An American Werewolf in London

[rachmariefitz]

It's just a full-sized model of the Werewolf. It doesn't have any points of articulation, unfortunately.

Well that's disappointing. It was much scarier when it moved and it doesn't give the actor much to work with. I mean, yeah, you've got a giant wolf standing over you but there's only so much the actor can do in terms of making it terrifying when the wolf is just standing there.

 

[Cole]

I feel like 2013 AWIL and 2015 AWIL should be treated as two separate things. One version shouldn't tarnish another's greatness, especially since it's just another case of been there done that. I promise you if this was AWIL's first year with the original puppets, we'd all be gushing over it. As said in the podcast it's just too soon

 

[Milla4Prez66]

I feel like 2013 AWIL and 2015 AWIL should be treated as two separate things. One version shouldn't tarnish another's greatness, especially since it's just another case of been there done that. I promise you if this was AWIL's first year with the original puppets, we'd all be gushing over it. As said in the podcast it's just too soon

People who haven't seen the original house are not gushing over this one. It's just missing something the one from HHN23 had.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

People who haven't seen the original house are not gushing over this one. It's just missing something the one from HHN23 had.

I didn't attend in 2013 and tonight was my first time through the house. Up until the transformation I thought it was really good but the second half is lacking.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

I didn't attend in 2013 and tonight was my first time through the house. Up until the transformation I thought it was really good but the second half is lacking.

I agree with that.

 

[Laughingplace56]

2013's is one of the greatest HHN houses of all time. It's the reason they brought it back (among other things). But the house itself, while great, wasn't the reason it was exceptionally well received. The cast of a house is what makes a great house perfect. And 2013's casts were INTO there roles. The house just worked.

This year, it's just not the same. They removed scares, fog and strobe effects as mentioned earlier, and the casts don't seem as energetic as 2013's. The new wolves look better, but that's literally the only positive change to the house imo. On top of it only being 2 years old, I honestly think this was a bad move. And I was one of the people looking forward to experiencing this house again. This version has the chance to ruin the original's legacy, as newcomers will see a house that isn't as spectacular as everyone has hyped it up to be the last 2 years. Shame.

I agree with Brian, the fact that this year's lineup is stronger than 23's also plays a factor in it's reception this year. However, AWiL 2013 is now my #3 favorite house of all time, knocked down from 2 by M&M. I think FvJ, Insidious and Body Collectors are all better than this year's version, but not 2013's. So yes, having a weaker lineup in 2013 helped with AWiL's popularity, but it doesn't negate the fact that the house was phenomenal.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I feel like 2013 AWIL and 2015 AWIL should be treated as two separate things. One version shouldn't tarnish another's greatness, especially since it's just another case of been there done that. I promise you if this was AWIL's first year with the original puppets, we'd all be gushing over it. As said in the podcast it's just too soon

I don't know it if is just that, I wonder if the problem is that this house does not have that much of actor interaction (since they are puppets on walls) with the puppets the house can't have a level of intensity that houses with actors have (Like Freddy VS Jason for example) something I noticed is that people go into the house expecting to have actors coming out of all the boo holes and there are a couple of places where people even missed the wolves because they were expecting actors to come out

(my point is that if they repeated something like Halloween where you had the actor interaction, maybe a repeat like halloween would be better received)

People who haven't seen the original house are not gushing over this one. It's just missing something the one from HHN23 had.

im not sure what it is, but yeah i feels that way

 

[Cole]

I agree with all of you, I just think it's missing a ton of what made the original house so great. Sad too because the new puppets are amazing and the changes they made aren't nessisarly bad, it's just a strange sinario

 

[SeventyOne]

The cast of a house is what makes a great house perfect. And 2013's casts were INTO there roles. The house just worked.

I think this is ultimately the issue. Transformation scene is what does it for me. In 2013, you could feel "David's" agony. Every run this year, he just sort of lies there. Ditto the theater and Picadilly scenes, just not the intensity of two years ago.

It is a reminder how easy it is to forget the importance of a good cast. They can make a bad house good--like Havoc--but they also make a good house sublime.

 

[Brian G.]

