Continuing my review...
The Exorcist: Believer (Excellent)
I'm not sure why folks are claiming this doesn't have a facade, because under the loose definition that includes atmospheric opening/establishing settings with no characters, it certainly does, and it is quite effective. If the goal of this maze is to get people curious and excited about the new movie, I'll admit it is very successful. I was not particularly interested in another Exorcist timeline of films, but when this maze works, it really works. Much of its success is owed to the fantastic design of the demon as well as the ferocious performances from the character's many performers - hats off to them, they are killing it and are not letting anyone get out unscathed. I do not mind the "red vine" walls as some do, as they tend to be fairly brief and a perfectly fine transition that keeps you immersed in the visual language the maze establishes. You've also got some terrific sets, effects, and scares - I wonder how many people are missing the creature that's pushing through the wall above the fireplace, for example. It looks much better than a similar effect used for Stranger Things a few years back. This house could easily reach the Superior tier if not for its casting issues. Put simply - and I am drawing on some behind-the-scenes insights here - there are not many petite women who can pass as young girls who are willing to wear the apparently suffocating masks AND deal with the house's unpleasant smells. I was already seeing some questionable casting choices as well as a distressing number of holes, and, unfortunately, I suspect that problem will continue. A pity, because this maze could easily be fighting to be the best of the event if it had its (many) spots filled.
The Last of Us (Excellent)
Truth be told, I want to like this more! The incorporation of Joel and Ellie is really bold and a treat for fans of the game. It also has its downsides: These characters never acknowledge us, making us invisible observers, which has the side effect of reducing urgency, immersion, and investment. This might be fine if their appearances were limited, but a good third of the maze's real estate is devoted to them, at least. I think even a single scene of them encouraging us to keep moving would have been helpful. (Think about how Stranger Things 1 handled many of its lookalike characters: Brenner spoke directly to us, the guests, while Hopper tried to help us evacuate.) Anyway, once you get past the Joel/Ellie prologue, the maze eventually kicks it into high gear and starts to sing. The hunters sadly don't really do it for me as pop scares - they're just folks showing themselves for half a second before disappearing. The infected, clickers, and bloaters fare much better, of course. Still, I couldn't help but notice many missed opportunities. Why not stick a clicker or infected in scenes where Joel and Ellie are just talking? Why isn't there a clicker in the room with the (kind of weak) Bloater face split effect, which also takes way too long to reset? The strength of what's here is what keeps Last of Us in the excellent tier, but I think a few tweaks could've taken this to all-timer status.
Holidayz in Hell (Excellent)
If not for our last run on Saturday, this would have landed firmly in the "very good" territory. This house seems to have the most frequent issues with staffing during the early entry period, but when we hit it in the middle of the night, the cast was on fire and absolutely relentless. Some smart tweaks that eliminate black walls while adding some surprising scares. Valentine's Day in particular was teeming with Cupids to the point where I genuinely couldn't track where they'd be coming from. There's still a lot of dead air in the spacious but bare Easter and 4th of July rooms, and I never seemed to get the timing right for the Christmas Tree Lot. Still, it's a basic premise executed very, very well. If the cast keeps up that energy - and they can avoid too many holes - this will overcome the repeat curse in my book.
Universal Monsters: Unmasked (Excellent)
With reports that this house was a casualty of an overbudget event, I was prepared for the worst and was *very* pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are black walls, but I had a bit of an epiphany as I reflected on why I enjoyed the house so much in spite of them. The answer involves three elements: One, this is the *only maze* this year that features any extended moments of black walls, and it uses this as a design choice, not a bug. Two, the audio design further takes advantage of this budgetary reality by amping up the unease in the darkened rooms, particularly the "Hyde and Seek" sequence. Three, the aggressiveness of the actors - coupled with how dark these hallways get - deliver some of the most in-your-face pop scares of the night. It certainly helps that the rooms that *are* here are spectacularly rendered and reflect the design team's deep love for the characters. The Quasimodo room in particular is packed with macabre gags and flourishes, and I loved the inclusion of the Rat Lady to warn us about the Phantom. Sure, not everything works - I have no idea why we didn't negotiate leaving The Invisible Man out, and the video effects probably made more sense on paper than in execution. Ultimately, though, the close-quarters scare design coupled with big, grand moments worked for me.
Terror Tram: Exterminatorz (Very Good)
It's tram! It's tram. We know what's here, and it's pretty good. Larry Larva is a memorable character with a fun script that ties into the backlot. The bits here are broad but entertaining, and quite a few of the bugs are really going for it and landing solid scares. The Itsy Bitsy spider tunnel is sort of just there, and War of the Worlds feels emptier than it should, but I did appreciate the indoor "colony" section that also mixes up the mask and character variety. The Jordan Peele section makes a welcome return, even if it has nothing to do with anything (not that it really did last year, either). I observed some great performances from the Tethered, one of whom gave me one of my biggest scares of the night. With that said, I think they need to cut the Jupiter's Claim employees. They aren't really doing anything to add to the atmosphere, and the Tethered largely ignore them. I really hate to say it because I know how demanding this job is, but some of the victims' performances in this area were also less than impressive. The biggest obstacle of the tram really comes down to not having enough performers to sufficiently fill the massive amount of space, and I'm not sure the event really has a sustainable answer for overcoming that. Again, for this year, I think the solution is cutting the victims and allocating more performers to be bugs or Tethered. It also would've been nice if there was any sort of sign-off or "resolution" from Larry Larva - as it stands, the Exterminatorz portion abruptly ends after the colony bit.
Stranger Things 4
Is it better than Stranger Things 2? Undoubtedly, though that's not a high bar to clear. Is it as effective as Stranger Things 1? No, and I think I realized why. One of ST1's under-discussed strengths was its soundscape, which perfectly captured both the synth of the show as well as key lines that orient you and embody what the characters are experiencing at any given moment. Here, we really only get a handful of lines from Brenner, Max, Lucas, and Vecna. There's none of the propulsion or panic or youthful determination that made the first adaptation as successful as it was. Instead, we sort of just drift from scene to scene in a manner that would only be halfway coherent to someone who closely studied the most recent season. Say what you will about Murdy sometimes overthinking house designs, but he had it right with focusing the first maze on Will's journey. With all that said, it's already been put perfectly by
@SeventyOne - this house lives or dies by how they do Master of Puppets and Running Up That Hill, and they whiff both, badly. I'm not sure Master of Puppets is even present in Hollywood's iteration - if it is, it's mixed very low. I never heard Running Up That Hill, and the final scene is just sort of confusing instead of impressive. Hollywood has always struggled to capture the scope of the show's biggest environments, and that trend sadly continues (though the Creel house looks perfectly good despite early rumors). This review reads very negative, but it's important to emphasize that I'm describing missed potential. Judging what's there and taking it on its own terms, it's an entertaining house with plenty of strong scenic and performances, disjointed as it is. I wish Vecna was a little more immediately threatening here - he doesn't have the same instant repulsion offered by the Demagorgon and its ilk - but the actors are doing a good job moving in what's almost assuredly a difficult costume. Fans of the show will likely be underwhelmed, but I had a very good time on my final run-through when the maze was better staffed.
RIP tour, ops, zone, and show thoughts in the next post!