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Mr.HHN

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    Halloween Horror Nights 2015 Review: Mr.HHN Comes Home

    in HHN 2015: Reviews

    Posted

    Halloween Horror Nights 2015

    Friday September 18, 2015

    HHN 2015 opening night finally dawned upon us and I was more than ready to rock and roll! I left home around 4:30pm and got to Universal at around 5, being that traffic wasn't that bad this year. I started off the night by looking around the Universal Store at Citywalk and picking up my awesome Halloween lanyard. Next, I meet up with the group I was going with which ended up being around 20 people, some I had met and hung out with several times and others I was meeting for the first time. We waited at the front gate for about an hour till the event gates opened up around 6:45 when the masses begun to flood in to the gates of Halloween Horror Nights 2015. 

     

    Exterminatorz

    We ended up watching the opening scaremony and by this time Walking Dead already had a 70 minute wait. I did not watch the opening scaremony the previous year and was cool to finally see it again. I think it tied in really well with the Exterminatorz. The event kicked off and we hung out here for a while. The costumes looked really cool and the scare actors as always were very aggressive and on their game. There was one really cool effect they did were one of the scare actors sprayed you with "bug spray" which was really cool. The go-go dancers looked meh. I've seen better, they were really nothing special this year. When we returned later on in the night the scare actors were still rocking it but overall I would have liked to see a bigger variety of costumes. I liked the giant roach and the chainsaws but they all looked very similar I didn't see much of any other types of scareactors and it did feel a little less chaotic than the previous scarezones that have been here have been. This zone needed a few more actors on here and have them spread out because the middle part of the zone by the cafe in the entrance was pretty dead. Most were towards the back near the Universal Plaza or in the front by the Go-Go dancers. It is a step down from the chaos of the previous scarezones but its really not bad.

    Grade: B-

    After we walked around a bit my friend went to go get a guest assistance pass for his injured knee over at guest relations. For those of you who don't know its a pass were you present it at Gate A and they write a time which you have to return on or any time later for Front of the Line access. Anyway it was already around 7:30 and we headed over to the Terror Tram.

    Terror Tram: Survive the Purge

    This had No wait but we still used the guest assistance pass and were allowed in right away. We boarded the tram were we were presented with the story which I really dug and drove over to Whoville. Once we were dropped off we heard the sirens and boom chainsaws came after us to what I thought was a really weak opening that again needed more scare actors. These guys were on their game though, they were jumping around and getting in your face and just overall being a really good group f scare actors. There were some incredible effects they did here that I've always wanted to see like pulling a "guest" out of the crowd and bagging him and throwing him in a cage. There was a good variety of actors and this time around weren't afraid to let them use guns. To me it did feel to get a bit repetitive after awhile since its the same tram but rather than walkers there's purgers. The very last room in the building we enter after WoW was incredible though. This was defiantly a better tram than the previous two years of Walking Dead and Chucky and Scream but it still cant help but feel repetitive. The only thing I feel will make the Terror Tram truly feel fresh again would be to change it up, alter the route a bit but as mentioned it is the better tram in the last couple years.

    Grade: C+

    We had just seen a scarezone and the Terror Tram and it began to feel like a very meh year. Anyway we headed to Halloween to get a return time and the to the Lower Lot were we got a wait time for This is the End, Insidious, and The Walking Dead. After, we decided to catch a ride on Jurassic Park in the Dark which was the same as always but its a fun little addition to HHN. After we got off, we were allowed to return to This is the End and Halloween so we chose This is the End since we were already in the Lower Lot. 

    This is the End 3D

    I honestly had zero expectations for this maze when I walked into it the first time. The facade looked okay, it wasn't anything special or did it look as grand as Franco's house looks in the film, but I did like to see Michael Cera impaled up there and playing the line "Who took my f*cking cellphone, after all the coke I've wasted on you people" LOL. We enter the maze and right away it is very 3D heavy, nothing like House of 1000 Corpses, but it is way darker than the previous 3D mazes. The scares here are very very predictable though it was cool seeing my friend who plays one of the demons actually use a very good distraction tactic to get me and my group pretty good. It is a really hilarious maze though I'll give them that, they pulled off the spirit of the film pretty well though it looks nothing like the film. There were some very cool scenes and effects here, especially the rapture effect which turned out pretty effective. This maze is also very heavy on reusing walls and stuff and does get repetitive at times, feels very short, looks cheesy, and by all means isn't a great maze but its not terrible or the worst maze ever! Have you guys forgotten about the laughable HoH overlays or the fucking horrible Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper 3D mazes? This maze is better than any of those and achieves what it was going for with the crude humor but again the main issue is the scares which seems to be a big problem in most mazes this year. I'll give you that the 3D is not necessary and turns really annoying sometimes albeit why I took the glasses off during the second walktrough but isn't the worst thing ever and has enjoyment to be found in it.

