Halloween Horror Nights 30 (UO): Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[SirAustin77]

I went a few weeks ago, here's my two cents on the houses!

1. The Haunting of Hill House
This house REALLY did it for me. I do have a little bit of a bias because the series is quite literally my favorite TV series of all time, but everything was executed perfectly. The facade, the sets, the cast, it just all felt so perfectly melded together. They picked the perfect scenes to include (a big improvement from Stranger Things at 29, which had some really out of place scenes). I also got 3 runs of this house and each time I got every single scare. Easily the best IP house I've ever seen. (The black hallway messed me UP that first run.)

2. HHN Icons: Captured
This was my first time getting to see each of the Icons in person, and it was just so perfect. Got 5 runs of this one, and the casts started to recognize me so we'd have special interactions each time. This one wasn't necessarily super scary, but it was a really good time and lightened my mood every run. (LOVED getting to see the Usher on the throne once).

3. Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin
WOW. Definitely an all-timer. Not what I was expecting in the slightest. I expected Seeds of Extinction vibes, not full on classic Halloween. The scares in this house were so perfectly executed and the sets were MINDBLOWING for a sprung tent. I have no idea how A&D managed to do it but they did and the end result was just so perfect.

4. Beetlejuice
I am going to get a lot of crap for this, but this house was fantastic. I didn't get to go through it in 2020, so maybe that's why it's in this spot. Beetlejuice is one of my all time favorite films and getting to experience it was excellent. The cast and ops in this house were very high energy and interactive, I even got a fist bump through the vinyl by Beetlejuice once. Super fun and interactive house!!!

5. Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth
Another house that blew my expectations out of the water. The noir atmosphere throughout was just amazing and something I didn't think could be in an original, but it was. Boris Shuster was fantastic. Loved loved LOVED the Kitty Kat Club scene. And honestly, this one was also substantially scarier than I expected.

6. Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein LIVES!
God I missed this house. Walking into it again gave me so many chills and the new changes to the house were just amazing. I won't go into much detail, but a certain battle scene between two individuals made me very VERY happy. Also, the vinyl placement in this house threw me off a lot. The cast was very high energy and the Bride of Frankenstein actresses had insanely unmatched rage.

7. Puppet Theater: Captive Audience
This one was AWESOME. Another all timer in my books. The whole atmosphere was very suspenseful and dark and the references to the theater and theatrical traditions were an outstanding touch. Cast was ON POINT.

8. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
WOW!!! NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING AT ALL!!! I was expecting this house to be lackluster and repetitive, but it really wasn't. There was a certain scare in this one that was really unique. The finale was pretty intense and the beginning was very creepy. Also the sets were surprisingly very detailed and not generic.

9. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
Still a very good house!!! It didn't do it for me as well as it did at HHN lite though. I had really poorly timed runthroughs of this one, so it feels unfair to judge.

10. Welcome to SCarey: Horror in the Heartland
This was the only house this year that I thought was mediocre. It was nice getting to see some scenes from old houses in person, and the Cindy cameo was awesome and made me happy, but it just felt so rushed and short. There were not noticeable transition like Icons had, and it just felt off. The cast and design team did a great job though!!!

What an amazing year!!! This is easily my favorite yes I've been to (which I guess isn't saying much since I've only been going since 28), it was awesome getting to walk through my favorite series, see some HHN characters I've wanted to see for a while, and experience some outstanding houses!!! I can't wait to see what next year has in store!

 

[Lucky Planet]

So did this guy leave the mask strap on over the front or is it supposed to be like that?

HHN 30 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 30 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 30 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

supposed to be like that

 

[HHN Yeti Lover]

I haven't been on here in ages, but after a ten-day trip and six nights at HHN, here is my final ranking:

Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth
This reminded me of one of my all-time favorites, Slaughter Sinema, with multiple stories and easter eggs. This house was amazing; I couldn't quite understand why it always had a short wait. I would always do it a minimum of twice a night. 10/10.

The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin
Wicked Growth showcases everything to love about Halloween: pumpkins, witches, crop monsters, scarecrows, grim reapers, and a pumpkin lord. The scares and effects in this house were spectacular, so it was fighting an extremely tough fight for #1, and it may become my number one. I found this one to be the scariest and have the best scares. I didn't mind the plexiglass in the houses, but the actors did not care and got in my face, and oh my gourd, I loved it! 10/10!

Welcome to Scarey: Horror in the Heartland
I didn't understand the hate because this house combines several original ideas into one mega best of house. It was one of my most anticipated and is a tribute to HHN history, and the first half could be terrifying most of the time. I did my research, so I understood all the lore and references, and I think it is a solid best of house; the transitions could have been better, though, and it felt too short. Overall, I thought it was splendid, and I loved it. 9/10.

The Haunting of Hill House
My first run-through of this house was terrifying, but its scare factor started to dwell after a few runs. Hil House, hands down, has the best set design and is a faithful replication of the show. There are so many impressive practical effects and effective scares that involve The Bent-Neck Lady and The Tall Man. Overall, Hill House was an incredibly creepy experience that felt haunted and filled with ghosts; it suffered repetitiveness. It is one not to be missed, however. 9/10.

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives
BOF is a marvel and has some excellent sets and an extraordinary story. My only issue with this house was the timing. I always received the best run-throughs with all the actors present at the end of the night. That double scare with Dracula's Brides got me every single time because they are so creepy looking and were not afraid to get in your face, so it served as an effective scare. 8.5/10.

HHN Icons Captured
I loved that each section was the ad for their year, it was a terrific house, and I am glad I finally got to experience the icons. Not enough storyteller tho. 8.25/10.

Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
This house had my favorite set design of the entire event because it starts as a pop-up book and the sets are gorgeous. I would not say it was scary, but the scare actors are short and could get innovative with their scares cause they would pop out of nowhere. 8/10 & THE WINNER OF MY HEART .

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
"What's so great about dumb old texas?" I thought this house would be scary, but it was not frightening to me, but almost everyone was petrified. This house was loads of fun. The scare actors were giving their all and having fun with it. The energy was HIGH, and I am glad I got to experience it. 8/10.

Beetlejuice
Out of all the IP houses I have experienced, I will say this one was the weakest and didn't hit as hard but is still an authentic recreation of the film. I am a massive fan of Beetlejuice, so I still loved it, but it just felt a little empty. 7.5/10.

Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience
I loved all the elaborate sets, the puppets, and the unique effects, but I felt like this house lacked something that I could not quite figure out. I did not find it scary, but I loved the concept; it just did not quite land with me, but it is still a fantastic house. 7/10.

