Halloween Horror Nights 25: Reviews & Photos

[Frank Drackman]

Thanks for the review @SeventyOne, I'm not sure what threw me off on run. I did see the running man when it was in the theaters (I'm old) so I got the concept but I really didn't take it so lighthearted so I will try next time to see if it helps if I try to view it for comic value. If I recall correctly, it was the one house that seemed to play to the olé factory senses which I really didn't get either, could have been just bad timing for me. There were other houses where I went through at a bad time or pace, but I could see the potential.

Hey, in AWiL, Mickey was replaced with Minnie.

FvJ and Incidious seemed to have issues with crowd flow when we went through. Opa where really trying to keep it moving, at least they weren't blasting flashlights the year (at least for us last night)

 

[RogueAntilles]

So either multiple days or Express is needed pretty much 99.9% of the time. Even in September.

There's a lot of content to cover no doubt but if you plan the evening correctly you can get pretty much everything done. Do everything popular first. Do shows and scarezones when the lines are long. Save the rest of the houses for later. Express ruins the event for everyone. Your basically paying to go to the event twice. After you paid admission your paying more just to go through the houses. Plus it makes the lines longer for everyone else. Its the ultimate amusement park racket that most people fall for.

 

[DmendozaMIA]

UPDATED AFTER SECOND WEEKEND-------

Houses Worst to best

9. The Walking dead- This House has turned into a fun house to walk through and have a good time, only if the cast is into it. 2.5/5

8.Purge- they tried i guess. The scream part of the house gave me callbacks to halloween, close quarter house environments in a tent, and this house just made me want scream even more. However this house is still tons of fun, and is more interesting than say, twd. 3/5

7. Run- Awesome concept, great backstory and queue video, and honestly a good execution, but its not scary. And sadly, i think it has peaked.. 3/5

6. AWIL- Only one good run out of 4 runs total, i have no idea what is wrong but AWiL is really dropping fast, i remember a friend saying it was the worst he went through 3/5

5. Asylum 3D- ok i loved every single house from here on out, yes asylum is no better than in between, but its really great, i also loved the actual asylum elements in the house such as the final room and the finale, and the final scene with the queen and alice. Just an awesome house 3.5/5

4. FvJ- This house is kind of slowing down, i dont like the lack of variety scareactors wise and it doesn't scare me anymore. Still the sets are amazing and the house is also very creepy despite being a slasher based house, the Jason actors are reminiscent of the Michael myers actors from last year since they are so large and foreboding. This house is still Great. 4/5

3.Insidious- It's not "halloween" from last year i've come to realize that, its scary and creepy but its not AMAZING, i still dont know what it's missing. Maybe its all the staff pushing you forward and ruining the experience. Nevertheless i'm being pessimistic, the house is still insanely fun. 4/5

2. Body Collectors- The Facade!!!!! The Ambience!!!! The Scares!!!! Perfect!!!! 5/5

1. Monsters and Mayhem- INCREDIBLE, the new jack masks really make the house, but if you really get down to it what makes this house the best of the year is the variety in scares sets and actors, truly the best HHN can offer. 5/5

Overall all the houses are worth it, even twd pulled itself out of obscurity, but the bottom 4 are nothing special, and

Scarezones

Icons- Why in the hell are the classic characters wielding chainsaws, i don't care its awesome, also the kills are all really great.

Scary Tales- Great costumes but not that many scares, still cool to look at all the different characters.

Psychoscareapy- Awesome light hearted fun, not that many scares surprisingly but still a fantastic zone.

All Nite Die In- The color characters really get some good scares, still my favorite are still the classic characters they are so great to see in person.

Evils Roots- Great ambience, and the scariest zone of the year. AMAZING

Roaming hordes- the chainsaw drill team and the female prisoners get a big MEH, the clowns on the other hand are great.

Overall all five scarezones are on point, welcome back scarezones. And thumbs up to all scareactors in the streets this year.

Shows

B&T- MEHHHHHH, loved the delorean, the middle part of the show and all the things they decided to parody, but the closing was not good at all.

Carnage Returns- Love the hhn jokes and references, and jack is an amazing character, chance is kind of annoying though imo. Still fantastic show and a must see to get a real feel of jack the clown.

