JGmoney1996 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Review Part 1 (part 2 will be up tomorrow) I know it's late for reviews, but this was the first and last time I'm going to the event this year, so the only time I could write a review. I would like to start off saying, I was very impressed by the event. That being said, there were quite a few cons that only had to do with me coming at a bad time. I will review each maze and scarezone based on when I went to them. Klownz: Obviously I'm sick of this scarezone, but it has always been fun and this year was no different. My friend was given candy by one of the clowns which was semi-entertaining. The opening scaremonies with the clowns was great this year, as it seemed like there were more scareactors. Also, as said many times on this forum, the story really seemed to tie the event together. Silent Hill Scarezone: After the Opening Scaremonies, my group immediately ran to the backlot. At first, the scarezone seemed great. Pyramid Head and the Nurses greeted us at the bottom of the escalator. But shortly after, I realized that that was pretty much the limit to the scarezone. Few characters, and not very scary. Later in the night, when it got crowded in the backlot, it was hard to find a single scareactor. Welcome to Silent Hill: There was no wait, and at 7:05pm, the Mailman was already out of prizes. The Facade, as has been mentioned before is non-existant. The Silent Hill sign wasn't very great or intimidating. The maze itself, in my opinion was slightly disappointing, but not completely. It seemed to lack scareactors and decoration, and was very unremarkable based on what I could tell. One of my friend's really liked it, however. Pyramid Head's scenes were very memorable and surprisingly scary. In fact, even with a lack of characters, the scares that they did have were really well done. That includes some great acting, but not great scares by the Nurses. Lastly, for someone who has never seen the movie or played the game, maybe I just didn't "get it", as far as the story and sets go. Facade: 1/3 Scares: 4.5/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 3.5/5 Story: 3.5/5 Total: 17.5/23 76% C Transformers: Sadly, Transformers had closed down when the event started and later on, the line was too long for my liking (75 minutes). I have not been able to ride it yet, but there's always next year. This, being a people eater, created long lines in the event from the start. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Saw is the Law: There was no wait when I got to the maze. This maze was much better than expected. The Facade was cliche, but good. Walking into the house, I felt immediately immersed in the environment. It wasn't detailed, but truthfully, with the scares and smells, it was hard to notice. The scenes where the set would go dark and light back up with Leatherface in your face was masterfully done. The best scares of the event were had in this maze. The chainsaws, even though only sounds, were loud enough to be intimidating and scary. I got scared when Leatherface was popping out at people in another room. As mentioned earlier, I really didn't notice that TCM wasn't detailed. So based on what I saw, and not others, I'll give sets a decent amount of points. I'm trying to keep this fairly spoiler free, but the maze was great. Facade: 3/3 Scares: 5/5 Makeup/Costumes: 4/5 Sets/Lighting: 4/5 Story: 5/5 Total: 21/23 91% A- Jurassic Park in the Dark: Same old, same old, but still very fun. There was only a couple minute wait at the most. There's not much to say about this, the volume of the music at the end was lowered, as it didn't seem as loud as some reviewers had mentioned. Witchez Scarezone: The scarezone was pretty good. The characters were energetic and I got scared walking through, which is very rare in scarezones for me. It was dark, so I can't rate the costumes but they seemed fine. Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D: The Facade for this is great, especially with it all lit up. The wait was about 10 minutes. Wow, the 3D was really stepped up from HOTC last year. I was legitimately impressed. There was so much going on in the maze that it is hard to keep this spoiler free. The sets were fantastic, however, with all the hype, the Gates of Hell scene was underwhelming. The maze was really colorful and the characters were all great. I didn't really get scared, but the eye candy was enough for me to love this maze. The idea of going through the layers of Hell was great and not all too confusing, so that gives the story full points as it did it's job. Facade: 3/3 Scares: 2/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 5/5 Story 5/5 Total: 20/23 87% B+ (Part 2 will be up tomorrow) Edited October 10, 2012 by JGmoney1996 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 So far, sounds like we have similar opinions on the event. And looks like we're in the minority on thinking the Gates of Hell scene was a tad bit overhyped. It honestly didn't look bigger than La Llorona's river scene and definitely not as intimidating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) So far, sounds like we have similar opinions on the event. And looks like we're in the minority on thinking the Gates of Hell scene was a tad bit overhyped. It honestly didn't look bigger than La Llorona's river scene and definitely not as intimidating. Agreed. Part 2 of the Review: Toyz Scarezone: This scarezone was not what I originally expected. I was expecting a Klownz type scarezone with cool Toy-Human hybrids. That being said, the scarezone was not that, but it wasn't bad either. Bad Bunny and the Ballerina Screamer were great, the others seemed cliche creatures, and not exactly Toyz. But the scare factor and atmosphere made the scarezone pretty good, just not what was expected by these forums. Walking Dead Terror Tram: Let me get this off my back, Terror Tram needs to stay open longer on Thursdays and Sundays. 