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Yeah I was confused the first time about what was actually happening. My second run was a lot better with more people in place. Definitely going to do this one a few more times. Sets are good.
[The guests are attacked by Dracula's daughter holding Saskia's severed head while the Bride watches in despair. They then return to the Van Helsing crypt, where the Bride brought back Saskia's headless corpse to rest alongside her deceased family. The guests are attacked one last time by the She-Wolf, Anck-Su-Namun, and Marya laughing maniacally before it ends with the Bride screaming in agony.]
When I got to that scene the first time I thought maybe this was a dual-ending house. Yeah, the ending to this hits different when you realize that happened.
My first run on Wednesday was a bit half and half as there were spots missing, but the scares that were there were hitting pretty good. I hit it up a second time later in the night with a fuller cast and the house truly clicked and kicked some serious tail, and continued that way for the rest of my trip.
I personally thought the story was generally easy to follow, though the cast size can make a world of a difference with the various beats. A great example is...
The Mummy section, first run I wasn't sure what was going on with the Male Mummy screaming in his Sarcophagus, but that's because a spot was missing. Second run onward there was Van Helsing popping out to laugh triumphantly and now it made sense that she defeated him.
Set-wise, WOW. This house really played with its big new tent, be it with the various outdoor scenes and the various Manor/Castle parts. Both this and Goblin's Feast show these tents are great locations.
There are some pretty darn good scares in this one, too. The final sections in particular rocked me several times, and She-Wolf seemed to have my number during a late-night run on Friday. I can also say this house had a way better balance with the monsters, so this was easily better than last year's Unmasked as that was "Oops, All Phantom!" for a 1/3rd of the house.
Finally, I also really liked the soundtrack for this one. It's subtle and somber, but I feel that works perfectly for the story being told since as others have mentioned, it's a bleak one! (And it's one where I feel Slash's guitar in Hollywood doesn't quite work, as it's not the right tone.) I do appreciate they went with that kind of ending, it hits pretty hard. Though I can't help but wonder if this is a "To Be Continued?" instead of "The End.".
All in all, I really enjoyed this house! With the various great runs I had during my trip, it personally lands in the Top 3 for me.
Between the ending of Orlando's being focused on the Bride, abet in despair, and Hollywood's ending with the Bride being Geared Up and ready to roll I can't help but think this wasn't written to tee up a sequel.
Our tour guide told us that the protagonists of this house are actually the monsters. At Universal, they celebrate their monsters, so monster-hunters are actually the bad guys.
Given how the house is setup, it seems like an odd way to tell a story, but I’ll roll with it.
Our tour guide told us that the protagonists of this house are actually the monsters. At Universal, they celebrate their monsters, so monster-hunters are actually the bad guys.
Given how the house is setup, it seems like an odd way to tell a story, but I’ll roll with it.
I mean, I fully believe a tour guide said something like that, but it's patently not true. We are following Saskia's journey throughout the house -- she literally narrates through the events. Plus, the Bride is a monster and on the "good" side with Saskia.
I will say they did Saskia dirty in there. Why create this new character and make her story the setup for the house if you’re gonna have her go out with such an abysmal record?
I will say they did Saskia dirty in there. Why create this new character and make her story the setup for the house if you’re gonna have her go out with such an abysmal record?
Which is funny/sad, because our tour guide (who was truly awesome, no shade at all) also shared the monsters as "our heroes" quip, plus talked about how Saskia was way smarter than her brother and went about things in a more strategic way. Life comes at ya fast, I guess
Which is funny/sad, because our tour guide (who was truly awesome, no shade at all) also shared the monsters as "our heroes" quip, plus talked about how Saskia was way smarter than her brother and went about things in a more strategic way. Life comes at ya fast, I guess
This actually makes me wonder quite a bit about the writing for the house vs the final interpretation on both coasts.
Hollywood's finale ends with the Bride having completed a Heros journey of sorts. Orlando's just ends?
With a simple change of having Countess Marya as the narrator in Orlando, you could have all the same scenes with zero changes, but now with each move by Saskia, tension rises because her opponent is racking up wins.
With Saskia as the protagonist, the legs are kicked out on tension with her demise like two scenes before the house is even over.
It's also not all that clear that's what happens in Orlando. Had I not been through the Hollywood house, I would not have been clued in to Saskia's fate until the Bride wailing at the exit. Such a strange house.
It's also not all that clear that's what happens in Orlando. Had I not been through the Hollywood house, I would not have been clued in to Saskia's fate until the Bride wailing at the exit. Such a strange house.
Yeah some of the details were a lot clearer for me after the tour:
When the candles are extinguished after Saskia dies - really cool effect, glad I saw it
The gargoyle in front of the VH crypt is toppled and broken after she dies compared to the opening scene
The bride wearing Saskia's gear
All details I totally missed in the dark. Clearly a lot of thought went into these, I think it's just really tough to take in during runs that have a lot of other things going on
Yeah some of the details were a lot clearer for me after the tour:
When the candles are extinguished after Saskia dies - really cool effect, glad I saw it
The gargoyle in front of the VH crypt is toppled and broken after she dies compared to the opening scene
The bride wearing Saskia's gear
All details I totally missed in the dark. Clearly a lot of thought went into these, I think it's just really tough to take in during runs that have a lot of other things going on
See, I never saw/noticed any of that except for Bride donning the Saskia gear. I'm planning on a larger write-up and what I felt went wrong here, but a big factor is the storytelling requiring on tough-to-spot details and very timing dependent moments (either activating cues or scare actor pops).