Scare zones were cool; Hacktion was the best. The shows were solid, but I liked 29's marathon better. Overall, I thought this year was excellent but did not quite feel like an anniversary year.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Initial thoughts sans Beetlejuice:


1. Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truths - Considering the lost potential of the Billie Eilish house, this was a great tradeoff. Every scene looks distinct with a great variety of scares, even if the story doesn't always make sense. The house flows well and feels on the longer side of this year's batch. This will probably be my HOTY depending on second runs. 9/10

2. Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein LIVES! - A strong house all around. It's one of the grandest houses I've been through, and unlike other large scale houses in the past, Bride doesn't feel short. The house gradually builds momentum and packs in effective scares. Without plexi, this may have been an all-timer. 8.5/10

3. The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin - I didn't have a great run as most of the scares were either ahead or behind me, but the two scares I got were some of the best of the night. The set design is beautiful with unique costumes, and the various smells stand out. With a better run, this could be HOTY. 8/10

4. The Haunting of Hill House - The scares in the first half of the house are badly hindered by plexi, but the second half fires on all cylinders. Every scare towards the end hit me, and with nobody in front of me, the house captured the dread of the show perfectly. Wonderful sets as well. 8/10

5. Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience - Dollhouse of the Damned-lite. This house doesn't reinvent anything HHN has done in the past, but there are a couple standout scenes and scares. The sets can be repetitive at time, which is the house's biggest issue. Otherwise, the scareactors get into their roles and make the house worthwhile. 8/10

6. Welcome to SCarey: Horror in the Heartland - A solid house that's hindered by its length and house selection. The Hive, Dead End, Orfanage, and Leave it to Cleaver scenes were excellent with strong scares, but the other four scenes had weak scares and (aside from Bloodengutz) sets. Ending on Havoc was a bad decision and ruins the punch from Cleaver's scares. 7.5/10

7. HHN Icons: Captured - It's fun enough but poorly designed. Half the rooms lack scares, and aside from Storyteller's room, the ones that do are positioned oddly. Removing plexi wouldn't have fixed this issue. I would've preferred Icons to be in the MIB Tent and SCarey in SS24 as the sets here feel too open without utilizing the space granted. 7/10

8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - This exceeded my low expectations, I guess. The 2016 house felt more intimate with better scares, but I'll give some leeway to this year's house due to plexi. The cast does a good job at making the best of repetitive scares. 7/10

9. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy - If TCM's scares were repetitive, Tooth Fairy is beating a single scare into the ground. The facade and set design are the only redeeming qualities this house has. Every scene blurs together due to how one note the scares are. It should've just stayed on the drawing board. 6/10

Other comments:

• Roughly half of these houses would have higher scores without plexi. For the vast majority of scenes, plexi takes away the suspense and detracts from the atmosphere of houses.
• House ops weren't too distracting last night.
• The scarezones feel small and repetitive this year.

I'll be going again in a week or two to get through Beetlejuice and the shows. Right now, I'd rank my HHN years as:

25
29
27
26
28
30
24

 

[Kichkinet85]

Went this past 2 nights.with friends. 10/14 was an alright night as I didn’t get to the park till around 9. Alright weather. Did 7 houses and could have done more if I wanted but as I had the 6 house UMH tour the next morning I took it easy. The tour was 8:30-2:30 and we did ICONS, TCM, 45 minute lunch at Monster Cafe, Wicked Growth, SCarey, Puppet Theater, and Hill House. So after it we went back to the hotel and chilled. Got to HHN after 9 once again. 10/15 was the busiest night I've seen so we just took it easy(we have FFP is will be back). Saw both shows then SZ watched. At 12 lines dropped so we did them. Got 4 done. My rankings changed as well.
Houses:
1. Wicked Growth
2. Puppet Theater
3. ICONS
4. Legendary Truth
5. TCM
6. Hill House
7. SCarey
8. Brides
9. Tooth Fairy
10. Bettlejuice
SZs:
1. Lights, Camera, Hacktion
2. Gorewood
3. Seek and Destory
4. CRYPT TV
5. 30 years, 30 fears
Shows:
1. Nightmare Fuel
2. Marathon of Mayham

Edit: Put Hill House above SCarey.

 

[uso345]

I was so fortunate to be able to attend the event last night. All in all, I thought this was quite the triumphant return for HHN after the rough year that all of us went through!

(1) Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience
I have said this before here on a couple of occasions but I am a true theatre kid. When I heard this house announced, I already knew that I was going to be in love with it simply because the event hadn't done an entire house dedicated on the theatre before (to my knowledge). The outside facade alone puts this house at #2 but, like Wicked Growth, the high level of theming continues throughout the entire house. I absolutely loved how various spaces in a theatre (the dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces, orchestra pit, costume shop, fly systems, etc.) were all incorporated into the house in such genius ways. The large scene where we are in the "house" of the theatre and the stage is to the right was simply breathtaking. I could not believe that scale of a scene was fit into the tent location. So many ingenious and inventive scares. On my run-through, the Shakespearean actor was holding a head in his hands that he was puppeteering so the head would be reciting the playback dialogue. It was so chilling, creepy, and amazing that I audibly gasped. The cast had great energy and although I could tell that I missed some scares, I was fully immersed in the experience.

(2) The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin
Absolutely gorgeous house from start to finish. The outside facade and first tunnel before heading into the house sets up the aesthetic of the inside of the house perfectly. My run-through of this house was one of the best of the night, I got multiple scares, was able to see everything, and two of the scare actors tagged teamed my friend and I walking through. The smell of greenery in the greenhouse section was amazing. The scenes in which we find ourselves in the guts of the pumpkin was creative and effective. The Pumpkin Lord at the end was truly jaw dropping and one of the best finale scenes I have seen for a house in my 3 years at the event. Essentially tied for #1 with Puppet Theatre.

(3) HHN Icons: Captured
This was my first event getting to experience the Icons and I took in every second! This was one of two houses I chose to do twice in the night. An immediate bonus was that there is so. much. Icon time. They were truly littered throughout this house and most of the Icons were featured at least twice throughout the house. The facade was absolutely epic and pumped me up for what I was getting ready to experience. One thing that I did notice was in many scenes there was too much dead space. Specifically in the area that Fear pops out; it felt like there was so much wasted in space on that side of the room. Each Icon got an amazing section of the house except one: Storyteller. I was never sure, one either run, where her section began and ended. She seems to be shoved in an odd corner and one that doesn't position her in a great place in the room. I only saw her once in both runs and felt she did not get enough featured time in the house. The Director section was fantastic but, like Storyteller, I felt like his placement, combined with the vinyl, made his appearances fade into the background slightly (although the scareactors portraying the Director were brilliant); loved the Directo's "....and cut!" sound cue. The finale scene actually gave me chills and was such an adrenaline rush to see all of these Icons together in one room; Storyteller was on the throne on my first run and I had the pleasure of seeing the Usher on my second. Fantastic house and pure fan service that made this house such a delight to walk through, even if the plot was sacrificed.

(4) Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth
What an unexpected hit! I had very little knowledge of what my experience in this house was going to be, apart from he detective, noir vibes. I was so delighted to see how heavily this house relied on story and plot to move guests through the house. The show scenes were so period-specific, and littered with Easter eggs and details that would take upward of a hundred runs to find them all. The narration was the perfect stylistic device to use in this house. The alien costumes all looked absolutely fantastic, some of the best costumes in the event, in my opinion. Loved the little touches like the tentacle alien shadow. Absolutely adored the Kitty Kat Club and that amazing jazz singer that took command of that room. On my run, my group and I all cheered and snapped for the singer and she was so wonderfully interactive and receptive of the energy in the room. It was amazing! The plot can be a little tough to follow for anyone who doesn't know about Boris or Legendary Truth going in, but A&D chose an amazingly strong and clever theme that kept my entire group hooked.


