Halloween Horror Nights 30 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors (2021)

[Grabnar]

If Halloween 3 is too niche, what in the everloving flip is Nightvale?

Not only is it too niche, it's way too high concept to actually work in a house or a scare zone.

 

[Gillman365]

If Halloween 3 is too niche, what in the everloving flip is Nightvale?

Not to mention they've done mazes based on box office flops before. Dead Silence is a prime example of that and kind of mirrors H3 in a way. Both are cult films that didn't make a lot of money.

 

[Tbad556]

Just going to reintroduce this post since we're circling back to this same point...

I don’t think anyone’s arguing its not popular enough to justify its own house. We’ve seen more niche horror properties come to the event in recent years like Killer Klowns or Trick ‘r Treat, and they tend to follow the same pattern. They start as passion project scare zones from A&D, and presumably feedback from guests and merch sales justify to marketing to allow them to build a complete house the next year. If it was just Season of the Witch, I think it would be totally reasonable for it to come to the event the same exact way.

But it isn’t just Season of the Witch, it has the Halloween franchise name on it. Those other properties didn’t come with baggage, all they had to do was put on a quality show for people unfamiliar with the source material. For Season of the Witch though, the shadow of Michael Meyers looms large, it could be an awesome house but if he doesn’t show up in a Halloween maze a lot of the general public are going to be asking where he is.

Even if they drop Halloween and just call the maze Season of the Witch to sidestep this, they run into a different marketing problem. This is already a replacement for what was supposed to be the headliner for the event pre-COVID, and it’s not nearly as popular as Eilish. Also, Universal has a Halloween reboot sequel coming out in October yet embarrassingly can’t use is as a house. But Season of the Witch gives marketing a chance to stick Meyers on billboards for HHN and provide at least some kind of tie-in for Halloween Kills.

Again, I don’t think anyone’s arguing that Season of the Witch isn’t popular enough on its own to be at the event. But because of the Halloween name, trying to ignore Meyers will either create significant brand confusion for less-informed guests or it sacrifices synergy & marketing potential for an event already down a blockbuster IP and hamstrung by rights issues on the sequel.

TL;DR: Shoehorning Michael Meyers into Season of the Witch is less an artistic argument than it is a business decision.

 

[Nick]

No, Eilish wasn’t planned for 2021, so it’s not replacing anything. Regardless of the pandemic and returning houses, Eilish wasn’t happening in 2021. It was a one time deal for 2020 that didn’t happen.

My point is that the event doesn’t need a huge IP in that space. The event will be perfectly fine without Eilish or without a mega IP draw. A niche IP like H3 fits in fine with the existing line up.

Okay, so I guess everything else that's being "not replacing anything" should've just been thrown to the scrap yard and nothing this year needs to be a headliner or really of any quality by the way you're phrasing things. What a ridiculous thought process.

 

[Living Dead Dude]

Ok but realistically why would they pay to have the rights to Halloween 3 and have full potential to make it a “Big IP” with Micheal and choose not to?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Figuring out what they do and don't have rights to nowadays is a damn headache.

 

[JawsVictim]

Okay, so I guess everything else that's being "not replacing anything" should've just been thrown to the scrap yard and nothing this year needs to be a headliner or really of any quality by the way you're phrasing things. What a ridiculous thought process.

At the end of HHN 2020, that house would have been scrapped anyways. I’m surprised by how many people are frustrated with me saying Eilish wasn’t on the table for 2021 and a different house would have been in that location this year anyways.

The line up as is is well rounded and doesn’t need a crazy marketing push. I didn't mention quality in my post, so idk what that’s about. I wasn’t excited for Eilish at all, but the house could have been high quality and won me over. Just like how H3 is a wishlist IP for me, but could be disappointing (like the Shining in 2017).

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

At the end of HHN 2020, that house would have been scrapped anyways. I’m surprised by how many people are frustrated with me saying Eilish wasn’t on the table for 2021 and a different house would have been in that location this year anyways.

The line up as is is well rounded and doesn’t need a crazy marketing push. I didn't mention quality in my post, so idk what that’s about. I wasn’t excited for Eilish at all, but the house could have been high quality and won me over. Just like how H3 is a wishlist IP for me, but could be disappointing (like the Shining in 2017).

