killswitch22

Universal house of horrors is the big one for me. A lot of people thought it was boring and unoriginal. I really liked the seeing the classic monsters in their original form. And I though the black and white effects were done incredibly well.

Oh boy. Bottom 5 ever would have to be 1. The spawning- by far the worst house I have been in. Stagnant sets and actors. Ever since there have been some pretty good ones in that tent. 2. Walking Dead 2015- Just awful. Really bad scares, bored actors, and at that point we were all bored of the franchise. 3. Havoc: Derailed- Solely because the original was so good. I'm hoping for a redemption one eventually. 4. Resident Evil- this was a franchise that was a tough task to get right and it just bombed. Didn't flow and the pause room was bad and broke the flow of the house even more. 5. The Thing (2011): the first IP that really blew it. Other than a good facade it was a dud in an incredibly strong year. Honorable mentions: Afterlife, Zombiegeddon, alien vs predator.

After the Baghul in the plywood room there's an effect in a cylinder that looks like a rotating girl, possibly the girl from the opening credit splash.

I heard somewhere it's supposed to be a "movie poster".

I get about 2 good scares in this house. Usually toward the end. One in insidious and one in the plywood just because I'm super distracted by the rotating girl. Kinda bummed it's part of the UTH tour this year.

Going along with The Shining, huge props to the finale jack who approved of my Sylar shirt last night.

Happy Halloween Horror Nights everyone! And welcome to Killswitch’s yearly review. Not really too much to start off with this year. So far I’m really enjoying this year, there isn’t a bad scarezone or house this year. I know there were a few hiccups with marketing and that monster Irma but huge props to Universal for going all out this year. And without further ado we are going to go into my house reviews for the year. We’re going to do things a little different this year because all the houses are pretty good this year I’m not going to go through my usual route, this year let’s separate the houses into tiers. Tier 1: The Good SAW: The Games of Jigsaw- I was looking forward to this one as I love the SAW movies, and it had to better than the one back in 2009. There were lots of scares to be had and was significantly more intense than the previous maze. Lots of show scenes so if you only do it once you’ll probably miss a lot. A few things that I didn’t particularly care for were how much was going on in one room. Multiple traps on both sides of the room makes you miss a lot. Also the GAT’s this year were super cheesy and unimpressive. Overall it was a major improvement from the 09 maze and am glad they brought it back. This year I will give saw a 7 out of 10. Ash vs Evil Dead: This house is probably the weakest of the year in a very strong year. I really liked the concept and show’s humor is right down my alley and I was laughing more in this house than being scared. They have some really cool and unique gags and set pieces in the house as well. I really enjoyed the soundtrack and the finale as well. The house wasn’t as gory as I had expected, comparing it to the show and there was way to much empty space where there could have been scares. I’ll give Ash a 6 out of 10. Blumhouse of Horrors: This was probably the hardest house to judge mostly because the flow is a bit odd. I didn’t like that 2 movies get a total of 3.5 rooms and the rest of the house is another movie. Sinister especially deserved a lot more space in this house. The Insidious room’s however are fantastic and proved that they could have done another unique Insidious house all on its own. I would’ve like more movies included like Hush and Get Out. The scares were pretty good especially as you got deeper into the house. All in all it wasn’t a bad house but Blumhouse needs to thank Insidious for its ranking of a 6.5 out of 10. Tier 2: The Better Hive: I really like this house, but I can understand why people don’t. I really like how this how tells a story and gets crazier and crazier as you go into the house. The lack of lights make the house carier and pushes you through. There are lots of scare chances but nothing crazy unique. I