Here we go again! After a fun HHN 31 which was a favorite of mine, I was very eager to see where A&D would take the event next. With several big IP's, the 1st new Icon we've had in years and a unique batch of originals, it was clear this year wasn't going to be taking it easy. This was my 5th HHN, and the 2nd one for my Friends and Mom who joined along. So how did it all shake out? Let's start with the houses, complete with where they ranked in my initial anticipated list. Starting from the bottom up.
Houses
10.) Stranger Things 4 - I will say it was nice to have Stranger Things back, especially since it debuted the first year I went back in 2018. While that version is still my favorite of the IP, I did enjoy this one quite a bit. There are some unique set designs which I did appreciate more than others, and Venca could definitely get me here and there. This one is at the bottom of my list since this has the least amount of scares baked into it, which is a little disappointing considering the season is the most horror centric. Anticipated House Rank - #4 (Not the biggest drop I've had, but a house with a low number of scares will get pushed down fast by a strong lineup.)
9.) Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count - I'll say it before, and I'll say it again. I didn't find this as bad as others have made it out to be. *shrug* I dug the pre-show video, the overall goofy nature of the house, and the cast was going for the scares with what they had. That's fine with me! Anticipated House Rank - #5 (As with ST, not the biggest drop I've had, and this one was merely pushed down by a strong lineup.)
8.) Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate - Man, this house brought back so many good memories of DD/Merlinwood etc. From the facade and various recreations and callbacks to the queue, this was certainly a passion project from A&D, and this felt like the first "vs" house where it honestly felt like there was a fight going on! The various fire and ice blasts were not only really neat, but they helped convey the battling aspect quite well. I also dug the heck out of the costumes, especially the mid-transformation versions of the warlocks. While yes, it would be neat if this had various giant dragon puppets, but I knew from the get-go that wasn't gonna' happen as any puppet would have to be giant sized (anything smaller wouldn't make sense), and Uni only puts one in the house if they do. Guess what's not happening for a property that would require at least two? Anticipated House Rank - #7 (Very close to my initial rank, and a few "eh" runs was enough to knock it down one.)
7.) The Last of Us - As I've said before in the anticipated house thread, it's a great game but not the kind of themes etc. which I clamor for, so I don't have the biggest attachment for this as a house. That said, I enjoyed the big sets, the sound design with the clickers (especially in the sound muffling room where you just hear them), and there's some pretty darn good scares, especially the finale which consistently had me running thanks to an absolute MVP of a Bloater! Anticipated House Rank - #8 (Increasingly better run throughs during my trip helped bump this up, which is a nice little win in my book!)
6.) Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings - Before the event started, this house was definitely a wild card with the sheer lack of info about it. But as it turns out, A&D clearly had fun with this one, as it boasts a real nice set design as it feels like you're traversing through a village with various indoor and outdoor sections, with various landmarks you see from multiple angles. This house also boasts some wonderful macabre set pieces and an overall cast that was both intense and downright creepy. All in all, a very nice surprise! Anticipated House Rank - #9 (Here we go, a nice jump up as it lived up to its wild card reputation!)
5.) Yeti: Campground Kills - Ah, it's good to have the Yeti's return. My history with them is simple. Loved Attack of the Swamp Yeti in 2018's Slaughter Sinema. I wanted to love 2019's Yeti: Terror of the Yukon, but unfortunate timing in my runs prevented that. This year, I had much better run throughs, so I honestly enjoyed the heck out of this one! This house had some great sets, and was chock full of good scares and camp both figuratively and literally! This house also gave me an all-timer of a scare for my very first run through as it left me crawling out of a room, so that's one big bonus right there! Anticipated House Rank - #6. (A nice little bump up thanks to consistently solid runs!)
4.) Universal Monsters: Unmasked - It's no secret that I really enjoy the UCM houses, and this one is no exception. It's great to see a house feature a cast of monsters not as used like some of the main ones, and this has a great facade, some impressive big sets, and some damn good scares, too! I will say it's focused pretty heavily on the Phantom for the beginning, and it does feel like that section could've been trimmed a bit. But once the other monsters show up, the house ramps up and delivers one great moment after another! Anticipated House Rank #1 (The beginning does hold this house back a tad, but man oh man did I have some great runs that easily kept this in the top 4!)
3.) The Exorcist: Believer - Back at the anticipated house thread, I mentioned that while I wasn't feeling the trailer, I still felt the house had a chance of being a fun one, especially as the quality of a house is not a 1:1 to the film itself. And boy, am I glad I said that as this house proved to be a beast! This house is nasty and intense, and once it gets going it doesn't let up, and the casts in this house don't allow it to as they were consistently aggro anytime I went through, even during a cast change midway through a run! And then there's this... Anticipated House Rank - #10 (If there's any sign of how strong this house lineup is, this house is one of them. Thanks to consistently intense runs, my anticipated #10 rocketed to #3 and refused to drop. This house is standing proudly with Dead Silence: The Curse of Mary Shaw as you can never judge a house by its IP.)
2.) Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins - It's been a while since we've had an Icon house of a new Icon, let alone an Icon house that's as good as this one! This house is demented, zany and chock full of great scares aided by wonderfully energetic casts. And it has wonderful sets that are somehow shoehorned into a sprung tent. Add in some nice easter eggs if you know where to look and/or see it at the right time, a good puppet, some scares you don't really see often at the event, and a very charming ringmaster, and you've got yourself a damn good Icon house! Anticipated House Rank - #3 (I had high hopes for this one, and it didn't disappoint in the slightest. It was very neck and neck with my #1, too.)
1.) The Darkest Deal - When this house was first teased, I was very intrigued by the whole concept. This isn't a theme that's played with often at the event, but A&D has shown time and time again that the more unique or underutilized themes can provide the most memorable material, and this house is proof positive of that! This house has some fantastic storytelling both big and small, all seeped in rich and foreboding atmosphere that provides the right amount of dread and paranoia. Add in some great music, costumes and two casts that go all in on the scares, and you've got a stunner of a house! Anticipated House Rank - #2 (As I've said before, I never put my actual #1 anticipated house as #1. The Darkest Deal was absolutely my true #1 anticipated and it delivered in ways I never expected! I absolutely love this house, and I'm so happy that on my final night on my final run through, I was able to have a "solo" run which landed every scare on me. A perfect way to end the event and solidify this is my favorite!)
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So that's all the houses, I enjoyed all of them and personally for me, this is the strongest house lineup I've seen so far in the five years I've gone! Next up is the Scare Zones and everything else.