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Catacombs: Black Death Rising


Mark M.

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How do you guys feel about me calling you Harvey Birdman?

I remember going through the strobey hallway at the end (for anyone who didn't get a good look, it's supposed to be part of the plague museum under construction) and the air cannon blew one of the tarps up and around my face. The damn house attacked me!

We've been called just about everything else multiple times, so alittle variety is welcomed! :lol:

The house also tried to kill me on the first walkthrough during rehearsals. <_<

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My review after experiencing this house 3 times (twice at night, once during the day)

Facade: C+

Okay, so the facade doesn't give off a good impression - it's garbage bags around scaffolding. The little plaques with information about the plague doctors is a great touch, I just wish they were more visible to the regular queue (even though I typically use Express). The "Le'Innocent" signs also help the facade a bit, but overall it comes off of as random. The little cart with body parts is nice, and the soundtrack is unsettling, too. Luckily, the innards of this house easily make up for the lackluster exterior.

Sets/Details/Costuming: A-

Yeah, yeah, it feels like one big set. I don't care. It's a freaking cool, creepy set. There are some memorable moments (the pit with the corpse), the huddled mummies towards the beginning, and the epic museum at the end. The costumes, too, are excellent - no Dead Exposure jobs here, these plague corpses are extremely detailed, gory, and impressive. The plague doctors, too, are a nice surprise, and they make a great addition to the long line of creepy character types at HHN. They're also far more menacing than I expected... they have a certain menace about them that I can't quite explain. Probably has something to do with the fact they got screwed by being sealed in the Catacombs when they had previously been the ones to administer such a horrid fate...

Scares: A

In all honesty, this is currently the most intense/scary house of the event. It's sets may not be NEARLY as cool or innovative as Legendary Truth or Hades, but both casts of this house were on FIRE opening weekend - I was getting nailed from every angle. I've never seen such an energetic, enthusiastic, and downright FRIGHTENING cast. These guys know how to use their rooms effectively and create some great scary moments. That final room is absolutely terrifying - but I'll get there in a moment. This is a house that depends on the actors for primal scares, and as of now, they are delivering in droves.

Finale: A

This is a good choice for a finale that, as I mentioned just a moment ago, is terrifying and makes you want to run out of the house (which is exactly what a finale should do). Ominous in tone, the finale provides a good conclusion to the plot - several victims are exhumed from the Catacombs and put on display in a museum, only for passerby to learn that they didn't quite die. The air blast/strobe/manys tatue effect is simple but ingenious - I got tangled in the sheet which completely destroyed my guard and allowed for excellent scares.

Overall: A (not an average)

Most intense house of the event for now. Good sets (if a little repetitive), and the best casts I've ever seen in a house. The facade is the second-worst this year, but the fantastic finale & main house make up for it. Definitely in my top 3, not-to-be-missed.

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Alright so I know I've gotten many boo's and hisses for rating this house the lowest on opening night, so I gave it two more chances tonight. And while it has definitely improved, it's still not the best in my opinion. It's definitely not bad, but it's not great either. The scareactors were much more active tonight and I actually saw more than just plague doctors. The lights seemed to be a little brighter as well, but maybe that was just me. The point was, I could see a lot more. Here's a review from me, since that seems to be the cool thing to do.

Sets: A. I don't know what everyones problem with the facade is, but it gives a pretty damn good feel of entering a french catacomb dig site if you ask me. The sets on the interior are also very detailed and they used just the right amount of fog to give it that stale, underground feel. The construction areas are also well placed and there are many good spots for scareactors to take advantage of.

Sound: C. I really just don't like the sound in this house, and there seems to be a huge transition of really loud ambient sound to NO ambient sound at all about 1/3rd of the way through. They turned the sound down at the facade, which is good because it was deafening on opening night. The rest of the ambient audio is pretty good and gives a good scary feeling to the house. But suddenly it just stops and all you can hear are people around you whispering to each other or people ahead of you screaming. The rest of the speakers seem to be taken by that coughing effect that the plague doctors trigger. Which isn't a bad effect, just extremely repetitive.

Scares: C. While the sets really set up some good scare locations, I still haven't seen the scareactors taking full advantage of them. I've seen a lot of missed opportunities, but obviously these will improve as the event continues. It's only the start of the second weekend after all.

