Least Favorite HHN Houses

[Brian G.]

I really liked Giggles, but it did seem like the last part of that was just very basic random halls. I was fine with it as the first part was good, but I definitely got the impression they ran out of time or something and just added some extra walking at the end.

If memory serves me correctly, wasn't a scene added later in the "finishing stages" because they realized how short it ended up being?

 

[RevFreako]

There was a girl who was applying the battery clamps to her THIS IS A FAMILY FORUM that was so hilarious it made the whole house for me....

 

[s8film40]

If memory serves me correctly, wasn't a scene added later in the "finishing stages" because they realized how short it ended up being?

I don't know the details but that's what it felt like. There were a series of pretty much blank hallways with the pull down doors and scare actors behind them. It was definitely filler, but to me adding length doesn't really take away from what was there prior to that.

 

[Cole]

I think you're being a little too hard on it. Sure, don't like Giggles if you wish, but I don't think anyone felt the sets were cheap. Asylum was a 3D house, it's always going to have a "cheap" look. Cheap does not equal bad however. In Between is high on a lot of fan's top 10 lists and it's a 3D house. House of Horrors in 22 was done with minimal effort and a lot of people enjoyed it. The visual medium for a house does not always necessitate "big budget" sets, nor does it mean it can't be a successful house because of it.

To epcyclopedia's point, most of the time, it's because things change close to the last minute. Whether it be the IP holder wants changes or didn't approve something (Scream, AWiL in 22) or Universal steps in (HoH in 22).

EDIT: Reading Cole's statement again. I saw he meant end of houses, not entirety of houses. Damn morning mindset strikes again.

lol sorry for the confusion. Don't get me wrong I loved giggles, it was my most anticipated house that year and it is really delivered in my opinion, however the final rooms with literally black walls with boo holes in them. Asylum had that one hallway where it was just strobe lights on psychedelic posters. I give 3D houses and HOH a pass because they're more stylistic choices than anything else. I applaud them when they make a small budget work such as HOH and giggles, insanely impressive in terms of that. These changes suck, however when it all works out you have to give them props for making it work, even if the quality is good or bad

 

[RogueAntilles]

1. People Under the Stairs Under Construction - All I remember is my brother and I walking out of the exit like, ohmygodwtfwasthat.
2. Cold Blind Terror - "Working at the car wash!"
3. Orpfanage: Ashes to Ashes - Cool story, half baked execution. Let Cindy RIP
4. Reflections of Fear - Again, cool story but filled with bored scareactors and failed execution.
5. Alice Cooper - I have a pretty good HHN house memory. I always seem to forget this one.
6. Silent Hill - Such a waste
7. Resident Evil - Another waste. Looked as if they built a set to a movie and didn't invite the actors.
8. Blood Ruins - Forgettable soundstage house
9. Jungle of Doom - Cool venue. Weak scareless bland house.
10. 3 of the WD houses besides End of Line

 

[shiekra38]

^ I forgot about PUTS:UC aka, the palette house..

I think Silent Hill was one of the worst based on the fact that it had so much potential and content

 

[Madara_Uchiha]

I've been going for a while (I wish) and I'll have too say one name and that's it



Roanoke the forgotten maze

 

[Skipper Justin]

I've been going for a while (I wish) and I'll have too say one name and that's it



Roanoke the forgotten maze

"Meat!"

 

[Brad]

Here are my least favorite:

-Friday the 13th: Camp Blood (2006)
-Havoc: Dogs of War
-From Dusk Till Dawn
-The Walking Dead: The Living and the Dead
-Lunatics’ Playground

It's funny that People Under the Stairs is a consistent "worst" house - this was my first house ever at HHN. In hindsight, it was pretty awful, but still so much better than the usual stuff you get at a regional theme park or other local haunt. I think we did three houses that first year in 2006 (including the poop wall in Psychoscarapy: Maximum Madness, which was awesome). We were such amateurs.

 

[Skubersky]

5. Cold Blind Terror
4. Silent Hill
3. Fear Factor
2. Cold Blind Terror (so bad I have to list it twice)
1. Doomsday: I was the stage manager of this house and The Mummy in 1999. It maybe wasn’t a bad house, but it was supposed to be based on the Schwarzenegger film End of Days (yes we had IP houses back then). We got the license pulled at the last minute, and the redesign ended up a rush job. Disappointed knowing what it should have been. FWIW the Mummy was cool, we had full body latex warrior costumes from the original movie molds. Hot as hell!

