Halloween Horror Nights 27 (UO): Reviews & Photos

Left early because our feet hurt and that combined with how tired we were and how humid it was outside made us decide to skip our last 2 houses (The Fallen and Dead Waters). Will be back in a few weeks though.

Houses (In order of favorite to least favorite):

Scarecrow- 10/10 WOW. Facade was very cool, felt like I was actually on a farm. Intense with the scares. One particular scare where an actor open what looked to just be a wall/shelf (can't remember) got me good and I fell to my knees lol. Another actor got so close to my friend's face that she bent so far back I thought she was going to break her back

The Shining- 8/10 Missed most of the scares, but I loved the set and it did the movie justice. Elevator scene is super cool.

AHS- 8/10 I'll have to go through it again to really decide, but I think last year's was stronger, which is strange because this year's house has my favorite seasons besides Murder House.

Saw- 6.5/10 I am not a fan of the Saw franchise because I'm not into gore. Most scares are from the pigman, but they were very effective lol.

Hive- 6/10 The house looks like it should have been the Conjuring, and just knowing that's what it was supposed to be was in the back of my mind the whole time I went through. The vampires looked scary, but I missed the majority of the scares because there was a family with a girl, who looked to be 10 years old at most, who kept stopping for long periods of time whenever she got scared.

Blumhouse- 6/10. Not as bad as it was made out to seem. Insidious was the strongest portion. At a 6 because it should have just been insidious by itself.

Ash vs. Evil Dead- 5/10 Yeah I never watched the show, so didn't really get the house. Not many scares because it's the comedy house, but meh... I don't like it. I do however like the facade and the queue video and music.

The Fallen- Didn't get to it
Dead Waters- Didn't get to it

Scarezones:

Trick r Treat: The saving grace. Probably one of the best I've seen out of all the years I've gone and definitely my favorite of all time. I'm a sucker for traditional Halloween and it was decorated beautifully.

Invasion- Interesting premise and great costumes , but I think it's in the wrong spot.

The Purge- Fits well in New York. I didn't go all the way through it since I was only near the HHN Store, so I can't say much.

Festival of the Deadliest- Where's the festival? Nice array of characters, but more props please. It could use a big float like in Vamp 55

The Altars of Horror- Uh...I hope they either intend to bring out more props or more scare actors because it's sad. Might as well not even be a scarezone.

Shows:

Bill & Ted: Better than last year, but I don't find it that entertaining. The only part I actually laughed at was Lady Gaga at the end

AOV: Only caught the last 2 minutes or so of the show, but it seemed to be on a temporary stage??? I thought it was going to be in the same spot as last year, and the big stage from last year was there, but it seemed to be closed. Not sure what's going on, but they will probably be on the other stage by my next visit.

 

Mazes were spectacular this year but the zones felt flat.

MAZES (from best to worst)

1. Dead Waters: EASILY HOUSE OF THE YEAR. The perfect maze - fantastic facade, sets and the scares were on point. Definitely the best maze I've walked thru in the past 5 years.

2. AHS: Long maze that kept on going and going. They also used lots of the best scare tricks in the book.

3. Scarecrow: Intense and scare actors really like to get up to your face.

4. The Shining: The elevator scene was quite amazing and the actors looked very similar to the characters themselves.

5. SAW: The traps were amazing, although the maze would have been better off in a soundstage. The finale set was quite elaborate as well.

6. AvED: Great, but needs more scares. Maze did have a problem were the roof of the parade building can be easily seen and quite obvious.

7. Blumhouse: I thought the Purge/Sinister scenes would be longer but they felt pushed in. Should have just been Insidious.

8. The Fallen: Love the flying actors but the scares fell flat. The scenic itself was very dark and the facade looked pretty good.

9. Hive: The potential was there but there were very little amounts of locations for scares and it felt more demonic than vampires.

ZONES

1. Trick r Treat: Gotta love Sam
2. The Purge: Action packed and the auction was happening quite often.
3. Invasion: Very stale. Aliens barely scared and just stood around showing their fingers.
4. Festival of the Deadliest: Potential to be great but just felt flat.
5. Altars of Horror: What were they thinking.

