AsylumSB's "Stage 28, House of Horrors, and VIP Memorial" Review of HHN 2015

[AsylumSB]

AsylumSB's "Stage 28, House of Horrors, and VIP Memorial" Review of HHN 2015

As I (partially) joked about it in my title, Universal may have lost a step with the overall quality of the event which I think is symbolized by the loss of Stage 28, the beloved House of Horrors, and bizarre abandonment of VIP.  It is unforgiveable to toss aside the brand of classic horror that put the studio on the map.  A House of Horrors maze (or even scarezone) would have definitely made up for the loss of the venue.  Of course, the business decision to build retail and restaurants make sense, but losing Stage 28 and VIP is so bizarre, it actually DOES make sense that a large company would do it.  I have been in those types of meetings where executives, on a whim, lack of information, or ego, thinks something is a good idea without much realization of the impact it will have.   It is easier to get rid of something than improve or maintain it.  For example, Stage 28:  Historically important building for Universal, built specifically for the filming of the Phantom of the Opera and home to so many other feature films.  The (partial) original set for Phantom was housed and used for modern films.  Let's tear it down for a much better venue…a big black tent!  Wait, the tent is only temporary?  Even better….blacktop!  D'oh!

VIP is even a more bizarre decision; there is nothing better for a business model then to drive away a sector of your paying customer.  I know people who did not think twice about staying away and honestly believe that many people skipped the event this year because of this faux pau, as indicated on other forums and social media.  I did FOL this year and took advantage of early entry, but the overall ambience and uniqueness of the event was taken down a notch.  So did the death of Stage 28, HOH, and VIP admission drive the stake through the heart of the event?  Bad pun intended…Hee Hee! 

 

Aside from my rant, simply put, Halloween Horror Nights 2015 edition gave us the usual tricks and treats this Halloween season.  This is not to say the event has completely lost its way, just that it does not feel as fresh as 2009 nor as energetic as last years Bill and Ted-less haunt.  While we enjoyed our visit and found many positive things about the event, there just seemed to be less "electricity" in the air and the overall excitement usually found at HHN seemed to be missing.

 

We did have Front of the Line passes but decided on a whim to head directly to the park instead of our usual pre-event Citywalk stroll.  It was very surprising that we walked quickly through security right to the turn-styles at 515pm, were given our FOL lanyard, early entry band, and were told to have fun!  No lines and we able to complete (in order) Jurassic Park, Insidious, Walking Dead, Transformers, Aliens vs Predator , and  the Mummy by 7pm.  And that was without having to use FOL!  This was a great way to start off the evening and had plenty of time to meet some friends for a few of the attractions (who also traveled from Arizona).

 

So, you wanted the best, you got the best....the hottest awards in the world...AsylumSB!  (With my apologies to KISS)

 

The "Turn Your Head and Cough" Award:

…Goes to John Murdy!  That's right, our chief of scares literally turned his head and coughed on me as we were walking by!  Murdy and Chris Williams were talking with a few girls by the queue line entrance to This is the End 3D  and I told my wife who they were.  Not one to bother folks, I decided to keep walking when he turned and did the deed.  Maybe I will become more creative through osmosis of his germs.

 

The "Other Than a Scareactor" Award:

….Is awarded to Universal Customer Service!  Not only was early entry effective, but customer service refunded my FOL overcharge by giving me Universal bucks to use throughout the park.  I appreciated their willingness to work with me and they seemed happy to assist.

 

Scarezone of the Year:

CORPZ had some decent sets and the cast had a lot of energy, I was "gored" by Krampus in Dark Christmas, and the Purge zone had some heavy fog with scareactors making most of the theme.  However, I give the Scarezone of the Year to Exterminatorz because many of the reactions from guests indicated their enjoyment for the zone.  This includes several folks who were observed screaming like a banshee when the "bugz" went after them with the chainsaws.  Since there were so few go-go's this year, it was good to see they were still at the front gate.  Although, I think they would be more effective and entertaining if moved back to the heart of the scarezone similar to "Welcome to Hell". 

 

Maze/Attraction of the Year:

From what I experienced, most of the mazes had the same level of energy, scares, and set-piece quality.  I thought there was something unique and unforgettable with each property.  Numerically ranked in order for attractions rated as "good" to "great".

 

#7.  Aliens vs Predator is still a well designed maze, but I felt the scares and energy level was a bit subdued when compared to the other mazes.  Wait times went down to 10 minutes or so during peak times.  I had to do a double take because one of the predators looked like he was wearing the mask but had on a regular light colored tank top.  No costume.  Hee Hee.

 

#6.  The scenic design in Crimson Peak was brilliant and the effects were a very nice touch.  Although, some of the characters seemed similar; reminded me of Insidious.

 

#5.  Terror Tram (The Purge):  The cast worked hard throughout this Hollywood tradition, but the characters in the film act like a bunch of angry people….not that scary.  We stopped by the Norman Bates Photo Op and I was killed by the Psycho man himself while my wife applauded my demise.   Great picture.

 

#4. Yes… I liked This is the End!  The 3D was pretty good, the cast was full of energy, and who could forget the greatest scareactor ever…..Channing Tate-Yum!  Just joshing.  Sure the sets had very little likeness to those in the film but the cast performed well.  The Exorcism of Jonah Hill was surprisingly effective and the demons were always on their game throughout the maze.

 

#3.  The Walking Dead did a great job of re-enacting scenes from Season 5 and there were just as many (if not more) scares from the human characters.  Would have been better if there were more walkers.  The horde broke down during a repeat run and techs were trying to repair it.

 

#2.  Halloween felt similar to 2009 and those Halloween III trick-or-treaters scared the life out of me.  Very high energy throughout the maze.   Did I miss the Silver Shamrock theme?  Or was it not used?  There were a few scenes from the original film mimicked by the scareactors…nice touch.

 

#1.  Insidious.  A great effort to combine all three chapters in one maze.  There was some decent effects, which were impressively countered by minimalistic sets as seen in the films.  The villain from the latest installment, "The Man Who Could Not Breathe", was well represented.  The level of scares were a hair short of those produced by the cast in 2013.

 

The "Attraction That I Had Absolutely No Desire to Experience" Award:

Jabbawonkers, Jabbawookies, JabbaJabbaDingDong…..whoever they were, I had no desire to see this show, and the giant, generic Michael Myers mask in the entrance to the show did not help with changing my mind.

 

The "What the H-E Double Hockey Sticks Happened to this Ride" Award:

Jurassic Park deserves this award for having very little effects working including the falling vehicle, lack of lighting and sound in the final scene, and the final T-REX looked like he was on a school yard swing.  The welcome to the jungle song was suspiciously absent.  Most of the animatronics looked shabby and in need of desperate refurbishment.

 

 

STAGE 28

RIP 2014

(I think I see "Erik the Phantom" swinging from the rafters)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by AsylumSB

[DTH316]

Great creative review.

How dare you like TITE though. EW! lol jk

[AsylumSB]

Great creative review.

How dare you like TITE though. EW! lol jk

I really did not want to see TITE based on previous discussions here at HNN.  We held off seeing it until late in the evening.  But, I actually found myself enjoying it.  The 3D was decent and the cast was great.  The lookalike scareactors impressed me, especially, Craig Robinson, after saying his final phrase, picked up his miniature pitchfork, smirked, and pointed it at my wife on the way out.