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JW's One-Shot review (hidden spoilers)


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OK so I was only able to go to HHN the 18th this year due to covering other events and family issues. So what I saw was what I got. I've always believed you should be able to see everything in one night with a base ticket. So this was the ultimate test of that belief.

So, Keep that in mind when your reading. I don't get a chance to makeup for a bad run-through. I am seeing this as presented one time only.

Anyway let me dive right in with a play by play. I'll censor anything I feel is a spoiler with tags.

First off, we got to Universal at 5:30 to do the AP party. By the time I was able to go through the line, metal detectors, and finally the ticket turnstile, the opening ceremonies were completed and regular guest were already coming in. At this point I realized the AP party was probably no longer worth the effort. I mean, basically we were only late to the party by the 10 min it took to get to the gate from the parking lot. 

Regardless, We proceeded to the party which involves rushing through HHN-ICONS (The icons were on their stages) and also through Evils Roots which had two or three scareactors, My wife also got an amazing shot of one of the bat critters,

Anyway by the time we got to the first house, TWD it was 6:26 (seriously took that long to get through the lines) and the posted wait time was 45 minutes. We actually only waited 24 min so that is great so far. 

The Walking Dead (2 out of 8)

Overall the walking dead had decent sets. Unfortunately more of the same from years past. I was particularly disappointed with 

 

 bloaters in the water, seriously they were just people standing in water. Where are the levels of scaring?

also

the same thriller dancing zombies from last year

Overall not impressed at all. I mean I recognized what they were doing. I just didn't feel they weren't accurate or effective representations of the scenes they were trying to depict. It just kind of ended. Throw in that zombies are boring and played out and It was a snooze fest. Kudos to the one zombie who hit me with his chin (I think) while growling in my ear. Only thing that startled me. Also why is the facade worse than the one from last year? 

Anyway so we moved immediately to The Purge. It was 7:00 and the posted wait time was 1 hour however we only waited about 45 min. 

The Purge (2 out of 8)

The opening room was creative but, once we past that it was very clear that the house was Scream with the walls sprayed with Graffiti. Like every wall. EVERY WALL. Yeah there were guys in masks that came at you with various weapons. It all pretty much felt the same in every room.

At that point we got a drink in MIB and then moved to Insidious at 7:52. Posted as a 55 min wait time actually waited 1 hour and 5 min. 

Insidious (6 out of 8)

Finally a good house! Great scares, great ambiance, great effects. My only qualm was the obnoxious ops standing in the middle of the scenes. Really kills the house. In one room the dude was standing right in front of and obstructing the scares.

Filled up our cup... BTW I like the new cup idea. I don't really like the size or that I can't fill it up more than once every 10 min. I get that it is supposed to stop you from sharing but the amount of fluid in the cup is like a swig for me. 

Next we moved to Run so we had to move through ALL NITE DIE-IN. The classic monsters were out. They were completely swallowed up by the crowd. It was very hard to get through the scarezone with all the people. The scareactors were using the crowd to as a distraction which is great but it doesn't really feel like a haunted, abandoned drive in when you are elbow to elbow with people. 

We arrive at Run at 9:13 and the wait time was posted as 45 min. We actually waited 47 min.

Run (5 out of 8)

I like the concept for this house. Like a post-apocalyptic, alternate universe 80's. I liked how it was laid out with the nationalities having specific rooms/kills. But it felt very short. I was hoping for a little more. Some good and imaginative scares. Seemed we missed quite a few due to timing though. Still good house and a solid effort. 

As we left the modern monsters were out and about. Again way too crowded. We actually just went behind the screen to get away from the crowd. But... the strangers dude followed us and got my wife good. Bravo!

We then move to Body Collectors through PSYCHOSCAREAPY. There wasn't much going on here scare wise. A few people dressed in costumes. Zero scares. I also, inadvertently, watched a video of the scarezone from the EP and a great deal of the set pieces were missing from that. The burning gazebo seemed a bit too on fire. It was constantly flaming up. 

We arrived at Body Collectors at 10:18 the posted wait time was 60 min. We came to the sinking realization that we wouldn't make it to all the houses. So we decided we would hit the originals, then FvsJ, and then AWIL if we could (I knew there was no way). Another thing we (and everyone else) noticed was the disproportionate numbers of expressers to standard line that are let in. I counted roughly 50 expressers to roughly 15 standard. At one point the line was held up for the expressers yet they refused to let us in the house. I realized what I had surmised all along. People who just pay to get in and don't pay the extra money are considered third-class. They do not care about them. Expressers get priority by at least 3 fold. Then of course first class are your rippers. Despite all that we still waited only 30 min. Realize of course the line was only, in reality, a 5 min wait without the unfair treatment.

