HHN '19: Us

[hhnlover]

I hate to sound like a buzzkill, but if this is true, i don't mind. If they can put tons of effort into the other mazes, and let one maze be a "budget" maze, i really won't mind that much. However, the haunt isn't even open yet, so we shouldn't be stating opinions just yet.

 

[rageofthegods]

While that is true for that year, my friend told me this BEFORE Monkey's Paw had even signed off on letting "Us" appear at the event. They raised concerns about the black wall issue when they saw the proposed layout/scene breakdown. That's when Murdy responded with the quote above.

Like I said in the other thread, things can change. My concern is they raised the red flag DURING the proposal portion and Murdy told them that BEFORE approval and BEFORE construction got underway and budget became a concern. Again, things change, but the timeline does give me some pause.

I'd been unaware that the black walls concerns came during the proposal stage, which is something else entirely. That does make me more nervous.

That having been said, I am still, perversely, hopeful about the maze, especially given that MonkeyPaw apparently raised concerns about it. Hopefully, if Murdy is working closely with Jordan on this one, then one could assume that maybe the problem will be alleviated, or pushed to the back in the form of "one final scarez." And even then, UCM was full of black wallz and it was the best themed house that Hollywood has done, possibly ever.

 

[Chris Galindo]

Imagine the look on our faces when DTH praises this only since it's their most anticipated yet it ends up having the most black walls.

 

[rageofthegods]

Imagine the look on our faces when DTH praises this only since it's their most anticipated yet it ends up having the most black walls.

We'd sell tickets to see the forum for one butterbeer each.

 

[Horror Lover]

We'd sell tickets to see the forum for one butterbeer each.

"Come one, come all, see the greatest show on Earth! See the forum tear each other apart over opinions on black walls in haunted houses!! Admission is just one fresh glass of butterbeer!"

 

[rageofthegods]

"Come one, come all, see the greatest show on Earth! See the forum tear each other apart over opinions on black walls in haunted houses!! Admission is just one fresh glass of butterbeer!"

Murdy? You paying attention? This could the second show for Horror Nights.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

Am I the only one who doesn't mind the black walls?

 

[rocklobsterrr_85]

Am I the only one who doesn't mind the black walls?

To be honest (at least for me) the black walls aren’t as bad in person as they look in online POVs. From what I can remember (I’m as much as a scaredy cat as I am a horror fan lol), they’re pretty much just transitional rooms of pitch black. The first black walls I ever experienced I think was AWIL between the hospital room dream sequence and transformation scene and it didn’t bother me at all. Sure, they’re a lot more heavily used nowadays, but they only really annoy me when there’s a scare put in the blacked out room. Sure I’ll jump but there’s a sense of immersion breaking when Jack Torrance or Principal Wilkins appears from the darkness in a boxed out window. They’re not as horrible to me as most people make them out to be, but if they’re going to put a scare in there at least decorate the boo-hole to maybe look like it’s coming through trees/foliage, or get creative with it like Exorcist or what we’re hoping with KKFOS

 

[horrornights789]

People forget that even UCM had black walls. Halloween 4 + Poltergeist were my favorites of last and they both had them, it’s a problem that HHN Hollywood can’t really escape.

I have faith in this house though, the Facade + Owl Scare are really cheap and the mirrors are in storage from HoH and Halloween 2015. I’d imagine that the black walls will be used to transition from Vision Quest -> Wilson House and from the Wilson House to the Tyler House, and in the woods but with trees. At this point I’ve gotten used to them as transitional scenes

 

[rageofthegods]

People forget that even UCM had black walls. Halloween 4 + Poltergeist were my favorites of last and they both had them, it’s a problem that HHN Hollywood can’t really escape.

