Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[Tobias]

Would it though?

Halloween in the tent was far superior to Halloween in the Soundstage.

Personally for me, I liked KKfOS, but it ended up more in the middle of the pack for me. By that, there is a chance a new version could be better and end up in a higher rank. Conversely, it could drop, there's always a chance of that happening. But the chance of dropping is far greater for a house who's original was HOTY, as there's nowhere else to go but down.

 

[hunnylvr]

Anybody else feel like the overall speculation is kind of anticlimatic right now? I mean, we pretty much have NOTHING to go on. I keep getting Facebook "memories' popping up reminding me of how I posted excitedly about an HHN announcement. I had two of them pop today - one was me gushing over AHS returning for HHN27 on this day. (the other one was them announcing dates in 2018). I'd take just a little crumb - even if they just teased something. I think about all the time I spent a couple months ago feverishly reading every page of this thread - desperately trying to catch up so I didn't miss anything. And now.. we've slowed ot a crawl. I know last year, they took FOREVER to announce most of it, and I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case this year. Yes, I know "it's only March".. but in just a couple days, it will be April, and we will be just five months out. Some of us have travel to plan. <end whining>

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I didn't get to do Halloween in the tent, but that IP didn't really need the soundstage treatment outside of building the house inside.

I think KKFOS could provide a lot more large sets that could be done on a soundstage.

Exactly.

Would it though?

Halloween in the tent was far superior to Halloween in the Soundstage.

With KKFOS in a Soundstage or Parade Building, I feel it could follow the film a whole lot better. The ending of the film with Klownzilla and practically every Klown could be translated MUCH better in a space like that. Again, I think KKFOS in Shrek was pretty good, but some aspects could be enhanced if given a much larger space. The facade could be the actual circus tent spaceship instead of a small hallway.

I didn't get to do the OG Halloween, but I felt that Halloween from last year didn't need a Soundstage. All I was hoping for was the Myers house being the facade and walking through the front door, but I wasn't disappointed by it not being the facade. The Myers house a little bit into the house itself made up for it imo.

 

[HHN Maddux]

Would it though?

Halloween in the tent was far superior to Halloween in the Soundstage.

Same with TCM in the tent (although the 2021 house was still pretty great, meanwhile last year's Halloween was... rather lackluster (IMO)).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Would it though?

Halloween in the tent was far superior to Halloween in the Soundstage.

Wasn't a big fan of how far Myers would have to walk to get to scare you during this past event. 2014 was the GOAT

 

[Neo]

I think we need to resign ourselves to the inevitable fate of repeat/rebooted houses. Why?

Because our houses are based on movies...or to a lesser extent TV shows. What has been rebooted in the last 20ish years? This is off the top of my head but feel like they've all been done in the 2000's. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm St, The Thing, Poltergeist, Childs Play, Chucky TV Series, Halloween twice (Zombie and 2018), Ash vs Evil Dead Series, From Dusk Till Dawn Series, etc that have all had houses. Add to it long term sequels that have nothing to do / so far removed timewise from the "proper" franchises that have already appeared; Aliens TV series, Prey/Predator, Dr Sleep, Evil Dead Lives, Exorcist, Ghostbusters, forever in development Beetlejuice sequel rumored to be coming, etc. Then add in the stuff that hasn't yet appeared at HHN like Hellraiser, Candyman, It, Scream MTV version, etc, etc, etc. They've all been re-imagined/rebooted.

The fact that the horror genre, that should be infinite in it's possibilities, keeps on re-doing itself has to be reflected in the pool of IP houses that HHN gets. I think the fact we're getting returns of houses that have been "rebooted" in the films makes sense. The public has spoken and for every new original like M3gan that succeeds, there are 20 horror movies that fail or don't even get picked up for wide distribution. Shudder might be making great content, but make no mistakes about it, they have VERY few subsribers and if their content tested high enough to warrent a theatrical release, they'd certainly do so. People will show up in droves for the new Halloween, Nightmare, Friday, Scream, whatever movie...so why wouldn't those same IPs continue showing up at the world's premier horror event?

Then look at movies in general, the top 20 movies each year consist of 15+ sequels, ~8 of which are comicbook movies. People speak with their wallets and what they want is what they know and feel comfortable with. Think we need to have realistic expectations about that reality.