SHOWS

Bill & Ted: Intro was the best and definitely shed a tear. Some jokes just felt flat while others were hilarious. Gonna miss this show.

AoV: Even with a temp stage the show is awesome. Only problem with the show is the major traffic it causes going from Mel's to Trick r Treat.

Overall it's an awesome year for mazes but a lackluster year for zones (except for Trick r Treat). After 2 years of icons, this year felt "empty" without having some type of figure to bring everything together. It would have been awesome to see the Voodoo Queen as an icon this year.

 

Opening Weekend Review (sorry in advance for the length)

HOUSES (in order favorite to least favorite):
-before I get started, I want to say that this is (in my opinion) the strongest line up of houses in my 5 years of attendance.

1. Dead Waters: The riverboat facade is downright beautiful and coupled with pre-entrance scares and water visible just off the walkway. The call-back of the sideways ship was a very welcome touch and the mats used in the swamp were effective as well. While not the scariest, I thought it still delivered and had enough scareactors to satisfy (way more scares than last years Ghost Town). The finale in the village was brilliant as well. I could stare at those stilt houses all day.

2. Scarecrow The Reaping: In my opinion the scariest house of the year. Glad the corn survived! The scareactors were very aggressive and the maze was very tight. Kind of like Roanoke and Tomb of the Ancients love child except I prefer this maze to both of them. The finale here was also very fun and difficult to navigate. VERY close second.

3. The Shining: If for nothing else other than the blood elevator. The fact that a screen was not used for this effect made my night. They way that this, the grady twins (mirror effect), and the Gold Room were pulled of were spectacular. Wasn't heavy on the scares by any means, but the scenery and practical effects were great.

4. Ash vs Evil Dead: Pulled a lot of great scenes from the show and actually provided way more scares than I expected (here's looking at you Ruby's children). Most of the Ash's were pretty close in resemblance and the outdoor cabin scene was really fun. Overall a good combination of laughs, scares, and sets. Groovy.

5. The Horrors of Blumhouse: I'm not sure what it is about this maze that makes me want to keep coming back. But I really want to keep coming back. Yes, the purge is SO obviously meant to be Ouija... It's still fun (and honestly I prefer the purges 2 rooms here to anything I saw in the Purge house at 25). Sinister had a good amount of scares. Insidious was intense and just all around fun even if it went a little bit overboard on strobes and was just as scary as the house at 25. I almost hate to admit it, but this is my guilty pleasure of this years event. Just so. much. fun.

6. American Horror Story: While the seasons featured in this years maze weren't quite as effective as those featured at 26, this house was still top tier. It's been a while since I've watched AHS but there were some very recognizable scenes. The lobby and staircase as well as the common room were BIG highlights of asylum while La Louries (smelly) attic was very fun to walk through in coven. Not a super scary house but provided enough good jumps to satisfy. Also, this house was really long (in a good way) and didn't put up too long of wait times.

7. The Fallen: The sets and scareactors in this house are really fun to look at (even if there are some obviously reused props) but this house is not scary. I like the overall vibe of the house and the flying/ bungee scareactors are really cool, however the sets were not quite as grand as I was hoping (blaming this on very high expectations). Also, there didn't seem to be any good to fight the evil.. Just seemed like demons throughout. Despite all this, The Fallen is a blast to walkthrough and with good timing (especially towards the end) it is even better. Cool lighting effects and really cool costuming.

8. Hive: I personally am having a hard time accepting the lack of a decent facade for this maze. Yes i know there was less time to work on this maze but after years of having a large / detailed facade in front of this tent I was expecting a little bit more. Once inside though HIVE is pretty cool. My favorite was the room with a broken beam across the ceiling. The scareactors with prosthetics are fantastic but those with masks fell a little flat (keep an eye out for a very tall vampire though... very cool) . The 80's vibe was fun. I think over the course of the event this house will move up in my rankings as the maze evolves.