I have faith in this house though, the Facade + Owl Scare are really cheap and the mirrors are in storage from HoH and Halloween 2015. I’d imagine that the black walls will be used to transition from Vision Quest -> Wilson House and from the Wilson House to the Tyler House, and in the woods but with trees. At this point I’ve gotten used to them as transitional scenes

Thing is, for alot of us, I think we were hoping that junking the Tram would help alleviate any budgetary concerns that have risen in the past. I'd hope that there are less black wallz this year, but adding two mazes at once might have been too ambitious. Still, if the rooms that were supposed to have stuff last year were filled out, I'm sure the black wallz won't be nearly as noticeable.

 

[Guygas]

Black walls don’t bother me too much, sure I’d rather there be detailed sets in place of them, but I understand that sometimes everything you plan doesn’t always work out. Every year of HHN I’ve been to has had black walls and I’ve loved every year of HHN I have been to (yes even 2017 which I know a lot of people hate) The problem with this maze I have isn’t about potential black walls, but that I feel the scares will get Repetitive with all the red jumpsuit tethered scares. However I think if they play it right it could have some really unique scares as well. We won’t know till we go through the maze. I think Us has the potential to be really cool so I’m excited for this one.

 

[Freak]

Monkey Paw: “What’s up with the black walls?”

Murdy:

 

[k_peek_2000]

Let's not forget this gem.


This year's will likely be 10 minutes long.

 

[HHNManics]

Let's not forget this gem.


This year's will likely be 10 minutes long.

I'm definitely gonna put it out (HHN2019 - Black Wall Montage) as fast as possible.

 

[Herny15]

I cannot stand Black Walls! I absolutely hate when you’re so immersed in a scene because of the movie quality set design and then all of a sudden you step into a hallway with black plywood and hanging strings. There are more creative ways to transition from one scene to the next and adding a boohole scare in every single transition for every single maze is just so repetitive and annoying. I hope no maze this year has any black walls but let’s face it, it’s 99% likely that we’ll see at least two black hallways per maze. I think Us will be the biggest offender since it was added to the lineup in May.

 

[Clive]

You guys have short memories. 2016 didn't have black walls outside of The Exorcist, where that was the explicit design intent (and it worked beautifully). I don't recall mazes prior to that suffering from the epidemic, either.

It's a consequence of the maze count increasing. The maze count is about to go up again... by two. It's replacing an attraction that's been the focus of aggressively recycling because there isn't funds to make it anything more.

I'm not saying you necessarily need to lower expectations, because one would hope they got a decent budget pump-up... but still, do the math.

 

[Horror Lover]

You guys have short memories. 2016 didn't have black walls outside of The Exorcist, where that was the explicit design intent (and it worked beautifully). I don't recall mazes prior to that suffering from the epidemic, either.

It's a consequence of the maze count increasing. The maze count is about to go up again... by two. It's replacing an attraction that's been the focus of aggressively recycling because there isn't funds to make it anything more.

I'm not saying you necessarily need to lower expectations, because one would hope they got a decent budget pump-up... but still, do the math.

I remember it being an issue back in 2013.. "Black wallz" was a running joke among the HHN fandom at the time.. along with "Executivez" after the B&T incident.. but that's another story for another time.. and to a lesser extent, an issue in 2014 and 2015..

 

[DTH]

I've been waiting years to say this for the right property, and the time has certainly come...
Why the walls gotta be black?!
*slowly backs into the bushes*

*2020, PR department forces Murdy to make the walls white from now on*

 

[Freak]

I've been waiting years to say this for the right property, and the time has certainly come...
Why the walls gotta be black?!
*slowly backs into the bushes*

*2020, PR department forces Murdy to make the walls white from now on*

The big issue with the black walls is that I don’t know how we’re going to be able to see the scareactors. :bolt:

 

[nicodingus]

The big issue with the black walls is that I don’t know how we’re going to be able to see the scareactors. :bolt:

Thats the point, it was a design choice. Nothing scarrier than floating teeth and eyeballs. JK I kid, I kid.
But in all seriousness, I think this maze might do fine with the black walls. I think if they had maybe something different than the boo-window.
Perhaps a hidden door instead for the various tethered to pop out of. You're expecting obvious scares in the hallways and I think having boo-doors would help keep those sections interesting.