Body Collectors (7 out of 8)

Beautiful facade. Just amazing house all around. I really enjoyed this house. Just breathtaking. Great scares and imaginative setups. I wish I could have done it again.

I decided I had to see Monsters and Mayhem if nothing else. So we skipped F vs J, stopped at monster cafe to fill up the cup, and traversed Screampunk. Not as crowed but zero scares... until we got into the line for Monsters and Mayhem. They got us pretty good through the minions queue. When we got in the line at 10:56 the posted wait time was 60 min and we waited just about that. 

Monster and Mayhem (8 of 8)

Wow just wow. This house is everything I could ever hope it would be and more. Hands down the best facade ever. The house is a fantastic blend of things from the past. Just awesome. This made the night for me. If only I had skipped a few houses and done this one two or three times. Great consistent scares. Honestly I can't say enough about how much I loved this house. Only one thing bugged me.

 

Why was there only one actual Jack sacreactor in this house while everyone else in Jack costumes just had Jack makeup on. Are they supposed to be his manics? I just didn't understand

Filled the cup (apparently you are on your own that last hour fill-ups stop at midnight), hit our first bathroom break and headed to Asylum. It's a little weird to figure out how to get in but not ultra difficult like I was told. We arrived at 12:10 with a posted wait time 65 min. We experienced more of of the third class shunning. I counted 60 expressers before I had to move. 25 standard. We wait 40 min but the line was more of a 20 min wait tops.

Asylum (1 out of 8)

Man I wanted this to be good. Holy crap did it suck. It was not scary, not like Alice, goofy, and unimaginative. I truly hated this house. I guess this is because I loved the In-Between so much. I really had high hopes for this one. So disappointing. I guess, to say something positive, I did like one costume. I also thought some of the 3D techniques were pretty cool. The facade was really good.

So at 12:50 we sprinted to F vs J. Full on run. We made at 12:56 (cut off was 1:00) and there were 6 people behind us. The posted wait time was 45 min. Of course, there were no expressers getting in as the line was closed (and being removed behind us) so it moved pretty quick. Ah a glimpse of the good old days were everyone was equal. We waited about 19 min.

Freddy  Vs. Jason (4 out of 8)

This probably would have scored much higher... if there were scareactors. I mean it looked great but I counted 10 scareactors. We went though at least 3 rooms with no one in them. The actors who played Jason were very intimidating. I saw one Freddy and he seemed like he was ready to go home. But, as I said the sets were really cool.

As we were walking out all the lines were being removed. In the streets, all the lights were on, scareactors were gone, and people were hurriedly removing props. One guy seemed particularly eager for us to move along so when he said: "Bye, thanks for coming have a great night" I finished it with "Now get out of here!" and he laughed. But it did feel like the carpet was being removed while we were standing on it  To my dismay the new store was closed. Luckily, the main store was still open. So were carefully chose a few items from the wide variety of over-priced merchandise (seriously $20.00 for a refrigerator magnet?!?) and we promptly left.

I did not see the any shows, I did not See AWIL (I really didn't care as it was a replica. Still would have liked to compare), I rushed though all the scarezones, and barely made 8 houses.

Despite all the stress and running around, I enjoyed 5 of the 8 houses. Only one pissed me off and I felt like it was a waste of time. M&M and Body Collectors are high up on my list of all-time favorites.I would say I'm glad I went... but I don't really feel sad that I can't go back. For the price... tough call. I REALLY want to hate on the corporate greed-machine that it has become. But they have a great product... So long as you understand that you aren't going to see it all in one night without some monetary lubrication, divine intervention, mastermind planning, or blind dumb luck.

So to recap my ranking from best to worst.

M&M, Body collectors, insidious, run, F Vs J, TWD, purge, Alice

AWIL is NA 

The scarezones... eh. I have little opinion on them. I moved so fast it was hard to get one. What I did see around the mindless throngs of bodies I thought looked good. Just couldn't see the scares through all the people. I wonder if, eventually, they will phase them out and just have photo ops... kind of there anyway 

Shows have never mattered to me. I mean if I had time sure but there just wasn't any. 

Overall I give the event 8 out of 10 hard earned coins. 

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i do think either:

scarezones will just completely disappear, Or they do become regular photo ops. that's just the way it is starting to look. The streets get way too crowded and sometimes actors cannot even scare anymore. I saw that happening in the ALL NITE DIE-IN  zone, some of the actors didn't have any space to move. 