9. Saw: We had the pleasure of going through this maze with no one in front of us so the scares were amped up a bit which was nice. While very enjoyable to walk through, I felt that we were simply watching things happen as opposed to being part of the action. Never felt like I was "in a trap" unless I was really missing something.

SCAREZONES: (also in order)

1. Trick 'r' Treat: possibly my favorite scarezone I have ever walked through. Costumes were creepy and very similar to the movie and the scareactos were dedicated. Charlie vommiting was cool. Not to mention the jack o lanterns in the trees.

2. Roaming Horde of undead clowns: Man these guys are fun to watch. The teamwork here was great as one clown would distract to allow for another to come up from behind. The scareactors pull of crazy and deranged very well.

3. The Purge: Was nice to have the action back and the motorcycles etc. Yes it's all been done before but it hasn't lost it's charm. yet.

4. Festival of the Deadliest: The only zone that is better in the daylight. The costumes and scareactors here are great. but the zone feels (and likely is) incomplete with random set pieces scattered about Hollywood and no real coherency present.

5. INVASION!: Wasn't the fun zone that I had hoped it would be. The ship is cool but the aliens are somewhat boring and there isn't really much going on.

6. Altars of Horror. Boring and empty. I didn't have high expectations but this zone didn't have much of anything. For some reason Jack Torrance and Ash were excluded as was Billy. Probably my least favorite scarezone I have been through in my 5 years.

Haven't seen the shows yet. Heard great things about both though.

Overall an amazing year for mazes (one of the best yet?) but just an okay year for scarezones (bar my top 2). Lacks an overarching theme as FotD didn't really pull anything together. Cant't wait to see how this year evolves.

EDIT: posted in segments
EDIT: ask for "suicide" twisted taters... you won't regret it

 

They hit a home run with the houses this year. I've only done 4 so far, but they've all been pretty great. Trick 'r' Treat is pretty and will bring out the Halloween spirit in everyone. Other than that something feels a little off/toned down with HHN this year and I cant put my finger on it. The booze issue is a total disappointment, but that goes without saying. It almost feels like it's not finished and there is still more work for them to do. Hoping to be reviewing a more polished event by this time next weekend.

 

Irma probably has come into play for the unfinished portions of the finished product.

 

Exactly how short is Dead Waters?

 

IIRC, it's only like 7 scenes. When I was told about the facade I was also warned its length would be a "major" complaint.

(But telling people that doesn't help hype.)

 

Quote of the Day: "Made the wives crumble in fear". Gotta love that.

 

It also just abruptly ends and there is room as you exit for a last scene. Still great.

 

First impressions from 3 nights ... as always, fun to see how my opinion changes over the course of the event.

Houses

DNF. AHS –Hate the show, not waiting 1+ hours to see the house. Maybe when I break down and buy an after-10 express.

[Of the following, the bottom 4 and top 4 are still very much in flux among themselves. I will say the top 4 are all good but each has a fundamental flaw keeping it from greatness, while the bottom 4 are mediocre, but each has some saving grace that keeps it from absolute failure. As of right now, none of these make my Top or Bottom 10 ever, probably not even Top or Bottom 20.]

8. Ash v. ED – The fake Bruce Campells do not work for me at all. Use of his iconic voice in clips created an uncanny valley for me. Also, humor didn’t hit home. I‘d rather the situational humor of an HR Bloodengutz or Home for the Holidays over one-liners. But … the house was a great length. Along with Saw, I've been to stand-alone haunts that didn’t feel this long. Also the Evil Dead cabin still impresses, as did some of the detailed rooms. An interesting failure.

7. Hive—Two runs, not gelling. True of most houses, but most applicable here: a queue video would have helped a lot. Why are there Nosferatu in the Conjuring house? What are they doing? Also, a lot of the gags feel recycled from previous houses. Sense of déjà vu, like I’ve walked that house before. Nothing to distinguish it from every other modern house they’ve done. Had that “whisper” gag Legacy mentioned come to pass it would’ve helped, but have not noticed it yet if it’s there. However the cast seemed game, may improve a bit as they learn the layout.

