Finally hit everything, my initial HHN 31 thoughts:
Maybe I allowed myself to be overhyped by that amazing on-paper line-up. Maybe it was too early in September with record heat. Maybe I don't like crapped on when I buy a $500 ticket. Or maybe -- just maybe -- you'll all attack me this week, but come the end of October begrudgingly concur that I was probably right all along. Other than zones, it's a bad year. 22/24 bad. Ranking by tiers...
OUTSTANDING
1) Dead Man's Pier -- I reiterate, a work of art aimed at 4 of the 5 senses. A perfect mix of sets, costumes and effects, just dripping in atmosphere. Perhaps the most beautiful house of all time. Lack of scares and a true storyline keep it from the top houses ever, at least for now, but I foresee nights where I visit just to go in this house.
ABOVE AVERAGE
2) Monsters Collide -- a perfectly fine Mummy house. Great sets, convincing costumes, interesting and innovative effects, even a nice queue video (a dying art). I liked what little of the Wolfman we see, but wish we saw more "versus" ala Bride or Freddy v. Jason. Dracula felt like an afterthought, just popping up at the end. As is, lacking that "X factor," the weakest of the recent classic monster trilogy. But still enjoyable.
3) Horrors of Blumhouse -- See my posts in the thread, Freaky just ok, but Black Phone really worked for me. And together the "double feature" aspect makes it more than the sum of its parts. Still, most years this would be a pleasant surprise #5 -6 house.
AVERAGE, FAIR-TO-MIDDLING, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
4) Bugs: Eaten Alive -- effective at scaring anyone with a bug phobia, but I wish it was kitschier. Sort of drops the 1950s House of Tomorrow gag after the first room, without ever showing us the robot butlers or flying car garage. Not over the top in a way Bloodengutz or Leave It to Cleaver was.
5) Fiesta de Chupacabra -- opening set and butcher shop cool, masks interesting visually, I'm on record as liking the puppets. Savage and mangy, but just a little bit derpy too, the way a wild animal would be. Someone mentioned Coven could use dialogue, and while I appreciate the authenticity, this house would benefit from a little Spanglish. Just a phrase here or there explaining why the natives are trying to kill us turistas.
6) Descendants of Destruction -- interesting mix of costumes, nice tight twists and turns, and what felt like a very long house. But never came together for me. A queue video might have helped. May improve over the course of the event, as well. cast seemed game.
MISSED THE MARK
7) Halloween -- if you haven't been going for a decade, I can understand if you really like this house. 80% of what made the original the GOAT is here. But ... that house did it better, with the facade straight into the living room, rather than the Black Hallway of Doom. And just little things, like the Silver Shamrock ad on the TV instead of static, or the final hidden Mike. The details are what made that house, and they just aren't as well executed here. Also, real talk, Michael Myers needs to be a Hoss, not a trim 5'9".
8) The Weeknd -- elephant in the room: that queue is insane. I can't imagine standing in it once it's even half-full. Express was technically a walk-on, still one of the longest walks I've made at HHN. That said, Billie Eilish's music always has an eerie undertone, even when she's not trying. Alice Cooper's peak material always had a sleazy creeper vibe. Their songs lend themselves to a haunted house. Videos aside, The Weeknd's uptempo pop music does not. I'm sorry, "Blinding Lights" will always be elementary school teachers and emergency room staff Tebowing on TikTok. The bar scene worked best because the song was the best fit to a house, but "Save Your Tears," earworm that it is, just doesn't fill me with dread. Overall just an incongruous collection of random scenes.
9) Coven -- starts off promising, with a nice set-up and cool 1920s costumes. But after the casino room -- when it feels like things should really get out of control -- it's just a lot of boring hallways. Storyline isn't clear at all. Just an overall disappointment so far.
10) Hellblock Horror -- prison set worked for me, random orcs and a Yeti did not. (Nothing against the actors, who were quite good, just the idea of random monsters locked up is too much of a suspension of disbelief for me.)
Zones are uniformly good. Scarecrow probably my favorite, but they all work, even Production Central. Wildfire would've worked if I hadn't been blown away by HNF last year. Ghoulish just didn't work for me. Overall vibe is great, the new regime is unquestionably great at Halloween iconography, and the park reflects that. But guests go to HHN for the houses, and this line-up does not live up to the hype.
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