HHN 29: It looks cool
Mazes Overall Score: 7.8/10
1.Yeti. 9/10
Was able to get this one in 5 times. Every time, there were scares to be had. The careful touches on the design, going in and out of cabins, carefully placed wind effects, the lighting and flow of this maze made it the #1 for me. It felt the most "organic", making it easier to forget I was in a haunted house. Actors were always on point, every run through. I think there was a missed opportunity to do more with the wind effects, it really helped sell the atmosphere. There was a lack for atmospherics, A/C, Snow Machines... A little more could've made this feel REAL. The thought of looking up and seeing a blanket of clouds suspended above my head as I start getting really cold , the wind blowing wisps of cold fog in your face as the snow streams in from above. A missed opportunity in my humble opinion but what a great maze and my favorite for this year.
As a side note, This maze is kind of what I would I expect a horror nights maze to be. It tells a story, but it leans into its trappings as a scary attraction vs a walk-through with some scares. I've noticed that the lower ranking mazes on my list lean so far into some kind of alternate walk through storytelling.
2.Depths of Fear 8.5/10
I saw some initial bad reviews for this one, so I was surprised when I ended up having to decide whether I liked this or Yeti more. Depths, sounds like earlier on it had a serious case of Jaws syndrome. The creatures aren't very scary when you get to see them so many times and for so long. All the runs I did, I think there were 3 or 4 tops, all tucked away in various "big" moments in the maze. With the way everything flowed as the story focused in on the crew first and the creatures second, along with a beautiful design, This was seriously top contender for me. The way this maze was executed, the story played out for me every time, and there was a variety of scares for each run through.
3. Universal Monsters 8.2/10
There's not much I feel I can say about this. Before I did Yeti, thought this was going to be number one. If anything I wish they were able to spend more time on each character. I think that's the only reason I have it at 3, It's so good looking you want to spend time in it and appreciate each scene, and you just flow through too fast. It makes you miss the slow buildup of terror and dread you would feel watching those old horror movies. If it could've achieved that feel, it would've been one of my favorite haunted attractions of all time for sure.
4. Blood Pit 7/10
Can't speak on the design change, But I thought the creatures were scary enough. Loved the theme, loved the gore... Perhaps a bit too over-reliant on the atmosphere and smells, the gore. Got this in 5 or 6 times and only saw a lion activate once. By my last run through I had forgot they were in the maze. But I loved the atmosphere of this one, I loved the theme. Just kind of worked.
5. Killer Klowns 8/10
Had this one been a tad bit scarier I might have swapped its ranking with blood pit. The effects and presentation alone made this a top rated attraction for me, but the gags and scares are so in your face, you're just not getting much new on a repeat walk through. Kudos to those actors in those costumes. Klownzilla was great. This was a lot of fun each time I went through.
6.Ghostbusters 8/10
Lots of good cool small details in here. If you don't get a good run through the containment scene the scares kind of fall flat. Was so good to look at, but I was hoping this would've leaned into its scarier side more. I just think this could've been adapted better to be scary and faithful to the story all at the same time. I wish it was a bit more nuanced on the comedic bits. Less would've been more in my opinion. Still a very cool maze, and great effects. I wish I got to see more of the dogs on each run through, if you missed them along with the containment scene, it's like you missed all the scares, so I can imagine that is something that is happening a lot because I noticed lots of holes between a few scenes with resets that really could've made for something if everyone was getting them.
7.Us 6.5/10
This was very unsettling, just like the movie. It unfortunately just went so atmospheric I think so you lost a lot of people. It was still very cool to be in as a fan of the movie, but It needed a few stronger "Big" moments interwoven with a bit more of edge, more scare moments. Perhaps if the format of the maze had accommodated for a more original take towards the end with the facility
8. Graveyard Games 6/10
Loved the overall visual vibe, Disliked how much it reminded me of trick r treat. I loved how enclosed it felt, but the maze went TOO cliche with the story for me, But it was really cool to be in. The detail and atmosphere was amazing as always, but I felt the cheesy take on the story kind of ruined what could have been a more haunting and atmospheric maze that was scary due to the inherent nature of the subject matter. A more solemn and gloomy take, calling into question the idea if ghost/spirits exist, without making the characters so unnecessarily deserving. You know, that kind of dark and brooding surreal approach that is so popular with gen z. It was missing a few of those stand out moments that take a maze from good to extraordinary. I felt like the placement of the mannequins and how cheesy they played off their demise detracted from the maze for me. All of those should have been scenes with actors. This would've been better played off with the same intensity as poltergeist from last year, but intense in the sense that you are getting haunted right along with the characters in the story vs you watching their demise with such a less serious take... I mean, this is still a haunted house, Not everything has to have such an overt story with so many show scenes. The more comedic approach just didn't flow right for me. It was like if they stuck a comedy house in Dead Waters with comedic props.
9.Stranger Things 6/10
I don't know what to say about this one. I felt like this was mistreated compared to some of the other mazes. I just don't get the choice of scenes they chose, and the dark shadow mindflayer not getting better treatment here is very disappointing. This again feels like a haunted house that forgot it was a haunted house. I love walking through these things seeing recreations of the scenes but they chose so many of the least uncomfortable or horror related scenes and opted for many action related scenes that turn the mazes into retelling of a story vs a haunted attraction.
10.House of 1000 Corpses 5/10
Can't say much bad about this maze overall, It's pretty dang close to the movie from what I remember. But it didn't work as a maze for me. I love the visual vibe of all of rob zombie's films, but I fall asleep on almost all of them every single time I attempt a viewing, minus his first Halloween film. That pretty much sums up my feelings on this maze. Super cool to look at, and I love the atmosphere, but that didn't translate well into a haunted experience for me.
SHOWS
Academy of Villians: Altered States 8.5/10
I completely disliked Cyberpunk, I only saw it once, a 2/10 for me. Altered states was a vast improvement. It flowed better, the story was stronger, It's beats flowed more naturally. I thought the soundtrack was comprised of songs that have been a bit overdone. The segment with the soccer balls is weird... Weird choice of skill and weird song choice, It disrupts the energy of the show for me. There needed to be something else there. They need to go bigger, and they need to add more circus/variety acts to this show, that's the combo that helps push this show over the edge, the choreography, illusions and variety of acts, with the strength of the choreography as a foundation and a strong pillar, when it's used as background is when it's been it's at it's weakest, especially with such a large performance space. They need to really fill out the space with variety of strong acts and choreographed moments to take this to the next level. The "3 ring circus" approach if you will. I think that is what is missing, but the show was still very enjoyable.
Marathon of Mayhem 6/10
I like this infinitely better than cinematic spectacular. Projection clarity was a problem for me on both of my viewings. Another problem for me... This event cost as much, if not more than any major concert to attend, and the theme park is regarded as one of the best in the world... Yet I can go to many concerts and get more of a light show than is present in the entirety of the lagoon in a much smaller space. There just needs to be a lot more going on in here, both in terms of movement of the show and all the effects working together to tell a cohesive visual story.
Shows Overall Score: 8.0/10