JDW Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 OK Now that I have been 3 times + UMTH + HOS I think I'm ready to give my detailed opinion on the event... maybe... I say maybe because I haven't had any grievance with the event for the most part. But let me give it a go and I will change it if I need to after next week. Houses: Forsaken This was my very first house of the night and thus far I have been through it once a night (Plus UMTH). I went into it with info AND expectations and still was very pleased with this house. The sets are amazing, the effects are movie quality, and the costumes are well done (If not a bit generic). I know there have been a lot of complaints about the eyes and I disagree. I feel the eyes really give the scareactors an eerie feel. At first when they were still finding their groove it was very easy to see them coming. But now they are really on point and Saturday they were very aggressive. I love the vastness of the courtyard scene, "The Fog" effect of the screen in the Church, the uneven walkway in the ship, the buffeting winds and rain, and the final fog jump scene (If you hit it right). I even like that in lieu of a facade they used the rippling water effect to focus the money on the inside. I only have a minor qualm with this house and that is that it just starts with no story setup. I understand the idea and why they did it but I just tend to like a beginning and an end. Facade: 7 (I know it lacks one but the water effect is cool) Sets: 10 Costumes: 8 Atmosphere: 10 Scares: 8 Finale: 7 (Would have given a better score if it wasn't so hit or miss) Overall Impression: 9 The In-Between I had VERY low expectations for this house. I have not liked a 3D house since Universal Creature Feature in 3D. So I really felt this would be a waste of my time... Boy was I wrong! I was truly freaked out by this house. The demons are freaky/scary and the tone is completely different from your typical 3D house. Throw in that I really have a hard time with the glasses and I'm disoriented and off-center which is probably why I got the most scares from this house. I like the way it actually has a setup room and the ending shows the results (much like Dead Exposure)... Oh and the 3D effect on the facade is a nice touch. I dislike the static head boo door. It seems like a cop out. Also, the string room has demons with squiggly lines... which makes it easy to spot them. Other than that I feel like this is how 3D should be done. Facade: 7 Sets: 8 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Scares: 10 Finale: 10 Overall Impression: 8 Nevermore I went into this one expecting a lot... I would say it met my expectations. The sets are very good (probably the best I've ever seen in a tent). I really like the Telltale Heart, the pendulum, and the Crow hallway. The continuity and story it tells is very good... far better than HOS's Nevermore (nope... no zombies here...) While I liked the dance scare in Masque... I really was disappointed that the clock was not anywhere in the house. My other qualm actually came around after the UMTH tour when we were told Berenice is supposed to be in the hole after the Black Cat room... and I have not seen her once. Facade: 9 Sets: 9 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Scares: 8 Finale: 8 Overall Impression: 9 Saws and Steam I went into Saws and Steam with High hopes... Which weren't helped by the 45 min downpour and the shenanigans of the flood and ops... But I still really enjoyed this house. I missed a lot of scares the first time because immediately after the flood was a cast change and they just weren't there. But since then, the scares have been on point and there are scareactors everywhere. I can't remember a house this good in the Jaws queue. I love the propaganda, the scrim with the dead bodies, the gags, and the sets in general. I honestly can't think of anything negative to say about this house... except that it just kind of ends. Facade: 9 Sets: 9 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Scares: 10 Finale: 7 Overall Impression: 9 H.R. Blood N' Gutz I really had high hopes going into this one. I love the campy houses and I would say Leave it to Cleaver ranks as one of my favorites... H.R. will also rank. I LOVE the only queue video we got! The facade is good, the sets are clever, and the atmosphere is amazing. The scares were hit or miss in a few scenes. I felt the Arbor Day scene was a little weak (But the tree was frightening... I wish there were more... Or maybe the tress were killing people). The fake red button would have been better if it were real (I miss the buttons). Facade: 8 Sets: 10 Costumes: 8 Atmosphere: 10 Scares: 7 Finale: 8 Overall Impression: 8 The Thing The facade is amazing. I like the sets in this house. I liked the original Thing (The whole concept freaks me out) and this far exceeded it. The costumes were very detailed (if not repetitive at times) and the animatronics freaked me out the most. The snow was a nice touch. The resets really bug me. It seems if you miss a scare or an animatronic it seems you miss nearly all of them. But when you do get them they are very intense. Facade: 10 Sets: 7 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Scares: 8 Finale: 8 Overall Impression: 8 Nightingales Amazing sets, Amazing scares, Amazing details. Nuff said In all seriousness I really like the concept of the Nightingales and I would love to see them back in another setting. My qualm with this is also my favorite gag... The guy ripped in half. Its an awesome scene but... it rarely happens and... I seems to always catch the guy resetting. Also if you miss the final scene... the house just ends... Facade: 9 Sets: 9 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Scares: 9 Finale: 8 Overall Impression: 9 Winter's Night I really like the cold, the sets, and the atmosphere... again I like the snow falling. The far off cemetery is a great gag. I love the nod to the walking dead torso zombie, the Brady Bunch vault gag, the nods to all of the A&D team, and of course Billy and Mary Shaw at the end. (Billy is on the immediate right behind the fence) I would have liked to have seen more angels... and more scares. I don't know why but I hardly ever get a scare in this house. The ghosts aren't really that unique but I do like the black light effect. Facade: 10 Sets: 9 Costumes: 8 Atmosphere: 10 Scares: 7 Finale: 8 Overall Impression: 9 Scare Zones: 7 I like the idea of this scarezone. I like the way it transitions over the night. I love the music. Surprisingly the scares are very good here. I don't like how