 

[SeventyOne]

Thanks for the review @SeventyOne, I'm not sure what threw me off on run. I did see the running man when it was in the theaters (I'm old) so I got the concept but I really didn't take it so lighthearted so I will try next time to see if it helps if I try to view it for comic value. If I recall correctly, it was the one house that seemed to play to the olé factory senses which I really didn't get either, could have been just bad timing for me. There were other houses where I went through at a bad time or pace, but I could see the potential.

Can probably be hit or miss. And not calling it an all-time great or anything, just defending it as average when everyone else seems to be slagging on it.

FvJ and Incidious seemed to have issues with crowd flow when we went through. Opa where really trying to keep it moving, at least they weren't blasting flashlights the year (at least for us last night)

By last night, the "greeter" at Insidious was constantly spieling "Do not stop. Keep up with the party in front of you. Do not stop. Keep walking." And the blackshirts made their presence known more than the other houses. House was still slow to walk through. Seeing you waving a flashlight does nothing when the 10 people ahead of me have stopped.

 

[SamJay]

I'll do my review in chronological order. I was lucky enough to get into Employee Preview night and only got to do three houses and Bill and Ted's, plus the scarezones. I did the APH early access event on Friday. Saturday was a mess, operation/flow wise, but I still had fun.

Bill and Ted's first show was a good show, overall. I wish it would have had a bigger audience. I liked the throwbacks. There was a couple jokes that didn't get a ton of laughs, and some really small, "blink and you'll miss it" gags that got tons of laughs and applause. It does have good pacing and Bill and Ted's entrance was killer. Can't wait to see how the show evolves over the next couple weeks. For now I'm giving it a solid 3/5.

Body Collectors: Recollections was my most anticipated house and it didn't disappoint. The facade is gorgeous...actually, the entire house is gorgeous and creepy. Scares are abundant and varied. IMO this is a good house to do when it's hot and the sun is still out because the facade is a little way's away from the sound stage entrance and it's a little cooler inside than a couple of the other houses. 4.5/5. If only because Collections of the Past is one of my favorite houses of all time and still my favorite BC house.

American Werewolf in London: I watched this movie a couple weeks ago to familiarize myself with the story and while I missed HHN 2013, I heard nothing but good things about AWIL so I was very excited to hear they were bringing this one back with some shiny new puppets. Speaking of puppets, I remember thinking, "they're just puppets, how scary can they be?" I was wrong, and I'm glad I was wrong, because those things got me every single time and I loved every minute of it. I loved the rooms with multiple scares and the smaller details like the silhouette of the werewolf in the subway scene. 5/5.

Jack Presents 25 Years of Monsters & Mayhem: Got into this one the first time around with a 20-minute wait. The facade raised the bar for future houses like this. A lot of the spoilers we've seen here and around the internet are true and it's really nice to see so much variation in callbacks. I'm really glad the creative team didn't pull any punches or shy away from including more "esoteric" characters and scenes. The whole house feels like a love letter to the super fans...but I think everyone can have a really good time in this house. It's a shame they apparently had to cut 3-4 additional scenes to fit in a budget for a certain house change. Can't wait to see Jack with his mask on. 4.5/5 for now.

The Walking Dead: It seems like they really wanted to make this one work, and in some ways, it did. The scareactors were on point and didn't give me a break, so I'm grateful for that. The first scene is pretty decent. Aside from that I can't exactly be bothered to care enough to elaborate on the strengths and weaknesses of TWD this year. It'll still attract tons of people every night. I can't see myself justifying another run through this one without a wait time shorter than 20 minutes. In summation: yay scareactors, boo mediocre sets. 2/5.

The Purge was chaotic, high-energy, loud, full of aggressive scareactors...basically, everything that made me love last year's scare zone. The facade was pretty cool, IMO. I know a lot of people said they could tell they scrambled to put this house together after Scream got cut, but I thought they did a pretty good job of putting something together that gave this house it's own personality. I definitely enjoyed it more than TWD. I'm giving this one a fighting chance to improve over the season. 3.5/5.

Run: Blood, Sweat, and Fears: Better after the sun goes down. Great queue video. This is definitely the "joke" house of the year, but it seems a bit more dark than the typical HHN joke house. This house also has some appropriately aggressive scareactors...the blitzkreig boys and the Canadian woman got me good on both runs so far. The Japanese room is really cool. The house, as a whole, is good and I can see myself doing it many more times without an issue. That being said, considering how high-energy it is and how there's so much going on, the end seemed a bit lacking. 3.5/5.

