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Halloween Horror Nights 28 (UO): Reviews & Photos

Brian G.

Editor-in-Chief
Jan 21, 2008
24,679
53,897
Orlando, FL
Please share your opinions, reviews, photos, and videos of this year's event here.

Reminder: There will be SPOILERS in this thread.

PLEASE LIMIT OFF-TOPIC RESPONSES AND KEEP DISCUSSION LIMITED TO ONLY PHOTOS AND REVIEWS.
 
I got through 9/10 houses last night. All I can say is wow. Out of the 9 houses I was only displeased with 2. I mean thinking back that’s incredible back when 9 houses was the big thing personally I usually only really enjoyed like 4 or 5 houses so I’m super pleased to say 7 our of 9 were fantastic. In order I walked through:
Carnival Graveyard
Scary Tales
Blumhouse
Slaughter SINEMA
Trick r treat
Seeds of exctinction
Poltergeist
Dead exposure
Halloween.
The two I wasn’t into were Halloween and Blumhouse. Idk I thought Halloween was very bland and tbh I’m not too into the movie they chose to do and I thought Michael was a little over played recently in the event. Blumhouse was truly a boring house. I absolutely loved all the others. Scary tales felt empty when I walked through so I need to give that another go around on Thursday when I am back but everything else lived up to or surpassed my expectations tremendously. Overall very impressive year for houses. Scarezones are another story. I love how real killer klownz is it’s truly beautiful. Harvest is fun I like the hay creatures a lot lmao. Vamp is fun and retro. Chucky is very cool and I love the characters they chose. I wasn’t feeling twisted traditions though idk was not as cool as I thought it would be. But hey I mean 4/5 scare zones being very cool I’ll take it!!
 
This was my first ever HHN. I hadn't originally planned on going, because I don't watch many horror movies, but I was displaced to Orlando for the hurricane so I decided to use my free pass with premier. I loved every minute of it, even if I didn't get in all of the houses I wanted. My friend and I did the following in order:
Blumhouse
Poltergeist
Halloween
Slaughter Sinema

Of those, I would concur with RyanH that Halloween and Blumhouse were kind of meh. Poltergeist was beautifully done from a theming standpoint (and my friend said it was pretty accurate down to small things in the scenes) and Slaughter Sinema was just chaotic fun from start to finish. Only thing I'll change when I come back is getting express and pausing a bit at the door to avoid the Conga line ruining scares.

I enjoyed all of the scare zones I experienced, Vamp 85 was fun, but the hay stacks in Harvest netted many good scares when I was around there.

I give HHN a 5/7 and I will be back eventually.
 
So I got to sleep on the event last night and put a little more thought into all the houses and such. I fell like overall this is going to shape up to be an amazing year. With it being opening night and the actors and such still getting into the groove of things, I'm not too hard on any of the houses as even with the ones that I felt were a little lackluster seem to have the potential to be amazing. I'll go through each house in the order I went through them last night.

Blumhouse: This was the only house I really didn't enjoy much at all. I thought the happy death day portion was okay and the idea was cool, but it kind of ended up making the scares a little predictable. The purge portion was a little more varied, but overall kind of bland. I think last years version was just a straight up better house than this.

Slaughter Sinema: I really love this house. It gave me holiday of horror vibes with the layout of this house. Having a sort of "intro" room before each scene letting you know what movie you are seeing. This house also felt really long to me. It felt like the movies just kept coming and coming. Overall a super fun house with so much variety that I cant wait to go through again and see more details.

Dead exposure: This house scared the crap out of me. I loved the first dead exposure and I feel like this one is great too. I read somewhere that some people thought the second half of this house was not as good as the first half. I didn't feel this way at all. There are some great scenes in here and I love the frantic busy feel of this house. It feels like it never really lets off the gas. Probably my second favorite house of the night.

Trick r treat: The sets in this house were great. They did an amazing job recreating this movie. For me the scares weren't there, but it was opening night and I feel like this house will just get better and better as the event goes on.