the sets are isolated. I would have preferred and interaction between the character and her (I would have rater seen the sin character be the victim and her minions doing the torturing). I never really saw the in-between change. Sets: 7 Costumes: 9 Atmosphere: 9 Size: 8 Scares: 9 Overall: 8 Grown Evil I love the atmosphere here, the costumes, the music, and most of the time the scares. Overall I think it is just as good as Harvest of Souls. I don't like the jerky scareactors who hide or try to ruin a picture regardless of if you are using a flash or not... which is already incredibly difficult due to the fog and light level. Sets: 10 Costumes: 10 Atmosphere: 10 Size: 10 Scares: 8 Overall: 9 Canyon of Dark Souls I am surprised how much I like it due to how simplistic it is. But the scareactors are awesomely aggressive and the fog and totems make this work... who 'da thunk? The fog can be overwhelming at times. I was tackled by a scareactor by accident. He couldn't see me and I couldn't see him. But its a minor thing as the fog is the point. Sets: 8 Costumes: 8 Atmosphere: 9 Size: 7 Scares: 9 Overall: 9 Your Luck Has run Out Well... um... I like the victims and the minions. I dislike... everything else... seriously. The "ugly" mask is so bad I feel for the scareactors who have to wear it, the pretty lucks just stand there and look uninterested, The atmosphere is confusing (why are some of the card stacks leaning and not fallen over?!?), and there is too much fog to begin with. I feel like you have to go a long way to make Sting Alley a bad atmosphere... and it has been done. Sets: 7 Costumes: 5 Atmosphere: 6 Size: 8 Scares: 5 Overall: 6 Acid Rain This zone really is what Containment and Apocalypse should have been. I really like the feel of this zone. The acid rain and the smell is awesome, the costumes are probably my favorite at the event, and the 3D is incredible. I feel the street stickers were a good idea but they just aren't noticed at night. Sets: 10 Costumes: 10 Atmosphere: 9 Size: 9 Scares: 8 Overall: 9 Nightmaze It's good to see a new concept. I like the entrance character. I did get a good scare in here. The effect of being lost just doesn't happen enough. The zone is not dark enough... you can see the exit almost always... I think simply adding a lot more fog would help in volumes. Sets: 5 Costumes: 7 Atmosphere: 5 Size: 8 Scares: 8 Overall: 7 Shows I will preface this with the fact that I am not a show person. Bill & Ted I didn't get half the jokes, I didn't know most of the songs, and I didn't really laugh... It just made me feel out of touch with "These kids today". I will say it was far less raunchy and I like that about it. Overall 6 Death Drums I like how they come out and that the show is different all 3 times it comes out. That being said it doesn't hold my attention... and I think that is just me. Overall 7 Overall I will say I think this year is on par with 2008. I really enjoyed event and I will be going back at least once more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimp0nd Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Great review and a lot more positive than some. Interesting to see opinions from both sides of an issue. Thanks and well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV-426 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 really good review, and, yeah the scarezones just suck this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryguy5 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Spot on review. Best year since 18. Enjoyed reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDW Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonk Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I think I keep missing the ripped in half gag in Nightingales too, how far into the house does it occur? Nice review btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruinsFan Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) I think I keep missing the ripped in half gag in Nightingales too, how far into the house does it occur? I believe it's right about at the half-way point, maybe a little before half-way. Edited October 4, 2011 by BruinsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonk Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks BruinsFan. Is the victim an actor or a dummy? I've seen a Dummy on the table about halfway through and have heard the e-prompt and been squirted with "blood" but haven't seen the actual ripping. Is this the scene you guys are talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallow Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Thanks BruinsFan. Is the victim an actor or a dummy? I've seen a Dummy on the table about halfway through and have heard the e-prompt and been squirted with "blood" but haven't seen the actual ripping. Is this the scene you guys are talking about? No, it's an actual actor. The soldier stands there, telling you to move along, when suddenly a Nightingale comes up behind him and tears his upper body away, leaving a bloody lower half. Elaborate lighting and sound accompanies this obviously, and I believe the soldier fires some flailing shots as he's mauled. It's a very cool effect (on the level of the heart-rip from Frankenstein) but the position always seems to be unoccupied. I've only seen the actual sequence happen once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonk Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Thanks! I'll definitely be on the lookout for it tomorrow night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foREVer56 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 i dont get why everyone said 2008 was such a great year. i only loved 2 houses(DE and ST3),liked 2 others(Hallow/Doomsday), the SS's were meh, and RoF was.....terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDW Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Everyone has a favorite year and for different reasons. I guess it depends on what you like. For me '97, '02, '03, '05, '08, and now '11 are my top years. The Hallow, ST3, DE, all the Scarezones, the cohesive way they used Bloody Mary, the back story, Legendary Truth, and just the general feel made '08 a year I didn't want to stop going. This year is similar. I wouldn't say it is exact... but in my 4 times going it rained 3 of them. I feel kind of deprived of the awesomeness this year and I wish I could go back with no rain. As it stands the most i went through any house the whole time has been 5 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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