loved the costumes and the intensity of the actors. The sets weren’t the best and lack of façade brings it down a little. Overall I like this house and has lots of room for improvement. I give Hive an 7.5 out of 10. American Horror Story Vol. 2: I had really high expectations for this one especially with how well last years was done and my favorite season is Asylum. It is a very well done house, really stoked that the majority of the house was Asylum. There a lots of scares to be had and the scareactors are really aggressive. I really liked the use of smells in this house and it really makes a difference compared to other houses. A really solid house overall I’ll give it an 8 out of 10. The Shining; This is the house I was most skeptical about, being that it is a film that still creeps me out to this day. I have to say the Shining did not disappoint. It’s a really in depth house and covers all the important parts from the movie. While its not the scariest house at the event, it has lots of cool stuff to look at. I really love the bar scene and going through the hedge maze. The only disappointment is the elevator scene, which I probably had way to high of hopes for. I really look forward to this maze every night. The Shining gets a 8.5 out of 10 Tier 3: The Best Scarecrow: This is by far the most intense house of the year. It uses a lot of scares that haven’t been used in a few years. The intensity and frequency of scares of this house is unreal. There are also a lot of unique scares and scenes in this one as well. I don’t’ really want to spoil a whole lot so we’ll leave Scarecrow as a 9 out of 10. The Fallen: I love this house, this is a house with an amazing combination of everything. Great scares, beautiful sets, unique scenes. This house is solid all the way through, and the final 3 or 4 rooms really make this house. The façade for this one is great too. The Fallen also receives a 9 out of 10. Dead Waters: Way to prove me wrong Universal, at the beginning of the event I was super skeptical about this house. Im not a huge fan of Voodoo themed things when it comes to haunted attractions but this house was phenominal. From the façade to the finale this house goes all out. The sets are amazing with so much to look at, which amplify the scares even further. All the scareactors do a great job brining their characters to life. I can’t say enough good things about this house. Even so much so that this house has cracked my top 5 of all time. Well done Universal 10 out of 10. On to the scarezones: Festival of the Deadliest: This is an odd scarezone to me, the sets are really cool, the scares are there and the costumes are great. However, I just don’t get it. It doesn’t convey a story like the other zones. Also lighting needs to be improved in this zone. Scares and costumes really save this zones rating of a 3.5 out of 5. Trick R Treat: What a beautiful zone, they did a great job with the overall ambiance of the zone. The scares here are okay but the actors do a good job with what they are supposed to do . Also they people who play Sam do a wonderful job. 4 out of 5 Invasion! This is straight up a fun zone. The acting is great. Scares aren’t particularly there but it is a quite good zone. 3.5 out of 5. The Purge: Despite popular opinion this is such as good zone. Lots of scareactors, the most ive seen in quite some time, intense scares, and lots to look at. Very good job with this. 4.5 out of 5. Altars of Horror: This is really a throw away zone, not a whole lot of scaring going on, mostly a photo op zone so meh. 2.5 out of 5. House Rankings 1. Dead Waters 2. Scarecrow 3. The Fallen 4. The Shining 5. AHS 6. Hive 7. SAW 8. Blumhouse 9. Ash vs Evil Dead Scareszone Ranknings: 1. The Purge 2. Trick R Treat 3. Invasion! 4. Festival of the Deadliest 5. Altars of Horror Last but not least a quick review of the shows: Bill and Ted was great for the farewell tour. Lots of laughs and always love when they do live singing. Thank you Bill and Ted for providing years of laughs and memories. Academy of Villains was very good considering the issues they’ve had with the hurricane. Thank you to all who have read and made it through the whole review. If any one has any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment J Killswitch