Poltergeist: This house was amazing. Definitely my number one from last night. Everything in this house felt amazing. I was worried about this house because I was afraid it would end up like the exorcist or the shining, both of which I wasn't a huge fan of. It is not like them. This had one of the most claustrophobic feeling rooms I've ever experienced at hhn in it. Make sure to do this house.

Scary Tales: This house was beautiful. My favorite facade of this event and probably the coolest facade I've seen in a long time. The sets are probably my favorite of the year. I got some really great scares in this house. Another one I can't wait to go back and see again and again. I've always been a fan of the scary tales houses and this one is no exception.

Carnival Graveyard: I blame myself for how I feel about this house. I was hyped for this house, like wayyy too hyped. I thought this was going to be amazing. I was kind of let down walking out of the house. In reality this house is super solid. Great sets, the scares were there, super interesting rooms and the energy was great. but I was so excited about this house and it did not quite meet my inflated expectations. I think this is another house that will just get better and better as the event goes on.

Halloween: I don't have too much to say about this one. It was better than I expected it to be, but also not very memorable. I walked out a little impressed, but by the time I left the park last night I could not remember a thing about this one.

Seeds of extinction: I want to love this house. I really do. I think this house has the potential to maybe be my favorite house of all time. I can see it being that good. The only problem I have is I think the whole house needs to be a TINY bit darker in some spots. Once I realized the "gimmick" to all the scares it became really easy to spot them. If it was a tiny bit darker they would be really hard to spot and the scares would be amazing. I was also so very hot last night and there is a room here that felt so good. I can't wait to do this house more and see it progress throughout the event.

Stranger things: This was a cool house. I am a fan of the show and they did a great job translating the show to a house. Scare wise the house feels lacking and very samey (lots of demogorgon scares) , but the sets are great and the cast did a good job. This was the end of the night and I was really tired and in a "I want to be in bed" sort of mood so I think i might not be giving this one a fair shot. I'm excited to see it tomorrow and see if I feel more up on this house.

Streets: I didn't spend too much time in the scarezones, but my first impression are that Vamp is really cool and a lot of fun with a great soundtrack. The others were so crowded when I went through that I didn't really feel like I went through them at all. I'll have to see them more tonight and make my judgement after that.

I also did not see AoV last night so I can't say how I feel about that. I am going to try and catch that tonight.
 
Hope some good reviews trickle in. I kinda need something to smile about right now (no, HHN isn't what's having me despondent this evening).
 
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Hope some good reviews trickle in. I kinda need something to smile about right now.
Here's mine, the design is incredible, the waits are tolerable with express and the scare actors are giving it their all. Noticed many empty boo holes so maybe they have casting issues. Overall this is shaping up to be as stellar year.
Did stranger, scary, dead, seeds, trick, carnival and slaughter tonight. Still have to do blumhouse and did halloween, polter last night along with stranger and dead.
 
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I saw AoV tonight and really enjoyed it. It was really nice to see them on that stage and really go all out. I would definitely recommend seeing the show if you are into it.

Also went through Halloween 4 again tonight and I think it is pretty good. Blumhouse felt a little better. Scary tales and sinema were on point. I didn't do too much else tonight and left early because it was packed. Overall another enjoyable night.
 
Really enjoyed all the aromas in the houses this year and they were a real stand out for me.

Houses in order of best to.... well....

ScaryTales 3
: 10/10
Best overall all house, great through out

Carnival Graveyard: 10/10
Gorgeous! Never seen anything like it.

Trick 'r Treat: 10/10
Should have been a house last year, and this house proved it.

Poltergeist: 8/10
The first half of the house is better than than the rest where it just doesn't hold up and feels like they ran out of ideas.

Slaughter Sinema: 8/10
Fun enough with different things to look at. All the 70's and 80's nods were great.

Stranger Things: 7/10
Had enough to be interesting, but it was I thought it would be, hit all the notes of the show.

