Goo's HHN XX Review

[Goo]

Before I begin the review, I'd like to say that every house and scarezone was great this year in my opinion. There are some better than others, but overall, they all have something great to offer and I wouldn't miss any of them if my life counted on it. Seriously.

Houses

Hades

This house was the scariest house for me. I honestly didn't know what to expect besides the simple Greek creatures and such. From the moment you walk in this house, you are IN hades. The facade captures you. It sucks you into this dark, evil, underground world where nothing nice happens. Once you walk into the actual house, you're practically surrounded. I wasn't expecting someone to be jumping out as you literally just start the maze. That was my first scare, and from then on I was terrified. Now, I'm not really into Mythology and stuff, so you'll have to bare with me since I don't really know most of the names of the creatures. I really liked the Cyclopes costumes in the following room. It was very cool, and they got my friend and I pretty good. Now, I'm gonna jump to my main scare of this house, that bumped this house up to number one. The Medusa room. One I first walked into this room, I knew where the first Medusa was, so she really didn't get me at all. But from then on, I was looking out for the next Medusa. So, naturally, I completely fell for the fake Medusa head in the little window. The moment I realized that it wasn't a real person, the REAL Medusa dropped her boo door and set off all the effects. I have never screamed so loud in my entire life. The combination of the shaking floor, strobes, water, sound and actor completely set me off. The rest of the house had me on edge, and every little thing scared me. This is why I go to HHN, and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better experience! The rest of the house was great. I really like the mirror gag as well. I know the house was missing a few things (Hades, and the three headed dog), but that one scare really made this house. Now, as for the hanging stuff, I personally really liked it. It made me feel very vulnerable, which made everything much scarier.

Sets - 5/5

Scares - 5/5

Catacombs

First of all, I love this facade. It was simple, but it worked very well and it really set the mood. Overall this house was great. The sets were a tad repetitive, but they were limited from the get go with this one. It's alright though, the costumes really made up for it, as well as the scares. The guy scaring from above was great, I wasn't expecting him, and the plague doctors coughing got me numerous times. I really enjoyed it. The final scene was very memorable for me, solely for the fact that a plastic tarp and air scared the shit out of me. Truly brilliant. The one thing I hated about this house was that it's lit too well. It was just way to light in there. This house would have been so much better if the only lights in there were those hanging bulb lights you see hanging on the facade outside.

Sets - 3.5/5

Scares - 4/5

Havoc

I saw this house have its cast change while waiting in line for Catacombs. The actors for this house are absolutely awesome. You guys kind of put on a show! You yelled that little song and marched out. Really got me excited. We went into this house for the first time right after Catacombs. And honestly, it was horrible. There seemed to be no scares, and the layout was very similar to past houses. That and the scenes were repetitive. But we went back through again later, and it was INSANE. You guys were great! I got a lot of good scares, especially from the room where there's red plastic strips hanging from the ceiling. You guys were on the ground, which caught me off guard! Great Job.

Sets- 2.5/5

Scares - 4.5/5

The Orfanage

I have to say that this is probably the best house that has been in the Jaws queue. The ashes at the entrance really set the mood, and the overall feel of the house was great. I got a few scares in here, and the fire was a really nice touch! I hope to see more effects like this in future houses. My favorite part was the room with the cribs though. Really creepy!

Sets - 4/5

Scares - 3/5

Legendary Truth

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this house. If you hit this house at the right time, the scares are incredible. My first walk through was great. I got almost every scare, and saw almost every effect. The effects were awesome in here as well. The ghost in the floor and in the wall were both really awesome, and the poltergeist room was awesome. This house had awesome sets as well, and it really felt like you were in a haunted house. The best part of this house is the chair monster. I wasn't expecting it at all, and it scared me shitless!

Sets - 5/5

Scares - 4.5/5

Zombiegeddon

I really liked this house because I really like zombies. The facade was really nice, and I really liked the queue video. This house starts off with a very slow pace, but after the float crashes into the building, it gradually gets more intense. Sadly, the house isn't really long enough to do that sort of thing in my opinion.. If the house was longer, I think this would have been great. My first walk through was the scariest. I only got a few scares, but it was still enjoyable. I got one of the best scares of this year at the very end of the house. My friend and I thought it was over as we left the garage. But the zombie with the alarm ran out in front of us and rang the alarm. We ran out screaming. It was great.

