Grime

Wandering tonight in an Alice in Wonderland shirt. Have my camera around my neck. Say what's up if you see me I'm terribly awkward in person, just a heads up.

I said I liked keeping it a mystery, which is why I didn't look it up. I wasn't asking people in inform me of what the show was. Just expressing that I'm more excited knowing that people sing high praises of the performance, and going in blind not knowing what to expect sounds fun as most of the event has remained relatively unchanged in the last decade.

Didn't go last year, so I haven't seen the show. I don't even know what it is. Dancing? Magic? Stunts? Anyway, I like keeping it a mystery, but hopefully they get the stage situation resolved.

Can't do S&S myself (no AP) but if I show up tonight I'll keep an eye out for you. Undecided if I'm going, most of our group bailed tonight and I can't get free parking otherwise unless I pull some slick stuff at the hotels. We'll see.

I saw B&T shirts at the Citywalk merch booth a few days before TM preview, and several in the MIB store on opening night.

Have been through all of the house queues, haven't seen any liquor sales before, during, or after them.

Friend of mine is offering to sell me his 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor for $900. Of course it's right after I'm about to spend $700 on car repairs. Lord help me.

I did catch the opening score at the beginning of the house, but I couldn't tell you past that. I only did the house once and usually if I'm going in for details, I have to pay attention to either the visuals or the audio. I'm not great at catching all the details of both simultaneously, especially the first time through. Sorry

Many thanks Very clean shots. I can't get over how crisp the f/2.8 lenses are. I've rented the Nikkor 70-200 and 24-70 several times but just can't commit to buying them yet. For now I'll stick with my primes. An 85 would be great but on a crop sensor my 50 is plenty. Looking forward to more of your work