6. Saw -- Not a fan of the movies, which colors my opinion. Also not a fan of “victim” scare-actors; only work when used sparingly. That said, my teen nieces and nephews liked this one, and as mentioned above, it feels like it goes on forever. Impressive set pieces as well.

5. Blumhouse – Yes the Purge is a waste. Probably should’ve been Sinister or Insidious stand-alone. That said, same criticism as Hive, feels like every other modern-era house they’ve done. Nothing new or innovative here (a shame because Insidious managed to feel different when it debuted). However, the cast I saw Saturday night nailed it. Elevated the house with some good scares.

4. The Fallen – I believe Legacy compared this to Hades, that’s dead on. Beautiful sets and creature designs, but so big and so intricate the scares lack immediacy. Definitely needed a queue video—are those dead crusaders or angels? Where are we exactly, Hell or Earth? Also, a very timing dependent house. The swooping demon works well when he comes right at you, but that can’t be more than 1 in 4 guests at best. Very easy to have a scare-less run through here.

3. The Shining – Some clever ideas to capture the spirit of the movie. That said, very timing dependent—hit every scare (like Jack coming through the door) and it’s a strong contender for HOTY. Miss half of them, it’s pretty blah. Also, it lacks a strong finishing statement, like the Tube station and Piccadilly Circus in AWiL. And the Jack masks are hit or miss.

2. Dead Water – One of the most beautiful houses I’ve seen. Truly could stand alongside any permanent ride in Orlando in terms of theming, even Pirates and Mansion. Façade is breath-taking. Crooked walkway is a fun way to throw guests off kilter. Interesting mix of monsters (ghost Mark Twain!). But far too short. Feels like 2/3 of a house—would be a GOAT contender with 4 or 5 more rooms.

1. Scarecrow—Perfect façade, believable sets, genuinely scary. Monsters a bit repetitive, a bit too much hangy stuff, but a solid cast.

Scare-Zones

6. Altar of Horrors—a selfie zone where some of the characters refuse to take selfies. Virtually no theming. No story. Just meh.

5. Invasion—biggest disappointment at the event. Great set, but aliens make no attempt to scare (tho soldiers do a nice job). Too realistically “Communion” to be campy, yet too cartoonish to be scary.

4. Purge—still a dumb idea, but a solid cast. The light-up costumes are impressive--the rest look like they raided wardrobe for whatever was left over (“hey, nobody’s using this bear costume, right?”). Last version of the zone had much more detailed decorations that helped sell the illusion.

3. Festival of the Deadliest—they added stripper poles on Sunday, I can only hope more floats are coming. Costumes are interesting at least, some of the cast seem eager to scare. Reserving judgment on this one until next week, the soundtrack suggests it could be very cool.

2. Trick r Treat—the perfect Halloween scare zone. Love the décor, cool costumes. Cast could try a bit harder to scare, but just enjoying the ambiance of this one.

1. Chainsaw Clowns—Scary clowns are the most hackneyed cliché in horror. Chainsaws are the most overused trope at HHN. And yet … with zero sets and basic make-up, these scare-actors go for it. They genuinely love scaring people. It’s a joy to sit back with a beer and watch them go about their work. Best cast of any house or zone this year.

Random Thoughts
· Bill & Ted great right out of the gate this year. Glad they don’t let nostalgia overwhelm the show—still spends plenty of time skewering 2017. Just a shame the best actor in the cast is stuck playing Melissa McCarthy again for, what, 4 years in a row now?
· Tried to watch “hurricane” version of AoV. After 2 minutes, was distracted by an undead stripper. Did not return.
· Pizza Fries actually a better idea than I expected. Might be good with better ingredients than ketchup and fake cheese. As is, will not be getting again.
· Can't get across how much I miss the social aspect of Finns this year.