Freddy vs. Jason...wow...just wow. Incredible sets. TALL Jasons and creepy Freddys everywhere. Tons to see in lots of different rooms. This house was definitely a labor of love. Freddy Kreuger is, by far, the "horror icon" that scares me the most and those scareactors must have smelled it on me. Don't let the long wait times scare you away from this one. It's a must do. 5/5.

Insidious: This house is on the same level of scares as FvJ but in a different way. It's a lot more creepy, the scareactors carry themselves a little more deliberately(i.e.; the first red-faced demon honed in on me followed me across the room), and the facade is amazing. One of my favorite things about this house in particular is that there's a very difficult time of differentiating between real and fake. This house is incredibly dark inside. There were multiple times I thought I would run into a scareactor. Another must-do with consistently long wait times. 4.5/5.

Asylum in Wonderland: My opinions on 3D houses are pretty typical for an HHN fan...one of the biggest scares I ever got in the history of HHN was the demon in The In-Between, aside from that...meh. That being said, I went into this house expecting some cool visuals and not much else, but I was pleasantly surprised. The costumes, the lights, the way the glasses play around with the scenery was really cool. I did get a couple really good scares, too. 4/5.

The houses and scare zones are all pretty solid this year. Psychoscareapy is my favorite scare-zone, by far. I have next to no complaints about Evil's Roots. All-night Die-In is pretty cool, but needs more scareactors. I like Icons, but the chainsaws seem out of place. Screampunk isn't getting a ton of attention but some of those scareactors are doing a great job out there.

I haven't gotten a chance to see The Carnage Returns yet, but from what I've been on youtube and in passing, it's very impressive.

 

[Cwoolboy]

A. This is by no means my final thoughts on this year's event, just an impression my first night attending. Thoughts on each house, zone, and show may change as the event progresses.

B. I am one man with limited time, thusly I was not able to hit every house this one night. I'm expecting to have experienced every one by the time the event ends though, but for now I'll post my thoughts on what I experienced tonight.

HHN has another winner on their hands.

HOUSES

Asylum In Wonderland in 3D-A wonderful house, definitely has some shades of The In-Between, although naturally it's not quite as superb as that house was.

Monsters and Mayhem: Fantastic house filled to the brim with references and scares. To the first time guest, it may seem confusing and disjointed, but the long time HHN fan will surely eat it up.

Bodycollectors: Recollection- Superb theming throughout and some great scares (Plus, they bring back the spine rip kill!!!). I don't think the Body Collectors and Shadybrook mix super well, but the theming here and some of the scares make this one worth visitng.

Freddy Vs. Jason- F YES!!! Great theming throughout, and I love that we get to travel through each character's world first before they collide and clash at the end. It plays like we are traveling through our own personal version of the Freddy vs. Jason film. Very cool and very fun.

RUN: Blood, Sweat and Fears- Not the best house but it's very fun to walk through and I love the theme of a sadistic game show run by a sadistic television company. RUN and Hellgate prison also mx together fairly well. When I did get scares, they were pretty great and the scareactors were all on their A game.

The Purge- I LOVE The Purge, but this house was vastly disappointing. I understand they had to quickly overlay the Purge theme to an exisiting idea, and they certainly did the best they could....it's just the result isn't really memorable or scary, and it honestly didn't feel like The Purge or that I had entered the world of the film. I may give it one more run through later on into the event just to be fair.

ZONES

Evil's Roots- Holy carp guys, this zone was superb. It is filled to the brim with dense fog and cool, creepy characters, plus it's a pretty large zone that fully, and effectively utilizes the Central Park area (Lots of glowing pumpkins too). Quite possibly my favorite zone I've experienced in HHN history. One group compared it to walking through one of the haunted houses, and I kind of agree. I'll be sure to spend some quality time here any time I visit this year.

Icons- Another fantastic zone. Each Icon has their own mini-stage and mini-show. It's just great to be able to re-visit some of your old favorites

All Night Die-In: Double Feature - Not an amazing zone, and not super well-themed but on one of my walk-throughs I got to see Frankenstein, Nosferatu, Wolfman, and other classic Universal Monsters so that makes this zone an automatic win in my book.

Psychoscarepy: Unleashed- Theming is very scattered, scareactors were pretty good though and definitely seemed very into their roles. There is the welcome sign, 2 mini-stages with mini-shows, and a big, burning contraption close to where you enter (can't for the life of me figure out what it is). The zone utilizes most of the NYC area, so it's fairly large. Didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but my initial reaction is that it's pretty ok. Will reserve my final judgement until I feel i've spent an adequate amount of time in it.

