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HHN 30: Most Anticipated House

Most Anticipated House?

  • Haunting of Hill House

  • Beetlejuice

  • Texas Chainsaw Massacre

  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives

  • Halloween Horror Nights Icons: Captured

  • Welcome to SCarey: Horror in the Heartland

  • Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth

  • The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin

  • Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience

  • Revenge of the Tooth Fairy


Results are only viewable after voting.
Apr 2, 2020
715
2,303
Orlando, FL
Well, every single house has been announced. Which one are you most excited for?!

(Mods, let me know if this thread is aight to exist right now lol!)
 
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Beetlejuice had been my most anticipated since the first spec map that it was on last year...

...but the descriptions and videos in some of the recent announcements have changed my list.
  1. Wicked Growth - Expect this to be scary and the grave yard and dilapidated haunted house sound amazing.
  2. Icons - The different winners sealed this being right at the top of my list (it was also #2 on my list before the announcements started).
  3. Beetlejuice - One of my favorite movies.
  4. Brides - Didn't have much interest in this until the amazing announcement video.
  5. SCarey - Greatest hits houses usually don't do it for me, but Dead End and Meetz Meats elevated this.
  6. Toothfairy - One of my favorite concepts for a house, but hearing people's relative disappointment at Lite has tempered my expectations.
  7. TCM - Can't believe it's this low, a testament to how strong the lineup is.
  8. Hill House - Tried to watch it, couldn't get into it, but the facade alone has me dying to go through it.
  9. Legendary Truth - Unpopular opinion alert: I've never really cared about the LT stuff. Not a fan of "ghost" houses or movies.
  10. Puppet Theatre - I watched the video for this and it looked nice, but doesn't really do anything for me.
I didn't make it to Lite or watch any walk through videos from last year so the returning houses are all pretty far up my list.

And my top two for anticipation for HHN29 were Ghostbusters and Depths of Fear so I expect my post-event favorites list to be quite different from this hype list.
 
1. Legendary Truth
I have no clue, no exact idea of what is going to be here, but man am I absolutely pumped. I love the supernatural noir hook, I love revisiting a deep cut into HHN lore like this. Not even worried about the Shrek Theater because they've easily shown in the past few years how much they can play with even that space. It may just never be satisfying enough honestly.

2. SCarey
I also love LT and this in particular because they're originals that seemingly have little fear/care that the GP is or is not going to get what's going on. They're for the "big fans" and I admire that, even more so with the long year off from HHN. I'm interested to see how much darker or lighter some things are portrayed as, like Leave It To Cleaver, because they're certainly not building a "funny" vibe based on the look and description. The fact that they're even gonna try tackling The Spawning again is worth a pat on the back.

3. ICONS Captured
I wish I had more to say, but I love the Icons, I love getting them all in a house instead of a zone, I like the concepts they're going for (even if they've perhaps dropped the "bigger picture" portion of the story). Just super pumped to see this.

4. Haunting Of Hill House
Seen the first five episodes of this and I've liked it a lot more than some folks, but honestly, this is winning on a set design level over the other two originals, just because I'm still in awe over that facade and I think the look of this, in general, is going to be lovely. Don't have a particular scene that stood out, but just give it all to me.

5. Wicked Growth
The ultimate culmination of pumpkins at HHN. If this IS sort of a "continuation" of Twisted Tradition, I really liked the vibe in that zone and the atmosphere. This seems like it will be an intense, scarier escalation of that concept. What's been said has me excited but I just wanna see more.

6. Puppet Theater
It's the one original that kinda feels a bit out of place, I admit, as the rest all have an easy tie into HHN's past or lore. I thought this may be a spiritual sequel to Dollhouse but that wasn't the vibe I got from the BTS video. I think it should still be quite fun though.

7. TCM
What's been said since the announcement is winning me over a bit...but as a repeated IP in this year, it's got a sore thumb look to it.

N/A. The Other Three
They should all be better honestly. BJ especially was missing a lot of actors it felt like. Bride's trailer reinvigorated me for that one. Tooth Fairy...we will see.
 
Sorry but I have to go with Icons. It’s a very strong lineup and in every other year almost all of those houses have potential to be the number 1 but with such a strong lineup I want to see what they did in Icons
 
I'm tied between Icons and Hill House. I freaking love Hill House as a series and I can't wait to experience it. I'm also super excited to finally see the Icons in person.
 
Wicked Growth
Welcome to sCarey
Haunting of Hill House
Beetlejuice
HHN Icons
Legendary Truth
Bride of Frankenstein
TCM
Puppet Theatre
Tooth Fairy
 
Texas boys we out here. TCM for me. This house in a soundstage is about to be lit AF.

TCM - it's my favorite movie.

Top 3 movies for me. This got my vote since "we saw this five years ago" is going to make it an underdog. Loved the version at 26 and can't wait to see what they do inside of a soundstage that lets us leave the Sawyer house.

(I need Franklin throwing a fit.)
 