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THINGS. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. NO BITCHING. I also haven't read any other reviews besides Alice's and Ringwraiths. And honestly I can't remember what they ranked things. So this is my unbiased review. Neat. The cool thing about humans is that we're all different and prefer different things. If you don't like the house/street/whatever, then don't do it. I like it for my own reasons and will continue to do so. Be your own person So, I haven't had an internet connection at home for a week due to Irma somehow getting a power surge through the coax line on my 1500VA 900W UPS/battery backup and frying my brand new $300 DOCSIS 3.1 modem. Still pissed about that. Also mildly impressed. But mostly pissed. So, since I'm typing this up at work while I await my RMA, I'm going to make it short. Like, very short. Easily digestible reviews. I also may have been intoxicated and don't remember every single detail. Reviews will also be done in the order of my favorite to least favorite. Let's begin! Houses - 1) Scarecrow: The Reaping - Loved every second of this house. I dig scarecrows. Scarecrow might be my favorite Batman villain. But my favorite thing here is the room with all of the crows overhead. IMMEDIATELY followed by the room where the crows are "attacking" or just flying around idk. But it's super cool and whoever came up with that idea did a great job. Very well executed. 2) Dead Waters - Might be my favorite facade of all time. Good scares, I liked the costumes, but the set was beautiful. I really want to walk through this one every night just to admire the set design. 3) The Hive - I was skeptical about this because oooo vampires. But it felt grittier. I also really enjoyed the sets here. A couple good scare points I wasn't expecting. I'd really like to see the costumes in better detail up close. 4) Ash vs Evil Dead - I haven't seen the show, but I have seen all of the other Evil Dead stuff. While I may not have recognized the scenes, it felt like there was enough stuff here from the other movies that I recognized. The Ash actors were still getting their groove, but I liked the lines they had and it felt just campy enough to get a passing grade. 5) The Fallen - I love the theme, but it fell short in almost every aspect. I need to go through it a few more times, but the conflict between heaven and hell is so broad and there's so much cool shit you can do (just rip off content from the Diablo franchise by Blizzard Entertainment) but I feel like it was just missed completely. 6) SAW - I like SAW, and traps, but this house felt empty. I don't think I've ever had a house in the Shrek queue that I really enjoyed. Maybe I was expecting something to the level of SAW from 2009 but nothing really stood out. Flat and uninspired is the only thing I can think of here. 7) The Shining - Oh boy I don't even want to get into this one. Easily my most anticipated house, and probably one of the biggest reasons I purchased a FFP+ this year. The Shining is probably my favorite horror film of all time. I love the grandiose scale, the psychological thrill, the shaping of Jack Torrance throughout the film. This house had so much potential and opportunity to play with perspective, so many cool scenes to walk through. And what do I remember from the house? Walking through an endless hallway of doors with axe holes in them, and little recognizable pieces from the movie just thrown up on the wall with seemingly no rhyme or reason. It's like they just grabbed a handful of stuff from a bucket containing The Shining references and just threw it all over the place as they walked through. God damnit I was sad when I left this one. 8) American Horror Story - Haven't seen AHS, so that's my own fault. The Roanoke set was cool. Not much to say here. Would probably most definitely rank higher if I was familiar with the content. But for those unfamiliar, it just goes from one scene abruptly into the next with no cohesion and makes little sense. Just seems like it's there to make people go "OH I RECOGNIZE THAT!". 9) Blumhouse - Not really a fan of Blumhouse stuff in general. Had no scares here, everything was predictable. Maybe it was just our set, but the one thing I was anticipating was aggressive scareactors and everything we got was extremely lackluster. Actors seemed bored. Again, might have just been tired (it was 11pm on Sunday and I understand the first weekend can be rough, especially to newcomers) but I'll definitely be giving it several more tries in the coming weeks. Zones - 1) The Purge - After my above review of Blumhouse, who'd have thought? The actors are lively, New York works as a great set for this type of zone, and the costumes and props are great. I also like that there's plenty of room to stay on the side, out of the way. And the lighting is good enough for photos, but not overwhelming. Keep it up guys and gals. 2) Trick 'r Treat - Easily the most ambient and beautiful of the zones. This is my must-watch movie of the season, and I watch it every year. I love the costumes, I love the interactions, I love the props and lights and everything. Bravo to the designers here. The only reason I rank it lower than The Purge is because it's much more difficult to hang out in. To no fault of the zone, I just like being able to be out of the way and watch people get scared. Every time I hang out in this area year after year I always just feel like I'm in the way. A+ though, keep it up. 3) Invasion! - I love love love this zone and especially the costumes. My only problem is that there needs to be more aggressive scareactors mixed in with the elegant beautiful ones. I've seen a few, but it just feels too stagnant. And the couple of times I've been through here the actors are almost all taking selfies with guests. I know it's hard for actors (especially in slower more relaxed roles) to get away from cameras, but maybe coordinators could me more aggressive about it? Idk, it looked like a photo op for everybody. 4) Altars of Horror - Needs more props. Felt barren, as if the whole area was simply an afterthought. Only walked through once but wasn't impressed. Honestly just felt like they took whatever amalgamation of leftover ideas they had and went "ehhhh, yeah. just toss it there I guess". Will have to come back. 5) Festival of the Deadliest - See "Altars of Horror" Misc - Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure - Honestly, felt weak for a farewell show. I got the references and stuff, and the jokes were alright, but I feel like the could've gone all out. More actors, more fireworks, balls to the wall. Cmon guys, you're losing one of your most iconic shows this year. Go all out. It felt just like any other years show. The montage at the end was neat and felt really good, but the show itself was pretty disappointing for a farewell tour. Academy of Villains: Afterlife - Haven't seen it. Heard good things. Now that I've done all the houses I'll probably do it next weekend. Das it.

Wicked, can you post aperture/shutter/iso settings for those above? Curious as to what you're shooting. I think I'm going to bring my 50 1.4 on Thursday and my 35 1.8 on Sunday. Considering renting a 14-24 2.8 on one of the later weekends but we'll see.

Eh? I refilled my $12 for $8 or $9 twice last weekend just like the sign said. It's not much especially considering the alcohol content you get, but it's definitely a few bucks and not a couple cents. Personally I stop at a friends house and throw back a rum and coke before driving in at 6 (to be clear, I don't drive after drinking. I meant this as riding in with friends who are driving). Around 9 I'll go to Finnegans for another (proper) drink on weeknights. If I don't have to work the next day (Friday nights) I'll have a drink around 8 and then another around 10 and be good for the rest of the night. It sucks that you can't hang out at Finnegans, but it keeps the line moving for what is really the best liquor spot in the park right now. It's also worth it to get friendly with the bartenders. I chatted with 3 or 4 of them while waiting for our drinks last weekend and when we came back for seconds they really loaded us up on the good stuff. I'm going to assume because we were courteous, asked how their night was going, said please and thanks, and left a proper tip for quality service. If you help them relax, be genuinely polite, and give them an ear to vent to, even for just a few minutes, and they'll definitely hook you up.