9:30 is way too early, especially with the soundwalls. I would say they should keep it open until at least 10:30 or 11. That way Terror Tram isn't crowded the entire night. When I went, the wait was an hour long at 7:45pm! Just to get into the que was absolutely nuts. There was a mob of hundreds of people outside the entrance, just trying to get to the bridge that goes to the line. We accidentally ended up cutting a ton of the line, not realizing it stretched much farther back. So the wait ended up being about 40 minutes for us. When we got off the tram, whose story really sucked, we got to the front of our group so we could be alone to get scared. We ended up immediately bumping into the end of the other group. Sadly, it seemed we came at a really bad time. A lot of scareactors were on break as there really weren't many zombies. The entire thing was crowded as we slowly tried to walk through the sets with mobs of people around us. Sometimes it was hard to tell if someone was a zombie or a guest pretending to be one (there were a lot). That being said, it felt like the Terror Tram was much more compact and something was always going on, except on the hill. This year, even with the crowds, was still the best Terror Tram I had been on. All the crowds could have been fixed, had Transformers been open and Terror Tram open longer. Entrance: 3/3 (counting zombies in que) Scares: 3/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 5/5 Story 3/5 Total: 19/23 83% B Walking Dead: Dead Inside: Let's start off by saying this was my favorite maze of the night. The facade was huge and the best of the night. First time I'd seen a scare in the facade area. I am a huge fan of the show, so Murdy's distraction scare tactics worked really well on me. For example, when I saw Bicycle Girl, it was so well done, I ended up staring at it as I walked through, leaving my back turned to another zombie. This happened throughout the maze and I never learned. The sets were incredible, zombies great, scares great, just all around amazing. Since the sets were based on the show, it told a vague story for people who haven't watched it. That wasn't a downside for me, but could be for others. I don't have much else to say, just that this was one of my favorite mazes I have been in. Facade: 3/3 Scares: 5/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 5/5 Story 4.5/5 Total: 22.5/23 98% A+ La Llorona: This was the area in my schedule where I would have gone here. Sadly, the wait was an hour and I would have missed Bill and Ted. I am highly disappointed I wasn't able to see it. If I had graded it based on SharpProduction's video and as if it was a completely new maze, I would give it a 21.5/23 or 94%. 1 point off for scares and half a point off for the facade. But obviously I can't grade it. Universal Monster's Remix: What the hell can I say about this maze? What did I walk through?! The music was horrific, there weren't many classic characters. I noticed Nosferatu, the Wolfman, Norman Bates, The Strangers (Is that movie a Universal Classic?), Frankenstein (F@$#in' DJ Frankie...), and Chucky. I guess that's a bit, but there were so many other, unknown characters, they could have replaced them with the long list of characters Universal created. They did have many more places where characters jumped out and I did get scared a bit, especially with the Wolfmen. I can't even put into words what this maze was. It was fun, but... I mean... what was it?! Facade: 2/3 (Can't be changed a lot, but they could have done something to it) Scares: 3.5/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 4/5 Sadly, I have to admit, the lighting, for what it was meant to be, worked. Story 0/5 Total: 14.5/23 63% D Bill and Ted: The show was great this year. Fantastic Pyrotechnics, great jokes, good spoofs, good rock music, good plot. It was all around really good, would be the main point to take out of that. They didn't show us the que video, but luckily I saw it online before hand. I will avoid spoilers, and just say, don't miss it! It was a great way to end a great night. Parting Words: Halloween Horror Nights did not necessarily step up it's game this year. It took what worked and made it slightly better. Everything felt eerily similar to last year. I still had lots of fun, and most of the mazes were great and some were very intimidating. We had one of the best Terror Trams, some great sets, characters, and scares, even though the scares felt similar (other than the great dark scares in TCM).We also had a fantastic Bill and Ted. As mentioned earlier, the event was WAY too crowded. Here's how to fix it. It will be hard to add another maze after losing a venue this year, so don't expect that. We need Terror Tram to stay open longer on weekdays. We also need the event to add maybe just 3 more nights, which could help slightly. And lastly, we need another show or two. It doesn't seem like a lot, but we need the event to expand, however slight, to cope with the crowds. I haven't had an issue with crowds until this year, and it was a Sunday! The event also has to change drastically next year. Preferably all new themes, although I am intrigued in the last Alice Cooper maze, and may want to see it next year. If