    Grade: D+

    We then headed to the backlot to get return times for AVP and Crimson Peak but honestly thank god for those trams, we were tired!

    The Purge: Urban Nightmare

    We got of the tram and were giving our rights as Americans to cleanse our souls. I just have to say wow! They really amped up their game here! This  scare zone was aggressive creative, dark, gritty, just plainly and simply beautiful chaos. This was better than the Terror Tram!

    Grade: A

    We got our return times for AVP and Crimson Peak and we slit up as some off us got grub at the taco truck in the backlot and the rest headed back to the lower lot for Jurassic Cafe. I ended up getting a Jello Shot and a bottled water and just sat around the backlot having a good time. We went back up to the lower lot met up with the rest of our part and did This is the End one more time. We then proceed to hit the rest of the mazes which we now had FOL for. We started off with the one with the biggest wait.

    The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far

    I had mixed feelings before heading in but my god was the terminus facade just beautiful! The first half of the maze was very human heavy and I really enjoyed that but once we got to the forest scenes it began to fall apart for me. For the longest maze ever there was a lot more transitions than actual scenes and the parts were there were scenes felt very similar to the ones from previous Walking Dead mazes (i.e. walker in the floor, hanging bodies, walkers pretending their static,) I didn't hate maze but I did feel a bit disappointed. Moreover, the scare actors inhere also need to step up their game pronto! Some of them were just there and growled seeming very bored. Anyway, the level of detail in here was the best out of all TWD mazes but the scares, transitions, and overall the been there done that feeling dragged it down for me. This maze was way better than last years maze and maybe 2013, I haven't decided which is better yet, I need to experience this a couple more times. I feel that if I do this maze a couple more times I will really get to like it but for now I just wanted more walkers and for the scare actors to put more enthusiasm into it.

    Grade: B-

    We exited the maze all with different opinions some dubbing it the best Walking Dead maze and other plainly and simply hating it. We proceed to finish the lower lot trio and hit Insidious. 

    Insidious: Return to the Further

    Let me start off by saying I wasn't a fan of the 2013 maze nor of the franchise. The facade is the same which is cool but once inside the maze is a very different one from the one in 2013. The set design and effects were top notch. The Further scenes were pulled off better. The costumes wee great but the scares are the star of the maze. Their not your usual HHN scares and are very hard at times to see were they are coming from. I was terrified in this maze, it is one if not the scariest maze I have ever been trough in my years of going to HHN which is since 2009.  I cant wait to see this again!
     

    Grade: A+

    We took a tram back to the backlot to finish the other half of the mazes. We started off with our least anticipated AVP.

    AVP: Alien vs Predator

     This maze is the exact same thing as last year. As stated before a very visually appealing maze but lacks greatly in scares. There were no real tweaks to thinks that had to be adjusted like the xenomorph puppets. They could have reskined the werewolf puppets from AWIL like Orlando did but they didn't. I overall felt very bored in this maze and don't think I will do it again when i go back.

    Grade: D-

    Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness

    This was my most anticipated maze this year and it was what I was expecting to a point. Murdy captured the essence of a Del Toro film perfectly into the maze. It looks beautiful, I got the tail end of the scare but from what I saw they were decent. The costumes also looked really good, as well as some of the effects and lighting and the score...OMG it was beautiful. On the downside the blank hallway transitions turned me off as you went from an awe inspiring scene to fucking black walls.

    Grade: A 

    We took a tram back...again, did Insidious....again and head up to the upper lot to finish in Haddonfiled, Illinois.

    Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home

    The Life and Crimes of Michael Myers was the first maze I experienced at HHN and it was perfect! This maze took a somewhat different approach and felt different in some scenes. The most I felt repeated from 2009 was the phone cord kill and the tombstone on the bed. I feel that part of this is because of the layout and the different sorts of scares they had some which did get me pretty darn good! The last room though was scary as hell and very disorienting and worked really, really effectively. It is not the 2009 maze but it is one of the best this year!

    Grade: A

    Corpz

    This scarezone looks really cool sounds very creepy and has awesome set design. The scare actors were just kinda strolling and not trying to hard but I'm sure that with full potential this zone would be awesome!

    Grade: B+

    Dark Christmas

    It was very similar to last years zone but the scares and aggressiveness of the scare actors felt very toned down. I kinda liked it more last year!

    Grade: B

    We didn't watch the Jabbawockez because fuck the Jabbawockez.

    Anyway we all expected this to be a crappy year but it is actually a very decent year. It has its ups and downs and needs to work on improving the scares in some of the mazes but it wasn't a bad year like I was expecting it to be. 