 

I am not sure how I feel about this. I like the zones a lot but it is becoming clear that the way  zones were in the past is almost over. Not only are the crowds big but also the fact that the parade will never allow to have a lot of decorations out is making it look like the time for zones is over. 
(I hope they become Photo ops, I hope they don't remove them completely) 

Edited by clash
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I saw one YT video review that called the wolfman or someone in DIE IN a jerk because they wouldn't stop to take a picture..

 

Really??

The point is to SCARE not stand around and pose for pictures..... There was so many picture taking/selfies in the streets this year. 

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Or noses... or wigs. IF that is true that's a terrible ovetsight. They sell Jack masks at the event for crying out loud! Use a couple. Terrible mismanagement. 

I even saw an ad for the event using a bald nose less Jack. That last room has like 5 Jack... Zero dressed as Jack fully. So I'm not sure.

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Or noses... or wigs. IF that is true that's a terrible ovetsight. They sell Jack masks at the event for crying out loud! Use a couple. Terrible mismanagement. 

I even saw an ad for the event using a bald nose less Jack. That last room has like 5 Jack... Zero dressed as Jack fully. So I'm not sure.

I saw nothing but bald-capped Jacks, was told the same thing on Twitter. Yes, horrible oversight.  That and the unfinished ending, not sure why everyone is fangirling out over this house.

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???

In another thread, but basically

the end is a long stretch of Christmas lights and some chain link fence with two random chainsaws (one from Meetz Meats).
  Rumor is a Poe room and something else got cut  when the change-over to Purge ate up what remained of the budget. Edited by SeventyOne
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  Rumor is a Poe room and something else got cut  when the change-over to Purge ate up what remained of the budget.

Considering M&M would have been completely (or at least 90%) by the time Scream was pulled, I doubt that. I'm sure people in Creative were pitching their own personal favs, that doesn't mean they cut or even planned.

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Considering M&M would have been completely (or at least 90%) by the time Scream was pulled, I doubt that. I'm sure people in Creative were pitching their own personal favs, that doesn't mean they cut or even planned.

This^ Plus.. It doesn't look like purge ate up any budget. They already had the masks/costumes/set structure built. And if the spray paint used to cover up scream costs just as much as building extra scenes for M&M in regards to budget. Then that's some fine high quality spray paint!

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I completely agree. Purge had zero budget that I can see. maybe a few mask and some spray paint.

It baffles me and truly bugs me about the Jacks still... If they are intended to be Jack. Just makes no sense to have an unfinished product. I mean the house is amazing otherwise but why not put your best foot for forward?

 

The variance in reviews of houses is good I think. It shows the diversity in the houses and appealing to different tastes.

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I completely agree. Purge had zero budget that I can see. maybe a few mask and some spray paint.

It baffles me and truly bugs me about the Jacks still... If they are intended to be Jack. Just makes no sense to have an unfinished product. I mean the house is amazing otherwise but why not put your best foot for forward?

 

The variance in reviews of houses is good I think. It shows the diversity in the houses and appealing to different tastes.

I went opening night too so I see what you mean with the Purge. However what will be this house's saving grace - and some of the houses need this too (I'm calling you out FvJ)- is aggressive scareactors, but that's something that grows with the event.

So far I'm treating this house like a potential Havoc house - both used recycled sets but what made Havoc fantastic was its scareactors. If the Purge can take it 2 steps further then I'll be happy.

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  • 1 month later...

OK this is my nearly month later look back at what I saw. I was incredibly frustrated with Universal, HHN, the fans, and generally everything to do with it. I stopped being ADMIN and have left or ignored most groups regarding the event.

I have since gone to other haunts and just been able to decompress a bit so I wanted to look back with an unbiased (well as unbiased as I can be) look at the event with a reflective look to see if what I said holds up or if I have softened my views on it. So he it is oh yeah SPOILERS... seriously dude if you aren't there tonight there are 3 days left.

The Walking Dead

Pros - I like the very first room and the feel like you were going through a cattle shoot... Which is about all that fits the cattle line you are already in.

Cons - It's the 4th year. I am tired of the show and zombies in general. The facade was terrible (Why didn't they just use last years?). I did not see multi layered scares. The bloaters were terrible. The horse was awful. The finale was a joke.

Overall - Really just over this idea and the genre. Even so, I like Shallow Grave's take on zombies and I feel they did 5 times better.

The Purge -

Pros - It's high energy. The first room was creative. If you are afraid of people with guns or like the movies you will probably like it.

Cons - It's highly repetitive. It feels rushed. It's obvious it was supposed to be scream.

Overall - This ranks very low for me. I don't care for the movie and I find the concept illogical and just poorly thought out. Aside from that, the house is graffiti with masked gunman. This could have had the same effect on me if it was one room. UI know they painted themselves into a corner with Scream and had to scramble but it just didn't work for me. Rather than force and IP into a completely different IP why not make an original concept that will allow you to be more creative?

