agalloch

The moors is extremely visible if you have decent eyes - moreover, how constant the lights went off made you fully aware of where it was. The movie theater basically didn't move comparatively and was a non-threat. The subway is flawed (so, not a 10/10 house), and the alleyway wolf is VERY common sense it'll appear there because the rest of the alley (assuming the cop doesn't pop out to shoot the werewolf that is going off) has nothing in it and the wolf, in the story and house, was not taken care of yet.

Cody - use of IP is use of IP, no matter the scale. I am fully aware that Body Collectors were INSPIRED from Buffy, but their role in the show is COMPLETELY different than it is in the house. If they are using an IP to INSPIRE a house, that's totally fine. But to have it ACTUALLY exist is boring. And, like I said an IP is an IP - the trend shows increasing use of IP, particulary to the SCALE of its use as well. Come on man. I know it's your opinion but there are GLARING flaws with the house. It's lacking actors, the puppets are visible from a mile away, certain sets (eg: Circus) are VERY fake looking, a feeling of emptiness, etc.

Juno - thanks for sharing your experience. I remember the glowing cowboy as well haha! I remember the barn, but then the rest is a bit foggy for me. The scarezones were also fantastic. Did you go to HHN 15? If so, what are your thoughts (even if brief, I'm curious) on that, and how do the events compare to these more recent yeras? Personally, I think the former yeras are far bettter. And, YES! Any "dark comedy" houses automatically win themselves to me. Leave it to Cleaver is BRILLIANT.

Even if the house was empty you will see exactly where the werewolves are before they lunge. How can you seriously not think that's not a design flaw?

Yes, exactly right. I've been through plenty of mazes with varying colors of blood. Seriously though, you're making a joke out of what I said, but you get my point. Last time I will say it. There is no (generally) guesswork involved in an IP house. It's (generally) already pre-created. This means it is generally easier to construct, especially when liberties are taken.

My point is that there is no guesswork, it's already done for them. I prefaced that comment by saying how ridiculous it was but it still proves my point.

Legacy - I agree, I mean HHN does use IPs in the past. But from what I've heard it's not as much IP usage as it is restrictions on how creative / adult it can be. And ferox - you took what I said and spun it wildly.

With you on that man. Wish people would check the 15 or 18 website and feel how awesome it was. Or the secrets in the other older websites.

Hope you realize that A&D, from what I've heard, is generally pretty pissed off about the restrictions getting put on them.

hunnyIvr, thanks much for posting an honest review of the streets. You are objective and are sharing (at this point) factual statements about the zones.

A fair point. But imagine if those people who find this year scary how they would react to a genuinely more intense event? Moreover, I still hold firm to my last paragraph in the other post being gospel.

Honestly, nearly everything I wrote in that last paragraph is factually gone. I'm open to people calling it out if I am not correct. The event is honestly not scary anymore. Makeup is hilariously terrible, actors are way too distant from you, the dummiest are extremely fake looking so you know which are real, misdirection and boo doors are obvious from a mile away, mirror tricks are terribly done, when there is SO much loud noise in a house any trigger'd sound is just drowned out (and repetitive), major scares are visible from a mile away, scarezones are non-existent at this point (go to HoS, even with less large sets in their zones they do a magnificent job still scaring people), actors do not have the intensity they used to, etc. Honest to god, people blindly defend this event. Re-read my last paragraph - the event's peak is passed. Sure, SOME things are more elaborate, but that does NOT mean it makes a better haunt NOR does it make it scarier.

I remember the smell of hay as I walked past the dead-talking cowboy in the ranch facade of Ghost Town. I remember the seductive woman dancing on the bed in Castle Vampyr, and the smell of incense. I remember the ominous, dripping wax of Horror in Wax with the side-show-ish facade. EDIT: Even Hellgate Prison, hearing the warden speaking and seeing the search light, walking in and having prisoners verbally abuse you. In Deadtropilis, their best zombie house ever, you smelled vomit. And as Joe Tourist wrote, "Universal does an excellent job in setting up the atmosphere for the evening." This is why I keep emphasizing how GREAT the event used to be.