Characters/costumes: B. I saw a lot more than just plague doctors tonight, and I liked what I saw. And is it just me, or do the plague doctor masks look more and more deteriorated as you progress through the house? Can someone confirm? That would be pretty cool. It's just something I noticed.

You guys definitely improved since last weekend, but not enough to keep up with the likes of a few other houses. I will however move you up from rank 8 to rank 5. I'd really like to see this house in my top 3 by the end of the event, and there's no doubt in my mind that you can't do that. Given a rather bland, stale setting, I can tell you're definitely trying to kick it up a notch and I like it. Keep it up :)

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Was finally able to catch the house tonight and I loved everything about it. As of right now, it's my favorite of the run, granted I've only seen 4 houses (Legendary Truth, Zombiegeddon, Havoc and Catacombs.) The details were amazing, the scares were great and I LOVE the plague doctors.

4/5!

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My review after experiencing this house 3 times (twice at night, once during the day)

Facade: C+

Okay, so the facade doesn't give off a good impression - it's garbage bags around scaffolding. The little plaques with information about the plague doctors is a great touch, I just wish they were more visible to the regular queue (even though I typically use Express). The "Le'Innocent" signs also help the facade a bit, but overall it comes off of as random. The little cart with body parts is nice, and the soundtrack is unsettling, too. Luckily, the innards of this house easily make up for the lackluster exterior.

Sets/Details/Costuming: A-

Yeah, yeah, it feels like one big set. I don't care. It's a freaking cool, creepy set. There are some memorable moments (the pit with the corpse), the huddled mummies towards the beginning, and the epic museum at the end. The costumes, too, are excellent - no Dead Exposure jobs here, these plague corpses are extremely detailed, gory, and impressive. The plague doctors, too, are a nice surprise, and they make a great addition to the long line of creepy character types at HHN. They're also far more menacing than I expected... they have a certain menace about them that I can't quite explain. Probably has something to do with the fact they got screwed by being sealed in the Catacombs when they had previously been the ones to administer such a horrid fate...

Scares: A

In all honesty, this is currently the most intense/scary house of the event. It's sets may not be NEARLY as cool or innovative as Legendary Truth or Hades, but both casts of this house were on FIRE opening weekend - I was getting nailed from every angle. I've never seen such an energetic, enthusiastic, and downright FRIGHTENING cast. These guys know how to use their rooms effectively and create some great scary moments. That final room is absolutely terrifying - but I'll get there in a moment. This is a house that depends on the actors for primal scares, and as of now, they are delivering in droves.

Finale: A

This is a good choice for a finale that, as I mentioned just a moment ago, is terrifying and makes you want to run out of the house (which is exactly what a finale should do). Ominous in tone, the finale provides a good conclusion to the plot - several victims are exhumed from the Catacombs and put on display in a museum, only for passerby to learn that they didn't quite die. The air blast/strobe/manys tatue effect is simple but ingenious - I got tangled in the sheet which completely destroyed my guard and allowed for excellent scares.

Overall: A (not an average)

Most intense house of the event for now. Good sets (if a little repetitive), and the best casts I've ever seen in a house. The facade is the second-worst this year, but the fantastic finale & main house make up for it. Definitely in my top 3, not-to-be-missed.

great review! thanks

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Quite impressed this house, and it many of the scenes do truly look like the Paris catacombs. Love the coughing plague doctors, and I wish I'd had more time to read the plaques. Yeah, the facade is really shitty, but the house makes up for it. I was pleasantly surprised.

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Characters/costumes: B. I saw a lot more than just plague doctors tonight, and I liked what I saw. And is it just me, or do the plague doctor masks look more and more deteriorated as you progress through the house? Can someone confirm? That would be pretty cool. It's just something I noticed.

Raize you are correct. Since the town turned on the Plague Doc's and trapped us in their with the Plague victims we are (#1) We are pissed off at the world and want revenge and (#2) We do deteriorate as we get closer to "fresh air" partly because of our prolonged exposure to The Plague and partly because we are being exposed to the outside atmosphere again for the first time in a couple of hundred years. I appreciate your review very much and as a member of the cast I will do my very best to scare the bejesus out of you next time you come through....