Scary Tales: Screampunk- Not much theming at all here except for a large, cool contraption in the middle. It takes up a VERY small area, but the costumes the scareactors wear are all impressive.

SHOWS

The Carnage Returns: Man, what an insane, fun show. Very warped, but I loved it. Jack returns in full form, bringing his killer circus act to you. Lots of people die in brutal, gory ways, and we are encouraged to root for their demise (and do our best maniacal laughs). The 15 minutes prior to showtime is filled with heavy metal/rock songs and pyro, and the show itself does not disappoint (Lots going on within, including dance numbers, acrobatics, and naturally MURDER!!!!).

Bill and Ted- One of the duo's better shows (but not their best). Opening dance number was ok, loved that it opens with the Delorean and Doc Brown, the actual story was tops (Kanye West tries to take over pop culture), and the ending dance number was great. Helped that a lot of the jokes hit their mark. Very good show, definitely will be re-visiting it.

Random Thought- Glad they upped the usage of fog in this event. It's been a while since I've seen the streets shrouded in fog like this. Reminded me of my first few years attending. Always a pleasure to come home smelling of sweat and fog.

MUST SEES

Freddy Vs. Jason
Asylum In Wonderland 3D
Body Collectors: Re-collection
Monsters and Mayhem
Evil's Roots
Icons
The Carnage Returns
Bill and Ted

 

[Shucker]

Just wanted to thank everyone that has been posting reviews. I know it takes time and I really appreciate it!

 

[Nick]

I see a lot of people seeing Wonderland (to my surprise) and FvJ (to no one's surprise) are must see's... 2 of the 3 that I didn't get to see the other day

Oh well, more reason to go back

 

[sjago13]

So far went both nights opening weekend and will adjust as I get more runs since the pack is so close in my mine and this is the strongest year I have been to.

Monsters and Mayhem: 10/10
I love this house. Being able to relive some great moments from years past and experience others that I have missed out on is a wonderful feeling. Each room has multiple actors and scares coming from all directions. There is no way to walk though this house without a big grin on your face.

Spoiler: house details

The Dracula brides room I got 4 scares in. And the gothic/nightingales transition is stuff of pure bliss!!! The only thing that could have been better is if the house was complete. When you exit you notice that they only used about 4/5ths of the building and it kinda ends abruptly.

Freddy v Jason: 10/10
This house is just brutal and the loudest house I have ever been in. The SFX in this house just add the the wonderful atmosphere that is fully realized. Add this with the fact there are plenty of good scares to be had. I'm not that intimidated by the Jason's but the freddys were able to really startle me and get their knife fingers right into my face. This was also a really long house, granted I feel it gets a 60/40 split of the SS it shares with body collectors.

Spoiler: house details

I had a Jason win both times though and it changes with cast changes as the winner is the post house scare, that is also kinda spoiled as you can see in though the exit while in line. I hope they add a curtain to obstruct it. Like others here, I really don't like the screens but they do their job and would take them over pulling 2 actors from other parts of the house to tango for me.

Insidious: 10/10
I watched the first two movies in the week leading up to HHN and it just made e more excited for this house. This house is on the level of Halloween last year for being such a faithful recreation of an IP. While FvJ benefits from having a large space to play with and make giant foreboding sets, this house really benefits from the close and intimate setting the tents impose on the house layouts. It has a very claustrophobic feeling and has tons of great scares to dole out. My second run though we had a group of screamers in front and behind us and it just made for an electric and unforgettable experience. This house is very unnerving and plays on it well.

Spoiler: house details

I love how something as simple as a pool noodle cut and half and mounted on a motor running at 20rpm behind a black sheet with some fog can very effectively convey walking though the further.

Body Collectors: 10/10
Love the fascade and it sets a great tone for the house. The gentlmen are very creepy. Save for 2 gentlemen, they mostly provide the spectacle and distractions for the patients to jump out and get you. I love the brutality and the kills that play out for your enjoyment. And this house has a very good ending. Again while not as many scares as the 3 houses above, the ones that are there are very good. This house has so many memorable moments.

Spoiler: house details

From the curtain blowing in the wind with the throat slash to the spine rip to the gentleman in the red coat with the headless SA. I also really like the shadow projection onto the curtains that play as a great distraction for the gentleman that is behind you in that room.