From what I heard, only John Landis (sp) made sure the house was perfect. So they had three years to perfect it. Original content has a few months to imagine, design, visualize, construct, test, modify, and complete. Otherwise, most IPs (from what I know) are pretty hands off. And FYI, Dead End, Legendary Truth, and a million other original houses are FAR more detailed than IPs. And, details do NOT make a haunt. Catacombs and the original Body Collectors worked EXTREMELY well. Why? The damn idea was brutal, it was adult, it was morbid. The execution of those ideas were flawless. I still hear the coughing of the dead in Catacombs. I still see the Body Collectors ripping up the humans. It was the STORY, THE IDEA, and (even if less detailed) the EXECUTION that nailed it. Like I said a million times - this event is NOWHERE near what it used to be. It is not adult anymore, it is for teenagers. Scares are absolutely gone, atmosphere is gone, originality is basically gone, risk-taking is gone, marketing and cohesion are gone, smells are gone, scantily clad women or male scareactors talking trash are gone (eg: Hellgate Prison), scare zones are gone, even the parade (which I don't want back) is gone, scare actors actually talking to you instead of using triggers are gone, icons are gone, queue videos are gone, scare zone music that is memorable is gone [pro-tip: Midnight Syndicate / Nox Arcana are memorable soundscapes that fit. I couldn't tell you a single piece of music used this year besides Blue Moon], scareactors inviting you in or talking to you are gone, scares are completely obvious now, eerie commercials are gone (check out HHN 12/13 comercials versus today, night and day difference), website is gone, etc.

Good review! I agree with a lot of your points. And you're on point about AWIL - no actor in the beginning - and the house does feel a bit bare.

ferox, really? Creating original houses is comparatively far easier. I don't get why this isn't even a discussion. They show you in the movies/shows/games how a scene should look, then they recreate it. There is NOTHING to think about. They rip the source audio, lighting, etc and just pop it in. It takes a lot of work, sure, but it's NOT near the level that an original house takes where they have nothing to go off of.

It's absolutely gone. Once the creative team built it to a household name in Florida, even outside of it, management/marketing started to milk it for what its worth. And, sadly, they're starting to hear the feedback for how terrible its getting. Look at last year's feedback - completely trashed it. And, this year, if you go on Facebook generally you'll see a lot more comments about needing the event to be original, scary, less IP, and more original zones. Completely agree with you. And you'll hear, "Rose colored glasses," thrown around but it isn't that. There are a NUMBER of changes that are gone. Hell, want the ultimate proof the event is less adult now? It used to have girls scantily clad dancing seductively in certain zones, and in the houses (remember Castle Vampyr - the girl on the bed?) It's gone. It's not HHN anymore. If anything, it's a toned down HHN-Hollywood.

Exactly right. And with very preliminary rumors saying next year is going to be IP heavy again, odds are I'm not even going. I can do a road trip for the total cost for me to get to HHN and hit up houses that are far more with the halloween, haunt spirit than HHN has been in the last few years. Seriously, HHN 18 ( scare zone creativity ), HHN 15 ( story, bold steps, ambiance ), and HHN 14 ( houses, scale, innovation ) are the epitome of HHN. Nothing came close since, nothing.

Because those haunts do not own the rights to those IPs. Simple answer.

I'm 25, just filled out a random BS birthday when making the account. So, I was probably, what, 15 or 16 going to HHN 14? I remember a great deal of it. Thanks for agreeing

An opinion can be wrong. Proof: The werewolves were visible a mile away. Design flaw in the house. And that's only one.

That's right guys. Because if we don't agree apparently we are causing drama.

You already experienced the game, why recreate it, seriously? Bioshock is successful because of its dialogue and story which cannot be recreated at all in real life. Dead Space was done - Interstellar Terror, and people were mixed on it.

army - it isn't an opinion, it's very accurate.

Absolutely was NOT flawless from start to finish. You are kidding me if you would even pretend to say that.