*EDIT*

During orientation is when I was told about the degradation of the masks; however, when they assigned them to us - it was rather haphazard....so there really is not a lot of continuity with the masks if you are looking for it....

Edited by BayouOtter
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sadly, this is the house i have the least memory of :(

it might have been because i couldn't understand what the bird things were and what was happening. my dad said it was his favorite house, i guess he enjoyed it more since he knew much more about the black plague than i did

though i do remember a few good scares

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My review after experiencing this house 3 times (twice at night, once during the day)

Facade: C+

Okay, so the facade doesn't give off a good impression - it's garbage bags around scaffolding. The little plaques with information about the plague doctors is a great touch, I just wish they were more visible to the regular queue (even though I typically use Express). The "Le'Innocent" signs also help the facade a bit, but overall it comes off of as random. The little cart with body parts is nice, and the soundtrack is unsettling, too. Luckily, the innards of this house easily make up for the lackluster exterior.

Sets/Details/Costuming: A-

Yeah, yeah, it feels like one big set. I don't care. It's a freaking cool, creepy set. There are some memorable moments (the pit with the corpse), the huddled mummies towards the beginning, and the epic museum at the end. The costumes, too, are excellent - no Dead Exposure jobs here, these plague corpses are extremely detailed, gory, and impressive. The plague doctors, too, are a nice surprise, and they make a great addition to the long line of creepy character types at HHN. They're also far more menacing than I expected... they have a certain menace about them that I can't quite explain. Probably has something to do with the fact they got screwed by being sealed in the Catacombs when they had previously been the ones to administer such a horrid fate...

Scares: A

In all honesty, this is currently the most intense/scary house of the event. It's sets may not be NEARLY as cool or innovative as Legendary Truth or Hades, but both casts of this house were on FIRE opening weekend - I was getting nailed from every angle. I've never seen such an energetic, enthusiastic, and downright FRIGHTENING cast. These guys know how to use their rooms effectively and create some great scary moments. That final room is absolutely terrifying - but I'll get there in a moment. This is a house that depends on the actors for primal scares, and as of now, they are delivering in droves.

Finale: A

This is a good choice for a finale that, as I mentioned just a moment ago, is terrifying and makes you want to run out of the house (which is exactly what a finale should do). Ominous in tone, the finale provides a good conclusion to the plot - several victims are exhumed from the Catacombs and put on display in a museum, only for passerby to learn that they didn't quite die. The air blast/strobe/manys tatue effect is simple but ingenious - I got tangled in the sheet which completely destroyed my guard and allowed for excellent scares.

Overall: A (not an average)

Most intense house of the event for now. Good sets (if a little repetitive), and the best casts I've ever seen in a house. The facade is the second-worst this year, but the fantastic finale & main house make up for it. Definitely in my top 3, not-to-be-missed.

Is the ending like last years ending to saw?

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Is the ending like last years ending to saw?

Nope.

sadly, this is the house i have the least memory of :(

it might have been because i couldn't understand what the bird things were and what was happening. my dad said it was his favorite house, i guess he enjoyed it more since he knew much more about the black plague than i did

though i do remember a few good scares

Google "Plague Doctors" and all will be revealed.

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One little detail about this house bothered me: the ratio of plague doctors to victims. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed like there were at least two doctors to each victim.

No you are right, I think they are a lot more plague doctors than victims, but, That's what I love about this house, they look so amazing imo

but One thing I did notice today that didn't notice before, there was an actor that didnt have either costume, not a doctor or a victim, he had his face painted but he looked as if he escaped from Zombiegeddon and came to the catacombs, the actors was ok but i didnt like the change, wonder if that was like that always or just happened

this house is so scary i couldnt do it alone by myself

Edited by black7mask
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No you are right, I think they are a lot more plague doctors than victims, but, That's what I love about this house, they look so amazing imo

but One thing I did notice today that didn't notice before, there was an actor that didnt have either costume, not a doctor or a victim, he had his face painted but he looked as if he escaped from Zombiegeddon and came to the catacombs, the actors was ok but i didnt like the change, wonder if that was like that always or just happened

this house is so scary i couldnt do it alone by myself

He's the infected team member of the archeological team that reopened the catacombs. The stuff on his face are pustules caused by the plague.

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