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HHN '18: Maze of the Year

What is the best maze of HHN - Hollywood 2018?


  • Total voters
    40
Dang, by and large UM is winner so far. I still can't get over how poorly placed the scares were for that maze. Only makes it half way up my list.
 
Something, something, Gillman should've shown up in the Phantom's sewers.

Still House of the Year.

THANK YOU.

Apparently the costume cost a stupid amount of money, which is why it didn't appear.

But that would've been the place.

I mean, the answer is Monsters. It's got some great scares, gorgeous scares, thick atmosphere, an enthusiastic cast.
Halloween 4 is currently making a great argument for runner-up, though. Was not expecting that to be as intense as it is, and it's got a great assortment of gags. Almost no black walls until the very-very end.
 
THANK YOU.

Apparently the costume cost a stupid amount of money, which is why it didn't appear.

But that would've been the place.

I mean, the answer is Monsters. It's got some great scares, gorgeous scares, thick atmosphere, an enthusiastic cast.
Halloween 4 is currently making a great argument for runner-up, though. Was not expecting that to be as intense as it is, and it's got a great assortment of gags. Almost no black walls until the very-very end.

I'm gonna guess that those "fake-out" jump scares, like those christmas lights, are gonna be the thing that all of next year's mazes have. I don't mind; it's a great tactic, it helps ramp up the tension, and it makes the mazes feel like real horror movies (what's that noise? Oh, it's just a cat...)

I thought it was a fun maze in the end, just a shame about that finale. I think that was the big thing holding it back, at least for me.
 
I’m probably in the minority here but I didn’t think Monsters was scary at all. Dracula’s scenes were the best and even though it looked beautiful and creepy I got more scared in The Purge

Halloween 4, Poltergeist, and TrT were my favorites
 
I’m probably in the minority here but I didn’t think Monsters was scary at all. Dracula’s scenes were the best and even though it looked beautiful and creepy I got more scared in The Purge

Halloween 4, Poltergeist, and TrT were my favorites
I'm with you completely. UM is definitely beautiful, but people saying it's "the best designed HHNH maze ever" are crazy: way too many black walls, horrible scare placements, and are they forgetting La Llorona, El Cucuy, TCM:BIB, Halloween '09, NOES '10, FvJ, Krampus, AVP, the House of Horrors itself? If it maximized it's scare proximity, I'd be all for it, but the maze is slightly above average at best when it's all put together in a package.
 
Universal Monsters, easy. I don't know why some people say it has poor scare placements, the Phantom and that wolfman scare got me pretty good. Also while I agree it may not be the best USH HHN scenic ever, it's definitely up there and easily is the tops of this event.
 
Poltergeist made me scream in such a way that my wife said "I've never heard you make that sound before", so yeah, that gets my MOTY.
 
A while ago my source had told me that Poltergeist was supposed to be the scariest maze of this year, do you agree?

EDIT: My personal opinion on the matter: Yes. While HHN isn't a scary event (In my opinion at least - I don't go for scares.), this maze definitely stands out in intense-ness compared to the rest of the mazes.
 
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A while ago my source had told me that Poltergeist was supposed to be the scariest maze of this year, do you agree?

EDIT: My personal opinion on the matter: Yes. While HHN isn't a scary event (In my opinion at least - I don't go for scares.), this maze definitely stands out for intense-ness compared to the rest of the mazes.

I do think it's the only maze that's capable of getting under one's skin this year; the grounded, suburbia supernatural phenomena tends to do that.
 
I felt that it was definitely the scariest maze I've encountered in my years of attending the event (2014-present). It wasn't unnervingly scary, but the scares were well timed and got me good.
 
First time I went through, I thought I didn't get all the scares, so I went again end of the night and only person in the maze, and it was a tiny bit scarier, but unfortunately, it didn't hit high on my scare level. Maybe because that time I knew where all the puppets were, and it's a mostly puppet maze.
Also, now that I've seen the Orlando video, I'm super jealous of what they got, as that looks like one of the best mazes ever -- so that leaves a bitter taste when thinking about our Poltergeist.
For me, the scariest ones were TrT, Halloween, and HOB. Tone, it'd be HOB. Amount of scares, it'd be Halloween. And the hardest frequent scares, TrT.
 
In all honesty, HHN is really over hyped up in scare level. The scares in maze and scare zones aren't at all that scary when compared to other haunted attractions in the SoCal area:bolt: - In my opinion at least. I go to HHN for the scenic aspect, but even then it's lacking.

*This WIDELY varies on the person. I know people who go to the event, cry, then end up leaving early because it's "so terrifying":lol:
 
In all honesty, HHN is really over hyped up in scare level. The scares in maze and scare zones aren't at all that scary when compared to other haunted attractions in the SoCal area:bolt: - In my opinion at least. I go to HHN for the scenic aspect, but even then it's lacking.

*This WIDELY varies on the person. I know people who go to the event, cry, then end up leaving early because it's "so terrifying":lol:

I always think back to 07-09 when I was GENUINELY scared to go through the mazes. And then further back to 00-01 of KSF when I was scared of their mazes. And '98 when I went through my very first maze. Then again, I wasn't scared at all at FF in '05 for my first time. It might just be honeymoon phases for a lot of people and after time, it all wears thin along with our patience. But I still do get genuinely scared at both events, HHN (2-5 times a night) more than KSF (1-2 times a night).

I'd say KSF is more fun, but I appreciate HHN more, if that makes sense. Make up and scenic at HHN is top notch, plus the few extra scares. KSF has great scarezones, rides and environment, plus you're constantly moving and doing something while HHN feels like a lot of stop and go. And I know KSF has made some strides on their scenic, but I still don't think it touches HHN in "reality." The difference is movie-set quality. You could film an actual movie in an HHN maze, but you can't in KSF -- it just wouldn't be passable and the audience would complain how fake everything looks. I personally prefer HHN over anything else, but can see why people will prefer KSF for it's fun and unpredictable quotient. Call me a snob, but at HHN I can see better where my money went towards their budget ('17 not included). And no, it's not just black walls, since that's a recent thing.
 
If we're going by pure jump scares, I'd say Halloween 4 has it, with Poltergeist a close second. But Poltergeist has better story and scenic design, so I give it to that overall. UM is third, but not by too much.

I think experience level and fear of the unknown determines a lot of what's "scary" to a person (and obviously, their personal tolerance to horror). The first time anyone goes through their first haunt, it's pretty overwhelming and terrifying. I still remember my first KSF maze back in my high school days (well before HHN even existed), and I have very strong memories of the fear I felt... even though looking back, it was probably one of their more mediocre mazes at best (Bait's Motel, if anyone else has a memory that goes that far back). As time goes on, and one gets more used to haunts and sees how they typically work, the scares are generally not as effective because you learn their tricks and limitations.

In a way, that's why visiting a new haunt is always exciting... you really are not quite sure where the scares are going to come from. One of the reasons I'm particularly excited about my upcoming first visit to the WB haunt... haven't never gone before, I'm not quite sure what I'll be in for. By the same token, after umpteen years and visit to HHN, I know exactly what I'm in for. And it's one of the reasons I give a slight edge to KSF... they're not afraid to try new ways to provide scares and creeps (the scene in The Depths where actors come from below comes to mind). They may not always work, but at least it's different, and keeps you a bit more on your toes.
 
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