I've had the same plan of attack the last few years. Stay and scream at finnegans. The last 2 years they've had high demand houses in that area (Freddy vs Jason and Exorcist) and this year the shining is hopefully that house. Finish that before the park opens and be at the rope drop for AHS. This saves me so much time for other things throughout the night. If I'm out of AHS before 6:45 I head to the back soundstages. This year they are both originals so waits won't be as bad as last year. Around that time last year walking dead was around 40 and ghost town was around 15 minutes. If its after 6:45 I head to the back of the park. Chance was pretty much walk on at that point however I do expect blumhouse to gain a bit more foot traffic. And then after that we head to the tent closest to men in black which was usually a 20-30 minute wait. Being that This year that tent is original it could be less. We always end up doing the 8:30 Bill and Ted and a snack break. Then we head to the parade building and other tent. This is the time where wait times usually fluctuate. If its over an hour we head to shrek which wait times have usually died down to less than 45 minutes or the back sound stages we havent hit. We usually hit the second show after we do the shrek house. After than we do anything we want again or things we havent done that night. The last house I try to hit before the end is the tent furthest from men in black. Its usually a walk in after 11 if its not a peak night.

I did not.

1. Invasion!- I think it will be a very good mix of campyness and solid scares. The addition of the military vehicles make me more excited. 2. Festival of the Deadliest: mostly because all the information we have is pretty vague. The props from the video look really cool. 3. Trick r Treat- One of my favorite Halloween movies. I think it would suit better as a house but should still be a solid zone. 4. The purge- I'm a huge fan of the series, so I could care less if its a repeat. Hoping to see more from the new movie. 5. Altars of Horror- Photo op zone. Nothing too special here. Was hoping for something more original. Houses: 1. Scarecrow- could easily be the scariest, and creepiest house. 2. Hive- HHN hasnt done me wrong on a vampire idea yet. They are always some of my favorite houses year after year 3. Angels and Demons- Really loves the catacombs concept. Gothic was a solid house as well but got a little boring after multiple run throughs. 4. Saw- Other than Childs play its my favorite horror franchise. Hopefully its better than the 09 maze. 5. AHS- Asylum is my favorite season. Coven is my least favorite. Last years house was great. I expext nothing less than greatness. 6- Ash vs Evil Dead- havent seen the show but its really giving me a from dusk til dawn kind of vibe so I'm super excited for the fun times. 7- The shining- for the scariest movie of all time they need to pull out all the stops. I don't think the house will be able to convey the same feelings as the film 8. Blumhouse- Purge was great. Insidious was great. Sinister is a great franchise. Was hoping for more. 9- Bayou of Blood- Scarezone was super weak. Wasn't impressed with HOS' take on voodoo. Looking forward to the facade however

Feasible no. I think the spinning water tunnel from Poseidon would be a cool way to do it but not feasible for a temporary haunted house.

I'm a huge fan of the Saw franchise. However the 2009 maze was a bit lackluster scare wise which I kind of expect with this one as well. I expect the majority of scenes to be from the 1st movie. Wire maze, reverse bear trap, and bathroom are a given. I'm hoping something from 2. Either the needle pit, or razor trap. From 3 all I need is the makeshift hospital scene. Preferably drilling into jigsaw head. 4-7 I don't expect much. Buckethead from 4 would be nice, one of my favorite traps. I would like something from 5 as its one of my favorites films but highly unlikely. The carousel from 6 I would expect and nothing from 7.

I'm really excited for this house. I havent seen the show but am a fan of the movies and the house they did back in 2013. I have a feeling this will be more of a campy house. More so on the lines of From Dusk Til Dawn back in 2014, which was a must go for my group every night we went.

Rewatching the movie tonight or tomorrow. I'm curious to see what will be left out and/or censored. This is the house I'm honestly most skeptical about. There are a lot of scenes that are going to be very difficult to recreate in such a small space. I also feel it's going to be tough to recreate the feeling you get whole watching the movie. I've seen it a number of times now and I still get chills. I really hope this house can recreate that.

The original up to 3. I don't expect we'll see a lot from after that other than the new movie. There are a few from 4-6 I would like to see personally again. but there wont be enough space In regards to central park. I always found central park to kind of be the same year after year. I do like the pumpkins as it adds a nice touch. I hope trick r treat changes it up a little, even though I think it would make a better house than scarezone.

Killswitch M/S/D Nights I know for sure will be. Sept 15,17 October 29, 30, 31 November 3

As previously noted I along with so many others are bored of TWD it won't be a surprise at this point if it does come back. It almost seems as interest has been revitalized with what I'm calling the "season of Negan." And I think the clause where we cant use character likeness could hurt peoples view of this seasons house if we do get it. Walking dead houses rely heavily on scenery and walkers which is a negative to some of us. Open scenes and passive, stagnant walkers lead to poor houses. AHS however should be fine this year. I don't think it will be as great as last year as this years house will have some of the weaker seasons in my opinion. But there are some memorable scenes that can be recreated with ease. I think AHS will have the limelight for a little bit, at least another 2 or 3 years after this. Stranger things wont be utilized for at least a year or two mostly due to anticipiated costs of acquiring rights due to immense popularity. Maybe next year as a mega house since ahs will be down to one season. Bates motel is on its last goodbye and I dont think we will see it as a house if were going to get a tv show they want something they can build a franchise around. Psycho on the other hand we could hopefully see in the near future, maybe hhn 30.

Bold Prediction: some one says catch me outside.

So at the beginning of last year I was not hugely interested in AHS. I had only seen murderhouse when it came out and wasnt impressed and didnt watch further but the house was so well done i gave the show another chance. I really do enjoy it now. This year will have my favorite season (asylum) and my least favorite seasons (coven) and I havent seen Roanoke yet. I'm really excited to see some of the scenes mentioned an hopefully much more.