(5) Beetlejuice
I am a sucker for a good movie/tv show plot house. The reason this is at #5 on my list is solely due to the lack of execution during my run. The sets were all fantastic and very reminiscent of the 1988 film. So many of my favorite lines and moments were in there. However, this was the second house of the night that I did before the park officially opened. My run through Beetlejuice was not great. There were visible holes (that are more visible this year due to the vinyl to begin with) and some scare actors felt like they were still warming up for the day. All of the Beetlejuices were terrific, especially the first room that interacts with the crowd. I was a little disheartened that we only saw Lydia once and Miss Argentina was simply not there. Also did not fully get to see the Sandworm in action. These are al timing-dependent, and casting, critiques and I am sure that this is exponentially better with all of those things in order.

(6) Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives
Gorgeous house. The facade, with the Bride's bit with the beam and the Monster, was so cinematic. The house definitely seemed very grand and spacious. The screactors were aggressive and really feeling themselves on my run. I really loved seeing Brides of all different colors throughout the house. The plot in this house was pretty easy to follow. I saw the tail-end of the flying Drac Bride in that hallway and was wildly impressed. There seemed to be a lot of empty space in the house and it also suffered from a timing perspective in the latter half of the house.

(7) The Haunting of Hill House
I had exceptionally high expectations for this house. I had been hearing so many great things about different methods of scaring and atmosphere and se design that got me very excited to walk through the house. I had watched the first 5 episodes of the show before attending the event, so I had a good amount of knowledge of the plot. The arcade was quite impressive and grand. This was the house that my friend and I Stay-and-Screamed. We were literally within the first 50 people to enter the house for the night. This became very evident from the get-go on our run. Multiple holes and empty paces throughout the house. Aesthetically, there was definitely a foreboding haunting feeling. The scares that I did get I recognized from the show (for the most part). I also was expecting the scale of the scenes to be much larger, especially since it was in the Old Parade building. After leaving the event, and watching the videos of the house, I saw so many scare actors and moments, and heard so many lines, that I simply missed on my run-through. Had all of these factors been in place, and had the energy been turned up 2.75 notches, it would have for sure gotten me. The amount of Bent-Neck Lady however did send a shiver down my spine.

(8) Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
Absolutely adored the facade. Like Brides, I had seen the walkthrough multiple times last year during HHN Light on YouTube. My familiarity with the house did slightly take away the wow factor. Noticed a few minor things added since last year that did help elevate the house. This house I definitely got the least scares in, next to Beetlejuice. The narration and concept are all a win, and the energy of the fairies was great. There just was not enough left that I hadn't seen to really complete my experience.


(9) Welcome to Scarey: Horror of the Heartland
I was truly surprised that I got as many references as I did. Spotting the references and calling them out to my clueless group was a lot of fun. The scenes individually brought a fun energy and I was happy to see this twisted Carey mash-up. The house, as they do most years in that location, felt rushed and the plot was not anywhere near linear or followable unless you knew exactly what year and house was being referenced. Also I definitely believe that I saw Cindy but I did not process that it was her! Glad she was part of the event in some way, shape, or form.


(10) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I was honestly disappointed that this IP took up such valuable soundstage space for this year. It felt as though the house did not use up all of the space to its fullest potential or maybe that was the IP's fullest potential in the soundstage. The cast was doing a great job at trying to switch up repetitive scares. This type of horror flick is not my cup of tea in general, so I knew going into the night that it was going to be last.

 

[FaceBagman]

Quick rankings after 3 nights:

Case Files
Puppet Theatre
Wicked Growth
TCM (gosh I’m such a sucker for Chop Top’s goofy laugh)
Tooth Fairy
Bride (only because I haven’t gotten the zipline vamp yet)
Hill House
SCarey
Icons
Beetlejuice

 

[Alsands]

Flew back down for a couple more nights of HHN. We went Thursday and last night. Our first trip was the last week of September for 3 nights . This Thursday was able to do all 10 house scream early and Friday all house twice with Unlimited. I can confirm there were additional victim scare actors. I know each run can be different but what I don’t get is how each day is different. Thursday was great… hardly any missing scare actors but last night there were a lot of holes of missing actors. Is it possible there are more call outs on a Friday? :shrug:

 

[Clive]

Okay, feel like I finally have a moment to breathe and weigh in. We went September 30th, October 1st, 3rd, and 6th. (Howl-O-Scream on the 2nd, but I'll address that in the appropriate thread.)

Overall, it's a perfectly good year held back by (sigh, yep) the vinyl dividers/plexiglass/whatever. Anyone telling you this didn't impact the efficacy of the scares and the quality of the event is deluding themselves or lying to you. Period. It was the #1 complaint of the people we went with. It's completely nonsensical and looked terribly unprofessional. I can't imagine being on the A&D team, working so hard on the scenic for those mazes, and seeing it so hastily disrupted by what was ostensibly a face-saving decision. Should've required masks. Woof.

Fortunately, the quality of the scenic buried under that vinyl was overall pretty excellent. Most of the performers in these mazes also worked hard and did everything they could despite the vinyl, leading to some still-strong and intense scares throughout each attraction. Without their efforts and the excellent nuts and bolts of the mazes, I might've been inclined to call the event a bust.

I also was not prepared for how weak the scare zones were going to be. I last attended in 2015 and remembered those zones being mostly "fine" but somewhat underwhelming. Comparing the anniversary zones - 2010's "20 Years of Fear / Fear Revealed" vs 2015's "HHN Icons" vs 2020's "30 Years of Fear / Eddie's Revenge" and you see the substantial decline in zone quality. They needed to give up on the stages, but more importantly, they need better actors. I'm sure someone on Twitter will be upset that I'm complaining about the performances, but folks, after spending several years at Hollywood's event, many of the street actors here are just not trying very hard. I couldn't keep track of the amount of times I wandered through a zone and just saw an actor stand there glaring and not moving. I get stuff happens, I totally understand they have to dial down the intensity when it's outrageously crowded, but we're talking many walks through quiet zones with zero energy.

Shows were good. I didn't see last year's Marathon of Mayhem but can conceptually agree the show would work better if it had musical hits to play with. I enjoyed this year's production but also didn't feel inclined to see it more than once. Nightmare Fuel was stellar, and I'm almost shocked to hear that it was so thrown together - it feels remarkably cohesive given the circumstances, and obviously the crowds are eating it up. I only wish it had been easier to see - we caught it twice and probably would have again, but I wasn't willing to devote the extra time it takes to guarantee a seat.

Let me run through the maze rankings --

10) Beetlejuice. Not a bad maze, but certainly not a scary one. I have to agree with many here who were puzzled and disappointed by many of the design decisions. Too much of the experience felt more like walking through a lightly-populated museum, and I couldn't help but recall the (quite good) LA-based "I Like Scary Movies" Instagram pop-up that faithfully recreated many of the same scenes. The Beetlejuices and other look-alike characters were all great, but the vinyl definitely prevented the more scare-oriented performers from doing anything but stepping into view. At the end of the day, amusing to walk through, but not worth the trouble of fighting the insane crowds.

9) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I wish I enjoyed this more, as the Hollywood iterations of this property (including this year's) have always really unnerved me. It's tough to articulate, but I never felt like I was in any danger in this maze - I was merely walking through an approximation of rural Texas environs with movie characters showing their faces every now and again. I think the lack of human victims and spoken dialogue hurt it - it's mostly just chainsaw sounds and generic stings. While I appreciate the use of Chop Top, it also feels like a real missed opportunity to keep him silent - part of what made Hollywood's "Blood Brothers" so effective was the overwhelming and unpleasant sound design. The aggressive Leatherfaces made up for a lot (and those pig puppets were a nice surprise), but I never found myself wanting to do another run.

8) Icons. Sorry Horror Nights Twitter, this just doesn't live up to the hype and was probably my biggest disappointment at the event. The vinyl bordered on comical in this maze and prevented any scare actor from properly doing their job. Lady Luck once again is shortchanged, Jack gets nothing of substance, and they still can't figure out what to do with The Storyteller. The blog post they released for this was illuminating in that it conveyed the difficulty of appealing to fans of all levels, and I definitely am compassionate to those challenges. Unfortunately, I think half-heartedly reproducing the commercials just wasn't very exciting and doesn't make for a compelling maze. It doesn't help that none of the scenic environments have any sense of place; I get we're in the lantern, but that seemed to translate to "ambiguously sculpted caves" with garish and awkward mannequins everywhere. (I really think the whole "killing the super fans wearing event t-shirts" idea did not translate.) I get the fandom salivates over this maze so they can stan their psuedo-celebrity scare actor pals or try and get performers to break character, but as someone just trying to enjoy a horror maze, this misses the mark.

...Okay, I do actually have to step away for a few minutes, but I'll circle back and write out the rest.

 

[dxwwf3]

Overall, it's a perfectly good year held back by (sigh, yep) the vinyl dividers/plexiglass/whatever. Anyone telling you this didn't impact the efficacy of the scares and the quality of the event is deluding themselves or lying to you. Period. It was the #1 complaint of the people we went with. It's completely nonsensical and looked terribly unprofessional. I can't imagine being on the A&D team, working so hard on the scenic for those mazes, and seeing it so hastily disrupted by what was ostensibly a face-saving decision. Should've required masks. Woof.

The absolute, 100% truth

 

[pumpkinbot343]

Okay, feel like I finally have a moment to breathe and weigh in. We went September 30th, October 1st, 3rd, and 6th. (Howl-O-Scream on the 2nd, but I'll address that in the appropriate thread.)

Overall, it's a perfectly good year held back by (sigh, yep) the vinyl dividers/plexiglass/whatever. Anyone telling you this didn't impact the efficacy of the scares and the quality of the event is deluding themselves or lying to you. Period. It was the #1 complaint of the people we went with. It's completely nonsensical and looked terribly unprofessional. I can't imagine being on the A&D team, working so hard on the scenic for those mazes, and seeing it so hastily disrupted by what was ostensibly a face-saving decision. Should've required masks. Woof.

Fortunately, the quality of the scenic buried under that vinyl was overall pretty excellent. Most of the performers in these mazes also worked hard and did everything they could despite the vinyl, leading to some still-strong and intense scares throughout each attraction. Without their efforts and the excellent nuts and bolts of the mazes, I might've been inclined to call the event a bust.

I also was not prepared for how weak the scare zones were going to be. I last attended in 2015 and remembered those zones being mostly "fine" but somewhat underwhelming. Comparing the anniversary zones - 2010's "20 Years of Fear / Fear Revealed" vs 2015's "HHN Icons" vs 2020's "30 Years of Fear / Eddie's Revenge" and you see the substantial decline in zone quality. They needed to give up on the stages, but more importantly, they need better actors. I'm sure someone on Twitter will be upset that I'm complaining about the performances, but folks, after spending several years at Hollywood's event, many of the street actors here are just not trying very hard. I couldn't keep track of the amount of times I wandered through a zone and just saw an actor stand there glaring and not moving. I get stuff happens, I totally understand they have to dial down the intensity when it's outrageously crowded, but we're talking many walks through quiet zones with zero energy.

Shows were good. I didn't see last year's Marathon of Mayhem but can conceptually agree the show would work better if it had musical hits to play with. I enjoyed this year's production but also didn't feel inclined to see it more than once. Nightmare Fuel was stellar, and I'm almost shocked to hear that it was so thrown together - it feels remarkably cohesive given the circumstances, and obviously the crowds are eating it up. I only wish it had been easier to see - we caught it twice and probably would have again, but I wasn't willing to devote the extra time it takes to guarantee a seat.

Let me run through the maze rankings --

10) Beetlejuice. Not a bad maze, but certainly not a scary one. I have to agree with many here who were puzzled and disappointed by many of the design decisions. Too much of the experience felt more like walking through a lightly-populated museum, and I couldn't help but recall the (quite good) LA-based "I Like Scary Movies" Instagram pop-up that faithfully recreated many of the same scenes. The Beetlejuices and other look-alike characters were all great, but the vinyl definitely prevented the more scare-oriented performers from doing anything but stepping into view. At the end of the day, amusing to walk through, but not worth the trouble of fighting the insane crowds.

9) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I wish I enjoyed this more, as the Hollywood iterations of this property (including this year's) have always really unnerved me. It's tough to articulate, but I never felt like I was in any danger in this maze - I was merely walking through an approximation of rural Texas environs with movie characters showing their faces every now and again. I think the lack of human victims and spoken dialogue hurt it - it's mostly just chainsaw sounds and generic stings. While I appreciate the use of Chop Top, it also feels like a real missed opportunity to keep him silent - part of what made Hollywood's "Blood Brothers" so effective was the overwhelming and unpleasant sound design. The aggressive Leatherfaces made up for a lot (and those pig puppets were a nice surprise), but I never found myself wanting to do another run.

8) Icons. Sorry Horror Nights Twitter, this just doesn't live up to the hype and was probably my biggest disappointment at the event. The vinyl bordered on comical in this maze and prevented any scare actor from properly doing their job. Lady Luck once again is shortchanged, Jack gets nothing of substance, and they still can't figure out what to do with The Storyteller. The blog post they released for this was illuminating in that it conveyed the difficulty of appealing to fans of all levels, and I definitely am compassionate to those challenges. Unfortunately, I think half-heartedly reproducing the commercials just wasn't very exciting and doesn't make for a compelling maze. It doesn't help that none of the scenic environments have any sense of place; I get we're in the lantern, but that seemed to translate to "ambiguously sculpted caves" with garish and awkward mannequins everywhere. (I really think the whole "killing the super fans wearing event t-shirts" idea did not translate.) I get the fandom salivates over this maze so they can stan their psuedo-celebrity scare actor pals or try and get performers to break character, but as someone just trying to enjoy a horror maze, this misses the mark.

