Henry14's HHN Hollywood 2016 Review!!

[Henry14]

Hello everybody! It is me, Henry14, and I am here to review Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016. Now before I do the actual reviewing I just want to make a quick little monologue about my thoughts on the lineup before the event even started. 

I was very much looking forward to this year because Mr. John Murdy said it was the year for the fans! We have been practically begging him to do these properties such as The Exorcist, Freddy vs Jason, Krampus (closest thing to a dark Christmas maze), and American horror story just to name a few. Plus there's no 3D mazes and an actual attempt to change up the terror tram! When Murdy said this was for the fans he wasn't kidding, so it's almost impossible to say that I'm not excited for 2016. But then I started doing some thinking. What if this is just a cash grab year and these mazes are just trying to grab a lot of people's attention? Did John Murdy just give up and just obeyed Universal and tried to get as much people as possible to come to the event? And as a result, could we get half-assed mazes based on the most iconic and fan-requested properties and end up having the most disappointing year of HHN ever?? After I thought about that, I lowered my expectations and tried to remind myself that not all of the mazes would be great.

And now thanks to my low expectations, I loved this year more than I should have! I am truly not kidding when I say this...this is in my opinion the best year of HHN so far!!! Not a single maze sucked and I actually thought the scare zones were pretty decent! I loved this year's event and it was so awesome and scary, and that's exactly what Halloween Horror Nights is supposed to be! Just like my review for 2015 I will rank the mazes, discuss the scare zones, and talk about the terror tram. So without further ado, let's get right into this!

 

7. The Walking Dead Attraction: 

After four years of being a haunted attraction during HHN, it's finally made into a daytime permanent attraction in Universal Studios Hollywood. And during HHN hours the amount of walkers double! I wasn't really looking forward to this because well...it's the walking dead. The first thing I want to talk about is how much detail was put into this attraction. The amount of detail was insane from the trash on the floor to the blood splatter filled with brains and hair. Now this attraction is different from an HHN maze in many ways. The sets have a bigger scale, the makeup and prosthetics are better, it uses animatronics instead of puppets, and it has state of the art special effects! I was expecting it to be as long as house of horrors but it was actually shorter. This would've never happened if that fucking Starbucks wasn't there! Very unfair, man. The best way I can describe this attraction is that it believes in style over substance. It's very enormous and visually impressive but it doesn't help the direction it's going for when it comes to scares. To be honest I thought this was the least scariest Walking Dead maze I've walked through during HHN. I mean the areas where the walkers pop out are pretty well placed but the actual scares were kind of weak. I guess it's because I was in such gargantuan environments and not in enclosed or claustrophobic spaces. Despite its weak scares and unscary vibe, the sets and detail in each room were unbelievable and I like how put their hard work into this attraction. This is a pretty good replacement for House of Horrors in my opinion and I recommend going through this at a regular Universal trip just to get a taste of HHN in the daytime.

C+

 

