So... It is that time of year again. This Horror Nights - I will admit... I didn't have the highest expectations for it. Regardless, being the crazy bastard that I am, I went the first two nights it opened. Crowds weren't horrible. My longest wait was an hour for Saw (which I would consider to be the signature house this year... aka - most everyone wanted to go in it). First night had a little added appeal because we were able to see John C. Reilly promoting his new Cirque Du Freak movie. However, that turned more into me being anxious for gates to open. Second night, being a passholder, my friend and I were able to enter the park at 5 (an hour and a half before general public) and get our first stabs at the Chuckie and Silver Screams houses. This was amazing because in that time span we were able to do Chuckie 3 times and Silver Screams twice with enough time left over to get a prime spot in the line for Spawning before it opened. Now... Before I begin my review of each house - I would like to say that I was VERY surprised at how much I enjoyed this years event. It was great and I am MORE than looking forward to going back numerous times in October. So... Let the reviews begin:
Frankenstein: Creation of the Damned (House count: 2) - OK... Throughout all of these reviews - I guarantee you will see one running trend - that the houses might not be scary but themed wonderfully. This one is no different - I never got scared in this house but damn... It looked amazing. I mean... As soon as you walk in - you are thrown into a sense of insecurity when you see a shadow of Frankenstein killing some poor bastard. It is great. Scenes which followed impressed me and I found myself paying less attention to the scareactors failing miserably in scaring me and more to the intricate details of the soundstage. One qualm I had - I will not go into details... But... I kept thinking Iron Man because of a certain part of the costume... If you go... You will see. Overall: 4/5
Silver Screams (House Count: 5) - I loved this damn house. I think one of the main reasons is that the house incorporated scenes from movies which did not appeal to the masses at large. I mean... The Thing... The Strangers... Evil Dead... Phantom... It is crazy. And I loved it. It kind of took advice from the fact that humans have ridiculously short attention spans and threw you into a new movie with every room. Some... Were WAY too short (EVIL DEAD!) - But even those had a massive appeal to me. I was never legitimately scared in that one but the Strangers room NEVER failed to creep me out big time. Definitely - In my opinion - the best house of the year. They did a wonderful job throwing you into each movie and keeping your attention at all times. Overall: 4.5/5
Leave it to Cleaver (House Count: 2) - You know... Nothing is better at creeping people out than crazy 50s shit. This house had a RIDICULOUS amount of potential yet it seemed to sputter and die and ultimately bore me. I mean... I understand that some of its appeal lies in the dark humor of it... But not enough was incorporated to save it in my eyes. However, I will say... The introduction video that they show for it is BRILLIANT - Yet it served to build up my expectancies just to have them torn down later. I was never scared OR impressed by the scenery - Unless you call looking at a plastic pile of meat on the ground that looks like a Triceratops shit theming... Meh. Overall: 1.5/5
Saw (House count: 1) - By the house count... You should have some idea as to how I felt about this house. I have been saying for YEARS that they need a friggin Saw house. I mean... It is a brilliant concept. Maybe... For this reason... I had too high hopes for it - But I was not impressed. There was NO attempt to scare you (Unless you consider a 70 year old man dying of cancer jumping out of the dark scary) - It was more called... "Hey!!! Look over here!!! YEA!!! ME!!! I'm in a trap!!! OH NOEZ!!! HELP ME!!!" Yea... Uh... No... WHERE WERE THE PEOPLE WITH THE PIG MASKS?!?! I NEVER SAW ONE!!! Anyways... In its defense... It had a great opening room where you got your own personal message from the Jigsaw (as long as the people in front of you didn't rush through it) which got me REALLY excited. This is a house that is more interested in showing you events than trying to scare you... Not my cup of tea. Overall: 2/5
The Wolfman (House Count: 2) - Well... This one fits into the Frankenstein category. ALL about the theming. Great job in the opening room giving you a sense of insecurity and plenty of interesting things to look at later on. I mean... It is not scary at all... And there seems to be a lack of scareactors but this one definitely has its moments. Honestly - In retrospect - This one is kind of the most forgettable though because I remember little to none of the scenes from it. Overall: 3/5
Dracula: Legacy in Blood (House Count: 2) - I generally HATE vampire houses. I feel that the theme is both tacky and played out. However... I can't believe this is the case... But... This house gave me my ONLY true legitimate scare (not startled slightly but a full on "OH SHIT!"). Additionally... I actually was convinced that I was in a friggin castle. Again... Attention to detail was ridiculous. Not enough scareactors and a tad bit short from what I remember... Oh yea... And if you are expecting a traditional Dracula... You aint gonna get it. At all. In fact... I have no idea if I even saw "Dracula"... Overall: 3.5/5
Chucky: Friends Till the End (House Count: 6) - I was SO curious how they were gonna pull this one off. Well... You kind of have to deal with an adult sized Chuckie throughout the house but that is fine. This house is wonderfully self aware - If you were to take the movies and give them a personality - This would embody them. Rock music... Fucking cursing graffiti on the wall... Toys gone bad... All play an integral role. I really think that one of the major reasons I kept going in this house was to go through the first room over and over again. It was crazy and I still haven't figured it out entirely. Anyways... Not too shabby nor scary... But hey... With this having the shortest wait both nights... It is like going to see a movie at one of those cheap ass theaters - Even if you hate it... You didn't lose too much. Overall: 4/5
The Spawning (House Count: 4) - I enjoyed this house for one major reason... Its use of darkness was brilliant. I mean - It was hard to see in there and the masks (despite how ridiculously retarded they looked up close) were perfect for this type of environment due to the glowing green eyes. There were parts in here where I jumped because I am trying to find my way around in the dark then BAM! green eyes in my face - Good shit. However... I will admit... Theming was lacking and there was no variety in costumes - AT ALL... Overall: 3/5
Bill and Ted - I could give or take this year's show. It had some RIDICULOUSLY funny moments but some that were just blah... But really... ALOT better than last year. Overall: 2.5/5
So... In essence... This year had its highlights for me but honestly... This has been one of my favorite years for HHN (despite me having low expectations for it). I will DEFINITELY be going back... Repeatedly...
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