Some thoughts about Spec Map 3:
Creepshow as a zone! While I'd love a house, I can live with this. In the rumored case of stage-presentation for Scare Zones, what do we think the powers that be will select for our stage scenes? The Creep will certainly have a presence. Could they maybe present comic book pages as backdrops or curtains and have actors/props emerge through them on stage? From the first movie, "Father's Day" with the cake being held or "They're Creeping Up On You"'s projection tech frm Hollywood seem like a possibilities, but "Jody Verrill" with the meteorite could make a great stage scene as well, imo. "The Crate" seems like a given, being the most iconic/remembered of the film's segments to casual viewers. I don't see anything from Creepshow 2 making the cut. "Chief Woodnhead" could be seen as somewhat culturally questionable by today's standards and as much as I love The Raft, I don't see it being done as a stage scene. If they stick with just the new show, I'd be interested to see how they could pull off some of the better segments as stage sets. Particularly, "The House of the Head", "The Man In the Suitcase", "The Finger", and "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" (NY hype!!). "The Companion" feels like a perfect segment for stage props/actors. How does everyone think the Hollywood house choices, "Bad Wolf Down" and "Gray Matter", would translate to stages?
On the house front:
HHN Icons - Having an Icon house separate from the Anni one really intrigues me. Will this be story-driven or a nonlinear mashup? I could see either case being incredible. My first chance to see the icons in the flesh and I could not be more excited.
The Brides - BoF's costuming was my favorite of the 2019 redesigns, she should be a great headliner to this UM maze, and Drac's brides are always a treat. The rumored storyline for this sounds really fun! Though, like the Pumpkin house I talk about below, it could lose some physical enhancement if blood-spray water effects are cut for sanitary reasons this year.
Mannequin Theater - I get a feeling that any 1 of the 3 unique original houses this year could make the history books & "favorite" lists. I already gave my thoughts on this concept in a previous post. However, now I can think of an additional scene this brings to mind that all you Bioshock fans will get: Sander Cohen. The lore of the mannequins/marionettes/puppets is going to be really cool to dive into. Is the "theater" in question here the Universal Palace Theater? Hmm...
Pumpkin Original - If rumors hold true and this is a follow-up on Twisted Tradition's lore (A: I'll be gloating like crazy that I called it super early on, lol), I could see this being an incredible house. What could sink this would be sanitary limitations on SiF and water drip/spray effects. Pumpkin Guts in Sinema or Pumpkin Eater were great mazes for that goopy, stringy feel that physical effects can achieve. So this is a big wildcard.
Bedtime Stories - Still ready for my THICC Tooth Fairy goddess to mess my teeth all up! I'm hoping the aesthetic of this is a major departure from every other house in the lineup (right now, all 3 unique originals seem very aesthetically distinct and diverse, which I love) and we get a grand-scale, dreamlike environment to walk through.
Beetlejuice - So stoked for this, mainly because the film has so many ridiculous scenes to not only depict but build on! GIVE ME A RAD SANDWORM, UNI! NO REPEATS OF THE DISAPPOINTING MARSHMALLOW BOI!
The Haunting of Hill House - I love Mike Flanagan's work. Even though HoHH is not my personal favorite project of his, I still enjoyed it enough to be on the lookout for any and every detail in this house. Some of the major player ghosts could make for great scares in a really gorgeous set.
Billie Eilish - Pros: Billie's cool and she's had some solid imagery in her stage shows. Cons: Shrek Theater is no stadium stage. I think her music is rad, though I hope they can give her some creative freedom, that the soundtrack of the house is something new and instrumental she creates, and not her hit songs playing throughout. Again, some great songs, but I feel many are lyrically more beautiful, airy, and tragic than eerie or twisted. I also hope the costuming doesn't wind up too generic "demon-y". Major, major wildcard and I'm still pretty intrigued to see what this house even winds up being.
Anniversary House - There's a LOT of history to pull from for this house. If the facade really is DoT, I'll enjoy that. If it follows some kind of lore, I'll really enjoy that. Otherwise, I feel like the Icons house may overshadow it for me. But if the right scenes/characters make the cut, it may surprise me!
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (3?) - I dunno, I just don't like the aesthetic of this film as much as the first and second movies, particularly Leatherface's look. I know bad movies can sometimes surprise with good house translations. But normally in those cases the costuming or sets can be redeeming. I just don't see it with this movie. I hope to be pleasantly surprised. And hey, the golden chainsaw should be rad in person, at least!
Overall, there's so much potential with every house here! We'll see what stays or if anything else changes in the next month or so!