 

[DannyPowers]

I think we need to resign ourselves to the inevitable fate of repeat/rebooted houses. Why?

Because our houses are based on movies...or to a lesser extent TV shows. What has been rebooted in the last 20ish years? This is off the top of my head but feel like they've all been done in the 2000's. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm St, The Thing, Poltergeist, Childs Play, Chucky TV Series, Halloween twice (Zombie and 2018), Ash vs Evil Dead Series, From Dusk Till Dawn Series, etc that have all had houses. Add to it long term sequels that have nothing to do / so far removed timewise from the "proper" franchises that have already appeared; Aliens TV series, Prey/Predator, Dr Sleep, Evil Dead Lives, Exorcist, Ghostbusters, forever in development Beetlejuice sequel rumored to be coming, etc. Then add in the stuff that hasn't yet appeared at HHN like Hellraiser, Candyman, It, Scream MTV version, etc, etc, etc. They've all been re-imagined/rebooted.

The fact that the horror genre, that should be infinite in it's possibilities, keeps on re-doing itself has to be reflected in the pool of IP houses that HHN gets. I think the fact we're getting returns of houses that have been "rebooted" in the films makes sense. The public has spoken and for every new original like M3gan that succeeds, there are 20 horror movies that fail or don't even get picked up for wide distribution. Shudder might be making great content, but make no mistakes about it, they have VERY few subsribers and if their content tested high enough to warrent a theatrical release, they'd certainly do so. People will show up in droves for the new Halloween, Nightmare, Friday, Scream, whatever movie...so why wouldn't those same IPs continue showing up at the world's premier horror event?

Then look at movies in general, the top 20 movies each year consist of 15+ sequels, ~8 of which are comicbook movies. People speak with their wallets and what they want is what they know and feel comfortable with. Think we need to have realistic expectations about that reality.

There are plenty of mid tier main-stream original ideas that just need to "age" a bit before I can see them getting featured at HHN. I'm thinking things like Ready or Not, Malignant, Drag Me to Hell, You're Next, etc.
Stuff that the horror heads really love, but may not have reached that full cult status that KKfOs had to hit before it finally got a house.
Point taken though. Most of the releases that get the most eyeballs are remakes, but there's a lot of possibilities just waiting for someone to run with.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Hard agree honestly.
Even though I've missed out on tons of Orlando houses that I'd love to have seen, I feel like a lot of the time people who request repeats don't really appreciate how much of the events charm is in its impermanence, and the fact that what youre experiencing is only gonna exist for these couple months. Bringing back houses one to one always feels like Pet Sematary-ing a corpse. It looks the same, but in practice all the soul below the skin is lost.

The problem comes when they have to make 10 houses a year. I just don't think impermanence is sustainable at this point.

 

[hunnylvr]

The problem comes when they have to make 10 houses a year. I just don't think impermanence is sustainable at this point.

I disagree. Just because IPs are limited due to a clear mental block from the current "horror masters" doesn't mean A&D can't continue creating their own spectacular content which I still feel is better than most IPs. I've said this before, but it is worth repeating: With an IP, you generally know excactly what you're going to get because you've seen the movie/tv show and you already know the plot, the scares, everything. While it's wonderful to see some of these come to life at HHN, the real scares are with the originals because you do NOT know the plot or scares, etc. The surprises come from your first step inside these wonderful creations. As a horror fan, I've spent a lot of time rolling my eyes and being annoyed and disgusted by the endless "reboots" or sequels. Everybody bows to Blumhouse, but generally, they are the worst offenders with some of this - reboots and sequels for days. Spare me.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Mostly the only time I'd like to see an IP repeated is if it's done in the TCM/Halloween fashion. As in from a smaller venue to a bigger venue.

I'd like to see KKFOS come back in a soundstage where they could really play with circus tent/spaceship sets.

What about a remake of the original movie getting a house?

 

[Brian G.]

Personally for me, I liked KKfOS, but it ended up more in the middle of the pack for me. By that, there is a chance a new version could be better and end up in a higher rank. Conversely, it could drop, there's always a chance of that happening. But the chance of dropping is far greater for a house who's original was HOTY, as there's nowhere else to go but down.

FWIW - I'm not saying a second go can't be better - just that I don't think a soundstage means better.

I didn't get to do Halloween in the tent, but that IP didn't really need the soundstage treatment outside of building the house inside.