    HHN 2015

    Grade: B+

    ScareZone Rankings

    1. The Purge: Urban Nightmare

    2. Exterminatorz

    3. Corpz

    4. Dark Christmas

    Maze Rankings

    1. Insidious: Return to the Further

    2. Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home

    3. Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness

    4. The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far

    5. Terror Tram: Survive the Purge

    6. This is the End 3D

    7. AVP: Alien vs Predator

     

    Check out my vlog on my trip while you're at it!

    https://youtu.be/msJESCNS5jQ

      

     

     

    • Like 1

    HHN 25 - Most Anticipated House/Scarezone

    in Halloween Horror Nights 25

    Posted

    I'm very excited to finally attend Orlando!!!!

    1. Jack Presents 25 Years of Monsters and Mayhem- Being that it's my first year attending Orlando I can't wait to see some of the things I've missed over the years. I absolutely can't wait to walk into this house!

    2. RUN: Blood, Sweat, and Fears- The two other RUN houses in the past looked and seemed awesome! I have always liked this concept and prayed it would one day come to Hollywood but now I get to see it in Orlando so I'm super excited!

    3. Body Collectors: Recollections- Again I love the concept of Shadybrook and have always though the Body Collectors look really eerie so seeing them both in one house is gonna be incredible!

    4.Freddy vs Jason- Two iconic slashers in one maze... enough said! Will be cool to see how you guys handle the characters, Hollywood did pretty well in their respective mazes back in 2010!

    5. Insidious- At first this was much lower on my list as I'm not a fan of the movies nor did I like the 2013 maze in Hollywood but then I saw some pics and a few video clips and this maze looks terrifying! Can't wait to see how scary it actually is in person!

    6. An American Werewolf in London- I really liked our maze last year though it wasn't as good as yours looked and with you guys kicking this up a notch I'm sure it will be nothing short of amazing!

    7. Asylum in Wonderland 3D- I'm not a fan of 3D mazes but the concept has sparked curiousity but this is Orlando so I'm sure your 3D is different than the crapfest that has been Hollywood's since 2013. 

    8. The Purge- This sounds really cool, I loved out Purge zones here in Hollywood but I just can't help to think this could've been something I've been wanting to see at HHN and not a shitty attempt at it like what Murdy did in 2011 but all the SCREAMing aside this sounds cool but how much of the house was changed and tweaked last minute has me worried.

    9. The Walking Dead- Meh. I'm curious to see how you guys handle it though... Plus that water scene sounds pretty darn cool!

    • Like 1

    2015 Most Anticipated Mazes & Scarezones

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2015

    Posted

    Man I love this time of year even though the event doesn't seem as epic as it has before. Anyway here's my anticipation list.

    MAZES (INCLUDES TERROR TRAM)

    1. CRIMSON PEAK: MAZE OF MADNESS-I'm a huge Del Toro fan, his work is very dark and eeirie yet beautiful. If Murdy can recreate the feel of his films into the maze this is hands down what has me the most excited!

    2. Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home-The 2009 maze is my favorite and first maze I've ever been through in HHN. It's one of the few times I've really felt FEAR at HHN so I can't wait to hopefully relive that feel. This is a welcome return that I hoped to relive someday so I'm excited to see it happening again!

    3. Terror Tram: Survive the Purge- I'm very excited to see something on Tram that isn't TWD and The Purge is the perfect property to have back there! Haven't seen a good TT that isn't TWD since 09'! Let's hope this changes that.

    4. The Walking Dead: Wolves not Far- I'm disappointed it's returning but being a fan of the show and looking at the size of the maze makes me very excited to see it though. Let's just hope it lives up to my expectations!

    5. Insidious: Return to the Further- I wasn't a big fan of the 2013 maze, I thought it was OK but nothing special and I'm not a fan of the films but we'll see what comes out of this as I'm neither excited nor dissapointed about it.

    6. This is the End 3D- It sounds silly the 3D angers me and overall I'm not looking forward to it so here's to hoping that I love it!

    7. AVP: Alien vs Predator- I liked the maze last year but I wasn't scared in it. I'm not burning down buildings because it's coming back but I would've liked to see something else. 

     

    SCAREZONES

    1. Exterminatorz- Yes! Something new in the front that sounds promising and could be very cool, really excited for it!

    2. The Purge: Urban Nightmare- I absolutely love The Purge at HHN even though I'm not the biggest fan of the films it is a prefect fit for HHN. Can't wait to see something new on the backlot! 

    3.Dark Christmas- Glad it's back! One of the best zones ever at HHN!

    4. Corps- I'm intrigued but I probably won't see it as much. Hope it's cool though.

     

    And finally f*ck the Jabawoockez!

    • Like 1

    HHN 2015: Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home

    in HHN 2015: Houses

    Posted

    Here's some of the main things mentioned in the panel.

    More Ghost Myers

    It's based off the 1st Film

    They will use peppers ghost effects for some paranormal scenes.

    We will start off in the Myers house and end in it.