 

We went Saturday night and will be back 2 more weekends. We did 6 of the 9 houses and thought the event is solid this year.

AHS -- This was my favorite house. It was so long and detailed and lots of good scares.

Fallen -- I thought the set here was great. We didn't get many scares here but did go through at the end of the night. Will give this one more tries in our next visit.

Deadwater - Again , this one was great. Specially liked the beginning. Can't wait to do this one again to see if we missed some scares.

Blumhouse - I thought this one was OK. It was a little dark in some places but we did manage to get some scares.

Saw - I like the first couple of movies of this series and was looking forward to this house. Unfortunately, it was a little disappointing. I didn't see any of the "guest activated" stuff.

Hive -- So disappointed in this one. Maybe we had a bad run. No scares and not much in the sets. Will give this one another try.

We watched Bill and Ted and thought it was good. We will miss this show. It's great to be able to sit down and laugh for a little bit.

The scarezones are OK.

The event is a lot of fun and can't wait to go back next weekend.

 

Went all 3 nights of opening weekend and hit each house multiple times except Saw. Overall this is one of the strongest house lineups across the board that I can remember recently with no houses I actively disliked. As always the event is fluid and I can see some house wiggling their way around as I get more runs and everyone settles into their roles.

Houses
1. Scarecrow: The Reaping 10/10

WOW! I loved Tomb of the Ancients last year and they took the same concept (a very claerphobic, yet visually stunning house packed with scares) and one upped one of my favorite houses from last year. Going in I figured that the house would look drab and boring and suffer from being very one note with very similar looking costumes (see Hive) but it uses the space to the fullest with beautiful sets and varying scarecrow designs that keep it fresh (love the pig-crows). I do not think the others this year can touch this house and is a safe bet for HOTY.​

2. Dead Waters 9/10

Beautiful but short. However, the length is the only complaint that I can muster for this house as it has the best sets and facade this year hands down and actually has some good scares unlike Ghost Town last year.​

3. American Horror Story V2 9/10

For my enjoyment of the seasons it goes Asylum > Coven > Roanoke. I seem to be in the minority in hating Roanoke (screw the reality TV show bs and then them going back to the house to rehash everything) As is such I was please with how they allotted the space for each season with Coven and Asylum both being really good. As of now I think I would give the edge to coven as my fav section since it is way more visually appealing and has some good scares and variety in the sets. Roanoke section felt generic and lazy with the only cool part being the animatronic that was broken when I went though on Sunday (unless its a puppet and was having a cast change, I'm curious to know). Some good scares and I have not decided if it is better than last years house. Right now I would lean no since I though all 3 sections last year were great and towards the end they really found their scare-groove.​

4. The Fallen 9/10

Haven't had the best timing in regards to the flying demons only getting the last one all 3 runs so far but its a fun house with some good scares (the second guy in the blacksmith looking part gets me every time). I think it will grow on me and could easily see it move up as 2-4 (basically 2a-c) are fluid for me right now. I think part of my disappointment of the house comes from it not being nearly as good as Gothic so far, which is how I was imagining it in my head and some of the costumes look either recycled or really cheesy (white faced horn guy looks like it was from Krampus and the demon at the beginning looks like a blowup muscle man suit).​

5. Hive 8/10

I enjoy this house. Yes it could have been something way better and the costumes are very one note but I see this being the house that gets better when the actors get more time to settle in as the scares opening weekend are always weaker. I love the glowing contact effect which can be quite startling as the house is very dark. Did twice Sunday with stay and scream and literally had to grab the person in front of me by the shoulders and turn them the right way towards the end both runs along with one of my times though Scarecrow. Bring sunglasses or wait until dark if you usually have issues seeing in dark houses/when the sun still is up.​

6. Ash v Evil Dead 7/10

Fun house with pretty good set design considering the campy atmosphere. Main gripe is the long reset times and some of the Ashes really don't look like Bruce, but I prefer that to a stiff looking mask that really takes you out of it. Also 80% of the time you see Ash he is just lip syncing audio from the show and not jumping out from somewhere to attack a deadite. I don't like when they waste too many actors on standing there/giving story because at the end of the day I want to get scared. Some of the demons give good scares but overall not that scary.​