I think this is ultimately the issue. Transformation scene is what does it for me. In 2013, you could feel "David's" agony. Every run this year, he just sort of lies there. Ditto the theater and Picadilly scenes, just not the intensity of two years ago.

I noticed that this weekend. Just kinda rolls his head back and forth.

 

[Frank Drackman]

this year, I had a walk through where I really didn't see any of the wolves (timing was bad and they were all resting or something when I went by). anyway, I agree on the cast, last time the cop with the whistle got me every time as I was looking at the characters in the bus...I knew he would be there, but he always snuck up and blow his whistle in my ear...this year, the whistle seems blown at a much lower volume and was often after we had left the scene...

 

[Laughingplace56]

Yeah, transformation scene-end is the biggest downfall of the house. Scenes before that aren't as good as 2013, but still work. The rest...don't. Shows how much the cast affects a house.

 

[Clive]

When you think about it, bringing back a beloved house near-identically basically means there's nowhere to go but down. Part of what makes a house an instant classic (like 2013 AWIL) is a stellar, dedicated cast. The chances of lightning striking twice is slim, meaning you're already dealing with a lesser cast than the one that made the house famous.

I still don't get why they cut the strobes and fogs around the wolves. The puppets look so much more film accurate, but they lack the punch.

 

[rachmariefitz]

I agree with everyone here. I feel like the transformation scene actor isn't portraying agony but instead boredom.

Part of me also wonders if the cast isn't trying as hard since the house is a repeat. Like maybe they feel that it was already a hit so they don't have to go all out or that they feel slighted by being cast in the repeat house and their disappointment is showing through their performance (or lack thereof).

 

[orlandoiloveyou]

Where is the new puppet located? I've seen the only YouTube pov and can't place it. I saw a picture with boxes stacked around it in a window..is it near the end with the police car? This is the only house I don't want any surprises in. I'm legitimately terrified of this.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Where is the new puppet located? I've seen the only YouTube pov and can't place it. I saw a picture with boxes stacked around it in a window..is it near the end with the police car? This is the only house I don't want any surprises in. I'm legitimately terrified of this.

Spoiler

Right after you exit the theater to your right.

Also, I wouldn't worry about being terrified in this house. Like we've been saying in this thread, after the transformation the house loses a lot of steam.

 

[orlandoiloveyou]

Spoiler

Right after you exit the theater to your right.

Also, I wouldn't worry about being terrified in this house. Like we've been saying in this thread, after the transformation the house loses a lot of steam.

Okay cool. Well I appreciate it. We'll see how it goes. Some of that stuff made me jump through the computer screen haha

 

[orlandoiloveyou]

After going last weekend I will say that this house wasn't nearly as scary as I had hyped it in my head. Knowing where all the wolfs were probably had something to do with that. But even so, I felt this was lacking in amount of actors. The puppets were awesome. I saw a distracted girl nearly get hit in the face by one. I assume they are foam latex over an armature, but i still wouldn't want to get hit by one. If you're like me and couldn't throw down for a tour guide, I heard the one behind me say that each wolf was 30-40 thousand dollars. THats like 200,000 just for the wolfs. I knew the houses got good budgets, but that is impressive. Do they spend almost a million per house?

 

[Nick]

I think this is ultimately the issue. Transformation scene is what does it for me. In 2013, you could feel "David's" agony. Every run this year, he just sort of lies there. Ditto the theater and Picadilly scenes, just not the intensity of two years ago.

It is a reminder how easy it is to forget the importance of a good cast. They can make a bad house good--like Havoc--but they also make a good house sublime.

I noticed that this weekend. Just kinda rolls his head back and forth.

As someone who missed out on 2013, I really wish I could've seen what was done that year. I had the same thoughts on all of my run-throughs this year. He just sort of lays there... while I understood what was being portrayed, I never understood how it was allowed that the actor just sort of mail it in like that.

 

[Brian G.]

As someone who missed out on 2013, I really wish I could've seen what was done that year. I had the same thoughts on all of my run-throughs this year. He just sort of lays there... while I understood what was being portrayed, I never understood how it was allowed that the actor just sort of mail it in like that.

Well he acted like he was in pain from transforming. This year, seemed like the guy was just suffering from a stomach ache.