6. American Horror Story: 

After HHN 2015, we wondered what other television shows can be turned into a maze. We had From Dusk Till Dawn back in 2014 but it was based on a movie and the maze itself was pretty forgettable. Fans of both HHN and AHS have always wanted to see what it would be like to step into the world of Murderhouse, Asylum, and all the other seasons from the award-winning series. Now we get to experience some of the best scenes and come face to face with the most iconic characters from Murderhouse, Freakshow, and Hotel. And I gotta say, after all the years we've waited, it barely did not disappoint. Let's just start off with the facade. I'm just gonna say it...it was garbage. I personally did not like it because it's just so boring and not creative at all. It's just a big wall with red curtains and cardboard cutouts of three of the characters from each season and it says "American Horror Story". It makes me so mad that they literally put the name of the maze as if people don't know what maze they're gonna go through (I think I'm having Crimson Peak flashbacks)! They could've done so much more with the facade and I was pretty bitter about it. First we head into the infamous Murderhouse to survive horrifying encounters with Rubberman, Infantana, the Piggyman, and many more spirits that are trapped in there. The Murderhouse section was okay, I quite enjoyed it. They paid tribute to the first season pretty well and I got all giddy when I recognized the scenes from it. The sets looked like the environments from the show but not as much as the upcoming two other seasons. The scares were very average in this one. Half of them didn't have any triggers and just came out as awkward. The costumes and makeup were pretty good and very identical to the series. Now in the end of the Murderhouse section there's a character that was supposed to be in the actual show but was entirely cut out from it. Now we finally get to see the character in action and the design for him definitely looks like something out of AHS. As we escape the Murderhouse we now head to Jupiter, Florida to attend the local freak show and see strange oddities such as The Siamese Sisters, Pepper the Pinhead, and Chester and his puppet Marjorie. But it's Halloween night and we must escape Edward Mordrake and other spirits including Twisty the Clown. Freakshow is by far the best section of this maze! Everything from the scares, to the sets, to the costumes made me feel like I was in the actual show. I only wished I saw more of this season because it was so good and it made me wish for a whole maze just based on Freakshow. The facade was awesome and the banner scares were clever. I've been through this maze twice; once in employee preview and the second time on last night. On the second night, my mom was with me and every single Twisty was all up on her and I just laughed. After the cymbal monkey from the opening credits popped out, we go back to Los Angeles to check into the Hotel Cortez and witness the terrifying acts of James Patrick March, the Countess, and the rape demon just to name a few. I have to say that this was probably the weakest section of the maze. The sets were quite impressive and the characters looked like they jumped out of the tv screen, but other than that I really thought Hotel kind of fell flat for me. It also resulted in an underwhelming ending. I was hoping the final room would be a culmination of all the three seasons featured in the maze but it was just a random scene from the Hotel. That to me was kind of awkward and left me confused and made me want more. So overall, the entire maze was above average in my opinion. It paid tribute to the show more than I thought it would. Hell, it pays more tribute here than in any Walking Dead maze! If you're a hardcore fan of AHS this will totally be your favorite maze of the year. In my honest opinion I thought this was the weakest house due to its trashy facade, awkward scares, and so many missed opportunities. But I still had fun walking through this and it is a good addition to the rest of the lineup.

Final Grade: B 

 