...Okay, I do actually have to step away for a few minutes, but I'll circle back and write out the rest.

Someone might have explained why already but I don’t know: why bother having some of the scareactors masked if you’re just going to put them behind plexiglass? And vice versa for that matter.

I only seen a couple vids for this year; but yeah Icons looks really weak. Plexiglass aside; it seems the designers just didn’t give much effort into designing this maze, maybe that’s not their intention but the end result looks soulless and not in a good way. And why couldn’t they have a living Mary Agana scareactor in her doctor form? I don’t believe Bobbie Weiner is that petty. Scarey is pretty much what it is; a mishmash. I couldn’t believe that one scene was supposed to represent 2008’s Skoolhouse.

Gorewood Forest looked pretty cool; but for a representation of Terra Cruentus I’d have figured they would put it in a bigger area. And with the merch last year; the 2005 website poems being on the Midnight Syndicate vinyl, and her being on some of the Icons merch this year; it would seem that Terra Queen would have a pretty big role, but instead she’s confined to this puny scarezone.

 

[Brian G.]

Reminder. This is the review thread. Side chatter is extremely limited in here.

 

[Clive]

Okay, continuing my ranking:

7) Scary, Ohio. I liked this a lot more than I expected to given the early reviews. Sure, it's not cohesive at all, and yeah, some of the choices are perplexing. Maybe my fondness stems from the fact that I got more solo runs here than any other maze. Its biggest crimes are that it's too short and loses steam in its latter half. The Spawning section is an excellent if strange start, and the redesign of the Sculders - a creature no younger fan will inherently recognize - is suitably grotesque and a major improvement, to the point where I hope the much-maligned franchise gets a second shot at a stand-alone maze. The Hive section is fine (and has one of the best no-plexi scares), though absolutely no one can see the Master Vampire depressingly hidden by reflective covering. The masks for the Legendary Truth section are also a great tune-up from the originals, but I'm not sure I quite understand why the scares are laid out the way they are. I'm familiar with the "burn-in" setup of the second scare - which doesn't work as well as it should in the condensed room layout - but the initial vignette with poor woman pacing between the doorways felt like it was missing something. Dead End fares much better (and hooray for Dead End representation), with a flurry of excellently placed scares when the room is sufficiently staffed. The full Skool/OrFanage facade is a nice touch, but it felt like we needed a scare here to keep the momentum up. The triple scares inside are great - particularly the delightful Cindy appearance - but I wish the Skoolmaster performer knew how to better utilize his trigger. Hitting it incessantly accomplishes nothing. It's from here-on that the maze starts to stumble... HR Bloodengutz appearing was a big shock to me, but unfortunately, I'm not sure his character is the right kind of scary when divorced from the original's maze context. The room does work a bit better when one of the Holiday characters appears - we eventually saw the Elf but mostly encountered a generic victim - but most of our party found the beat confusing. The Leave it to Cleaver sequence needed better staffing and strobes in its back half. The maze ends on a whimper, and for those confused, it does appear that you'll either get a Hellgate inmate or a Dog of War depending on the cast. At the end of the day, it's a perfectly fine mashup maze that has more hits than misses, and I can't help but be kinder to it when it's so relatively easy to access for a quick run.

6) Bride of Frankenstein Lives. First and foremost, the scenic in this maze is stunning. Some of the design decisions - such as the explosion of the laboratory tower transitioning to the ruined facade - border on brilliant. It is just a shame that, on my runs, the casts were just not always up to the task of delivering aggressive scares. This maze had the most severe and obvious casting issues as we got later into the week, and subsequent runs inevitably suffered as the remaining performers appeared to become increasingly exhausted and demoralized. Still, though, some of those scares are gnarly - the Dracula Brides really do the work, and many of the laboratory vignettes are great. I couldn't help but compare Orlando's version to Hollywood's, and while the former inarguably has better scenic and some fiendishly clever scares, I felt the latter had more consistent performances and much better masks. The nu-Frankenstein mask that's been used since last year's Monster Maze relaunch frankly looks a bit embarrassing, especially when compared to the excellent steampunk redesign from a decade ago. While the Bride makeups looked great, the wigs looked fairly amateur, and I was not at all impressed by the "half-alive" Frankenstein Monsters unconvincing face wraps and groggy morning yawns. I want to stress that I enjoyed the experience despite these criticisms, though I wish I liked it more than I do. It never reaches the highs of 2009's Dracula and Frankenstein mazes, but it has its own share of memorable moments.

5) Tooth Fairy's Revenge. I would kill to see this maze without the vinyl. These casts worked so hard and did everything they could with inherently limited scare spaces. Yes, the little devils basically just pop out and have to do little cat swipes. What else can they really do when they're stuck behind a pointless wall of plastic? Still, they made the most of a bad situation and delivered on a strong scenic foundation. The Victorian storybook aesthetic is very much my speed, and I was impressed with the maze's gory nastiness and perfectly-judged soundscape. I frequently felt like I was walking through something produced by Guillermo Del Toro, as many of the design choices did recall the trappings of 2010's Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. The story was deliciously cruel and easy to follow, and I appreciated seeing both live and static victims that conveyed the carnage of what otherwise might be less-than-intimidating creatures. (I think The Spawning might have been better received in its day, for example, if we saw Sculders munching on eviscerated utility workers.) The few Tooth Fairies that weren't inhibited by needless vinyl managed to pack a punch, to boot, leading to some of the event's best scares. (I particularly liked the Tooth Fairy positioned behind a wall who can thrust a toothless head puppet in your face. That got me more times than I'd like to admit.) It seems like a lot of locals got burned out on this one, but I do think it's one of the event's most well-rounded offerings.

4) Case Files Unearthed. I cannot imagine what the general public makes of this maze. I bet it would be a little more digestible if they cut the opening prologue scene, which confuses what's otherwise a fairly understandable series of noir-meets-Lovecraft scenarios. I read up on what was going on, though, and had a blast piecing together the twists and turns of the story. And what an achievement to pull off such a lengthy and gorgeous maze in the Shrek queue - I was often in awe of the detail and depth of the environments. Everyone fairly calls out the Kitty Kat Club facade and interior, but I was also struck by the projection of Boris attempting to break into the mannequin room. The doorknob actually shakes in sync with his attempts to enter - a tiny detail I would never have expected to see realized. I do think several of the rooms are less than exciting - the scares in the Mannequin room don't hit as hard as they should, as there's never really a mystery as to which figures are live performers, and the sewers section feels a bit ho hum - but the scenes that shine really shine. The creature work throughout is largely spectacular, and I loved the moments where Boris fights some of the monsters. These beats easily could have felt awkward and stagey, but the performers imbue it with such a kinetic energy that you can't help but get caught up in the moment. Again, I wish I could have seen this without the vinyl - I'm sure the Kitty Kat inhabitants would have been given more freedom and opportunities to be more intimidating - but given the arbitrary limitations, hats off to the design team and performers in this maze.

More to come...

 

[JungleSkip]

Got back from my trip today.