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1) Wicked Growth—The Hallow remains top 10 GOAT for me. Love the pumpkin ghoul statues they’ve used the past few years. Anything that uses Halloween and pumpkin iconography and creepy atmospherics goes to the top of my list.

2) Bride Lives!—Because it was that damn good last year.

3) Welcome to (S)Carey—Part of me fears this will be an unmitigated mess. Will the tonal shift from a broad parody like Leave It to Cleaver clash to the dark, realistic horror vibe of Hive or the cheesiness of The Spawning even work?
But then I remember H.R. Bloodengutz should be this house so I don’t care.
If they play the whole thing as a comedy house, it may work better

4) Beetlejuice—Fortunate to have had two runs last year, really enjoyed it, tho it felt sparsely populated. Still fairly fresh to me so I’m excited to return, hoping more actors elevate it to all-timer status.

5) Puppet Theater—The wild card. Dead Exposure was a sleeper hit, Dollhouse started strong but proved kind of one-note. With creepy puppets and a strong cast I could see this being top 3. But I could also see it being the weakest original. My guess is it will be beautiful either way.

6) Icons Unleashed—I like a house that tells a story. I expect this to be unconnected vignettes. While I appreciate finally seeing Lady Luck inside a house, and always glad for a return from Dr. Caine, Jack works better on-stage, or at least in a meet & greet, where he can improv. The rest of the icons do nothing for me. Sounds like A&D put a lot of effort into this one, so maybe it will surprise me, but keeping my expectations in check.

7) Legendary Truth—Another wild card. Never got into anything L.T. so initially wasn’t feeling this, but the detective noir vibe has my interest. If they lean into a 1930s feel and manage to tell a story like Brides does, could shoot up to my top three.

8) Tooth Fairy—Façade was amazing, rest of house was just alright for me, and I did it enough last year I fear it may already be a bit stale (The AWiL Effect). Still expect a good house, and a must-do if you missed 2020, but I fear I’ll be over it by October. A killer cast could change that tho.

9) Haunting of Hill House. Made it an episode and a half in, show is not for me. If HHN can capture the gothic beauty of the old house, will at least be pretty. Expect repetitive monsters, which has replaced “house is too short” as my default HHN pet peeve.

10) TCM –Not a fan of the movies. Not a fan of the first two TCM houses. Not a fan of gore for gore’s sake. The one selling point—tons of chainsaws!—is neutered by being in a soundstage (can’t actually run them, can only pipe in chainsaw noises). I’m sure this will be someone’s favorite, but I just don’t see it working for me.
 
I've never had more trouble figuring out what my most anticipated is.

#1 - Wicked Growth. The description and story for this house has made me VERY excited. And the Pumpkin Lord sounds like an amazing new character to introduce.

#2 - Icons. Icons vs. Icons?! Holy sh*t, YES.

#3 - Puppet Theatre. To be honest, these top 3 are essentially tied for me. I'm a thespian and absolutely love theatre, so this house just screams yes to me. Plus it's a Dollhouse successor?! Double yes!

#4 - SCarey. Jack's 25th is one of my all-time favorites and one of my very first houses, so it makes me very happy to be doing another anniversary house. Although the location is a little concerning to me. At the same time though, Ho1C showed this location can have the best house of the year, and the news of H.R. making his grand return in here makes me ecstatic.

#5 - The Haunting of Hill House. Didn't like the first 3 episodes and was thinking "THIS is gonna be a house? Ugh." but then Episode 4 came along and changed everything, and the details about the atmosphere and intensity gets me very excited.

#6 - Beetlejuice. Didn't do the Lite version, so I'm going in blind! And these two are also pretty much tied. Plus this is the comedy house, and I LOVE the comedy houses (except Ghostbusters).

#7 - Tooth Fairy. Brides would be higher, but I'm putting this above it because I'm very excited to see this house (hopefully) in its mostly normal form.

#8 - Brides. Loved the Lite version, and it being this low on my list should really say how great the lineup is.

#9 - TCM. Loved the 2016 house, but it makes me sad we're getting another repeat in an anniversary year. Would've much preferred The Thing (bring it already you cowards!).

#10 - Unearthed. Just like GG last year, this will probably surprise me. But for now, it just sounds like a typical ghost house, and so it goes at the bottom. Very excited for the noir aspect though.
 
1: Haunting Of Hill House - Loved the Netflix series and I can see it going great into the house (also the photos universal released of the facade look SO GOOD)
2: Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience - All the scenes and details we know from the behind the scenes thing show how thought out this house is, also random note but I love that logo.
3: The Wicked Growth: Realm Of The Pumpkin - I just love pumpkins i guess..
4: HHN Icons: Captured - Love the Icons so much and all in a house together? Amazing.
5: BeetleJuice - I feel like the house we saw last year was good but i'm sure this year it's definitely gonna be better, can't wait.
6: Revenge Of The Tooth Fairy - My fav house from HHN Lite for sure. (Only reason Beetlejuice is more hyped is because I feel like it's going to significantly change) I love the whole aesthetic to the house and the story is great.
7: Welcome to Scarey: Horror In The Heartland - This ones changed quite a bit in my ranking it used to be 10th but oh well it changed. After looking back at a load of the houses I feel like this ones going to be really strong and will have lots of cool easter eggs to it.
8: Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein LIVES - Gonna be honest I didn't love this one from HHN Lite but I do admit it was cool, just depends on how much it changes without as many restrictions.
9: Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Especially on an IP short year kinda upset to see this announced but once I think about it in a soundstage it could go well? I'm also not the biggest fan of the film in general but we'll see.
10: Case Files Unearthed Legendary Truth - Didn't like the first legendary truth house but hoping this one will change my opinion on it and i'm sure it'll grow on me a little. Also preferred everything else which was rumoured to be in Shrek before it.
 
