Dead Inside's HHN25 Review (some spoilers)

[Dead Inside]

(Copied and pasted my review posted on Orlando United so the font might be a bit off):

 

Scarezones:

5. All Nite Die-In: I was able to see both the Black and White and Modern characters, and I use that term lightly as it was way too congested to see the characters. I guess I preferred B&W, but this zone wasn't anything special IMO. Maybe if it was less crowded my opinion would have been different.

4. Scary Tales: It's neat. That's pretty much it, the characters look nice but it's nothing to write home about.

3. Icons: Nice to see the past on display. Didn't see any of the kills unfortunately. 

2. Evil's Roots: Loved this scarezone, that bush scareactor got me good.

1. Psychoscareapy Unleashed: This was the best scarezone IMO. A fun atmosphere and I actually got quite a few scares. Shoutout to the guy with the chainsaw who was staring at me and following me for 10 or 20 seconds straight until he finally attacked.

Houses:

9. The Purge

Screw this house. No seriously, screw this house. When I exited this house I was mad. This house could have been great as Scream, instead we get this. I'll admit I had one good jump with the airblast towards the middle, but otherwise I didn't get a lot of scares. The strobes in this house went too overboard at times, especially the finale. Holy crap did that give me a headache. I wouldn't mind seeing The Purge return properly and I can't put a lot of blame on A&D because of how late in the game this was added, but this is the worst house of the two years I've attended. 4/10

8. The Walking Dead: The Living and the Dead

Going in I had very low expectations. Considering some said it's one of the worst houses ever I was really anxious to see how bad it was. To my surprise, this house was actually pretty decent. The cast I had (around 7:30) was very aggressive, and while they didn't scare me, they definitely made me move back a bit. The best way to describe it is Scarezone: The House. If the cast wasn't giving their all I would have removed a point from my score. The opening scene in Terminus was pretty cool and the revolving door was neat, this house had a lot of neat moments. Yeah, the flooded food bank scene sucked and the Knife Party song in the finale was laughable, but this cast saved the house. Also, I'm starting to notice a trend in the Parade Building where the cast gives it their all but it's just not scary. It happened last year with Roanoke and it happened this year. If whatever house is in the Parade Building next year has this same problem, we can officially say it's a cursed location. 6.5/10

7. An American Werewolf in London

I didn't go in 2013 so I never got to experience this house before. I've heard a lot about how this year's pales compared to 2013's because of the removal of some scares. Like I said in the AWIL thread last night, the first half of the house was really good but after the transformation it loses a lot of steam. The wolves looked great but the first one was the only one I got scared by. When you can see them far in advance you know what's coming and it doesn't make it scary. I'm curious if the reception will make A&D rethink doing another repeat for a long time. 7/10

6. Insidious

This house was disappointing. I got a couple of scares from the demon after the lair, the first Man Who Can't Breath, and The Woman in White, but the biggest problem was quite a few scares could be seen from far away. I got hit by the first demon and the Bride in Black where WIW was in the living room, but the problem was they were too far away and by the time they got near me I wasn't scared. Overall, it's a decent house but nowhere near HOTY for me. 7/10

5. Run: Blood, Sweat, and Fears

Originally this was high on my anticipation list but after some less than stellar reactions I lowered expectations. The queue video was great, as was the soundtrack (Smooth Criminal! Sledgehammer!). When I entered the house, after the first room I thought to myself "This house won't be good." But then in the Japan room, I got a scare! Then another! And another! I loved the Gladiator and Candy rooms, the gladiator came out of nowhere and the second scareactor in the Candy/America room was still there as I was getting scared by the first scareactor. The only time I noticed Hellgate was in the Candy room. My only complaint is that this house felt a bit short and that's keeping me from putting this as #4. 9/10

4. Asylum in Wonderland 3D

I had very low expectations for this because of the track record for 3D houses. I really enjoyed this house and actually got a couple of scares! The room with the words, the Queen's room, and the finale had some good scares. Even when actors were standing in the open like the plants were creepy. The vortex tunnel wasn't as disorienting as I expecting but was still fun to go through. Loved the tea party scene. The 3D didn't really have much of an effect but made some things look neat. Overall, a great house 9/10

3. Jack Presents: 25 Years of Monsters and Mayhem

Now we're getting to the excellent stuff. This house is filled to the brim with details. Some of my best scares of the night were thanks to the bear, the first scareactor in The Forsaken room (not sure if there were more in there), and the Phantom of the Opera. The finale and the Jacks in the house had some good scares too. I was going to redo this one but I was too tired. 10/10

2. Freddy vs Jason

Man, what a great house. I got quite a few scares from this, especially the Jasons. I missed a lot of Freddy's scares but the demon and air blasts in the boiler room got me good. Hell, the entire boiler room was full of scares. The sets were great. Didn't see any of the screens. Jason won. This house felt a bit on the short side because of how quick I went through the Camp Crystal Lake parts, but overall an excellent house. 10/10

1. Body Collectors: Recollections

This was the clear winner of HOTY for me. Right when you enter the facade you know you're in for a treat. The very first scare with an inmate popping out then a Collector splitting her throat was awesome. The room with the dead patient on the operating table had a great scare from the Collector on the right of where you enter. And that spine rip. DAMN! I was looking back and forth between that and making sure the scareactor after it reset already  Loved the room with the red robed Collector. The finale had my best scares of the night with an inmate popping out on one side then a Collector on the other. This house was simply amazing.10/10

[criticalanalysis]

When you can see them far in advance you know what's coming and it doesn't make it scary.

 

Yep. Surprised this glaring flaw wasn't fixed.