    Dr. Loomis' voice will guide us through the maze.

    There will be a very brutal scene involving a dog.

    We will see the Silver Shamrock  commercial and the H3 masks.

    We will witness all the murders from the film.

    • Like 1

    HHN 2015: The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far

    in HHN 2015: Houses

    Posted

    Freddy and Jason are two of the most iconic horror villains of all time, much more than TWD.  With that logic we shouldve had FvJ instead of AvP, TWD, or TitE.  Of course, the majority of attendees aren't fb users but you can get a general sample size from fb to know how the GP feels about a property.

    I'm not judging how the maze is going to be, I'm saying that having TWD for 4 years in a row while dismissing FvJ and other properties people actually want is spitting on the fans.

    First off while Freddy and Jason are iconic they aren't as popular as The Walking Dead is right now. I bet TWD is the most popular horror property right now. I do agree that we should get FvJ rather than AvP or TITE but that's another story. Next, the GP DO want TWD at the event. As I said TWD is the hottest horror property right now. The number of tickets sold the last couple of years have proved it. HHN is just like Hollywood, a movie makes money you make a sequel, it bombs you stop. I know we're disappointed but just make the most out of it. Most theme park haunts have returning attractions for a long time and while we didn't bring a maze back for several years with the exception of last year the maze feels fresh which most haunts don't do they just recycle everything.

    Idk I think I'm being a little too optimistic and easy on Murdy but there's something about this year that's just making me loose  excitement for the event... and it's not the lineup.

    • Like 1

    HHN 2015: The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far

    in HHN 2015: Houses

    Posted

    You think we could see the return of the Hostel dogs for the wolves? 

     The wolves their talking about are people not actual wolves. 

    Same as Insidious not excited for it not pissed off for it. I just hope it's good. The Orlando maze has my attention as it said you will be surrounded with hundredths of gallons of water.

    The Lower Lot will literally be hell though

    What mazes would you like to see at Hollywood this year

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2015

    Posted

    I have quite a few I would like to see...

    Ash vs The Evil Dead- The Trailer looks amazing, I loved the 2013 maze and this is one if not my favorite horror franchise.

    The Town that Dreaded Sundown - I'm a huge fan of the original film and the new one that Blumhouse put out might have surpassed the original (which is a really rare thing to say for a Horror Sequel/Reboot). The film has some scenes that could be recreated perfectly into a maze. 

    Hellraiser - This maze is really long overdue and is one of those perfect properties for the event. Murdy is waiting for a Sequel or Reboot but that won't happen for another decade in my opinion. 

    The Exorcist - Duh...Everyone wants this to happen.

    Crimson Peak - It's already happening! :D

    The Asylum: Rebirth - I would love to see a sequel or reimagining to the fist maze Murdy created for HHN being that this is the 10th anniversary.

     

    Halloween Horror Nights - Hollywood 2015 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2015

    Posted

    TWD was the worst maze last year, it was boring, lacking in detail, and the times I went through the scare actors were lacking energy. In 2012 it was pretty good and arguably the best maze that year but my favorite has to go to 2013's maze, I absolutely LOVED that maze and gave me probably one of the biggest scares ever since attending HHN in 2009.  This year there's a lot they can do with it but will only work if Murdy puts more attention into it which I feel he didn't last year, he was probably as fatigue of the property as we were and was being forced to do it so he quickly put a couple of scenes that were missing the scope of detail and intensity the first two mazes had to offer and moved on to other priorities. 

    I know we all argue about TWD being at the event but this year with the rumor that it will only be a maze if Murdy returns to the feels of the 1st 2 mazes I would honestly be looking forward to it. Give us a huge destroyed Terminus façade, intense forest scenes and amp up the gore and scares a bit and we got a pretty solid maze. 

    • Like 2

    Halloween Horror Nights - Hollywood 2015 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2015

    Posted

    Thinking more into it, I'm kinda starting to like the idea of a TiTE maze. Like you guys have been saying a lot of creative liberties will have to be taken and will make the maze feel like an original apocalyptic hell on earth maze that I have been wanting for a while with of course a few things to tie it into TiTE (Johnna Hill, Cannibals, maybe even Emma Watson). As long as it doesn't try to recreate the comedy of the film and stays as a carnage wrecked maze with a few TiTE elements in it I'm cool with it.... As long as I don't see deamon penis. 

    Halloween Horror Nights - Hollywood 2015 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2015

    Posted

    So I'm shutting the door for a bit...let the angst & excitement build up again till the next maze release. Crimson Peak, Insidious...next?

    @HorrorNights Very strong start! Can't wait to see the others :)

    @_joeyperez thank you now it's time to piss people off.LOL

    Sounds more and more like the leaked lineup. He's gonna piss people off with the fact that there's only 6 mazes, TWD, AVP, and This is the End.

     

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