Great Tier
1) Wicked Growth - Far and away the standout of the event. Loved everything about it, from the unabashed “Halloween” of it all, to the great casts, to the good (mostly plexiglass free) scares, to the sets, this one is what HHN is all about. All hail the Pumpkin Lord!
2) Haunting of Hill House - One of the best IP houses in recent memory. Great scenic, some real good scares, and lengthy to boot. Loved the show, but didn’t expect to have this one this high.
3) Bride of Frankenstein Lives - What a winner this one is. Took the (really good) HHN29 Monsters house to another level. Had the best scare of the weekend here at the point where the Vampires come from both sides to attack. Great bit.

Good, Not Great Tier:
4) Case Files Unearthed - Honestly, what a wild concept. I can’t believe this one made it through marketing. I’m a HHN junkie and ever I’m not 100% sure what the deal is here. Doesn’t help that it’s really hard to make out the narration most of the place. Would love for them to release the audio as well as all the post it notes after the event. That being said, the scenic here was top notch, and most of the scenes had good scares. Still, this is where the plexiglass really started to detract from some scenes, but not as much as others. Still a fun house.
5) Puppet Theater - Honestly, wish I liked this one more than I did, though I think this is more a victim of timing than anything. Still, loved a lot of this. A lot of inventive costumes and concepts, and a few good scares.
6) Revenge of the Tooth Fairy - Love the concept, scenic, and costumes here, as well as some of the effects. But this is the house hampered by the plexiglass the most (okay, second most...looking at you Icons). It sapped so much of the scare out of it. But the rest of the elements were good enough to put it above the “meh” category

Meh:
7) Scary, Ohio - Another one I wish I liked more, since it features my beloved HR Bloodngutz, but I found this to be way too disorganized, as well as front loaded. The first few rooms are great, but from the Skoolhouse on it just collapses.
8) HHN Icons: Captured - This *almost* lands in my bad category. I have no idea what they were thinking with this one, and I have to assume all the plexiglass makes whatever they wanted to do even less manageable. Just a baffling design almost devoid of scares. This is also the house that. I had ruined by the staff my first run, and the fandom the second. Each time the people in front of me during those runs motioned for the actors to perform for them instead of scaring people, and then they mimicked the actor doing the bit. The two runs were two of the worst in any house I’d experienced. That being said, the third run I had, that was okay, was just that. “Okay”. This house should have been so much more, but leaves me feeling okay if the Icons get locked in the lantern for another decade.

Bad:
9) Beetlejuice - I mean...what are we even doing here? Halloween HORROR Nights. Not “Halloween Movie Walkthroughs”. Beetlejuice takes the scare devoid concept of 29’s Ghostbusters house and asks “And then what if we took out 1/2 the actors?” Just a terrible misfire all around. Went through once and didn’t bother wasting my time on it again.

I didn’t make it through Texas Chainsaw. I could have leaving the park on my last night, but I was just tired at that point.

Scarezones are all pretty Meh this year, but I generally feel that way every year. That being said, I think it’s time to do away with the San Fran scarezone. Especially if they want it to be a photo op zone. Complete operational bottle neck.

Carnage Factory was a competent follow up to Marathon of Mayhem. I prefer the HHN29 show, but this year’s was distinct in tone and visuals, which kept it fresh. Nightmare Fuel is a lot of fun, and I hope they find some way of bringing that concept back.

This being my second “Anniversary” year, it pales in comparison to 25, IMO. Maybe it’s because the Icons house was so disappointing, or how, to be honest, absent Jack felt compared to 25, but this just felt like a generic HHN event, not a big year.

Overall I think HHN30 ranks in my “Good” tier of events, and I think it’s a shame a lot of these houses were wasted on a year where the plexiglass hampered them, as I think if some of them could have gone at their full tilt, we may have had an all timer house line up.

Great Tier:
HHN 21
HHN 25

Good Tier:
HHN 23
HHN 27
HHN 28
HHN 30

Meh Tier:
HHN 24
HHN 26
HHN 29

Bad Tier:
HHN 22

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Alright, put me in coach…

S-Tier
1. Wicked Growth - chalk pick, but it’s gotten its praise for good reason. It’s high-energy and has amazing set designs, but the simple yet effective story is the star here. Anything that actually gives off a Halloween aesthetic is a win, and the quality with which this does that makes this a winner. I dont know if it’s an all timer or if it’ll be memorable in future years, but it’s a clear cut number 1 for this year.

2. Bride of Frankenstein - on the other hand, this house to me DOES feel like a classic…maybe it should be my number 1, I dont know. It doesn’t have the scares that Wicked Growth has so my knee-jerk reaction is to put it at 2…but the amazing aesthetic (I love the over-stylized scareactor masks/make-up, the mix of medieval architecture with a humming electronic score and the gorgeous lab scenes) and a simple story make this my most pleasant surprise of the event. The promo they play for this in the queue is a great cherry on top.

3. Hill House - I hadn’t seen the show until after my first run-through. Without context, it’s a fun “haunted house.” Adding the context of the show made this so much more enjoyable though, as you can really appreciate the care the design team put into recreating iconic scenes as cohesively as they could. I loved all the details from the show and the scares did deliver. I do think it has a weak-ish second half (a lot of blank hallways leading to the final tall man, and as impressive as the pregnant scareactor is she’s placed pretty randomly), but as a companion to an amazing series, this house delivers.


A-Tier
4. Case Files - I started out in love with this house but once the novelty of its concept wears off it doesn’t necessarily hold its own against the stronger houses. With that being said, I can’t stress enough how important this house is in the bigger picture; the fact that they were able to take such a risk, deviate from the tried and true formula, and deliver something truly unique (not just from a theme park perspective but from a storytelling perspective…never seen a horror based noir detective movie) is huge. For that reason (along with what may be a GOAT scene design in the Kitty Kat Club) this house is high on the list, but more consistent scares and less goofy monsters would have really elevated it another notch.

5. Icons - someone on here mentioned the layout of the scenes were weird (a reason I really enjoy this site and getting different perspectives as I have the opportunity to go to the parks) and I realized afterward that they were right. Nothing that happens seems to be in your direct line of sight, and rooms are unnecessarily cramped. Yes, the vinyl is a big issue but even without them I dont know if the fact that so much is happening to your side/behind you rather than in front of you would be fixed. The scenes and scares are cool in theory, but something about the scale just doesn’t work. The icons themselves are also tired; fans latched onto them when they were the product of a few employees’ imaginations run wild while Universal sat back and shrugged about the event, website, etc. Now, in the era of HHN being a major corporate event synergized with the park/corp as a whole, they feel forced and unnecessary. Just let them be a fun product of a bygone era.


B-Tier
6. SCarey - it feels short, messy, and inconsistent but when it works, it works. I had some of my best scares in here while also having some of the less memorable walk-throughs. I like that it’s fun and has a lot of variety. There was enough good in here to make it the top of the bottom for me.

7. Puppet Theater - on paper this should be higher…for whatever reason, it just doesn’t work for me. It has AMAZING sets, some really strong scares (the fake mirror one especially is one of the best of the event) but it just never clicked with me. Could just be the theme, could be an inconsistency in terms of tone (it’s not quite humor but it’s not dead serious either), but this wasn’t one I was ever prioritizing.