5. The Exorcist: 

Ever since John Murdy became the creative director of horror nights he had always wanted to do a haunted maze based off the scariest horror film in cinema, The Exorcist. After 11 years he finally got the rights for it and now we have it this year. Despite my low expectations for the event, I was still really anticipating this one but when I walked through this house on employee preview night, I was very disappointed. But as of right now, I thought this maze kept getting better and better the more I walked through it. On Oct. 20 I've been through the exorcist twice and my third walkthrough was definitely the best. The facade was absolutely outstanding and it looked just like the movie poster with the fog and green lighting and Father Merrin standing in front of it. In the living room, you see subliminal images of "Captain Howdy" next to the moving ouija board and Regan climbing down the stairs. You could also smell a horrible stench in that room, not puke but something just as gross. I'm guessing it's Regan's body odor because she can't just be like, "Oh I'm just gonna take a quick shower break from being possessed!" Lol! After that, it's nothing but darkness AKA black transition walls. There's nothing that triggers me in HHN more than dark transition hallways because they're just there and they're just a lazy excuse to get from one scene to the other. But in this maze, the only scares are actually in the transitions. I think that works for a maze like this because if they scare you in pitch black darkness, that adds extra suspense and dread since you don't know when the next scare is coming up and as a result you end up feeling actual fear. And that's exactly what The Exorcist maze is supposed to be. Next, you enter Regan's bedroom where you see Damien Karras interviewing the demon while everything is moving by itself and the whole room comes alive. I enjoyed this room a lot, mostly because of the effects in there. I think the best aspect about the maze in my opinion are the effects because it's what makes the house have an exorcist vibe to it, as the actual film was very FX heavy. As we head into another black hallway, we come face to face with the actual demon itself, Pazuzu! As I said before, my third run through this maze was my best run. On that run, after Pazuzu scared one of the people in my group I can see him through the darkness and he's just pointing at me with a creepy grin on his face. It was that moment that made me thought, "This is The Exorcist!" As we head back to the bedroom, we see Father Merrin try to rid the evil spirit. The smell of the vomit was disgusting in that room! Of course Regan turns her head 180 degrees around and throws up all over everyone. I once again bring up my third run into this and during the puke scene, the head and vomit kept turning towards me and my group! The vomit followed us! I don't know if it's just me or not, but did the water that sprayed out feel warm? Just wondering. After that, we see Regan levitate in the form of a cross and the exorcist is throwing holy water as he says the iconic line, "The power of Christ compels you!" The Father Merrin mask that the actor was wearing was ridiculous. Dick Smith made groundbreaking old age makeup for the film and this was just an embarrassment to his work. The way they pulled off the levitation was pretty impressive and I give them props for that. As we walked further to the end, we experience a triple scare which I quite enjoyed that featured two Pazuzus and a cross formed Regan. Then, we see Merrin laying dead on the bed as Regan looks at us with her serpent tongue sticking out. All of a sudden, we see the statue form of Pazuzu from Iraq behind a scrim wall and Regan just panicks and reaches her arms up. That was a great moment in the maze as well. After we see possessed Karras sacrifice himself, sort of, we see the Pazuzu statue once again and this time it comes alive and scares you. Out of all the scares in this house I would have to say that's the weakest one. After a better scare, we just see Regan on the bed laughing at us. Hearing her maniacal and sinister laugh and the main theme song of the movie gave me chills. It was a very unsettling moment and it captured the spirit of the film very well. Here are my final thoughts on this maze: it was a good one. The scares, effects, and overall experience got better and better the more I walked through it. I just wish they could've done a little more and did something a little more original, but they did pretty well with the material they were given. 

Final Grade: B+

 

4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers: 

Back in Business was considered to be the scariest maze John Murdy has ever made. In 2012, we received a TCM maze based on the 1974 original film but it was supposed to be An American Werewolf in London, and it ended up being a total rush job. This year we were supposed to have The Conjuring as a maze, but something happened with the rights and now we have another last minute Texas Chainsaw house. To make sure that it doesn't seem like another rush job, John Murdy made a complex and original story for it. If I found out that it was supposed to be a conjuring house after I walked through Blood Brothers, I wouldn't believe it because this was a very well designed maze. Let's begin with the facade; the BBQ/gas station. It was really neat and very detailed. The first room was full of detail as well, with plates of delicious human flesh and a banner that says "Welcome Home ChopTop!" and even a picture of the hitchhiker from the first film, RIP. It even has a human barbecue smell in there. But the one thing that really stole the show was the actor who played Drayton Sawyer. He was so awesome and you could tell he had fun with his role! When I walked in, he was eating some "special homemade" food. So I asked him if I could try some of it and he responded by saying, "Well why don't you open your mouth wide open so I can shove a nice big bone in there?! Open up!" So I said never mind and he said, "THAT'S A GOOD BOY! HAHAHAAA!" I also like how he tells Leatherface to kill the victims and he pops out with his big chainsaw. That's what I call teamwork! This guy deserves a medal for having so much energy. After that, a random ChopTop scare comes out and we see a guy being roasted like a pig. We also see Leatherface cutting up a guy in pieces and blood squirts out of him. It squirted all over my hands when I  went in and I was all grossed out! After that, we walk through a meat locker filled with hanging dead pigs and skinned corpses while ChopTop tells Leatherface to get everyone. I just want to say that this maze has the best audio! John Murdy does ChopTop's voice and the things he says are creepy and weird, just like ChopTop. "GET EM BOY! GET EM LEATHERFACE!!" "WE GONNA SKIN Y'ALL LIKE DUMB ASS PIGS!!" "FRANKLIN! WE COMING TO GET YOU FRANKLIN!" It was so awesome! The Leatherface meat locker scare was unexpected and pretty good, despite the actor always having trouble trying to reach out to everyone. Then we head to the graveyard and it's pretty much just black walls with vines and trees with the smell of dirt. Next, we go inside a cave labeled 'Sawyer' and the dirt smell gets a little stronger. The Christmas lights were a nice touch since they're from TCM 2. Then we step in the Sawyer residence and go inside ChopTop's room. I thought the sets in this maze, especially this room, were kind of lackluster in my opinion. This room only has a bunch of hippie posters, a peace symbol made of bones, a skeleton lamp, a severed head to hold ChopTop's wig, a record player, and Nubbins. That's it. But I have to admit, seeing Nubbins was pretty cool! That room smelled like straight up butt! If someone were to stick their fingers in their asscrack, that's what it would smell like. We then go inside Leatherface's room. Ever since I attended the Midsummer Scream panel for HHN, I thought his room would be really detailed as John Murdy explained it to be, but to be honest it was as weak as ChopTop's room. So then we're in the sledgehammer kill scene room from the first film for some weird reason and after that, we're in the kitchen which was a pretty good room with a pretty good scare. Then we see ChopTop with Grandpa killing somebody with a sledgehammer. This is a great distraction for a Leatherface scare on the other side of the room. And finally we head to the chicken coop filled with decaying bodies and I got scared so good in that room. That room also smelled so horrible with the rotting corpse stench. To me, rotting corpse smells like intense gingivitis breath! I don't why!  Lol! I mentioned before that this maze had the best audio design this year. Another thing that supports that is The Heart of Texas song. I fucking love that song now! It's so catchy and I should have it as a ringtone. This house was really good and it was better than I expected it to be. Despite it's weak set pieces, I quite enjoyed the scares and the nasty smells made the atmosphere even better. But the best aspect about this maze were the costumes and masks. It definitely added the realism that I was actually inside an Texas chainsaw massacre movie. This was one rush job that I had fun walking through. 

