So after seeing every house at employee preview night, I will go ahead and review them. Before I begin, it should be said that none of the houses were heavy on scare-factors and relied more on aesthetics. Also, most houses tended to have fairly weak finale scenes and I saw no blatant or direct links to Lady Luck. Considering this was employee preview night, houses always have room to improve and often do. My opinions are not set in stone.
Nightngales: This beauty wastes no time and throws you straight into the action. That said, however, the banshees do transition slowly into more demonized forms as the house progresses which is nice seeing them with various looks. The scenes get more and more intense the deeper into the trenches you go. This house has some really neat effects, typical of your soundstage houses. There isn't really anything negative to say about this house other than it, like most houses, tie in very loosely (if at all) to the theme of luck. I did notice a German plane wing in a scene so perhaps we're in the unlucky side's trench? Anyway, I give it an 8.5 out of 10.
In Between: This house is in between great and awesome. The 3D is utilized to the fullest and actually does tie in (in a sense) with lady luck. The premise is that a college kid got a hold of a paranormal boardgame that wisps him into a dimension of surreal and monstrous beings. You begin in his dorm room and, taking a chapter straight from the "Dead Exposure" handbook, you end in his dorm room... only the other-worldly creatures are now unleashed implying the human player lost the game and hence, Lady Luck did her thing. I cannot express enough how surprisingly awesome this house was. 8 out of 10.
H.R. Bloodengutz: The queue video was funny, staying true to the recent tradition of goofy B-houses in this spot. You walk through a series of films shown as part of the homicidal TV host, H.R. Bloodngutz's, horror marathon--each selected film themed to a different holiday. You will experience scenes from such made up films as Ho-Ho-Homicide and Feaster Bunny (though, much to my disappointment, the Feaster Bunny himself did not make an appearance). Scary? Heck no. Hilarious? You bet. I dare you not to giggle at the shotgun-wielding, maniacal elves. 7.5 out of 10.
The Thing: There were really no surprises in this house. They had elements of The Thing throughout the past four years of HHN so you know the score. It is cold. There are monsters. Things get gory. That said, The Thing still was a very fun house. There were a good number of animatronic Things that were pretty thrilling and, in contrast, guys and gals with loooud guns were opening fire. What was neat is that the facility towards the ending looks almost alien in its own right strengthening ones anticipation (assuming they had any) for the up coming film and where they might go with it. Oh, and there is real snow! 7.5 out of 10.
Winter's Night: This was not the epic I had hoped it would be but it was by no means bad. I had solid themeing and was sprinkled with some nifty special effects. There was a grave yard scene that uses force perspective to add depth which was cool. As far as the highly anticipated Weeping Angels go... there are only two which are in the very first scene (and only one that animates). This was a pretty big bummer. It was kind of a faceless house over all. Fun but faceless. I would have preferred to have a consistent baddie throughout the house or something to tie it all together. At any rate, this was the most beautiful-looking house by far. The set pieces are to die for. 7 out of 10. On an unrelated note, some troll drew a Mickey face on the front of the snow-covered stage coach. I LOLed.
Saws'NSteam: The premise is the same as the street. You are in a steampunk society where water is scarce. You enter a company called Horizon who claims to have found a (profitable) solution the water problem--by duping people into their factory and extracting the water from their bodies. Holy crap are the effects cool. There are water tanks with body parts floating around, buzz saws, mobile spiked walls, etc. There really wasn't as much saws as there was steam but still it was an interesting house. More to look at than anything else (kind of like Saw was). Yet another 7 out of 10.
The Forsaken: There was a large open scene that looked really cool because you're so used to mazes only shuffling your through tight quarters. Also, there is a part where the flooring slants up which is fun. Those are the few and only pros. Unfortunately, the rest is a bust. All the zombie sailors wear the same mask with bright, glowing eyes causing not only mass redundancy but alerts you to there presence from a mile away. It's almost impossible for them to scare you because those damned light-up eyes. The whole house felt flat. I got the feeling I was walking in circles in some parts just because there wasn't enough scene variation. Sadly, the Forsucken gets a 4 out of 10.
Nevermore: I love the idea of falling into the madness of Poe but I hate the idea of Poe coming with me. Scareactors literally wear a Poe-fashioned rubber forehead, hair, and mustache and join you for every other scene of this house. It gets down right dopey after a while. There were some scenes that were pulled off well like Tell-Tale Heart and Masque of the Red Death but most were really lack-luster. The Raven scene, for instance, has you walking down the hallway facing a giant window where outside sits a tree full of fake, lifeless ravens. Along the way three scareactors in giant, ridiculous crow suits lower their heads at you. Not cool, not scary, just plain silly. This was the biggest disappointment of the night for me, as I suppose it might be for many. This Poedunk house gets a 3.5 out of 10.