7. The Shining 7/10

Beautiful house that lacks scares. Love the elevator scene, gold bar, and the ending hedge maze. Really no scares and axe scene resets way too slow. Liked Exorcist better last year over this as I feel like they were in a similar boat when making this maze in taking a visually stunning and not really scary movie and making it work without compromising the vision.​

8. Blumhouse of Horrors 7/10

Better than expected after hearing what a steaming turd this would be. Wish it was a pure insidious house or at least Sinister/Insidious as I feel Sinister and Ouija were not given a chance with how minimal their sections are. Although parts of Insidious don't make sense without seeing the new movie, I got good scares here and like the ending hall of scares from all the movies. Could honestly see this move up more if the scares continue to come and get better despite the Purge really trying to sink the ship.​

9. Saw 6/10

Just did this one once and will probably only do this if I catch it with a minimal wait going forward. Like I mentioned earlier I really don't care when a houses main thing is looking at actors in plain sight react/have stuff done to them. Only happened to see a pig person twice so I assume I missed quite a few as I would hope each trap was the misdirect for the scare. Felt longer than the previous two houses in Shrek and had good sets with the final room being the standout. They actually successfully hidden when you move from main theater to pre-show room for the first time as well so kudos for that I guess. All in all I find the house boring and liked the HHN19 version better from what I remember of it.​

Scarezones

1. Trick R Treat

Beautiful zone at night. Costumes and sets really evoke the feel from the movie and they have fun interactions and can get some good scares in if you are distacted by another character in the zone.​

2. Invasion!

I love the sets and the costumes are cool. Scares came primarily from the Army dude sneaking up from behind and yelling for help. I really wish those tall ones in white would glide around and sneak up on people, hopefully they find their scaring stride moving forward.​

3. Clowns

I like their looks and attitude. They seem to be given free reign to interact as they please, which is nice.​

4. Purge

Tired of the purge in all its forms at HHN, the costumes from the new movie are cool but I'm over it.​

5. Festival of the Deadliest

Some eye candy to look at and the costumes are neat but I will reserve final judgement until the rest of it is set up because as is, it is very empty and the sets scream strip club in hell not festival of the dead.​

6. Altars of Horror

No Altars, no horror. SAD!​

Shows

Bill and Ted

Enjoyed it and sad to see it go. Loved Moana and Spicey and found the beiber stuff to drag on and played out as they have used him basically every year recently.​

AoV: Afterlife

Did not see. Wanted to wait for main stage. Watched a video of the Hurricane version and it looked fine. Not really my bag but I can respect that they are really good at what they do and people seem to go nuts for them.​

 

Will miss Bill and Ted
I did Dead Waters all 3 nights and this is the best house.

 

This is my first time posting photos on this site, so I apologize if the file sizes are too big or if the dimensions are too large.

 

Just curious every single year there is usually Easter eggs in mazes for fans to remind them of the past or hint new things coming in the future.

Like last year in Krampus they had The Amityville Globe (Which I know was shot down) for Conjuring (Which didn't happen) and Sam's Lollipop for Trick 'r Treat.

So I was just curious if anyone has seen any in the Mazes thus far and if they have photos.

 

I was told there's a phone number for Mary Agana's Babysitting Service in the bar scene in Ash vs the Evil Dead.

It should be 362-847-7813.

I had tried it a couple months ago to no avail. Feel free, kids!

 

In general, I have been going since 23, the Year Of Walking Dead...I think this may be my favorite year yet. This felt like the most balanced year I’ve been to, house wise. Not saying it’s perfect, I’ll address my complaints throughout the review.

No shows for this guy. I’d prefer to see the complete AOV show. B&T gets nothing from me as a comedy show at a horror event. I’ll see them both once. They just don’t pull me in.

Let’s start with what truly makes a year for me, Houses. From worst to best.