Halloween 4: 6/10
More Michael Myers....and more, and more....
That being said it is always good to see Mikey!

Seeds of Extinction: 5/10
*My experience in the que and going in the daytime effect my opinion of this house
Everything kinda blended together and the creatures seemed to look the same.

Dead Exposure 2: 5/10
Some good scenes but felt uninspired

Blumhouse vol. 2: 2/10
meh.

Scare Zones

  1. Twisted Tradition 10/10
    Traditional with great sets

    Revenge of Chucky 8/10
    Chucky puppet is a blast.

    The Harvest 7/10
    I like the theme, but the zone suffers from too much light

    Vamp 85: New Year's Eve 7/10
    Some good things here.

  • Killer Klowns from Outer Space 5/10
    Too small

 
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After attending the first two nights of the event so far, I only have quarrels with two things:

Revenge of Chucky
I really hope they revise Chucky’s dialogue in the “mini-show.” It was so boring and some of it cringe worthy.

They’re going more towards the original films-Chucky (which I appreciate), but I feel the “Bride”-era Chucky would fit better at the event (sarcastic, rude, FUNNY).

Also, some more guest interaction would be nice. Maybe bring a guest on stage to do something fun or embarrassing.

I’ve only seen two renditions of the show. Anybody know how many in total there are?

Slaughter Sinema
After opening weekend, this may be my least favorite house of the year.

This house is just way too random, even for HHN standards. This house feels like the “extra” tenth house they advertise; it literally looks like they said “grab anything left in the warehouse, throw it all in and make up some random stories.”

I’m not really sure why some people call it the “comedy house.” Nothing made me laugh or smile. It was more like a “Huh”? It’s also a very bright house.

I’ve always been a supporter of all the original content houses over IP’s, so I’m hoping this house grows on me during the course of the event, but I doubt it.
 
So while this year wasn’t the scariest I’ve ever been to, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun somewhere ever before. Also as a preface, #s 1-9 could all be number one if you stuck them in a weaker year; every single house this year seems to have large scale and quite a bit of them are intense. That said here’s my review/rankings:

(1) Poltergeist- When this property was starting to be rumored I kept thinking how in the world does that translate at all. But after rewatching it, it’s a really intense movie. The house reflects that and the trip into “The Light” is very scary and anyone who was creeped out by the clown is gonna hate that section. This house is on the level of AWiL and Halloween for sure. 10/10

(2) Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After - This house is just straight up fun. I had a blast figuring out which fairy tale I was in and there are some really good scares in here too. The sets were massive and the Wicked Witch actresses did amazing with the role. 10/10

(3) Dead Exposure: Patient Zero - This, Poltergeist, and Seeds of Extinction are definitely the “Scary” houses this year. They did a great job making it seem like you were entering into a virus filled Paris and I loved the opening scene with the monkeys. Sort of a weak finale but besides that a lot of people were getting terrified in this house. 10/10

(4) Trick ‘r Treat - This and Stranger Things are probably the most beautiful houses I’ve ever been into. Makes Dead Waters look lame IMO. The Schoolbus Massacre section is huge and the kids on there were getting good scares. 10/10

(5) Stranger Things - The best sets this year. This was such an immersive house and I loved the part where the theme song blared and the Stranger Things logo started showing up on a giant screen(like Evil Dead in 23). This house is beautiful and the Upside Down was creepy as hell. The Christmas Lights Room and Will’s Room were also getting pretty good scares. 10/10

(6) Halloween 4: The Return of Micheal Myers - This house isn’t on the level of 24’s Halloween house, but IMO it was better than 26’s. This house follows the movie to a tee and feels like a SS house more than a Shrek house(this house feels long and the sets don’t feel cramped). Micheal gets some good scares and they even had Jamie in the maze. It’s not the most memorable maze but it is really fun and gives some good scares. 9.5/10

