Nearly Died

[Goo]

So this weekend my friends and I road tripped to Orlando for Horror Nights. All was good up until we were about 40 minutes away from Orlando and the driver (my friend) lost control of the car and ended up running into the median and rolling over 4 times. Thankfully we all had our seat belts on and there was some grass because if there wasn't the accident could have been a million times worse. So with that said, if you're driving, whether it be 30 minutes away or 5 hours away, wear your seat belts because it saved my life this weekend.

Now onto the actual review. I'm gonna keep it simple and concise because there's no need to restate what a lot of people have already said. I had to push my friend around in a wheelchair, because yes, we still went but sporting some bloody shorts and some cuts and bruises. It was kind of a new experience pushing a wheelchair around, too. I'm gonna give my three favorites and then the rest kind of fall under the "meh" category but still follow the order of what I liked the most and the least.

Houses

1. Evil Dead - This was my favorite house of this year. The detail was spot on and it followed the movie well. The layout of the house was somewhat awesome to me for some reason. The way you go from the woods to the cabin to back into the woods and then back into the cabin was very well done and and it felt very fresh and new. My only gripe is what was with the giant white screen with no video playing on it? But then you go into the cabin and the movie is playing? Felt very odd to me. Also the effects weren't really what I was expecting, the gore didn't seem there either.

2. AWiL - Lovely house and very well crafted. Felt bare in some areas but it still flowed very nicely. Was there ever an actor in the first room? Because it felt weird that there wasn't anyone in there. Anyways, the scares were there and I sets were great. Followed the movie very well and puppets were awesome.

3. CitW - The first half of this house was really, really good. The second half however... was okay but I didn't find it nearly as good or scary as the first half. Disappointed that the merman was just a prop and there was no unicorn scare. I felt like the second half was just full of missed opportunities but it was still pretty good.

4. La Llorona - This house has BEAUTIFUL sets. Like really just stunning but that's about it. No scares here really and the final was just so flat I walked out thinking "that's it?" The giant puppet for Hollywood should have been where the last scareactor is in the house. Also, this house was the hardest to get through with the wheelchair because there are some pretty tight corners.

5. Walking Dead - Great sets, followed the show well, but I didn't get why we don't start in the prison, but that's just my opinion. Scares weren't there for me but I thought the multiple paths were a neat idea and I hope they explore the possibilities of this in the future. Also, I appreciated that the wheelchair section wasn't scare-less. Actors were doing pretty good with what they had.

6. Havoc - Honestly this house could have been awesome but it ends just as it's getting good. Is this the shortest house in HHN history? Because it felt like it. I felt bad for the actors in the beginning because they're all in cages and they can't do much but yell at you. After the crash though things pick up, but sadly, that's when it ends.

7. Resident Evil - Honestly the only reason that this house isn't last is because of the sets. Again, beautiful. But scares? Pretty much none. I'm not really sure why they didn't just do the mansion considering that seems like a better setting for a house. The sets again were great and the references to the game were cool but beyond that this house really falls flat.

8. After Life - Honestly this house just flat out was disappointing to me. There were some neat rooms but it just felt very "been there done that" to me. It's very much like The In-Between but not as good. The best part was the knife bursting through the chest. Cool to look at but that's about it.


Streets

Honestly the streets, in my opinion, sucked. Has nothing to do with the actors because you guys were doing what you could, but what's exciting about seeing zombies everywhere you go? Nothing. The sets were cool but there are a few areas that were pretty much made for taking pictures, which made getting through with a wheelchair somewhat of a nightmare because of the crowds (especially in the woods area). It really just didn't feel like HHN to me at the end of the night. I didn't care about stopping to look at things or to watch the actors scare people because honestly, I could not care less about the Walking Dead. Not only that, but zombies just aren't that cool anymore. I was happy to see the Drill Team but they were in the worst possible place in my opinion. They really clogged up the area they were in and they could have been used to fill in the front of the park a little. Just didn't make sense to me. Overall, the streets were very disappointing and I hope they never give the streets a central theme like this ever again because it really just felt lame. I felt the legions were cooler because of the variety they gave the crowd, and yes, the sets weren't that extravagant but they were consistent and gave the actors what they needed to scare. I'd like to see a mixture of the legions and the classic scarezones in the future.

Shows

Sadly I didn't get to see any because we only had three hours in the park by the time we got there.

Overall, I think this is the first year that I could have probably missed without really caring. I'm glad I went because it helped us all relax and have some fun after the accident that happened on the way up but comparing it to passed years I just don't think this year was anything worth running out to. I had a good time but I could have went to Howl O Scream and had just as much fun but for a cheaper price and might have even left a little more satisfied at the end of the night.

Edited October 13, 2013 by Goo

[coleman2122]

I'm glad you are safe. Great review by the way! And, what is the "Knife Scene" in Afterlife?

[Goo]

I'm glad you are safe. Great review by the way! And, what is the "Knife Scene" in Afterlife?

There is a scene were it looks like a someone shoves a knife through an actors back and it comes out the other side. I believe there's some water squirting as well. Pretty cool effect.

[LV-426]

I agree about the chainsaw drill team placement being pretty odd. I also do not understand why they are where they are. But who knows, they have their reasons.

I think the shortest house is RE? I don't know,

I had the same thoughts about Havoc and Cabin, I thought they were going to have more monsters (props) in the last rooms.
Agree about the streets.

[agalloch]

Good review! I agree with a lot of your points.

And you're on point about AWIL - no actor in the beginning - and the house does feel a bit bare.

[Cody]

There is a scene were it looks like a someone shoves a knife through an actors back and it comes out the other side. I believe there's some water squirting as well. Pretty cool effect.

Yeah, it's toward the end. I think it's the second or third-to-last scene in the house.

[somebody85]

Wow I can't believe you still went after your car rolled. Glad your safe dude but that is the last thing I would want to do after experiencing a car accident like that. I've personally been in a car that rolled and walked away with a few cuts while my friend (the driver) had to be airlifted to the hospital.

I doubt anything at the event scared you even remotely close to that accident. The event doesn't scare me as is, but that definitely would. I'm terrified of car accidents.

[PeoriaBJJ]

I think you deserve an HHNer of the Year award for rolling a car 4 times and STILL going to the event! Bravo sir! Bravo!