One thing that bums me out with the Nintendo stuff is we might not see games that could be legit houses. Sony exclusively distributed 2 great horrorish games in the last few years. These being Until Dawn and The Last of Us. Will Nintendo try to block universal from getting the rights?, Althought supermassive and naughty dog were the producers and could be reached out to (naughty dog has sold the film rights to The Last of Us) i fear that universal would face serious pushback from Sony for being a partner with Nintendo.

Alright so I'm not really going to limit myself on 2017. I have too much in my head. This is going to be my wishful thinking/ predictions for content we will get within the next five years. To start off Im going to start wishful thinking for icons until hhn 30. I would like them to continue the story line for the search for Jack. While it was mentioned in the chance queue video I'd really like to see this brought into the limelight the next 4 years. So HHN 27- Eddie: Police interrogation and Eddie going off on a murderous rampage, obviously we would be bringing back Run for this year. HHn 28- Shadybrook theme with a warden icon. Shady brook are now searching and out to get any followers of Jack to find him out. A new psychoscarepy house would be great. HHN 29- Bloody Mary or LT- They finally realize we need to go to the spirit world to find Jack. This would solidify a few original houses. A new Bloody Mary or a new LT. we could also bring Silver screams back that year if we are staying in the spirit world. HHN 30- Jack comes back. Obviously So for wishful thinking and predictions here is what I would expect for the next couple of years. AHS- Next year with 2,3, and 6. I'm sure its a part of the contract. Walking Dead- Maybe not next year but for sure the year after. If we could alternate AHS and Walking Dead every other year I would be okay. Conjuring and Sinister- Two new popular properties universal owns. Saw and Friday the 13th- New movies coming out next year or the year after, well received properties at previous events. Chucky- General Public appeal Poltergeist- Getting rights from MGM would be difficult but it can be done. Trick r Treat- Same director as Krampus as long as we have a good relationship with him we should get it. Something John Carpenter- Thing anniversary or Halloween sequel. Killer Klownz or Tremors- Killer Klownz is more realistic but both would bring the ultimate cheese factor. Classic Monsters- Psycho, creature or Hunchback would be the three I would most like to see. But if there are any rehashes I expect those first (Mummy). Requels: Nightengales, a Havoc redemption, RUN, Psychoscarepy, Dollhouse, Frightanic and Cleaver would be the ones I would expect to see first. Scary Tales: Maybe something we haven't seen before, Beauty and the Beast with the new movie coming out will be in peoples minds or Tarzan since they really enjoy using puppets lately. Amityville Horror: After this year we can all agree that if there is going to be a movie house it will be this one. Purge- No matter what people think it will be back. Video Game houses- Haven't had one in a few years. New Resident Evil coming out is supposed to go back to scary roots. The Evil Within was very well received but would be very difficult to recreate. Until Dawn or The Last of Us would be my choices, Until Dawn for Scares and Last of Us for Sets. Getting the rights from Sony would be incredibly difficult however Something from the Evil Dead creator, either a sequel, Ash vs. Evil Dead or Don't Breathe. Thing I would prefer not to see: Stranger Things- not for at least the next 2 or 3 years. Its almost too fresh, lets get more substance to work off of Walking Dead next year Five Nights at Freddy's- For obvious reasons, but you wouldn't believe all the talk I heard about it in the parks this year. I might quit going if we ever do get it. Other exorcism movies: i.e Emily Rose- While I enjoyed this years house I don't think a lesser movie would be appropriate. Harry Potter being incorporated- Leave it for the normal park hours.

This year I've honestly seen less of the drunkenness. Yes they're are people who have too much and you can see them stumbling. But I haven't seen the billegerence that I've gotten used to the last couple years.

I agree with the grand. Big open space with lots of details. I feel as you go deeper into the house and toward the end they lose some of the detail from the beginning .

I really don't see it as her being a bad icon. I see it as her being incredibly underutilized and overshadowed. We have all these major, expensive IPs now, something we didn't have with the original 4 icons. I'm sure this house had a limited budget judging by the quality of other sets. In the queue video there is an attempt at a story. I wish they went more into that and the house doesn't translate it very well. Overall it isn't a terrible house, for the year it may be one of the weaker ones as well as if we are comparing it to icon houses. But it doesn't crack my bottom 10 or 15 of all the ones I've been through .

I believe so just because it's so unique to me. It was about 30 minutes in the actual house. We had 3 people in our group and they let us go just the 3 of us.