Final Grade: B+ 

 

3. Krampus: 

In 2014, a Dark Christmas scare zone was created for HHN and it was considered to be the best scare zone ever (kind of overrated IMO). Fans of HHN have wanted an original maze based on that zone but that never happened. Instead we got a Krampus maze based on the 2015 film by Michael Doughtery. To be honest, I wasn't 100% on board with the idea of having a Krampus house in HHN. But despite my doubts, this maze was sooo good! The facade was visually awesome and it definitely set up the tone for the maze. The frozen delivery guy was a pretty nice touch, too. But unfortunately, when I told him the secret password he said, "Unfortunately I have run out of special packages. But you have a merry Christmas!" Bummer. The first room was so detailed and I loved Howie Jr's legs dangling from the chimney. You take two steps in there and already you have an evil elf pop out on you. All the actors, except for Krampus, had a lot of energy and they were really hyper. I can imagine that Krampus's minions drank all of his Red Bull and now he's just slow without any energy in his system. I guess the actors wanted to recreate his movements and actions and if that's what they were going for, then they did a pretty good job. Then we head to the kitchen to see the gingerbread men attack! The detail in this room was spot on as well and of course the smell of gingerbread is pumping through the air. The detail was crazy in the entire house, every room was filled with snow and little nooks and crannies from the film. Even the hallways have pictures of the Engel family and piles of snow on the corners. As we step into the attic, we see the toys attack and the jack in the box clown is devouring a little kid. Again, the detail was awesome and the design for the toys looked very identical to the movie. A great value Adam Scott came up to me with a teddy bear gnawing on his arm and I was really impressed with that. We then go back to the living room and Krampus comes out of the chimney and that got me so good. Next we go outside to escape the mayhem in the Engel residence and a gust of cold air blows out and that was pretty good. The snowmen scares were really good as well and I jump every time they get me. Then we're in the middle of the climax where little Max tries to sacrifice himself as he's going down to Hell. This room is honestly the least detailed because it's just black walls with snow and trees. And believe or not, we see a reused technique from This Is The End! We are being raptured to a perfect Christmas with a lovely tree, nicely wrapped presents, and the scent of peppermint. That is until we find out that we're inside a snow globe and Christmas is celebrated for an eternity! That final scare from Krampus was kind of awkward and it could've been handled a little better. Krampus was a great house with amazing sets, great scares, and a fun vibe! Now all we need is a Trick or Treat maze so HHN fans can feel complete. 