Oh how I wish they had done just one season of AHS like in Hollywood (seriously, no one cared about it that second go round) and given The Shining SS 25.

 

[JawsVictim]

Oh how I wish they had done just one season of AHS like in Hollywood (seriously, no one cared about it that second go round) and given The Shining SS 25.

For real. So many missteps in the design of that house. Seemed like they learned from it with Poltergeist the following year.

 

[Nick]

At the end of HHN 2020, that house would have been scrapped anyways. I’m surprised by how many people are frustrated with me saying Eilish wasn’t on the table for 2021 and a different house would have been in that location this year anyways.

The line up as is is well rounded and doesn’t need a crazy marketing push. I didn't mention quality in my post, so idk what that’s about. I wasn’t excited for Eilish at all, but the house could have been high quality and won me over. Just like how H3 is a wishlist IP for me, but could be disappointing (like the Shining in 2017).

My point is they already paid for the rights and had the houses built - you wouldn't have a "well-rounded" lineup if every house that they paid to build already pulled out AND they had to build new ones (and in turn pay for new IPs beyond just H3). And sure, they would've had to pay for a house line-up normally anyway, but last year they didn't make much money at all, so saving money was the goal this year.

They had an entire year planned that all they needed to do was sit on it for a year. Universal wasn't going to let that go to waste if they didn't have to, even if they had to renegotiate contracts.

 

[Clive]

Not to mention they've done mazes based on box office flops before. Dead Silence is a prime example of that and kind of mirrors H3 in a way. Both are cult films that didn't make a lot of money.

Well, there's a difference in motivation here. Killer Klowns and Cabin in the Woods were box office disappointments (if not flops) but both were made into successful mazes because they later achieved cult status. Members of the design teams hedged and managed to secure the properties because they thought they would be cool attractions, not because they necessarily represent a major marketing draw (Killer Klowns semi-resurgence notwithstanding).

Movies like Dead Silence, Doomsday, and Dracula Untold are all synergy efforts and were likely mandates handed down from corporate. "Create an attraction so we can promote X." Granted, A&D does some spectacular work, and in some ways these attractions were better than the flops that inspired them. But I'm not sure A&D would have deliberately chosen to make houses out of those properties.

At the end of HHN 2020, that house would have been scrapped anyways. I’m surprised by how many people are frustrated with me saying Eilish wasn’t on the table for 2021 and a different house would have been in that location this year anyways.

The line up as is is well rounded and doesn’t need a crazy marketing push. I didn't mention quality in my post, so idk what that’s about. I wasn’t excited for Eilish at all, but the house could have been high quality and won me over. Just like how H3 is a wishlist IP for me, but could be disappointing (like the Shining in 2017).

No one is arguing that Eilish wasn't on the table for 2021, but that slot still had to be replaced with something. I'm happy you think the lineup is well-rounded, but Universal leadership clearly wants some sort of major IP in that slot, ideally one with a significant draw. Halloween and Michael Myers fill that void and have massive appeal with people otherwise unfamiliar with horror movies. If he is present in the maze, you bet he will be prominent in the marketing, just like he was for Halloween 4.

But @Brian G. has already tried to table this conversation, so let's not split hairs over semantics any longer. Something is going into the Shrek theater, where Billie Eilish was slated to appear in the original HHN30 event. It might be Halloween III, which may or may not include Michael Myers.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

This'll be my first year doing HHN. I booked at Dockside for September 7-11 (great AP rates on 2-bedroom room). Anyway, I am a premier passholder -- are chances good that either the 9th or 10th would be a date for the free HHN night? Those were my only available dates for a trip during HHN, so I took a chance not knowing much about how it's been in the past. The 2019 dates looked like they covered early September dates.

Right now, we don't know. My guess is no as that first weekend will be VERY popular and they'll push it to the weekend after.

Sorry. I’m not trying cause problems. I thought it was a valid point to make that the event doesn’t need an IP on the level of Eilish to balance things out since it wasn’t coming this year anyways. I mean, officially, Eilish was never even announced and the GP doesn’t know what’s missing.

Hey, no problem, it's a discussion forum. You're not causing any problems.