It was good seeing a few of you on opening night! Sorry I didn't say much, we were in a hurry to get through as much as possible. I'll be easier to grab the next several weeks for sure. I would've updated here more often with meetup stuff for last night but my cable modem at home is back to Netgear for an RMA so I only have internet at work. I'll be there Thursday this weekend, likely bringing my camera this time around.

Interesting. Keep us updated. I didn't bring my DSLR tonight but I'd like to tomorrow. If they're harassing people now I may just wait a week to try my luck.

I haven't been to an opening night since, 2013? Maybe 2012. But I still usually have enough time to do every house plus B&T with no express. I'd consider that a slow night. 2nd or 3rd week into October when you have time to do maybe 2 houses before everything else is 60+ minutes is what I mean by busy.

Any guesses as to numbers we'll expect tonight? I honestly can't imagine a large portion of the general public coming to HHN this early in the year. October is still 2 whole weeks out. Lines should be short and sweet. Although I may have just jinxed it.

If anybody would like to meet up tonight, let me know. I'll be with a couple of other non-forum friends and we'll be doing as many houses and shows as we can. I'd really like to do B&T at some point. I will also likely be drinking because 1) it's the first night of HHN and 2) this work week has been hell because of the hurricane and I feel like I need something to drink. I'll be wearing my Metalface Villain MF DOOM hat and an event shirt from 2002, so give a shout if you see me. Hope everyone has a good night! Stay safe out there

I'm actually more excited to go into HHN without getting screwed at the metal detectors than anything else, lol.

Great info I've been very critical of the last few years of the event, didn't even bother to go in 2014 and 2016. But I'm pretty optimistic for this year. What scarezone do you see being the premier "hang out" spot for people watching, taking photos, etc.? There's usually one every year. Doesn't necessarily have to be the "best" one, but one that's got good lighting, lively scareactors, and room to hang out that's out of the way of them working. As far as the drinks go, pregame at Citywalk. I'll have a couple rum and cokes from one of the bars and if you tip well they'll normally pile up the booze. Especially if you're there before the event several nights and they recognize you as a regular who tips well. Prices are the same (or close enough to) the specialty drinks in the park but way more worth it. I'll still usually get 1 just to get the collectors cup. And then there's the option of drinking in the garage before the event. We'll throw a couple shots back. But you absolutely will get in trouble if you're caught, and since you're a TM I'm going to recommend against that for obvious reasons

Good to hear. How much of a clusterf*ck was Citywalk? I'd imagine not nearly as bad because they can consistently let people through all day without having to wait until 6:30 to start.

Good to hear. To all of the photographers, videographers, and creative types I hope you have a great night! I'll probably forgo the camera tonight so I can do houses and shows but might bring it out tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing about this years best spots to hang out. See you all out there.

I haven't been to UO in a couple years up until I went to Citywalk for a movie and some drinks a couple weeks ago and holy shit it's like going through a TSA checkpoint. With security as tight as it is at Citywalk, will there be another chokepoint of metal detectors at the entrance to the park like I'm used to? Or will this relieve some of the pressure at the turnstiles to the event?

So, I haven't been to UO in a couple of years up until I went to Citywalk to catch a movie and some drinks a week ago. Holy hell, going through security is like a TSA checkpoint now. Do we know what their stance is on DSLRs for the event? I want to bring my D7k and 50mm f/1.4 tonight and tomorrow, but I'm hesitant to be turned away. I remember past years some people would be turned away at the UO security checkpoint at the gates because "no professional photography allowed" while others had no issues. Anybody got any info?

Man if we ever got a true successor to Esqueleto Muerte from 2010 I would be thrilled. That zone was the shit and one of my absolute favorites to watch. Wondering what my "hang out" zone will be this year. Edit: Can't seem to find the info on their site for hours. Are tomorrow and Saturday running until 2am? Edit 2 - Electric Boogaloo: Found them. 1am.