American Werewolf in London: 8/10
Great house, my #1 in 2013. It being 5th is a true testament to how good the above 4 are. I also had very bad timing both of my times though. The new wolfs are bigger and better than ever. I also really like the placement of the new wolf and he has the best range of movement being able to jump out a good 3 to 4 feet right into your face.

Purge 8/10
Very high energy house that felt long for a tent house. A testament to how much can be squeezed out of these smaller house locations. The loudness of this house really added to the atmosphere and the actors were viscoious in their execution.

Spoiler

I loved the plant in this house!!! It was really effective and I thought it was a real guest until I spotted the earplugs. It was set up earlier by the fact earlier in the day a group infront of us took a wrong turn in FvJ and had to cut back in. Since she cut in front of my friend and I was behind him I really didn't notice it as much and it played out great with the purger stabbing her over and over.

Asylum in Wonderland: 8/10
Love the visuals and the tunnel makes you actually feel wobbly, first time that has ever happened to me in those. There aren't many places for the actors to hid but most of the rooms have 2 scare actors and they seems to have it set up as the first plays the distraction for the second. I do like the transition to the physical asylum and wish that could have been explored a little more. The house had a good length to it as well as I was skeptical of the space that they would be able to work with. I feel confident for this house location moving forward though and do like where the entrace is as it draws people into a normal dead area. However this line now also seems to suffer the same effect of the disaster houses when they had shows in beetlejuice with carnage returns right next to it. So best time to jump into the line is prolly right before a carnage show finishes.

Run 7/10
I love the premise and setting of this house but the execution is a little lacking. Like others have said before, the transitions take up way too much space. Also this house is very timing dependent as most of the rooms only have one good scare point in them which seems shortsighted. However I love the rooms themselves and the story behind each one. If you have perfect timing in this house it could be a very good experience, this house just lacks consistency.

Walking Dead: 7/10
Unlike most here I didn't hate this house. It is actually my favorite walking dead house so far. Because while it lacks the scale and spectacle of last years house it is more intimate and has a way better scare density. I also like some the the gags that this house has such as

Spoiler

the throat slash with water that comes out and the horse that is flopping around on the ground being eaten. The water scene was disappointing in its scale and execution though.

 

[Brian G.]

Some photos from the weekend:

 

[Clive]

Great shots - love the Invisible Man and that Usher!

 

[MrRoamer]

Awesome pictures BriMan!!

 

[Teebin]

Some photos from the weekend:

Are those all zone characters?

 

[theuoleaker]

 

[Brian G.]

Are those all zone characters?

Yes

 

[Brian G.]

Here's video from the Carnage Returns Stage Show

 

[Biff Tannen]

I went to HHN on Saturday night and I have to say that it was the best year that I have seen yet (My first year was 22). Here are my thoughts about the houses, zones, and shows. I know that they are different than a lot of the ones I have read on here, but I just call it as I see it. SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!


Houses: From Weakest to Strongest


The Bad House:


9. Walking Dead - This was the only BAD house there this year. I have nothing against the series, and really have nothing against seeing it return again and again.... I just found this one to be... boring. It was the same thing with the same slow moving walkers again and again. The set was beautiful with a variety of locations from Terminus to the Church to the woods (again). I must have missed the legendary flooded scene...But seeing as how I walked slowly and looked everywhere, it must not have been that memorable to begin with. And the disco zombie thing at the end? I honestly wondered if I was being punked a bit.


The Meh House:


8. Insidious - I know, I know... Everyone else loved this house... This one was only meh for me. I did it twice and frankly the only word I can use to describe it was dark. I was scared more by the team members moving traffic along than the monsters, since I couldn't tell which was which. I found the scares to be predictable...A monster pops out of a closet... Didn't see that one coming. - sarcasm- Also, the demons seemed to run at me from a great distance away, which seemed to get rid of the scary factor by the time they reached me. Not a bad house, but I would have loved to have seen the detail the rest of you saw... but I would definitely not compare this one with Halloween. Not even in the same league.


The Good Houses:


7. Run - I wanted to love this house so much. It was like being in The Hunger Games or Running Man. I can't say I was scared in this house at all... But I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I loved the transitions from room to room, but the timing seemed REALLY off. Therefore, I sort of took it as this year's comedy house. Lumberjacks and geishas totally made the house for me and I would love to do it again, just to see what I missed.