HIVE

I give slack because this was Conjuring. Fine, I get it. I give the facade a bit of break as well, because I do like the artwork. I think Purge was more fun in 2015, but it’s all down to different theming so not a fair comparison. It edges out TCM as a little more scary, but could definitely go down below it, because scares are gonna be what makes this house.

Don’t get me wrong, the sets aren’t terrible by any means. They’re just...generic. Nothing pops out as particularly memorable, except the room with the upside down vamps. Scares however, there was a few I liked. Coffin scare, the one eating the girl (Wondering if that’s a Conjuring character by the way), the tall Nosferatu at the end.

Story’s simple. House is abandoned, taken by vampires instead of nature. You go underground after the house section. Not much of a finale. No post-house scare here either. At least it’s lengthy, which is something about every house except Dead Waters.

The Shining

Hmmmm….great facade. Nice finale, fits the story. Sets look nice, scares ok. Something about the whole package….is just not hitting here for some reason.

The sets are nice, but don’t feel nice enough or really stand out. If I didn’t know the scenes, I feel as if I’d be a little confused. Feels like any haunted hotel IMO, and not The Overlook.

Scares are hit or miss. Room 237 lady’s good, last hedge maze is good. Grady Twins scene is eh, as well as Gold Room. The major axe sequence is super meh IMO. Mirror maze is ok, more annoying than anything. Even the ones good...just feel like they have no impact. I just don’t know. Feels like a tour with interactive elements. The Exorcist felt like a journey. It’s a cool maze, but not...really...impressive.

Also, throw out that one random trippy room right after the hedge maze at the beginning. Seriously, what was that?

The Horrors Of Blumhouse

This maze got kicked like an abused dog Employee Preview. I don’t really see why exactly. Ok, I do see why. Purge & Sinister are short. Strobes never bothered me as much as others, but I get why they hurt the maze for others.

But the cast does REAL good here. Better than HIVE. They are aggressive and fast. It moves very fast and that makes it feel like the scares keep coming and don’t stop.

Sinister section was fun for the brief time, Purge was also neat if not obviously Ouija. Insidious is the bulk and I think it went well. Best scares from here, especially the creepy Key Demon. The finale sends people running.

It won’t ever be in the Top 10 of all or anything, but I think it can be a top “middle” house.

SAW - Games Of Jigsaw

Didn’t see the 2009 house obviously. I didn’t think this was too bad from that point of view.

I did like that they make a slight effort to include us in the story with the opening spiel at the beginning. Wish they had capitalized on putting us in traps more instead of making us watch stuff. I did think the traps themselves were well done, especially the Angel Trap.

Scares were OK, the Ticking Room, Bathroom, and Final Room all did good, everything else was hit or miss.

It’s super fun though for some reason, really long for Shrek, longer than Krampus it actually felt like. I have a guilty pleasure liking for SAW. I saw the last two films in theaters, I’ll probably see Jigsaw in theaters.

I enjoy it the way it is.

Dead Waters

Best facade of the event, so large. Has scares in it, has stuff under it. It’s awesome, truthfully impressive. The spiel from the Voodoo Queen before you turn the corner makes it even better. It has a great tone.

The ship portion is fun with the Wharf zombos, the tilt effect, that trick up ramp that was really down actually got me good. Very scare strong. The trek through the marshes is fun, got good scares from the shack.

Finale goes by a little fast for me, so I may need to try and slow down a bit. Did like seeing the Queen again, and the post-house scare from the living voodoo doll was neat.

Main flaw here is it’s a short house, but I felt it made every room count. I felt there was a beginning, middle, and end. It’s basically the HHN version of a really good short story.

The Fallen

2nd favorite facade of the event, very large in tone and point. I like this whole theme, though unfortunately it did get hindered by jumpy Universal. Definitely felt some empty spots throughout but not enough to damage the house that much for me.

Demon designs were very neat, including some that honestly seemed like they pulled out of Hellraiser. They reused a Krampus elf or two in here as well. Some good scares, since I saw a few of the demons get quite close.