1) Wicked Growth—The Hallow remains top 10 GOAT for me. Love the pumpkin ghoul statues they’ve used the past few years. Anything that uses Halloween and pumpkin iconography and creepy atmospherics goes to the top of my list.

This was low on my list but I have a feeling this might be the surprise hit for me since I just found out it incorporates things I enjoy.
 
There is no "unanticipated" for me, so these are all uber-close on the hype train! From least-to-most:

10. TCM - Still really looking forward to this, but the likelihood of sticking only to TCM1 means no Chop Top, which dramatically reduces my hype level.
9. Beetlejuice - Still SUPER excited to see this in person, but I think last year's light semi-treatment has resulted in diminishing returns of hype for me. Hopefully there are plenty of non-previewed surprises in store here.
8. Haunting of Hill House - The facade is beautiful, the rooms look beautiful, the red door and staircase look beautiful, I straight-up want to live here lol.
7. Icons: Captured - The "someone different will win every x runs" Freddy v. Jason-esque twist is a lot of fun. But I do have a sinking fear this just amounts to a montage of the past commercial/teaser scenes that each Icon had in years past. I'm optimistic that it will still be enjoyable though.
6. LT Case Files - The description doesn't do much for me but that little concept art thumbnail is very exciting! That's definitely some kind of tentacled abomination casting that shadow. Boris as a Lovecraftian protagonist, an everyday person getting drawn into larger-than-life terror. Totally here for this.
5. SCarey - Would be lower if it was a more generic "Best Of" house, but the centralized location and nostalgic little facade has me interested.
4. The Wicked Growth - Twisted Tradition vibes = potential favorite house. Especially if they bring incorporate that eerie chapel building and the toothy boi pumpkinhead creatures in some way.
3. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy - This looked absolutely gorgeous last year from the vids I saw. My career is in library services, so I'm a sucker for that storybook facade. The creatures and kill scenes look rad too.
2. Bride of Frankenstein - This is like a ridiculous mash-up storyline I would have come up with as a kid and it makes me so happy to see that kind of bizarre and over-the-top thinking being brought to life on this scale.
1. Puppet Theatre - The bts video last year did it's job, my interest is through-the-roof for the costumes, gore, individual characters. All of it just clicks in a perfect, morbid-but-captivating way.
 
Quick aside: Why do so many of these house names have such long, drawn-out titles. I think Legendary Truth is the worst offender, but "The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin" is a mouthful. Is this the Disney effect of giving every new attraction a subtitle?

1. HHN ICONS: Captured- Huge fan of the icons and their lore. With the abundance of space in the soundstage and appearances by minor icons like Lady Luck and Chance, I think it'll be awesome, especially with the changing finale aspect.

2. The Haunting of Hill House- One of my favorite shows, ever. I'm so excited to visit Hill House and all of its gothic horror. A much better fit than Stranger Things ever was.

3. The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin- I'm a sucker for classic Halloween aesthetics. I think this will give the most seasonal flavor to the event.

4. Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth- I think a horror Neo-noir theme is pretty unique for a haunt. I have no idea what to expect from this one so it could be hit or miss. I'm thinking something like Cabin in the Woods or Friday the 13th the Series in terms of monsters being set loose from a singular location? Either way it'll be cool to see what this house has to offer.

5. Puppet Theater: Captive Audience- I love the theme and the sprung tents always have the dark horse houses so I expect this one to deliver on the scares and atmosphere.

6. Beetlejuice- This should be a fun, campy romp through the hereafter with plenty of comedy and recognizable characters and scenes. Also the soundtrack will be a delight.

7. Welcome to Scarey: Horror in the Heartland- I've always thought a maze with this theme is long overdue. I like the twisted Americana aesthetic that's been presented and hope that kind of "pleasant exterior and wholesome image" contrasts against the dark and demented horrors within.

8. Revenge of the Tooth Fairy- I like the concept, hopefully the tooth fairies unleash hell this year.

9. Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives!- I'm not particularly a fan of the Universal Classic Monsters. But I still think this will be immersive and bring some more classic Halloween vibe to the event.

10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- Maybe I'm just jaded because this property and Leatherface have been featured like 6 times in Hollywood, and Orlando's 2016 version was well-received, so I just don't see the point in rehashing the same content over and over.
 
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