6. Wonderland - I want to say that I normally hate 3D houses, but this one worked. It was trippy enough to be used in conjunction with Alice. The vortex tunnel was perfect and I loved the ending where the asylum really comes into play. The Queen of Hearts was spot on. The Mad Hatter scene however could have been a disaster. It was basically empty. The Mad Hatter would prance out onto the table and then go hide for 30 seconds, meaning if you entered the room at just the right time, you would never see the hatter…Which would be a major bummer. I also must have missed the Cheshire Cat, which is a shame, cause that could have been epic. All in all though, it is my favorite 3D house I’ve been in.



5. Purge - I was really skeptical going into this house, knowing the whole Scream debacle, but I was so happy with what I saw. There was so much energy in this house, and I really felt like I was being hunted. The videos at the beginning really set the mood and I loved the number of reasons to purge that were shown, from cheaters to revenge to wealth. The splatter scene on the bed is now a classic for me and I don’t even know how many times I was attacked by the purgers…Needless to say, I discovered I would probably not survive through purge night. If I had any criticism, it would be the opposite of insidious and make it a bit darker.



4. Freddy Vs. Jason- Let me say now, I am a big freddy fan, but didn’t really care for Jason in the movies. The elaborate sets made this house, but even more so, the bounce from scare to scare was perfect. Freddy would make you jump and stare one way, while Jason would get you from the other side. It helped sell the battle and create the idea of being surrounded. The screens seemed really out of place, though. I understand why they are there, since you can’t have a battle quite like that with live actors…I just didn’t find them scary. As for the finale, I was still expecting a battle or some kind with a victory. Having Freddy step out from behind a curtain with a Hockey mask in his hand seemed a bit anti-climatic. Still, solid, and quite popular house (the Express line was twice as long was the regular line)


The Great Houses:



3. American Werewolf in London - What more can I say. I love this house. I loved it the first time, and again the second time. The puppets were beautiful and fluid, but seemed to be off in timing. I’m guilty of holding up the line and standing in front of one just until it jumped out at me. J A HHN classic.



2. Body Collectors - I had a geek out moment in this one. What sets HHN apart from your neighborhood haunt isn’t the scares. (Someone jumping out at you is similar no matter where you are). It is the storyline and the set that sets HHN apart. This façade and the snow was so beautiful. The progression of the attack through Shadybrook was well thought out. I loved the medical room halfway through with all of the gentlemen watching from the audience. The cast was aggressive and I really felt like I went back in time. This was worth the cost of admission right here.



1. Monsters and Mayhem - I had high hopes and they were met and exceeded. It was long and detailed with the best scenes from many great houses. I loved the goldilocks scene and liked those bears as well as the werewolves from the next soundstage over. The forsaken tilted floor was wonderful and I loved seeing the caretaker in the maze. Gothic was so spectacular and the illusion worked perfectly. Nightengales and Dracula also stood out. My only question was “Where is Jack?” He was supposed to be in here 3 times… I saw plenty of random clowns, but no Jack… Still, I can’t imagine a better anniversary house.



Scare Zones - These ruled this year. They all were quite strong.


Scary Tales - The costumes were beautiful and the cast got into their parts. Everyone wanted selfies with them, but they remained in character without being rude, stopping just long enough for a fast pic before scaring again.


Shadybrook - What a fun zone. I laughed so much and they played right along with me. Can’t say I was scared, but I did have a blast (Quite literally with the gazeebo)


Evil’s Roots- Central park is always a win with its trees and lanterns. The characters were very stealthy in here, using gilly suits and pretending to be scare crows. It led to some great jump scares.


All Nite Die-In - I love how this changed over the course of the night. I loved the classic monsters at the beginning. Frankenstein really seemed to get into it, and his bride stalked me for quite some time, which was so scary. I wish that the movie screen wasn’t so dilapidated, so that I could have seen the movies, though. The newer monsters were cool too, but I liked the older ones much better.


Icons - It was such a nice walk down memory lane. I started coming when the icons weren’t around, so it was nice for me to get acquainted with them . Each of their murders was well done and fit the theme well, though the one usher had long blonde hair? I don’t remember that from the pictures of the original usher. And I want the rat lady’s job. Those rodents were so cute.


Chainsaw teams - Who doesn’t love chainsaws at HHN? With that being said, it seemed a bit overkill this year. After a while I just kept running into more hordes and thought…Not again. The one clown in the wheelchair was especially into it, so kudos to him.



Shows:

Carnage Returns - What a lovely, scary, creepy, and disgusting show. I loved it and was glad to see Jack somewhere in the event. This show just read Horror Nights to me. It is a can’t miss


Bill and Ted - Last year’s show was SO much better, but having Doc Brown show up saved the day and made this show ok. Without him, I would have been disappointed. Oh… and I loved the avatar jokes again.


I really enjoyed this year’s HHN. I go to at least 10 professional haunts a year, many rating among the best in the nation. These haunts are way shorter than those individually, but together they make one heck of a house. I hope Universal keeps with their icons, original content, and storytelling in the future. -Party on dudes!

 

[MrRoamer]

I also must have missed the Cheshire Cat, which is a shame, cause that could have been epic.

There isn't a character for the caterpillar or Cheshire, only references. The caterpillar is in the mushroom room on the roof. You can see Cheshire's smiling face painted on the wall in many of the rooms. Wish that Cheshire had made an appearance since there were so many references to him throughout the house.

 

[Andy]

Here is my initial review of the Houses. Keep in mind these will change as the event continues cause the houses themselves will get tweaked going forward to. Also only doing the Houses as I have hardly spent anytime in the zones! This review will be completely SPOILER FREE!

In no particular order
SCURGE- Holy smokes do I hate the people who didn't give the rights to HHN for Scream... Anyways what could of been huh. The house itself really isn't that bad its just so obvious what it should of been it sort of pisses ya off. The cast did everything they could but the execution of the house is just blah at best. To think we could of had something similar to Halloween in terms of close scare intensity... Anyways I've only been through the house once so time will tell. 5/10

TWD: I'm over it... I'm giving it a 5 just cause some of the scenes were pretty cool

Asylum in Wonderland: Oh my goodness I still feel like my equilibrium is jacked up.. The opening scene nearly made me fall on both run throughs. While the house isn't as good as some of the other 3d houses I've been through like Inbetween and House of 1000 Corpses it still offers a solid and unique experience. I thought the cast did a fantastic job and really made the house enjoyable and fun. Its not scary at all but its a house that makes you smile and laugh the whole way through. 6/10

RUN: In terms of theming this is the weakest house this year. The cast did a great job but just seemed like I was missing the timing of several gags and scares. I'm also being very easy on this house as I haven't had a full run through after sunset. 6/10

AWIL: Its a copy and paste with an added twist or two. Love the addition of the new puppet and its location. Caught @Drew off guard pretty good and I missed it completely on our first run through. I know many have been a little hard on it since it is a copy but I still love the house. 8/10

Freddy vs Jason: This house is incredible!! In terms of theming its one of if not the best at the event. You visit so many iconic spots and see some famous kills. I think the screens in theory are awesome but due to the flash light brigade you see maybe 2 seconds of it. Also love the random endings to give it that unique and personalized touch. 9/10

Body Collectors: I've been lucky enough to see all the BC haunts in the past and this one takes the cake as the top BC haunt of all time. The theming here is again on another level. The energy of the cast is incredible from start to finish and the kills are graphic and literally in your face. This isn't just one of the best houses this year, its one of the best houses of all time. A must see! 10/10

Monsters and Mayhem: I thought for sure there was no way this house could live up the hype I'd created in my head. But it did and surpassed my expectations. This house was built with one thing in mind, the fans and it shows. It showcases some of the greatest scenes ever done at HHN and adds a few new tricks along the way. I also thought the house did a fantastic job keeping up with pacing and transitions. Another house for the ages! 10/10

Insidious: Holy lord... This is one of the creepiest and most intense houses I've been through of my 15 years at the event. The cast was relentless and the characters spot on. If you visit this house and happen to catch all the scares you will know what I mean. I honestly don't think I could do this house alone... ITS THAT GOOD!! 10/10

 

[Kevin38]

Went Friday and Saturday. Did 7 Houses Friday and Bill and Ted's .Was anyone else expecting Bruce, Caitlyn Jenner jokes (I did not catch any )
APH hour helped with first 3 houses .Walking Dead house was the worst house ,But on the way in noticed several "Walkers" appeared to be missing limbs .Did not seem to be hidden under clothing .Is Universal hiring amputees to be these scareactors ? Came back Saturday to do Jack and American Werewolf .Almost dumped Fiance on ground in the exit of Jack's house(transfer chair), the grass and sidewalks in front of band stage are not flat and have potholes .The dark did not help.She choose not to do werewolf (same exit). I enjoyed Freddy vs Jason .All the Jason's were over 6ft .