The flying scenes make this house though, as someone who didn’t see Gothic. Thought they were both done well, especially the demon that pops down and springs back up, which got me really good.

Ends sorta abruptly though. That’s my one significant complaint.

Ash Vs. Evil Dead

Best IP-to-house translation I’ve seen, perhaps just outside the Halloween mazes or CITW. 80’s music, one-liners, gore and blood, this is Ash Vs. Evil Dead. The fact they gave this a venue allowing so much space and wide areas was great.

It’s an adventure of a maze from beginning to end. The trailer, morgue, Brujo shack, I was giddy going through this. It really felt like they wanted to do this IP. Wish there was some more Baal representation, but it’s a minor thing. And yeah, the Bruces look off, but it felt more natural than the Hollywood masks.

And the post-house scene is great and makes up for a lack of a clear finale. Jacksonville, Florida. Hell yeah.

American Horror Story - Volume 2

I….might like this more than last year’s. Biggest thing: last year felt like a character showcase, including liked characters even if they didn’t provide a great scare exactly. This felt like a more scare-focused intense maze.

Asylum is the bulk. Bloody Face is great, super grotesque. The Dr. Arden scene is cool. The rec room with the Santa mirror effect was nice and effective. The ending bits with the Raspers and Bloody Face with the mirrors was pretty damn intense and got people on the runs I’ve been on so far.

Coven had some very neat stuff for what seemed to be the less scare-packed of the seasons. The Superiors scare was a nice way to kick off. The zombie after the greenhouse hits pretty hard. Nice to have that baby powder smell return. LaLaurie was ok, though I’d say she looked not that accurate. Minotaur was good, Legba’s scare was neat, though I wish we got a scene in his hell domain.

Roanoke goes by the fastest but gets a different character in every scene. Polks, Pigman, The Nurses, Scathhath, Butcher. I liked all the scenes and I do think it was the best flowing of the sections, starting with the more underground scenes and then taking us into the house.

Overall, another very great AHS maze by Universal. Definitely feel like there is more care and faithfulness in the AHS mazes than any TWD.

Scarecrow - The Reaping

This maze, man. Facade isn’t the most grand, but I think the most ominous. The dead corn, slow turning windmill, old tunes playing. The maze hits right from the start and doesn't stop. The first two scenes are right out of Tomb, but I think done more effectively (The drop panel scare having an actor to help with it).

I would say they also go a little wider here than Tomb, which help in creating memorable scene. The broken house, the mini-cornfield, the crow horde. The finale is the most effective use of that mirror effect, it’s compounded by everything that came before it.

The scarecrows get more and more grotesque over the maze, until the beastly one right before the finale. Super cool characters here. My fears of this being very generic were not founded, thank goodness.

Scarezones

All in one section just to make this quicker.

Altars of Horror has good actors who appear to be mostly into their characters (especially Grady Twins),. But they have no setting to work with. And for a “selfie zone”, some actors seem too desperate to not take photos or jump out of them as quick as they can.

The Purge is a fine zone. Aggressive actors, less chainsaws here than last time which I like. The new shows are more interactive than 24, so they did good there. BOY, is there too much Purge though. For a year where there’s nothing about the franchise to advertise.

INVASION is fun. Love the designs here. Had some fun interactions with these guys including them messing with me trying to take pictures of the UFO. Saw them all crowd around a baby in a stroller for a chunk of time and poke at it, which was hilarious. Not the scariest, but I like the tone here.

TrT has the best ambiance, glad to see the pumpkins back. Honestly those pumpkins are a better photo op than the AoH actors. Shockingly faithful to the movie, all the characters felt in tone, including the old man character (his name doesn't come to me right now) who called a bunch of girls ugly and told them to get away from his door. The puking kid’s also a cool addition.

Festival was ok, got some stuff here Sunday. Cool designs, hoping they can amp it up next weekend since they got flame towers on Sunday. Some cool scareactors here, including Bone and the stiltwomen.