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Dolls: Let’s Play Dead (HHN 34)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brian G.
  • Start date Start date Jun 25, 2025
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GA-MBIT

GA-MBIT

Jurassic Ranger
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Joined
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Messages
2,287
Location
Isle Delfino
  • Today at 4:33 PM
  • #61
This was my #2 anticipated house this year behind FNAF, but could've easily swapped into my #1. I thought the idea was wonderful. Hearing "Toy Story Mania queue in Sid's room" was insanely cool, and felt right up my alley.

My first run was ... an unfortunate disappointment. I was expecting to be intensely hunted by Sid's mutant toys. Instead most of the scenes revolved around unenergetic victim scares and very humanoid characters. The 90s kids film felt like it had scarier designs than the Terrifier-adjacent haunt attraction. It just didn't have much energy, and some scenes felt off and empty to me. I understand that the scary person is meant to be the gigantic child, but since that villain character can't actually scare, it led to a house that meandered a lot.

I thought the Chucky zone in 2018 was significantly more creative in the ways it used the idea of toys in a horror setting, with Barrel of Monkeys with curved bloody claws, a lethal game of Operation, etc. That was a perfect mix of goofy and scary imo.

On a second run, I tried to take it on it's own terms; full commitment to suspension of disbelief. The story is not mutant toys coming after me. I'm a Toy Story-like doll left behind by my previous kid and picked up by Sid, and now I'm walking through this horrifying new playroom.

It clicked a lot more going through with that mindset, because unlike something like Terrifier that features real gore and bloody bodies, I am not personally scared for my wellbeing when I see a doll with a paperclip through their rubber head; but a Toy Story-universe toy probably would be. It's a unique take on a gorey victim house for certain, and I did legitimately feel some dread and uneasiness going in with that mindset. I got some more scares from less humanoid character designs and generally more intensity from the cast. It's not terribly scary, but it was a solid run.

It's effectively structured like how a Godzilla / Kaiju house would be. Infinitely tall monster, and you're jumping from room to room, building to building witnessing the destruction and pain inflicted by this thing, without any scares from the actual monster itself. I usually respect those more obtuse house concepts quite a bit, and I'm interested to see how my opinion changes on this one over time. Bug House™ was incredibly similar and is one of my personal all-timer haunts, so we'll see.

I don't know if it'll end up being the house I had hoped for, but it's certainly cool in it's own way, and has a definite uneasy vibe to it. I think Bug House™ did the "weird no-slasher, all victim house" concept better and in a far more interesting way. Still, I hope the cast can find their stride and bring this much higher on my personal list.
 
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Lucky Planet

Lucky Planet

Dragon Trainer
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Messages
5,841
  • Today at 5:35 PM
  • #62
GA-MBIT said:
This was my #2 anticipated house this year behind FNAF, but could've easily swapped into my #1. I thought the idea was wonderful. Hearing "Toy Story Mania queue in Sid's room" was insanely cool, and felt right up my alley.

My first run was ... an unfortunate disappointment. I was expecting to be intensely hunted by Sid's mutant toys. Instead most of the scenes revolved around unenergetic victim scares and very humanoid characters. The 90s kids film felt like it had scarier designs than the Terrifier-adjacent haunt attraction. It just didn't have much energy, and some scenes felt off and empty to me. I understand that the scary person is meant to be the gigantic child, but since that villain character can't actually scare, it led to a house that meandered a lot.

I thought the Chucky zone in 2018 was significantly more creative in the ways it used the idea of toys in a horror setting, with Barrel of Monkeys with curved bloody claws, a lethal game of Operation, etc. That was a perfect mix of goofy and scary imo.

On a second run, I tried to take it on it's own terms; full commitment to suspension of disbelief. The story is not mutant toys coming after me. I'm a Toy Story-like doll left behind by my previous kid and picked up by Sid, and now I'm walking through this horrifying new playroom.

It clicked a lot more going through with that mindset, because unlike something like Terrifier that features real gore and bloody bodies, I am not personally scared for my wellbeing when I see a doll with a paperclip through their rubber head; but a Toy Story-universe toy probably would be. It's a unique take on a gorey victim house for certain, and I did legitimately feel some dread and uneasiness going in with that mindset. I got some more scares from less humanoid character designs and generally more intensity from the cast. It's not terribly scary, but it was a solid run.

It's effectively structured like how a Godzilla / Kaiju house would be. Infinitely tall monster, and you're jumping from room to room, building to building witnessing the destruction and pain inflicted by this thing, without any scares from the actual monster itself. I usually respect those more obtuse house concepts quite a bit, and I'm interested to see how my opinion changes on this one over time. Bug House™ was incredibly similar and is one of my personal all-timer haunts, so we'll see.

I don't know if it'll end up being the house I had hoped for, but it's certainly cool in it's own way, and has a definite uneasy vibe to it. I think Bug House™ did the "weird no-slasher, all victim house" concept better and in a far more interesting way. Still, I hope the cast can find their stride and bring this much higher on my personal list.
Click to expand...

so we should get a Godzilla Kaiju house soon. I hope
 
GA-MBIT

GA-MBIT

Jurassic Ranger
Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
2,287
Location
Isle Delfino
  • Today at 5:58 PM
  • #63
Lucky Planet said:
so we should get a Godzilla Kaiju house soon. I hope
Click to expand...
It's certainly far from out of the question. After the last few years of surprise IP choices or untraditional haunt designs, I've stopped considering concepts entirely impossible. If the team wants a Godzilla house, they'll find a way to make it work.
 
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