they can't add another maze, at least make what they have all new. Work on scarezones, to make them not feel rehashed from the prior years. Take away Klownz and replace it with something just as fun. Every year feels like a transition year for us, and this seems no different. We finally need to get to a year where the event feels finished. Here is my ranking of the mazes: Walking Dead: Dead Inside A+ La Llorona A? (purely based on a YouTube video and as if it was a completely new maze, so take this with a grain of salt.) Texas Chainsaw Massacre A- Alice Cooper Goes to Hell B+ Walking Dead Terror Tram B Welcome to Silent Hill C Universal Monsters Remix D Edit: The Terror Tram grade was changed, as I meant to give story a 3, not a 2. Also, Silent Hill's scares deserve a 4.5, not 3.5. That was changed too. Lastly, I gave Monsters Remix some benefit of the doubt for adding good scares and good costumes. Edited October 10, 2012 by JGmoney1996 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 DTH, just reread your review and realized that I too did not notice Franklin's death in TCM or the store in the Walking Dead. How weird... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 We had practically the same opinion on the event, although I'd rate Terror Tram a better grade (but it seems like you had really bad timing). I guess the Franklin thing is really hard to miss, which is a shame since it's the freakin' highlight of the movie for me. As for the store scene, I don't think it's in the maze... I've watched the video for it at least 3 or 4 times and have never seen it. I guess it's only in Orlando, which is a shame... we got jipped a scene! Oh well, still a good maze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 We had practically the same opinion on the event, although I'd rate Terror Tram a better grade (but it seems like you had really bad timing). I guess the Franklin thing is really hard to miss, which is a shame since it's the freakin' highlight of the movie for me. As for the store scene, I don't think it's in the maze... I've watched the video for it at least 3 or 4 times and have never seen it. I guess it's only in Orlando, which is a shame... we got jipped a scene! Oh well, still a good maze. . Yeah, I was really excited about the Terror Tram. The video I watched after the event made the entire thing seem not crowded at all, that everyone got a good amount of scares. In my experience, it was like bumper to bumper traffic all the way to the end. Had it been another time, I probably would have easily given it anywhere from a B to A-. I just watched the WD video, and the store is definitely not it it, which is disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevler Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I think there is only one 'franklin' so its possible he wasn't there when you went through. Ive been through Texas twice now and only seen him once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I've seen two separate videos and it looked like two different guys. Maybe the scene is just poorly lit and he's in a weird spot or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Great review JGMoney! I do agree with you regarding both Silent Hill and TCM. Did get to go through Terror Tram late in the evening on Friday and there were just as many scareactors as guests, felt almost as if the zombie apocalypse made it to universal! Edited October 8, 2012 by AsylumSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingundisputed_ Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Walking Dead: Dead Inside: Let's start off by saying this was my favorite maze of the night. The facade was huge and the best of the night. First time I'd seen a scare in the facade area. I am a huge fan of the show, so Murdy's distraction scare tactics worked really well on me. For example, when I saw Bicycle Girl, it was so well done, I ended up staring at it as I walked through, leaving my back turned to another zombie. This happened throughout the maze and I never learned. The sets were incredible, zombies great, scares great, just all around amazing. Since the sets were based on the show, it told a vague story for people who haven't watched it. That wasn't a downside for me, but could be for others. I don't have much else to say, just that this was one of my favorite mazes I have been in. Facade: 3/3 Scares: 5/5 Makeup/Costumes: 5/5 Sets/Lighting: 5/5 Story 4.5/5 Total: 22.5/23 98% A+ Thanks for the kind words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 No problem! You were Bicycle Girl, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingundisputed_ Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Yes I am. It's nice to hear praise for the role because it's so strenuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) That entire scene had the best scare in my opinion. I was just so focused on how cool your effect was, I completely forgot I was in the maze and other things would jump at me. Just changed the Terror Tram, Silent Hill, and Monsters Remix grades, as I feel I was slightly too hard on them. They are all ranked the same, just with higher grades. Edited October 10, 2012 by JGmoney1996 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.HHN Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Good Review! I cat wait to write mine when I go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGmoney1996 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Good Review! I cat wait to write mine when I go! Can't wait to read it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts