare you. Also, I liked the fact that you can see everything instead of it being pitch black. Loved this house.

Best scarezone- Grown Evil, the costumes were cool, and the scare actors had many dark places to hide in.

To me, none of the houses were bad, and the scarezones were pretty good except for Lady Luck.
 
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The only thing was that it seemed like there was a lot of houses that were war/gun related, and it got kind of repetitive.

Glad you had fun!

But the gun/war theme being repetitive? The Thing had guns to kill the creature(s), and Nightingales was during World War II....that's all I got.
 
Thanks, I had sooooo much fun. I guess your right, but I felt like there were some parts in Nightingales that were extremely loud, at one point I even covered my ears. I got a headache but I had fun. :) lol

The Foresaken kinda felt war-like with the ship and everything. Did they have guns in that one ?? It was the first one I went on so i don't remember.
 
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Thanks, I had sooooo much fun. I guess your right, but I felt like there were some parts in Nightingales that were extremely loud, at one point I even covered my ears. I got a headache but I had fun. :) lol

The Foresaken kinda felt war-like with the ship and everything. Did they have guns in that one ?? It was the first one I went on so i don't remember.

They did have cannons, and swords, but I don't recall any guns.
 
Yes Universal spent Money on the pop guns at Transworlds this year. They are big in the Haunt Industry now Netherworld uses them as did a smaller haunt I went to this year. Also All those bang sticks Lady Luck's Minions used this year.
 
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