Here's some scattered thoughts and first impressions from last night.
I did not see Puppet Theatre, Icons, CryptTV, Hill House, TCM, nu-Brides, Nightmare Fuel, or MoM, so no thoughts on those.
1. Wicked Growth is the clear winner of the night. There is so much going on in this house, it's crazy they fit it in the tent. A cult of Halloween creatures sacrifices people to summon the Pumpkin Lord and you have to escape each encounter. Some really cool effects and scares, and the cast was going all out. Very traditionally Halloween. Noticed a lot of reused props/costumes lifted from houses like Graveyard Games. The buildup to the Pumpkin Lord is probably one of my favorite parts. You can just barely see a bit of glowing vines out of the corner of your eye through the hallways leading into the next room, before you turn the corner and meet him. My favorite of the night.
2. Beetlejuice is a very well done house that didn't do a ton for me after having mentally processed it for a full year. Very Ghostbusters-y, and the intro room is still really neat with the BJ barker up top. Not many noticable changes, if any. One of my favorites from HHN lite and I imagine a lot of people will really enjoy it.
3. nuTooth is also a pretty good house that I didn't get a ton out of this time. Some of the scares are no longer behind plexi which changes things up a slight bit. Still no puppets and the weird cave effect in the Fairy Jubilee scene is still unused. There is a new scareactor with a prop towards the beginning of the house that probably won't get too many jumps but fills a spot that was clearly designed for a scare during Lite last year. It was weirdly nostalgic being back in Tooth after so long.
4. Case Files is pretty interesting. It's like a noir inspired Slaughter Sinema. Definitely have to go a few more times to really grasp what each scene was going for, but I got the basic ideas and there are some neat effects in play here. Very strange original creature designs and some really got me good. I could definitely see it being a sleeper hit this year.
5. Went through Carey basically alone which almost always leads to a more intense run but also a much faster run, so I probably missed quite a bit here. Longtime fans will really enjoy it, but dang is it just nonsense for anyone who's only been going for 5 years or less like myself. Some pretty good scares and interesting costumes, and some big names are here that even I knew, but I imagine a lot of the GP will completely write this one off. Interested in how my second run goes.
6. Scarezones are immediately better than 29, which should be hopeful considering zones were easily the weakest part of that event. My favorites are probably Terra and Eddie, but I'm hopeful for Seek and Destroy.
Terra is interesting. The stages are like a much more elaborate and cool looking Vikings with the Gorewood trees and Mines making up most of the stages. There are really only about 8 actors in the whole zone, 3 knucklegrunt-type Rat creatures, 2 tree Mantis-types, 2 tree stilt-walkers, and the Terra Queen herself out front on her stage. On the stage was what looked like Eelmouth being hung and the Terra Queen would occasionally lower Eelmouth into the pit below in a sacrifice ritual. On a slower night like this the Grunts were able to really spook people by running out of their Mines. Mantis' got similar reactions. I worry on more busy nights the zone will be completely unsalvagable, as the Grunts really do need space to work effectively. I also wonder if or how they could do an end of event Terra Queen sacrifice with her being in the very front of the zone, and frankly kinda out of the way. This zone might end up being a little contentious given how big the idea of Terra Cruentus is, but I personally enjoy it.
Eddie is crazy, when they said "Best Of Scarezones" I expected maybe 5 or 6 zones? There are like 13+ actors here each representing a different zone and multiple times throughout the night I would walk through and see a zone represented that simply wasn't there before. Not even just the fan favorites either. Ones I remember personally were Twisted Traditions, Dead Man's Wharf, The Harvest, Grown Evil. Then of course you have Treaks and Foons, Invasion, and Vamp 55 up on their stages. A ton of cool props and stages littered everywhere with the scareactors patrolling that'll make walking through Hollywood a minefield. Chainsaws are active here.
30 Years is certainly something. Another best of Scarezone, but this one doesn't have a ton going on. A few stages with actors walking and some photo ops. Pretty boring overall but the art is cool, the banner up top is nice to see come back, and Bone will always be my boy. Love that skeleton with all my heart.
Seek and Destroy has potential. The costumes are a little goofy and a little old school Star Trek-y, but with large crowds and some intensity it could still be a pretty good zone. I hope they figure out the visor situation, as seeing the actors face makes the imperial Stormtrooper technofascism aesthetic completely miss the mark. I do really like the red guards on the towers watching over, as well as the spotlights going through the crowd. This is a zone that lives and dies by the size of the crowd, and the larger the crowd the better. Chainsaws active here. Really want to see this one be something.
7. Miscellaneous section. Tribute store is not themed to any one IP. It's more of a general HHN mansion aesthetic which is nice in it's own way, and also allows for a whole lot more open-space. Honestly think I prefer last years store though. I like the IP rooms, I guess! Plexi and masks is how I described before, sometimes noticable and sometimes gets in the way, but not often enough to effect things too much imo. Really enjoyed going back to the smells and music and general atmosphere of HHN. If you're into that side of Horror Nights, it hasn't changed.
Overall, the team started designing this event back in November 2019 and despite all the time that's past since then, the event is still as wonderful as the one they had hoped to unveil a year ago today. It's one of the best years in recent memory and is a big love letter to the history of the event. I think there is lot here to love and I hope it only gets better as the scareactors get more comfortable with their roles. I only hope that an increasingly uncertain global situation does not put a damper on this stunning show. It doesn't help that the weather in the park was very humid and very muggy making things seem grosser than how they might have actually been, but being in those long HHN queues and witnessing the crowds that formed for certain zones, shows, or shops makes me more than a little anxious. I can only hope things work out in the end.