(7) Carnival Graveyard: Rust In Pieces - This year’s The Shining. It’s a georgeous house and the scale is insane, and it’s super impressive but it’s not the scariest house. Don’t get expectations for sets too high, this house is a literal carnival Junkyard. Felt like a better version of a Rob Zombie movie in terms of character design, and this house is filled with Easter eggs. 9.5/10

(8) Slaughter Sinema - I feel really bad putting this at #8 since this house is a blast and is pretty funny. “Amazon Cannibals from Planet Hell” and “Schinne’s Kids” were my favorite scenes and Pumpkin Guts and Attack of the Swamp Yeti were highlights too. This house isn’t scary whatsoever IMO, but this is a must do house! Can’t stress enough how fun this house is. 9.5/10

(9) Seeds of Extinction- This house is really cool and the mall sets were a nice nod to the 80s. Lots of Easter eggs in here as well. They need to dim the lights a bit more since after the first few scares it gets really easy to see where they’re coming from. Prepare to get wet in here and also get scared a lot in here. 9/10

(10) The Horrors of Blumhouse 2 - Happy Death Day is a solid 10/10 to me but the Purge is more like a 6. HHN needs to Purge the Purge sometime soon. For a MiB Tent house this house has some big sets, particularly the Liquor Store facade in Purge and the Hospital scene in HDD. Set design is better in here than last year’s but last year’s was scarier IMO since the monsters encountered were scarier and the properties were as well. Still, this house is pretty good and rounds out the lineup well. 8.5/10


Scarezones:

(1) Vamp ‘85: This is the epitome of how fun the event is this year. I could live in here just for the music alone, but the actors elevate the concept to a whole new level. Don’t expect this to be scary though

(2a) Killer Klowns from Outer Space: Not scary at all but this zone just makes me so happy. The clowns are funny and effects going on in this zone are very true to the film and cool to see brought to life.

(2b) Revenge of Chucky: The cast in here does a great job of working together and I saw the monkeys scaring quite a bit. Not much else to say besides true to the personality of Chucky

(3) Twisted Tradition: This zone is beautiful, and with the flashlight girls out front I guess the concept is “80s teens walking into haunted woods” or something like that? Story wise I was somewhat confused but this zone is creepy and beautiful. Think TrT last year mixed with Roanoke at 24 and then some Scarecrow in there.

(4) The Harvest: Meh. The IP stands were great and the Poltergeist one was my favorite since they had the static on the TV, and that damn clown with the flashlight(Halloween’s was great too). The scareactors in here are true to the theme written on the map but this zone is basically getting scared by haybayles and scarecrows?(couldn’t really tell for some).


The one takeaway anyone should have from this year is that it is a must see year; all of the houses are strong and scarezones are just incredible this year. Be careful with planning though since lines can shoot up quickly in a short amount of time(just watch the StrTh line at opening it’s insane)
 
Opening Weekend Review

Overview
House-wise this is one of the strongest lineups I have been to with the only dud being blumhouse. #3-7 are all basically all neck and neck and the casts will define how they move and finally settle over the event. Crowds aside Friday and Saturday, I had a blast and look to have many fun nights this year. Looking to top my 18 nights from last year lol.

I attended all three nights of the event and have done all the houses at least twice. Overall, the house lineup is strong and while I like the ideas of all the streets, the execution so far has felt underwhelming compared to some zones from years past.

Friday did Finnegan's S&S but scanned in around 5:10ish and wandered around figuring out what the deal was with how they would let out. Was about halfway back in the second holding pen they had for release and when released went to Poltergeist since we had express and didn't wanna deal with everyone going to that at once. House was delayed and got out around 6.20ish. After that things went smoothly and I was able to hit up all 10 with 5 repeats.

Saturday was with a group that didn't have express and managed 7 houses with them and they left at midnight and took breaks and did some zones.

Sunday did Simpson's S&S and that was great. Maybe around 100 people. This will be my go to spot because Finns is just not worth it especially with express I just don't want to deal with that glut of people.