Final Grade: A- 

 

2. Freddy vs Jason: 

In 2007 and 2008, we received two mazes based on two of the most iconic horror movie characters in pop culture, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. In 2010, they came back, but their mazes were based off the remakes. In 2015, Universal Orlando made Freddy vs Jason and HHN Hollywood fans were quite disappointed that it wasn't a shared IP. But this year, Freddy and Jason battle it out in the west coast and now Southern Californians are caught in the crossfire! I was really anticipating this house because it has two of the most famous slashers from the horror movie genre in one maze. If I had one word to describe this house, it would be...AWESOME! This was one of the coolest mazes I've ever walked through! Everything about it was amazing and I loved every single room! I think what the movie it was loosely based on did so well, despite it being kind of bad, was that it reminded us why we love the Nightmare franchise and the Friday franchise so much. And that's exactly what this maze did as well. It was a great experience and it's a must-do for this year. The facade for this one was simply beautiful because it has a very touching nod to Wes Craven. RIP. When you walk into the boiler factory, the audio was pretty disturbing with all the children wailing in pain. Then we see a dead crispy Freddy corpse doing a sexy looking pose (being classy like always). Next we see Freddy behind little Jason trying to put the "little freak" out of his misery. Then we witness one of the mind blowing moments of the maze, Freddy snake eating little Jason! It was really awesome and I liked what Freddy said when he was doing his thing, "I EAT LITTLE KIDS LIKE YOU FOR LUNCH!" Hahaa! Then we come face to face with the snake while he squirts out water in the dark. Next we get raptured (yes again) to Camp Crystal Lake where we see Mama Voorhees telling Jason to wake up and kill again. After that, we see an unmasked Jason pop out and wield his machete at us. The sculpt for his mask was inspired by New Blood and it was pretty cool recognizing him. As we continue walking through, we head into Jason's cabin filled with wet, moldy corpses and a lovely memorial for his mother in the tub. If you try to get a closer look, Freddy pops out of the wall on the other side. And after that, you're just in an intense showdown between Freddy and Jason with hanging bodies everywhere and it just feels very "at your face" and I like that. Then we're once again raptured (I'm get real sick and tired of this rapture shit but as long as the transitions have something in them, it's all good) to see ourselves transported into Springwood to go inside  1428 Elm St. Outside of the Krueger house facade, you see a little girl with no eyes that has suffered from Freddy's wrath. That was awesome and what made it extra awesome was her singing the Freddy nursery! When you walk into the house, it's only Freddy and Jason coming out of mirrors and walls and it's a whole zigzag maze full of them. Then we're in one of the best rooms of the house with the two of the best scares. It's just a regular mesh hallway but when the lights turn on, it reveals Freddy looking like his demon form from the movie and Jason on the other side. And right before you walk out of that room, Freddy, Jason, or both come out of the wall and reach out at you! As we get closer and closer to seeing who the winner is, we see them battle it out and the scares are just like AVP with the opponents on opposite sides of the room and you're right in the middle. Again, it's such an intense moment when you are literally in the middle of the action. Finally, we get to see the one who wins it all, and who is it? Both of them! I went inside this maze four times; twice on employee preview and twice on Oct. 20. I saw Freddy win three times and Jason win once. The ending changes every time they do a cast change. It either ends with Freddy holding Jason's head with his decapitated body coming alive, or Jason holding Freddy's head with his decapitated body coming alive. To me that's a total game changer for HHN! I hope to see the multiple ending technique used again later in the future. Another game changer was that it was the first maze to have a curse word: "WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE, BITCH!" I was all surprised when I heard that! I loved this house so much! It had great scares, great effects, great set pieces, and a talented cast! I had a wonderful experience. Fans of both Freddy and Jason will cream their pants while walking through this one. 