8. Texas Chainsaw - not much to say here. The stars are the Leatherface actors who are aggressive and offer some real intensity. But the house itself just doesn’t feel like it has a whole lot of passion behind it. Some sets are great (the facade for example), others are kinda half-assed, and there’s a few times where what’s trying to pass for outside doesn’t really look good at all. The most memorable part of this house were the spraying pigs…so yeah, that’s where we’re at with this one lol.

9. Tooth Fairy - like Puppet, I can’t find anything wrong with this one…just didn’t resonate. The plexiglass is definitely problematic here but I just think the story and creature design didn’t work for me anyway. It’s just sort of goofy and after a couple goes I didn’t feel a need to go back.


WTH-Tier
10. Beetlejuice - no, it’s definitely not scary. Yes, it’s impacted by plexiglass. But throw those factors out and the problem is it’s still just not a good house. There’s too many hallways with nothing going on. A lot of sets feel cheap (the big worm room is literally nothing). It consistently had long lines so I’m glad it’s apparently bringing in crowds…I just thought it was poorly done all around.


Didn’t do any shows (not for me). Scarezones are fine…I’ve never really understood scarezone hype any year (even when they were considered “good”). They’re fun diversions and that’s about it.

Food ranged from pretty good to downright bad. Ghoul Juice was probably the best specialty drink, and the brisket tea sandwich was far and away the best new snack (the gyoza was good too). Everything else was pretty forgettable while being really overpriced. I also don’t understand why Twisted Taters are soggy now…

I was tough on this year at first. The plexiglass absolutely made a difference and the mental gymnastics people were doing to justify clowning people that had concerns about it back in August look silly in hindsight. But with tempered expectations (effect of plexi plus the fact that 30th anniversary=/=automatic god tier event), this was a good time. Not the best modern (post-Walking Dead) event, but not the worst (I’d say it’s better than 29). And even though the anniversary hype fell a little flat, I’d take this event over 25 all day (much better house lineup plus more unique stuff like the food, interactive Seek and Destroy guy, etc.). Not sure I’d say anything was a GOAT, but if I don’t make it out one more time before the end, I’ll definitely remember this year fondly.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

My final night of HHN has ended, and this year was great. Not awesome, but great. I have been attending since 23.

**Houses**
1. Wicked Growth - great design and scares. The best "normal scares" house this year. (Side note: I had possibly the worst run at any HHN house in my history of attending the event with a mere 3 actors present.)
2. Hill House - Top 5 IP house since 23. Complain all you want about IPs, but this was way better than all the HHN-lore focused houses.
3. Case Files - best Shrek house and great scares to make up for the confusing storyline
4. Texas Chainsaw - great scares and details
5. Puppet Theatre - impressive sets for a tent
6. Scarey - very, very short but solid. (suffers from a great start and slows down)
7. Brides - I felt like this house was trying to replicate Graveyard Games but somehow fell flat.
8. Icons - it was a great house but a lot of it was mostly "hey look who it is" versus "ima scare you"
9. Beetlejuice - it was a great "not scary" house that should be available every year at HHN.
10. Tooth Fairy - it felt off, plexiglass ruined most of it.

-If there's one thing I hope this year did is humble HHN fans a bit. Scarey, Icons, and Case Files suffer from diving deep into lore that confused the majority of the guests and myself.
-Netflix is the best thing to happen to HHN in a while.
-Queues: they really need to make queues more comfortable to be in. Fans, music, screens need to be added. People don't mind waiting in them, they just want to feel comfortable.
-House Entrances: they need to make house entrances much more clearer. Too many bottlenecks at the front of a queue for people trying to figure out where to go.

**Scare Zones**
Eddie is the best since it's pure chaos. CryptTV is absolutely the worst zone I've ever experienced. The rest are decent.

Rant on CryptTV:
It's quiet, it's boring, it's packed. I don't understand why they insist on putting stages/props that block the path dead center. The zone either has to expand all the way to Fast & Furious entrance, or move it entirely.

**Shows**
Halloween Nightmare Fuel way better than Bill & Ted, it's perfect for HHN. Best production I've seen at Universal yet.
Marathon of Mayhem should only be used when the IPs are perfect for it. It's also way too loud at the end for some reason.


The food and drinks were absolutely phenomenal, I just wished they created a bit more of a defined classic Halloween area with more seating for it. The area in front of Animal Actors would be a great location.

 

[Brian G.]

Just a few thoughts as we enter the final week.

• Puppet Theater, Wicked Growth, Hill House, and Brides remain strong.
• Case Files, SCarey, and TCM are better but still middle of the pack.
• Icons has dropped significantly in my personal list. It's fine, but after more runs, it's clear it's overrated, IMO. I think the multiple endings are why fans are so enamored with the house that they're willing (or maybe blind to) its shortcomings.
• The vinyl still doesn't bother me for most of the houses. I can understand why people are adamant against it, though. I've just learned to live it with to the point of being able to ignore it.
• Scarezones are fine. Seek and Destroy is still not great, despite a great effort by the cast.

 

[Lucky Planet]

final thoughts and random opinions:

I was one of the most worried about the vinyl and the most nervous, but, while it's pretty bad, I was just happy to see the actors again. I was happy to get hhn back again.
sure it ruins the scares, but I was happy to see the actors in their roles. some houses were much worse than others, it depended on the house.

I hope and wish that they never bring it back, but in the two months of hhn I never heard anyone coming out of a house complaining about the vinyl. or never heard anyone complaining while waiting in line. I paid attention to the people around me, and the vinyl was never mentioned in the park.

random thought reviews:
bride of Frankenstein:
- great house, but it was always weird that the bride wanted to bring him back and weird that she's a scientist now lol.
is weird that she speaks so much.
- the vinyl is not as bad in here. a lot of non vinyl set pieces. beautiful castle sets,
- the only time the vinyl was bad was with the Bride's assistant. you barely see her.
-the vampires are able to reach out withoit vinyl and feels like old school hhn
- they move really quick so the scares could be missed, but when they come out, it was perfect. Their latex mouth masks look really good and I wish other houses like Icons had made latex masks like that. these vampires look really great.
-the brides are pretty good but their screaming got annoying after a while.
-I understand the story of the house but it would have made more sense if Doctor Frankenstein himself was the one reviving the monster (with her help)

icons:
- the more I did the house the more I liked it despite its flaws. sets are a still a little bit minimalistic. but the actors play the roles perfectly.
but it has the WORST use if vinyl.
- The Entrance and the end are the best part and the only part with the lantern.
-everything else is just a big brick warehouse with sheets hanging. big giant warehouse. it works more as a warehouse than a lantern.
- the best part is usher, most detailed. and the worst part is Chance, since you can't see her unless you turn around. Jack is the only one with the full face mask. everyone else has just surgical masks.
-this house feels like old school hhn. reminds me of the houses from 2006.
-bloody Mary part could have had a victim or something, wasted room.

tooth fairy:
-I love the sepia tone that the entire house and characters had. I really loved how it all looks like an old sepia photograph.
it feels like a time machine house too.
or a flashback styled house.
-the goriest house of the year. very gory and has graphic gore dealing with teeth. it was rough for anyone with a fear for dentists lol.
-the fairies look more deformed rat people lol. like scary aliens kind of.
the vinyl didn't bother me that much because the fairies are creepy even without fully coming out of their holes. the costumes were freaky enough that it was entertaining to just look at them. the sets are beautiful and the fairy costumes were freaky.
the fact that they look like alien mice made them to be freaky regardless of vinyl

-puppet theater :
-this house has my favorite character of the entire event. the guy doing the monologue while holding a head, I really enjoy his acting. and the way he looks reminds me of Pavi Largo from Repo the Genetic Opera.
-the best scares of the event. the creepiest house. a lot of scares without vinyl. even the vinyl scares work well because placement of the boo holes
-amazing sets for a tent house, it really looks like a theater. truly amazing set building.
-from the powder room to the dressing room to the backstage areas, really amazing details in every room. even the posters on the walls are cool.
-the baby doll and elf puppet are hilarious and they are a lot of fun to catch.

legendary truth:
- this house is X files meets Dick Tracy. this is the closest we will ever get to an X files house so it has a special place in my heart.
-i really love seeing Boris and he's also my favorite character of this hhn. and the bandana over his mouth kinda fits the outfit perfectly.
-the vinyl really hurts this house, hurts it a lot, but just like with tooth fairy, the creatures are so creepy and so detailed that I was happy just to see them. the costumes look so great and freakish that I didn't mind the vinyl.

texas chainsaw:
- I really loved seeing leatherface, and I would even say that this house is better than the one they did some years ago. improved on sets and scenes.
most of the leatherface actors didn't have vinyl. they are able to fully come after you. they have full range of motion and the actors do a perfect job. I love all of them.
-the parts used from Texas chainsaw 2 were pretty faithful. I loved seeing chop top.
-this house has the best ending of the event since u get 3 actors coming out at you without vinyl. if it was timed correctly you get attacked by all 3.

 

[Lucky Planet]

random thoughts 2
wicked growth:
I love the sets and the progression of the sets, I love how you start in the house and move on. very beautiful sets, I love the Graveyard section the most.
-the giant pumpkin head is a delight to see. my favorite part of the house. I really love when they do giant puppets. the bridge is beautiful to see as well. incredible sets for being a tent house. perfect sets.
-i do wish the house had more pumpkin characters, more pumpkin masks.
there's only two pumpkin characters at the end after the pumpkin lord. most of the house has scarecrows and skeleton costumes. I love the house but I would have preferred more pumpkin creatures.

Scarey:
-I understand what they were doing for this house and I get the nods and Easter eggs, but it didn't work for me . I liked the characters and I liked the actors in here,
but the sets are a total mess and the house doesn't transition well from room to. room.
-unless you know everything about the house, the house doesn't make sense. I'm fine with nods and waster eggs, buy I would have preferred if they had done a house closer to wicked growth where the flow from room to room was more cohesive.
-the vinyl really hurts the house as well. and the boo holes are set in a really awkward way. some actors are placed in really weird ways.
The entire house is just awkward. it is a "best of" compilation house but the scenes picked for this don't go well together. they don't flow well.
-i would have preferred if they just made all the sets look like a small town that was being attacked by these creatures. I wish the story was that this town was attacked by monsters. the actors are cool but it needed a better more cohesive set.

hill house:
I never watched the show,
but this house has the best facade of the year and one of the greatest facades of all time. absolutely beautiful. huge, very big house Entrance.
-the ghosts are cool, pretty interesting. this house is very creepy. very eerie. I don't know any if these characters but they creep me out.
-the sets remind me of Tower of Terror, or the queue of tower of terror, has a similar look and feel. parts of the house feel like a haunted hotel.
-the house feels very long and very big, the rooms and boo holes are very big sometimes, almost feels like an actual theme park ride. it's almost set up like a ride.

beetlejuice:
yikes.... long house, a lot of empty walls, almost all actors in vinyl... never scary. feels like a beetlejuice museum. beetlejuice actors needed beetlejuice head masks.... I only saw Lydia once,
-the actors all look faithful to the movie, but you miss most of the cast, they move too fast and stay inside too long.
-first half of the house is pretty boring and dull. the afterlife rooms are just gray walls with not much to them. second half that follows the stuff in the real world is better but feels empty. the whole thing feels empty.
-the puppets almost never moved or worked.

scarezones:
Gorewood forest:
Terra queen just felt like a regular character, yeah she has a stage, but I was expecting something more epic to do with her. she's almost lost in her corner stage.
- I Do love that she has a cool mask. I'm glad that that she has a real mask.
-the zone has cool props and pretty cool forest creatures, it was really nice.
it has the same type of creatures as this area always does, but it works.
-the zone is kinda passive and slow but I enjoy it, the forest creatures are always nice to see.

Eddie's revenge:
I love how long this zone is, they almost use the entire street. I hate when zones in this area gets short zones,
- they put a lot of stages but I am glad that the zone has a lot of actors walking around. the stages are pretty great as well. I love that we got to see the alien character again.
-the zone is very lively, very high energy, the actors are pretty quick, the chainsaws are fast and loud. Very playful zone,
- I love that it has a lot of stages because there is a lot to look at and a lot to appreciate. there is a lot going on in here.

30 years 30 fears
the music and dancers help this zone a lot. the music makes it feel more epic than it is.
very small zone and most actors are in stages or stilts, there's technically only one regular actor walking the zone.
everyone complains about the lack of actors in Crypt tv but this zone is just as bad, and the crowds get just as bad as Crypt tv, everyone just wants to take photos in this area.
the stages and the icon walls are cool, the fire is really cool. it has great a party atmosphere. the highlight is the demon actresses dancing, makes it feel like a metal night club.

seek and destroy.
I made fun of this zone at the beginning, and I understand why people hated it,
but this zone feels the most crowded with actors and I love the set pieces in here and I love the costumes.
I liked this zone a lot more than other zones from previous years, the theme might not be the scariest, but I enjoy walking around this area. the actors are pretty engaging and there are so many actors that it feels pretty cool.

Crypt tv.
faithful to the shorts. cool characters, great costumes, not much to it.

 

[Kichkinet85]

I'm currently eating at Finnegans and it was pouring!! Now it's not as bad so hopefully it stays this way as I'm soaked enough(I wasn't in Finnegans when it started)

Anyway on to the review of last night. As I'm staying on site I went last night and it was PACKED! I took it easy though as I'm here till Nov. 1. I only did 3 houses(Icons twice and Wicked Growth once) and saw Nightmare Fuel. Rest of the night I just hung out and got food. I got No Chance in hell(AMAZING!!!), Garlic Parm. Twisted Taters(Still don't get the hype for them), Brisket Sandwich while waiting for Nightmare Fuel(Pretty good), BBQ chicken sandwich(AMAZING!!!), and after that I couldn't eat another bite. I then left at 12. An alright night over all.