Houses
1. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero
Opening Night this house was good, Saturday and Sunday though the cast was on point and one of my runs was probably one of the most terrifying experiences I have had in an HHN house ever. I know some may call this house cheap, but it does what it set out to do in a highly effective manner and the cast so far has shown to be the most energetic of the event.
2. Poltergeist
This house has scale and scares. I wasn't sure how they would translate the film to a cohesive house but they pulled it off almost flawlessly. The first half of the house is something to behold and puts your right into the events of the movie. The second house you get sucked into the other side and face the demons you know from the movie. My only gripe is that the stilt walkers could be more aggressive and the back half is basically all black walls with some empty portions with a weak ending. This and Dead Exposure will most likely battle it out for my Personal HOTY with Seeds and Carnival as the dark horses.​

3. Seeds of Extinction
I love the Last of Us and when this was announced that is where my mind went. One run was alone and I got every scare. The ability for them to just be right there in your face is great and it really feels like you are in a world devoid of life that this plant life has reclaimed.​

4. Carnival Graveyard
The size and scale of this house is amazing. It has some good scares but also a lot of room to grow as they find their groove. There is one guy in there that looks live a mummified barker that comes from above that is really good and I love the Tunnel of Love through the end.​

5. Stranger Things
Was not at all excited for this house and was expecting it to be too boring and lacking in scares. Most of the scares come from the demagorgon but thats ok since it is just a good costume design that doesn't come off as cheesy except for their comically large feed. Plus I saw one pushing his trigger with those giant hands and smiled. Only parts that feel flat where when the people in hazmats came out shooting at nothing. Besides that great sets with enough scares to back it up.​

6. Slaughter Sinema
This house is really fun and has some rooms that have really good scares. The only rooms I actively do not like is cult of the beast baby because it is just a mirrored room with mannequins and two real people that attack on cue. I find that type of room ineffective unless it is disorienting like in Dead Exposure or Poltergeist. The standouts are Pumpkin Guts, Swamp Yeti, Schitties Kidz, and Midnight Snack 2. Love that giant evil Porg. One run it got me really good because the guy operating that was so aggressive that it came out so far and hit me and snagged my sleeve on a tooth and yanked me back.​

7. Scarytales
Best Facade I have ever seen. I love how the witch uses the various columns and then sometimes just dive straight at the people below. The witch scenes are what steal the show here with 3 little pigs having some good scares. Only scene that really falls flat here is humpty since it is just a few guys that come out burping up eggs. Is highly timing dependent and have yet to see the witch at the end on the zip line.​

8. Trick R' Treat
Another beautiful house that is great and only this low because of the caliber of everything above it. It is the least scary house at the event so a good starter for those that want to ease in.​

9. Halloween 4
First run was not good. The mikes seemed like they were going though the motions (casually stepping out and half heartily stabbing the air in front of them.) Second run was way more aggressive so not sure if they good the feel or got the other cast. Again they do great work for dealing with the space they have and doesn't feel like a last minute throw together. This house does not stack up to the first two though and thats ok. I enjoy it for what it is and am happy to see mike back at the event.​

10. Blumhouse 2
Happy Death Day has great sets for its venue but has very little in scares. Purge has given me a solid scare each of my two runs but is just bland scenic and doesn't do anything to move the needle for me. Its sad that for the first time they were able to design a purge house from the inception and it can't hold a candle to the scourge house from 25, which was a guilty pleasure of mine.​

Zones
The zones were fine but something seemed off with most of them except for Traditions which was the only one that felt fully realized. Vamp and Chucky felt emptier than previous zones and could have used another large prop or two to flesh it out. Vamp especially suffers from the actors just walking around or messing around with each other. I really like the Klownz zoner but just way to cramped and is selfie central.

1. Twisted Traditions
2. Killer Klowns
3. Chucky
4. Vamp 85
5. Harvest
 
Scarezones

The Harvest - A cool summary of the night a great way to get the full use of the scarecrow costumes.

