Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood (HHN 32)

[Brian G.]

55
69
85

 

[Grabnar]

55
69
85

Vampire Y2K needs to be next

 

[Brian G.]

Vampire Y2K needs to be next

I'd prefer Gatsby-era Vamps. Y2K would've been better with the New Year's gag but they already used it for 85.

 

[Tobias]

So where do we think this ranks in comparison to the other Vamp Zones? I wouldn’t be too surprised if this ends up being looked back upon more fondly than Vamp ‘85, although I don’t think it even held a candle to Vamp ‘55. To be fair though, I love the music and aesthetic of ‘55. I’d honestly say it’s the greatest scare zone of all time, and based on the poll HHN posted on their a Twitter a year or so ago, I don’t think I’m alone in that opinion. With that being said though this zone was still a lot of fun, and I think it improved a lot as the event went on. The interactions were always great and it was really energetic.

I never experienced Vamp 55 in person, but I did experience both this and Vamp 85.

Out of the two, 69 was the better zone, no contest. While the celebrity vamps in 85 were neat and the show was nice for the first time...the show itself was a one and done, and the entire zone just came to a stop when the show was playing, which was often. It also didn't feel fully staffed so there were dead zones aplenty, and the casts weren't big on going for scares, either.

69, however...that felt more fully staffed so there were no dead zones, the periodic little show moments of vamps attacking the still human characters added to the atmosphere without bringing everything to a halt, and the cast overall were way more aggressive and engaging than 85. A great case in point is one of the vamps actually scared my mom, and she is a notoriously hard scare.

 

[Nick]

Vampire Y2K needs to be next

Yeah, Vamp 99 set at New Years would be perfect with all the insane fears of Y2K that happened then.

 

[Grabnar]

Yeah, Vamp 99 set at New Years would be perfect with all the insane fears of Y2K that happened then.

Yeah, I can understand Brian's point that it may feel a bit repetitive at this point, though. That said, the visuals are great. 90s/00s fashion for the civilians, then toss in some Matrixy throwback costumes for the vamps? Perfection.

 

[HandsomePete]

I think I’d go 69, 55, 89 - my knocks on 55 are that I prefer NY to Hollywood (not the zones fault) and 55 seemed to be in the phase when scareactors in zones just chatting with their friends seemed to be turning into an issue.

For future Vamps I’d want to see 31 (lean into the stock market crash/dust bowl/etc.), 2050 (self explanatory), and 76… as in 1776 (granted, for as cool as a historical angle would be, the costuming would probably be a nightmare). And sure, roaring 20s too - Vamp 25 at the event in 2025 would be kinda cool.

 

[Legacy]

They could get really twisted and do “Vamp ‘45: V-Day” where it’s the ticker tape parade following a war. Probably way too controversial.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I think this 69 zone had better music than 85, I was looking at videos from camp 85 and I didn't like the music as much lol.
and it looked like 69 has better lighting and props than 85. feels like 69 was " prettier" as a zone.
I thought I loved 85, but the videos I saw weren't as great as I remember it.
I also preferred 69 over 55.

 

[Clive]

I'd prefer Gatsby-era Vamps. Y2K would've been better with the New Year's gag but they already used it for 85.

Yeah, just (lovingly) rip off Gore-ing 20s from Knott's. It's a great aesthetic with flexible character potential.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I'm with Brian. 55, 69, 85.

55 was just so dense in the smaller Hollywood, with massive and creative float sets, lots of fun flair with the 50s theme, and a deluge of really fun 50s High School vampires wherever you looked. Honestly one of the best delivered zones I've ever seen.

85 was a big step down for a few reasons. The decision to move from Hollywood to New York made some sense with the 80s NYE theming, but honestly the significantly larger space ended up causing the significantly smaller sets to get lost in the rush. There also weren't a ton of Vampires, or at the very least it didn't seem like it again due to New York's huge sprawl, it seemed much easier to run Hollywood over with Vamps than NY. The show was fun, but the costuming and music didn't pop out as much as the 50s High School theming did, especially in a year so 80s-centric, it just felt like more of the same.

I was initially worried upon hearing about another New York Vamp zone, but after this run I can say they delivered a proper Vamp. Definitely still missing some of the campiness and fun of 55, but the static sets and props from 85 were switched to larger scale ones that were able to be manned by Vampires dancing or scaring from inside the structures which filled out the zone more. They also cast a very sizable group of Scareactors, and because of that it felt like the Vampires were pretty omnipresent no matter where exactly you were in the area. While the costumes were still really grounded in a way that 55's weren't, the more regular looks of the performers allowed them to dip in and out of the crowd with ease which I take as a win for scare factor honestly. The big stage was pretty underutilized and probably could've held an '85-type show, but I think resources went elsewhere. The window and bus silhouettes were very fun, and though I've heard complaints about the soundtrack for the Music Fest theming, it was a selection of honest bops. "Aquarius" is just an absolutely perfect song for HHN32 with all the Zodiac theming, "Bad Moon Rising" fits on any Halloween playlist, and a friend and I called that Vamp '69 would win ZotY if only for "Sweet Caroline" which filled the entirety of the massive New York area from Pop-A-Nana to Beat Builders stage with a surge of energy, both guest and performers were getting hit by it. I think '69 is missing an X-factor to really make it an all-timer, but as is, it was a real fun zone that deserves the award it won.

For what it's worth, Sweet Revenge from HHN31 is kind of the closest I've ever seen New York come to capturing the energy of Vamp '55.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I'd be ALL FOR Vamp 25, Gatsby/Roaring 20s Vamp would be glorious.

I'd love 30s/40s as well (really just give me a zone filled with Fallout music)

 

[Chumpieboy]

So where do we think this ranks in comparison to the other Vamp Zones? I wouldn’t be too surprised if this ends up being looked back upon more fondly than Vamp ‘85, although I don’t think it even held a candle to Vamp ‘55. To be fair though, I love the music and aesthetic of ‘55. I’d honestly say it’s the greatest scare zone of all time, and based on the poll HHN posted on their a Twitter a year or so ago, I don’t think I’m alone in that opinion. With that being said though this zone was still a lot of fun, and I think it improved a lot as the event went on. The interactions were always great and it was really energetic.

69 was a fun party atmosphere.
85 was meh (scareactors talking to friends and not performing etc.)
55 was a fun novel idea so it gets props for being the first.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I was skeptical when it was first announced, but I think this is the best iteration of Vamp yet. 85 is extremely close imo.

69 - Awesome soundtrack with a great atmosphere
85 - Loved the costumes and the New Year's countdown aspect
55 - Really liked the parade floats and had some great character interactions here. But this one didn't click for me like the others.