Final Grade: A 

 

1. Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield: 

Oh my god! Just when I thought Michael Myers Comes Home couldn't get any better, this maze surprised the Hell out of me! In 2009, The Life and Crimes of Michael Myers was considered to be a great maze. When it came back in 2015, fans were divisive, saying it was either better or slightly not as good as 2009. Hell Comes to Haddonfield was the least anticipated maze for pretty much everyone this year because the rest of the lineup was so good. And as a result, this was the most surprising house of the year! Let's just begin with the facade. It's pretty much the Doyle house from the movie and it's a nice facade but nothing special. The first room feels very ominous just like the first room from 2015 so I'm already digging the vibe. The only scene that's repeated from last year was the Loomis shooting scene and it was handled much better this year with the closet where Michael Myers tried to attack Laurie and there's a Laurie static dummy on her knees crying. We then head outside on our way to the Haddonfield memorial hospital where Laurie currently is. When you're outside you see a patch of grass with Michael outline on it and I always smiled every time I saw it.  The trick-or-treater scare literally made me jump because it was so unexpected! Speaking of trick or treaters, I thought the little kid that bit the razor blade apple sitting there in the maze was a nice touch. Once you go inside the hospital, you get to witness all the kill scenes from Halloween II like the hammer scene, the syringe scene, and even the hot tub scene. I was pleasantly surprised how they pulled the hot tub scene off. To be honest I didn't think they were gonna have actual water. The first time I went through that room the other night, it was just water. But on the second time, it had "steam" coming out of it. That was insane and that aesthetic was pretty good! The scares in this house were the best out of all the other mazes this year, including the trick or treater scare I mentioned before. The best one would have to be the one with the Michael dummy behind a curtain and then a real Michael pops out of a door next to it. That got me really good on employee preview night! I genuinely thought the dummy was real because he's hiding from us and we can see him from behind the curtain but they don't make it too obvious. I especially enjoyed John Murdy's cameo as Robert Mundy on the TV and after he did his own thing, the Silver Shamrock commercial makes its return! The scene with Laurie shooting Michael in the eyes was very epic. I noticed on my last run through it, I saw a door that was demolished by Michael when he went into the surgery room. I chuckled a little when I saw that! So it's at this point of the maze where I felt like this deserved like a solid A-, but then we head to the ending. This ending, man. This is definitely the best ending to an HHN maze that John Murdy and Chris Williams ever created since the alien queen sequence in AVP! It was so original and it definitely felt like I was transported into another realm. You see a bunch jack o lanterns shaped like the one from the poster art and they're just everywhere! Some of them are live actors trying to scare you but you can't tell the difference. Just when I thought this scene couldn't get any better, it does! You get to go inside a giant pumpkin and it was at that point where I tried to gather my thoughts on what was going on. It was so bizarre but that's what makes it so beautifully grim. You see the actual insides of a pumpkin and of course you also smell it in the air. And to top it off just right, a soothing yet haunting version of Mr. Sandman plays over and over again. I guess what it represented was the festival of Samhain and how it could be so frightening yet celebrated by all! It's also the time of year where the infamous Michael Myers takes innocent lives because he's just pure evil. I absolutely loved this entire maze! It had amazing scares, incredible sets, eerie vibe, and a jaw dropping finale that you'll never forget. 

