- May 26, 2010
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I reallyyyyy don't think they're gonna slap the Grimm branding on La Llorona. Pretty sure it's going to stand on its own.
Halloween Horror Nights 23 Speculation
- Thread starter Vyrus
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I reallyyyyy don't think they're gonna slap the Grimm branding on La Llorona. Pretty sure it's going to stand on its own.
I think at this point I'm mostly interested in seeing how the American Werewolf in London house will end up. Never expected them to do a house on such an old property like that.
- May 26, 2010
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Really, really sad. I never minded that they occasionally used stock music or sound effects (everyone in the professional industry does), but they set the precedent that they created their own video content for Halloween Horror Nights - both in build ups and the event itself. To buy some generic, unedited stock footage and throw it up on the blog is cheap and lazy.
I expect it to be executed visually/scare-wise extremely well. A&D has been fighting to do this house for many years, so clearly they consider it a pet project/strong design. The actual quality of the experience will, as always, be largely determined by the actors cast.
Maybe they planned to brand/sponsor La LLorona with Grimm, but decided to cut that out for the backlash they've been getting about IP overuse? :shrug:
BTW, I don't mean sponsor in the traditional sense. That's why I put brand/sponsor. What I mean is, if they were gonna use Grimm name, it would promote that IP, which is on NBC, which is part of Universal's umbrella of companies.
So, if no LT, then what's the word on that?
- May 26, 2010
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Yep, which likely means great things. It really feels like that and Cabin in the Woods are passion projects of A&D (the latter being Aiello's baby). This generally means they'll be strong houses since the designers will know the property backwards and forwards (unlike, say, Silent Hill, where it was pretty clear they didn't fully understand the games' universe and its characters). It also helps that the rights holders for AWIL/CITW don't seem to be particularly restrictive in how Universal uses the respective IPs, unlike AMC and New Line (who enforce lists upon lists of things they can't do). The refreshing flexibility is exemplified, in my mind, that Universal will be allowed to use some of HHN's original characters in Cabin to mix in with the film's own creations.
Really, AWIL and CITW may save the event for me. Walking Dead redux bores me (the prison and lumbering zombies doesn't exactly scream "crazy awesome sets"), Evil Dead is a less interesting Cabin and won't have the edginess it needs in the gore/lewd content department to work, and I'm thoroughly uninitiated with Resident Evil. Very apathetic about HAVOC on a Train. La LLorona and "Afterlife" are total wild cards but sound like houses I'd dig.
So... I guess we're running a 4.5/8 on the "Fallow's Excitement-Meter." Really need to figure out if I'm going to end up going this year or not.
Murdy said the other day that movie IP's can co-exist at the event because they aren't competing so to speak but television IP's is a different story being that one may feel the other is getting more "shine" than them. So, with the walking dead being HHN's pet zombie right now I don't think any other television show will be features, thus no grimm tagline.
I agree. Cabin and American Werewolf sound like home runs to me. Sometimes you can tell when an IP is forced upon them, like the Thing from 2011... compared to a passion project... the Thing from 2007. Clearly the biggest example, IMO.
The New Line houses weren't bad in my opinion. I don't really see what the "restrictions" were other than having Freddy and Jason appearing together, which is kind of silly. It was also my first year at HHN so my views may be a tad skewed. I really, really enjoyed Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I thought it was done perfectly... legitimately felt like I was in the remake.
I have good vibes about Evil Dead. I remember hearing that they always wanted to tackle Evil Dead. They had the little Army of Darkness nod in Silver Screams. So I'm convinced that yeah, while it's a popular IP, it's also something they care deeply about. Reminds me of say... Wolfman in 09? Clearly it was there because of the film coming out but it was a complete re-imagining of a classic. I felt like that was a pretty solid house.
I'm interested in Resident Evil as a long time player of the games and seeing (some of) the movies. Could be fun. Just a little redundant if it's mostly zombies, which I don't think will be the case.
- May 26, 2010
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Yeah, exactly. The Thing (2007) was their take on a favorite film on theirs - they were pretty much free to take on the property however they pleased and did so in a really inventive, innovative way that built on the film and created a new, refreshing experience. The Thing 2011 was a mandated montage of encounters seen in the film - there wasn't a lot they could do to make it their own.
I didn't get to experience the 2007 houses since my first year was 2008 - but from all accounts I've heard Nightmare and Texas Chainsaw were undeniably awesome. Friday seemed to be loved by some, disappointed others. Either way, they were all three well designed houses. AMC appears to be by far the most stupidly controlling IP holder HHN has ever dealt with - New Line was just an example of a protective IP holder who rejected some of A&D's ideas. Texas Chainsaw seemed to be a montage house, but it was a film that lent itself well to one... it's a single location with a large cast of characters and scenes to feature. Nightmare was closer to being a new take on the material with the Sleepwell drug, crafting new locations and scenarios while intelligently including kills and sequences from the films.
I totally get they want to do Evil Dead - that's not my concern. HHN Orlando has been very skittish about mature content despite it being an "adult" Halloween event... this means no lewd content (nudity, strong language) or excessive gore. A proper execution of The Evil Dead requires both. I loved the Army of Darkness bit in Silver Screams... but I'm more concerned about a full house with neutered content. I'm sure they care about it - they know and love the property. But they have to work with the censors.
Understood. From what they've said about scenes including a vomit scene and a blood rain, maybe all bets are off for this one. I definitely get what you're saying though, the extreme content needs to be upped for this one. Maybe it will as most people know what they are getting themselves into with Evil Dead. Atleast one can hope.
On a side note, hopefully the "vomit" scene isn't just that reused prop from outside Newkd Vegas last year.