Vamp 85: New Year's Eve - Definitely my favorite zone even though I was not expecting it. The costumes were not as great as some of the others but the vibe and set pieces just made it. This seems like the zone I'm gonna be spending time in when I don't feel like waiting 2 hours for Stranger Things.

Killer Clowns - A super cool zone with some of the best costumes I've ever seen. The balloon dog and The actors mimicking the tour guides were a great touch. Only real critique was the location, I feel like it's not big enough to really do too much putting it in front of Fast and Furious would balance out that side of the park.

Twisted Tradition - Really just what I expected from a central park zone. They had the maracas and the actors hiding behind setpieces. The one thing I will say that the big house/church was a killer piece and the stilt actors looked so good at night.

Revenge of Chucky - A cool zone in concept but the execution was lackluster. It felt like nothing was going on and everything was so empty. Despite this, I still liked the zone but of them all, it probably was my least favorite.



Houses

Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces - This was one of the houses I hit twice and is one of the contenders for my favorite house. The set was so cool and I loved the amount of stuff you could look at. Throwing in the old Icon was a great touch. The use of the buttons like in the saw house was great although I could not figure out what the second one did. This house definitely had some of the most creative scares between the clown falling down on you, the barrel slam, and the car horn. Gotta say definitely had a great time going through this house.



Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After - I really like the idea behind this house and I also really like this house. The costumes were some of the best I've ever seen and the opening setpiece with the Witch was awesome. I didn't get the best run and missed a lot of scares, but still was a stand out house. The one downside was the mermaid segment maybe I got the worst run of all time but I walked through the room, saw the actors, and promptly walked out with zero scares.



Poltergeist - Full disclaimer I have not seen this movie but a friend gave me a basic rundown of what was going on despite not actually understanding anything this was still one of my favorite houses. The setpiece in the first scene is so cool and the audio just makes it. The segments of the house were really well structured and the number of huge beasts was crazy impressive.



The Horrors of Blumhouse - I am not gonna lie I went into this house with low expectations and I was still let down. I have not seen Happy Death Day but from what I know about it this segment was really cool and the music was really just a good time. The rest of this house just kinda melded together for me but the one thing I will say is the Purge segment was worse than last year and this was the one time it was actually planned to be there. I don't think I will ever lose the image of a man wearing a blank mask holding a gun straight up walk out from behind a door with no noise and no action just to walk back and do it again.



Slaughter Sinema - This house was in the top three of my hype list and it did not disappoint. I was so excited when I heard about this house because it could pretty much give the creatives the power to do whatever they wanted and they took that right and ran with it. The music, the way it was formatted, and the themes were top tier and the fact that you can get a t-shirt with your favorite segment on it just makes me so happy. This house is definitely fighting for my top spot.



Dead Exposure: Patient Zero - First off this house is insane, like the first time I went through it I thought I was going to have a stroke. I think the real way to enjoy this house is just to go with it and don't try to think too hard about a story or theme because if you do that you will run into some of the coolest scenes and scares this year.



Seeds of Extinction - This was the one house I really didn't know what to expect. I kinda envisioned some of the ET creatures jumping out at me which that thought alone was plenty scary but turns out I was dead wrong. This house was wild claustrophobic and had some super cool costumes. I was one of the first people to go through this house so there was no one in front of me and anyone who has done that before knows exactly what I am talking about. I got pretty much every scare one after another with no stopping The number of people that you just couldn't see really set this house apart.



Trick 'r Treat - This house was so fun. The set pieces were so pretty and all of the Sams just made it. I don't really know what else to say about this house but it was definitely one of my favorite houses.



Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - This house was the one other that I found a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong this was still a good house but compared to all of the other houses this year it just didn't really hit its mark. Now I understand this was the last minute house and it's really evident and for what it is I like it. I liked seeing all of the scenes from the movie although I have always had a bit of a problem with houses that have one main bad guy. It's weird seeing the same person come at you over and over and over again and it starts to lose its magic very quickly. despite this, it was still a good house and I liked seeing the movie come to life.



Stranger Things - Here it is, the money-making machine. I went into this house with the lowest of low expectations and I was blown away. I was expecting to be running around the Hawkins Lab getting scared by the same guy over and over again until I got out and questioned why I just waited 17 hours to do that but I got a super well thought out and themed house with some of the coolest looking sets and scares to date. The casting for the kids and characters was second to none and the costumes were fantastic. Especially in the upside down, they have the sort of ash floating down on you and the suits could have very well been the suits from the actual show. Sadly I missed almost every animatronic scare and going back to see those again is going to be quite a daunting task as one two hour wait may just be enough for me. All in all this house was on the bottom of my hype list but they just killed it on this one.



I have not seen the show yet but that will come with the more in-depth review.



Summary/Critique

This year might just be lining up to be my favorite year thus far the only real critique I have is that when you are going through the park there is actually no reason to go past fast and furious and London I think if they had moved the Clowns zone to just in front of Fast and Furious it would balance out the park. I know they wanna have people go on the ride but like come on guys it's just not happening.
 
Thought I'd post a review of opening weekend.
Some quick thoughts before I get to the rankings:

-Set wise, the houses are the best I've seen in my three years of going (26, 27, and 28). ScareZones, though, are the weakest. Really only one ScareZone seemed really fleshed out.

-The houses (with a few exceptions) don't really seem to have a "climactic" ending. They just kind of end.

-I tried the strawberry shortcake waffle thing, it was better than I thought it was going to be!

-A lot of houses used the "Random character from the house jumps out from a black curtain" as the last scare this year.

Alright, on to the rankings!

From best to worst
Houses
1. Poltergeist (5/5)
This house completely blew my expectations away. It felt like creative perfected the abstract concepts they used in the Exorcist with this house. I liked how the entire house replicated the chaotic feeling in the movie's climax. With that being said, I only did this house once, and remember sets seeming a bit barren toward the end, so I hope the cast can keep up the intensity.

2.Slaughter Sinema (4.5/5)
Probably my favorite "80's" original thing at the event so far. To me, the house replicates watching a schlock marathon, for better or worse. Some rooms are complete gems, while others fall on their face. Also, I'm a bit worried the comedy of the house is going to get stale as the event goes on.

3.Scary Tales (4.5/5)
The stronger cast thus far for Slaughter Sinema gives it the slightest edge over this house. IMHO, this house lives and dies by the Oz scenes. The facade is my personal favorite of the event, and the climax with the Witch is the strongest ending to any of this year's houses. But, this house gets bogged down from being great due to a couple of uninspired scenes near the middle of the house, and not seeing (or even hearing) a couple of scares.

4. Trick r' Treat (4/5)
A beautiful house with a ton of character variety. This and one other house are the ones I'm most excited to do over and over again. What's holding this one back for me so far is the order of the scenes. The most "exciting" part of the house (and the climax of the movie), occurs in the opening, which makes the rest of the house a bit of a disappointment by comparison. When I said earlier that some houses just "end", this is the one I'm most directly referring to this house.

5. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero (4/5)
I'm split on this house. On one hand, this is the scariest house of the year, and features the tight corridors and in-your-face scareactors that feature in my favorite past HHN houses. However, not a lot of scenes from this scenes are sticking in my mind. In fact, it took me until half way through the house to "get" the intimidating atmosphere this house was going for. Not my favorite so far, but it has a lot of room for improvement.

6. Stranger Things (3.5/5)
After two years of AHS randomly throwing scenes together, we get a headliner house that tries to replicate the plot of the show! This is a great looking house, and does a good job for the most part at telling the story of season 1. My big issues in this house stem from the lack of variety in the scares, and not being able to see (/differentiate?) the puppets. Solid house, but I need to see more from the cast to make this one great.