Sets - 4/5

Scares - 2.5/5

Psychoscarapy

The facade for this house was great. I never got to see any of the previous scarapys, but I've seen and know a lot about them. Now, I know this was a more serious version of the house, which is fine, but I think I would have enjoyed the more crazy, funny, and intense version a bit more. Don't get me wrong, the house is pretty good, but I was really hoping to get that crazy energy that the one in 2006 had (from what I heard). I really liked the button, and I really hope to see more of these buttons in the future. The padded room at the end should have been a little longer in my opinion. But I have to say, cell scene with the fake hands is really effective, and it was a really good scare. Overall, the scares were very little here.. I got maybe a few jumps here and there. It's just not as aggressive as the other houses. But it was still fun to go through.

Sets - 4/5

Scares - 2.5/5

Hallow'd Past

I know a lot of you like this house a lot, and I can see why, but for me it was the weakest of the event, and a letdown. The house starts off great. The props were awesome and I loved seeing everything, but it all goes down from there. The Treaks scene was empty every time I went through, and the DE scene was to bright so the effect was killed. Almost every other scene was a scene from the past three years. The scenes I only truly enjoyed were the opening warehouse scene, the Frightanic scene, and the final. The rest I had already scene, and honestly shouldn't have been in there. I was expecting to see scenes from 2005 and back. The scares wern't there for me either. I got some little jumps, but I felt like I had walked through all these rooms already and I knew where everything was. Overall, good for a little eye candy, but not a scary house.

Sets - 3.5/5

Scares - 2

Scare Zones

Saws n' Steam

I'm gonna go ahead and say that this is the scare zone of the year. I LOVED this zone. Everything about it. The music, the lighting, the chainsaws, the steam punk... Just everything. I hope to see more zones in Sting Ally in the future. I actually got caught off guard as we were walking out the back of sting ally by a chainsaw guy. And thank you to whoever chased my sister out of the ally.

Overall - 5/5

The Coven

I loved the feel of this zone. It was very dark and creepy, and the witches were very scary. One of the hags scared pretty good. I really liked the guys who were burning, although I would have rather had them on the great all bloodied up, scaring people and just had dummies up there.

Overall - 4.5/5

20 Years of Fear

The zone is very neat. I loved seeing all the old props.. But the one problem in this zone is that there isn't much to hide behind or anything.. Other than that, it was pretty good. Though, I think they should have picked a few different characters to go in here.

Overall - 3/5

Zombiegras

Fun zone. Great costumes. But the scaractors don't have much to work with.. I mean, all they have is a float. Couldn't they have put some other things in there? Just so they could be hidden a little better? I don't know.. Seemed a little empty to me. But still fun! GREAT actors and actresses.

Overall - 3/5

Esqueleto Muerte

I really liked this zone. It was very colorful and the costumes were sick! And the scaractors seemed to be getting some good scares every time I walked through. Very nice. Though, I think they should have chosen some other music for the zone. But that's just me.

Overall - 3.5/5

Fear Revealed

What can I really say? It's a photo op zone basically. I know the scaractors don't like it to be called that, but honestly, it really is. Eddie is the only one really running around scaring.

Overall - 3

Bill and Ted

I'll leave at this. Awful. I chuckled at the sloppy dancing.

1.5/5

Brian Brushwood

Fun show! I really liked it. Brian is an awesome guy. Worth a see.

5/5

Overall it was a great year. I wish Fear would have had a bigger role, and maybe his own house. But in the end it was a great event, and I can't wait till next year. You scaractors are awesome, and I couldn't thank you all enough for making my 2010 HHN experience as epic as it was!

[C_D]

Great review Goo. It is refreshing to see a detailed review that includes Multiple times thru a house. The difference from one cast to the other can be dramatic, as shown in your Havoc review.

[Goo]

Great review Goo. It is refreshing to see a detailed review that includes Multiple times thru a house. The difference from one cast to the other can be dramatic, as shown in your Havoc review.

Thanks CD! I hit every house 3 times, and some even 4 times. I even did the Orfanage and Zombiegeddon once during the day to see what it was like

[GeeksBsmrT]

As C_D said very well written review. I agree with you on the Zombie Gras. We do not have much in the way of scene to work with. However, spend a little time on the Jaws end of the street. You will find three very hidden zombies. Crowd weaving done properly is an awesome tactic.

[Mae]

Thanks CD! I hit every house 3 times, and some even 4 times. I even did the Orfanage and Zombiegeddon once during the day to see what it was like

It's a good practice and why I didn't want to review anything until I'd seen it more than once.

Good review, too. Are you going again this year?

Mae

[Mae]

As C_D said very well written review. I agree with you on the Zombie Gras. We do not have much in the way of scene to work with. However, spend a little time on the Jaws end of the street. You will find three very hidden zombies. Crowd weaving done properly is an awesome tactic.

I think you guys do a great job of hiding in plain sight, as it were. I plan to spend a little more time there on my next visit to get some video, or a few more photos.

Mae