Along those lines, any word of a show in Fear Factor Live now that all signs point to a de facto distancing-free event? Too early to cast, but I would think any Universal-created show would have at least a solid outline if not an initial script by now. If a national performer, they should have a 2-month hole in their touring schedule. If something is coming, I'd think some hint would have leaked by now. On the flip side, I kind of dread an event that doesn't have 5 or 6 shows a night there to soak up a chunk of the crowd for an hour.

Does it have to be in the prestigious Fear Factor Live theater?

 

[TheJauntlet]

If Halloween 3 is too niche, what in the everloving flip is Nightvale?

It's a story podcast disguised as a radio broadcast that delves into some horror elements. It's niche but has its fandom on Tumblr and Twitter from what I've seen. It's not been as popular lately, probably hitting its peak in 2013-2014. It's too niche for HHN to do a house based on it (and wayyyyyy more niche than Halloween 3), but I was using it more as an example of the type of communities online that share an interest with horror communities. Not as a "HHN should make this," because I don't think they could fit it into the event without it feeling out of place.

 

[shiekra38]

I can't believe I'm saying this....but..I wouldn't mind a Psychopath: Return of Norman bates style house with Micheal Myers

The one from Halloween, not Shrek

Imagine going into his mind, his unconscious

The abstract houses are typically hit or miss..which is why I'm hesitant...But I'm envisioning a scene like Dead Exposure with Micheal and bringing back the vortex tunnel

etc etc

 

[RevFreako]

It's a story podcast disguised as a radio broadcast that delves into some horror elements. It's niche but has its fandom on Tumblr and Twitter from what I've seen. It's not been as popular lately, probably hitting its peak in 2013-2014. It's too niche for HHN to do a house based on it (and wayyyyyy more niche than Halloween 3), but I was using it more as an example of the type of communities online that share an interest with horror communities. Not as a "HHN should make this," because I don't think they could fit it into the event without it feeling out of place.

I know what it is, i listened as they came out for the first year or two. I was referring to whoever argued that H3 without MM was too niche.

 

[JawsVictim]

But @Brian G. Something is going into the Shrek theater, where Billie Eilish was slated to appear in the original HHN30 event. It might be Halloween III, which may or may not include Michael Myers.

I think this what I was getting at: that space can hold anything and they still have a marketable event. IMO they don’t even need to market the H3 house. They have the 30th anniversary with original icons, Beetlejuice, HHOH, UCM, Leatherface, and post-pandemic FOMO to work with. Throwing in MM isn’t necessary, although I’m for a cameo appearance in the bar scene of H3 where Halloween is playing on the TV.

 

[TheJauntlet]

I know what it is, i listened as they came out for the first year or two. I was referring to whoever argued that H3 without MM was too niche.

Oooh gotcha. Okay, just didn't want anyone thinking that I was suggesting Nightvale over H3 lol.

Once again though, I think that with whatever they do with H3, Michael or no Michael, that house will be really good. I can see them putting Michael in and I can see them not putting Michael in. Either way, find by me.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yeah I gotta say Nightvale is very very niche.

PLUS, it doesn't really offer any visuals they could build off of unless they spend A LOT of time working fleshing it out and getting approvals.

 

[TheJauntlet]

Yeah I gotta say Nightvale is very very niche.

PLUS, it doesn't really offer any visuals they could build off of unless they spend A LOT of time working fleshing it out and getting approvals.

Yeah, 25 min podcast episodes may not offer much in the way of visuals lmao. I think the only way they could make it work is by letting the designers have a ton of creative freedom. Either way, it's too niche for the event.

Anyways, I did a quick search on Google Trends and while Creepshow outperforms Halloween 3 during the rest of the year, H3 and Creepshow are equally popular during the Halloween season. Idk what this means for what we're talking about but I find it interesting that they may both by pretty equally niche (or popular).

 

[JawsVictim]

I just thought of something else: if they choose to market H3, it’s going to be difficult no matter which route they take:

Throwing in MM will put off fans of H3...not including MM will confuse the GP...and dropping “Halloween III” from the title and calling it “Season of the Witch” will confuse everyone who hasn’t seen it because it has nothing to do with witches (other than the one mask)!

I’m still betting they take the HHNH route and make it an original concept set in H3.