Insidious

Pros -This was a great house: Great scare, great visuals, great atmosphere.

Cons -The accursed OPS. Terrible horrible people. OK that's not fair... I'm sure they are doing what they are told. But they ruin this house completely.

Overall - I'm not a fan of Insidious and I love this house. Really nothing else to say.

Run

Pros - I like the concept. I like the soundtrack. Very high energy. 

Cons - Not really scary. Nothing really stood out for me.

Overall - I saw it. I liked it. I forgot it.

Body Collectors

Pros - Gorgeous house. Some Great scares. Intriguing concept.

Cons - Back story dependent (possibly). Not super scary.

Overall - Really I'm splitting hairs  I really enjoyed it.

Monster and Mayhem

Pros - Amazing facade. Great transitions between room. Great choice of past years. Some truly terrifying scares.

Cons - **** NO JACK MASKS **** Maybe a little to much fan service?

Overall - Beautiful wrap up to 25 years of HHN. If this was the last house ever did at HHN I'm cool with that. IDK if it is too much fan service because I can't stop knowing all the back story. I can see where someone would just see it as a bunch of random rooms. But that is minor. I absolutely cannot forgive the lack of Jack masks in a house about Jack. YOU SELL THE FLIPPING MASKS IN PARK. That really just irks me to no end.

Asylum

Pros - Great facade. Many great uses of 3D. A decent, if not overplayed, concept. Most disorienting vortex to date.

Cons - Overplayed concept that wasn't utilized correctly. 3D. Not scary.

Overall - I was truly pissed off by this house and waiting an hour for it. There are so many amazing things you could do with Alice. They have been done! This is why if you are going to breach this subject you need to pony up and bring something new to the table. They did not. The 3D is annoying and I feel it takes away from the concept. The whole thing comes off as goofy. A goofy fun house with no scares. It felt so out of place here.

Freddy Vs Jason

Pros -  Faithful recreation of sets. Very nice to look at. all the Jasons were very intimidating.

Cons - Empty. Stops the focus on guests halfway through. Screen visual seemed like I was watching a video game. No tension. No scares. No energy.

Overall - This wasn't bad and I'm sure I got a bad run. But that was all I got. All I can really comment on is the visuals as they were there. The actors I DID see have very little energy. Once they started fighting each other it seemed like the guests no longer mattered.

AWIL

Pros -  I didn't see it... take that how you want.

Cons - Repeating a house from 2 years ago with the exact same footprint.

Overall - Based on what I heard from Landis himself, he was dissatisfied with the original (particularly the wolves) so this was to save face. That's the only reason I can see to do this. 

Scarezones

Pros - Hey we got scare zones! Evil's Roots looks like it was probably good. Love the decorations in New York.

Cons - ANDI  Way too crowded to enjoy... Yet PS felt horribly empty. Screampunk... Didn't feel like a thing. was just too crowded. ICONS seemed like a photo op but I really didn't see.

Overall uh... Overall

I found this year to be fair-to-middling. The highs slightly outweigh the lows... but just. The prices are too freaking high and the crowds are too freaking much.

I just don't see the value. I will remember a few things about this year that I liked, I will remember a lot of frustration, and the rest will fade away.

Will I come back... Undetermined. As much as I liked Shallow Grave and HOS, I don't know if the there is enough replay value to bring me back to them every year. At least I can say HHN will be all... er... mostly original... Somewhat? Yes that's it! Somewhat original. But there are a lot of other haunts I feel I have deprived myself by investing so much time and energy into this one... and quite frankly I'm exhausted by it. If I do come back it will be without pre-knowledge (well minimal),  not in the first week, no obsessing over it, no worrying that I won't hit everything, and certainly no pre-season anticipation. I will just go to enjoy what I can with a base ticket and move on.

So while it may not be the complete end of my time at HHN completely, It is the end of JWFearman (or JW or JDW). I'm closing the HHN obsessed chapter of my life and moving on to healthier pursuits. Props to everyone who makes the event possible. Props to the die-hards, and props to the amazing development team. I wish you all well and happy haunting. I'll still be around from time to time (mostly promoting my own work) so hit me up here, on Facebook or on my site if you need/want something I can answer or provide.

Cheers,

Jeramy

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the difference between the masks for Jack in the house and the masks in the store is that the ones in the house have the mouth open for the actor to talk (from what I could tell.) The same way the Freddy masks have the mouth area open as well. (all the Jack's are fully masked now)  

I think you had a really bad run with Freddy Vs Jason. the Freddy actors have a lot of energy now and the Jason Actors are pretty creepy. 

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