7. Carnival Graveyard (3.5/5)
Great sets with so much detail really make this the one house that is almost sure to improve for me as the event goes on. I really like the almost meta scenes that end this house, and some of the most creative scares I've ever seen from HHN so far (the barrels especially). With that said, the cast doesn't seem to have the timing/energy down like the cast of Slaughter Sinema or Poltergeist. Also, I think the car scare needs to be a little bit louder. I'm not sure why it's so quiet when everything else in these houses is earth shatteringly loud.

8. Blumhouse (2.5 /5)
I was just starting to get into the Happy Death Day portion of this house when I abruptly smashed into the First Purge. Really this house is only above the other two because of a comically large number of Babyfaces in one of the rooms. With improvement from the cast, this house could rise up a couple of spots.

9. Seeds of Extinction (2.5/5)
I went through this house twice, once with the random bright lighting on Friday and once with the darker lighting on Saturday. To me, this house feels like a watered down, but prettier, version of Scarecrow. I think that the house is a little bit too wide open with too many straightaways, which can spoil the scares ahead. This house needed tighter corridors with twists and turns, to really make the camouflage effect of the house work. If this didn't have HHN crowds, it could be terrifying, but the conga line seems to break the potential of this house.

10. Halloween 4 (1/5)
Micheal Myers doesn't scare me. Actors I can see from several feet away don't scare me. Terrible ops that make me go through the house so fast that the actors don't even have time to scare me don't scare me. Probably my least favorite house since Lunatic's Playground.

Scare Zones/Hordes
1. Revenge of Chucky (4/5)
So far, tied for the best cast on the streets. The two best scares of the weekend I got from this zone. A very special shout out to the duo that slammed their prop on the garbage can and then laughed directly in my while I was watching the Chucky show. A lack of sets in the zone in general are really holding this zone back from being rated higher

2. Carnival Clown Chainsaw Guys(4/5)
I'm not entirely sure what they're supposed to be, but these guys are great. On Saturday, they started getting wayyyy into their characters, and are really making what they do their own.

3. Twisted Traditions (3.5/5)
The only zone I think was fully accomplished from a scenic perspective. That church is seriously cool. I need a bit more interaction from the pumpkin man scareactors, and the poeplewith the flashlights near the church seem a bit shoehorned in. Either way, a solid scarezone that is hampered by the fact it had to follow Trick r' Treat.

4. The Harvest (3/5)
This is another case where I see the cast starting to get some ideas going. Most notably, the shorter hay monsters are starting to hide behind the barn fence, which is getting some good scares. They have almost nothing to work with, so I got to give them props for the effort and creativity.

5. Vamp 85 (2/5)
I know this probably isn't a popular opinion, but this is probably the biggest disappointment of the event so far for me. Vamp 55 was one of my favorite scarezones, and this currently lacks the guest interaction and the strength of the cast that 55 had. I've gone through this zone without scareactors paying attention to me at all. It also feels less like the vampires crashed a New Year's Eve party, as opposed to just throwing one and bringing a few human pals to feed on. The music is also a bit too loud and could potentially hurt the intimacy with the scareactors. I hope this one gets better. I really do. But right now I'm disappointed.

6. Killer Klownz (2/5)
My fears with this zone were realized when I saw it: Cramped zone. Bulky costumes that limit scares. Non-talking scareactors that aren't able to replicate the feel of the movie. This movie is almost tailor-made for a house, and should've been one instead of a zone.

7. Chainsaw Mechanic (1/5)
Last second changes mean these guys haven't gotten into as much of a rhythm as their Simpson's buddies. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they improve as the event goes on.

All in all, I think this is a solid year, but I'm not quite sure if it's a step above 27 yet. I'll see how the event evolves, and if some of the big problem areas improve. For now, I think most of the event is solid, but with some big flaws holding this back from its true potential. Thanks!
 
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