I think KKFOS could provide a lot more large sets that could be done in a soundstage.

See, I think it would be better in a tent with tight corners and corridors. Outside of maybe the Parade scene and Klownzilla, I don't see that big a need to have it in a SS. Hell, use projections to make the tent building look like the KK tent.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

What about a remake of the original movie getting a house?

I mean, that's also something lol

See, I think it would be better in a tent with tight corners and corridors. Outside of maybe the Parade scene and Klownzilla, I don't see that big a need to have it in a SS. Hell, use projections to make the tent building look like the KK tent.

Man I would have LOVED to see the parade scene.

 

[Acandrews12]

Yeah, you guys are probably right. I’ll hope for sequels/prequels then.

I would love sequels/spin-offs of original houses. For example, I was really excited about Devil Dogs expanding the Slaughter Sinema idea. I would have preferred Sorority Sacrifice, Schittie's Kidz, Amazon Cannibals from Planet Hell, Midnight Snack 2: The House Swarming, or Attack of the Swamp Yeti, but at least it was something.

I wonder if we will continue the tradition of scare zones turned into houses. I think Sweet Revenge would be a great house.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I would love sequels/spin-offs of original houses. For example, I was really excited about Devil Dogs expanding the Slaughter Sinema idea. I would have preferred Schittie's Kidz, Amazon Cannibals from Planet Hell, Midnight Snack 2: The House Swarming, or Attack of the Swamp Yeti, but at least it was something.

I wonder if we will continue the tradition of scare zones turned into houses. I think Sweet Revenge would be a great house.

I doubt Devil Dogs would've been exactly like Devil Dogs from Slaughter Sinema.

A Sweet Revenge house set in the factory could give us a Willy Wonka-esque feel that many people have been asking for lol. The amount of people I've seen ask for a Willy Wonka house is nuts.

 

[moistowlette1989]

Not to fuel the fires of Stranger Things speculation, but it was recently announced that they are doing a Stranger Things official play in the West End. That could mean that either Netflix has relaxed their hold on the rights to Stranger things or tightened them, so it could go either way. Just an interesting development

For reference: Stranger Things: The First Shadow | West End

Legacy mentioned earlier that USO had the opportunity to get Stranger things again and chose not to.

 

[cwoms1991]

Legacy mentioned earlier that USO had the opportunity to get Stranger things again and chose not to.

Not to poke the Stranger Things bear, but I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it coming back this year. Not sure if anything changed but that’s what has been floating around the resort as a huge rumor this the past couple of months.

 

[SeventyOne]

I didn’t go that year. Just taking others word for it. Maybe just in comparison to the first?

Much like the latest Halloween, it suffered from being a somewhat above average house trying to live up to a game-changing Top 10 GOAT original.

The real problem is that the Venn diagram of fans likely to appreciate AWiL (the film) or the original '78 Halloween and long-time HHN attendees is virtually a single circle. So the people you're trying to impress were already blown away by the first attempt, and probably went through that enough times to be slightly bored with it. A 7 to10 year gap can help, as more horror fans mature into HHN goers, but AWiL only had 2 and that doomed it.

 

[Legacy]

Legacy mentioned earlier that USO had the opportunity to get Stranger things again and chose not to.

In reference to last year. This year is chaos on the rumor side so who knows.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Much like the latest Halloween, it suffered from being a somewhat above average house trying to live up to a game-changing Top 10 GOAT original.

The real problem is that the Venn diagram of fans likely to appreciate AWiL (the film) or the original '78 Halloween and long-time HHN attendees is virtually a single circle. So the people you're trying to impress were already blown away by the first attempt, and probably went through that enough times to be slightly bored with it. A 7 to10 year gap can help, as more horror fans mature into HHN goers, but AWiL only had 2 and that doomed it.

If they redesigned AWIL then I think it could have worked. But a straight up reuse of the design lead to unmotivated actors (imagine being a scare actor wanting to be in the anniversary house but ending up in a repeat) and giving guests another chance to pick out flaws.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

If they redesigned AWIL then I think it could have worked. But a straight up reuse of the design lead to unmotivated actors (imagine being a scare actor wanting to be in the anniversary house but ending up in a repeat) and giving guests another chance to pick out flaws.

It's strange to think about, but the actor portion of this really stands out.

Imagine you acted in the first AWIL house, and you get placed in it again 2 years later