 

[SeventyOne]

1. Doomsday: I was the stage manager of this house and The Mummy in 1999. It maybe wasn’t a bad house, but it was supposed to be based on the Schwarzenegger film End of Days (yes we had IP houses back then). We got the license pulled at the last minute, and the redesign ended up a rush job. Disappointed knowing what it should have been. FWIW the Mummy was cool, we had full body latex warrior costumes from the original movie molds. Hot as hell!

Cannot argue with any of your picks. Interesting tidbit on End of Days. I assume we would have had one or more Gabriel Byrne Satans? It was a cool design, best thing in the movie.

 

[MattA]

My bottom five. Been going since 2011.

5. Penn & Teller Nuk'd Las Vegas 3D. (2012) At the time of this house Penn & Teller were my favorite thing to watch. I was SO EXCITED for this house. What a let down. The 3D was cheap. The rooms made no sense. And when they said they would actually be in the house...I expected to see like a mutated version of them as actors for the final scare. I was so let down by the screens and clowns. Didn't feel like it had anything to do with Penn & Teller.

4. Asylum In Wonderland 3D. (2015) The 3D was terribly used in this house. Awful scares. Cheap sets. Short. All the makings of a bad house.

3. Ash Vs The Evil Dead. (2017) I hate this house. I hate it with a passion. the show is one of my favorite shows and this was my most anticipated. I blame this on a weak cast besides two actors. Man the sets look nothing like the show, no blood squirts, barely any gore. It has the comedy but it doesn't have nearly enough deadite awesomeness to even qualify it as an Evil Dead house imo.

2. Resident Evil. (2013) My god this house was just horrendous. Short, no scares, and weak effects. The pause room is easily the worst scene I've seen at HHN thus far.

1. Krampus. (2016). I can't see what people saw in this house. I HATED it with a passion. Wasn't scary...no Krampus...repetitive sets. What the hell was up with that white tunnel at the end??? I actually didn't even feel like I was in the movie in this house. The only room I liked was the attic because it actually had scares in it.

 

[Skubersky]

Cannot argue with any of your picks. Interesting tidbit on End of Days. I assume we would have had one or more Gabriel Byrne Satans? It was a cool design, best thing in the movie.

Yup. A lot of sets & makeup specific to the film were dumbed down to make them more generic. And y’all thought that started happening with Scream/Purge

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

My bottom five. Been going since 2011.

5. Penn & Teller Nuk'd Las Vegas 3D. (2012) At the time of this house Penn & Teller were my favorite thing to watch. I was SO EXCITED for this house. What a let down. The 3D was cheap. The rooms made no sense. And when they said they would actually be in the house...I expected to see like a mutated version of them as actors for the final scare. I was so let down by the screens and clowns. Didn't feel like it had anything to do with Penn & Teller.

4. Asylum In Wonderland 3D. (2015) The 3D was terribly used in this house. Awful scares. Cheap sets. Short. All the makings of a bad house.

3. Ash Vs The Evil Dead. (2017) I hate this house. I hate it with a passion. the show is one of my favorite shows and this was my most anticipated. I blame this on a weak cast besides two actors. Man the sets look nothing like the show, no blood squirts, barely any gore. It has the comedy but it doesn't have nearly enough deadite awesomeness to even qualify it as an Evil Dead house imo.

2. Resident Evil. (2013) My god this house was just horrendous. Short, no scares, and weak effects. The pause room is easily the worst scene I've seen at HHN thus far.

1. Krampus. (2016). I can't see what people saw in this house. I HATED it with a passion. Wasn't scary...no Krampus...repetitive sets. What the hell was up with that white tunnel at the end??? I actually didn't even feel like I was in the movie in this house. The only room I liked was the attic because it actually had scares in it.

I’m surprised! After what you said in the other thread (aside from Ash vs The Evil Dead) this is a pretty solid list that I agree with. Krampus was a huge disappointment for me, as it was the house I most looked forward to last year.