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Yeah I was confused the first time about what was actually happening. My second run was a lot better with more people in place. Definitely going to do this one a few more times. Sets are good.
[The guests are attacked by Dracula's daughter holding Saskia's severed head while the Bride watches in despair. They then return to the Van Helsing crypt, where the Bride brought back Saskia's headless corpse to rest alongside her deceased family. The guests are attacked one last time by the She-Wolf, Anck-Su-Namun, and Marya laughing maniacally before it ends with the Bride screaming in agony.]
When I got to that scene the first time I thought maybe this was a dual-ending house. Yeah, the ending to this hits different when you realize that happened.
My first run on Wednesday was a bit half and half as there were spots missing, but the scares that were there were hitting pretty good. I hit it up a second time later in the night with a fuller cast and the house truly clicked and kicked some serious tail, and continued that way for the rest of my trip.
I personally thought the story was generally easy to follow, though the cast size can make a world of a difference with the various beats. A great example is...
The Mummy section, first run I wasn't sure what was going on with the Male Mummy screaming in his Sarcophagus, but that's because a spot was missing. Second run onward there was Van Helsing popping out to laugh triumphantly and now it made sense that she defeated him.
Set-wise, WOW. This house really played with its big new tent, be it with the various outdoor scenes and the various Manor/Castle parts. Both this and Goblin's Feast show these tents are great locations.
There are some pretty darn good scares in this one, too. The final sections in particular rocked me several times, and She-Wolf seemed to have my number during a late-night run on Friday. I can also say this house had a way better balance with the monsters, so this was easily better than last year's Unmasked as that was "Oops, All Phantom!" for a 1/3rd of the house.
Finally, I also really liked the soundtrack for this one. It's subtle and somber, but I feel that works perfectly for the story being told since as others have mentioned, it's a bleak one! (And it's one where I feel Slash's guitar in Hollywood doesn't quite work, as it's not the right tone.) I do appreciate they went with that kind of ending, it hits pretty hard. Though I can't help but wonder if this is a "To Be Continued?" instead of "The End.".
All in all, I really enjoyed this house! With the various great runs I had during my trip, it personally lands in the Top 3 for me.