Final Grade: A+

 

Eli Roth presents: Terror Tram: 

For years we have always had a weak terror tram and we wanted to see something different. This year's tram had an actual original backstory and the involvement with Mr. Eli Roth caught a lot of people's attention. I have not been to the tram on employee preview but I heard that it was the best one in years, so that raised my expectations a little bit for me. The backstory was really good and it didn't feel like a Walking Dead commercial or a random Purge commencement. It does get a little confusing when you try to explain it to someone but overall it was great. Hollywood Harry standing there with his balloons was a really creepy moment and that got me hyped for what's about to come. But as of right now as I'm writing this review, I think this year's tram was kind of overrated! I did enjoy it and I got a couple of good scares but it's not as good as people said it was. The design for the clowns and freaks were really awesome. The pimp, firefighters, lizard boy, and Hollywood Harry himself were my favorite characters in the tram. Another cool character I quite enjoyed was the clown who flashing his guts to everyone, it's so perverted yet hilarious. I also like the music, it felt very circusy and evil at the same time. I was actually looking forward to this year's route because we would have to do less walking and more scaring. This route was short, in fact a little too short. I took the clown mouth road and I thought it would be longer but when I was finished with the whole thing, I literally said to myself, "That's it?!" I wanted to see more of Hollywood Harry and his evil clown minions. Maybe we could possibly get a Klowntasm maze later in the future. If that happens, I'm down to see it! So out of all the three terror trams I've been through, I would have to say 2016's was the strongest one but still kind of lagging. I wanted this one to be great but it just came out as average and I was a little disappointed. And on a side note, I didn't take a picture with Norman Bates this year. Another bummer.

Final Grade: C+

 

The Purge: Election Year scare zones: 

In 2013, the Purge had made its debut to HHN as the New York street scare zone. In 2015, it was a terror tram based on the first film and the Anarchy film but that didn't really do so well. This year, all of the scare zones are Purge-themed and for the first time ever we will have a gauntlet of fear. I was really tired of seeing the Purge in HHN. I honestly thought this was gonna be the next Walking Dead because it's "a property that doesn't know when to die!" But in all honesty, I liked all of the zones this year. I usually don't give a shit about them because they were always so weak, but this year was a total exception. My favorite scare zone was the gauntlet of fear! It had a lot of energy and it was very intense on employee preview night. I don't what happened the other night, I guess there was a cast change because I saw a couple of Purgers walking outside, but the gauntlet was extremely weak. That wasn't the gauntlet that I experienced the last time. And they changed the route even though I have no idea why! But I still managed to get a scare that got me so good from one of the moss guys with the shakers. Before I went inside the tunnel where you enter the backlot, all I saw was strobe lights and all I heard was dubstep (I think I'm having Face Off: In The Flesh flashbacks). But the Purge or Die tunnel was really fun. The strobe lights really played a big role in this zone because it's dark for one second and when the lights go on again, a Purger is in your face. I got good scares in that scare zone as well. The backlot zone was pretty much the same thing as last year's except the bling girls were there. I honestly thought they weren't gonna be blasting Party in the USA but they did and that was awesome! So overall, I actually had real fun with the scare zones this year and I was surprised that it was pulled off so well.

NY scare zone: B 

Gauntlet of Fear: A 

Purge or Die tunnel: A-

Backlot: B+ 

 

Jabbawockeez: I have not seen the show this year because I really did not want to watch it. I was so tired and I wanted to do some of the rides and I knew I wasn't gonna make it to the last show. I bet they haven't changed anything anyway. 

Final Grade: N/A

 

The entire event was a blast and I'm not sure if John Murdy is gonna top this year, ever! Every year there's usually a maze or two that doesn't do so well but every single house this year was a huge success! I usually don't care for the scare zones and the Purge is definitely dead, but it resurrected into a fantastic gauntlet and memorable zones. Despite the terror tram always being lame as fuck, it's definitely something to check out and I don't doubt that Hollywood Harry will come back next year. Halloween Horror Nights is a one of a kind experience and even though I've never been to other haunts such as Knott's Scary Farm or Dark Harbor, I still believe that horror nights is the absolute best. It's not just a bunch of haunted houses that have a 5 dollar budget that you just run through and waste your money on, it's definitely more than that. The staff puts all their hard work and effort into making these mazes and I thank them for that and I love the final results. And that's why I became a member of this site, so I can share my thoughts and opinions and thank everyone who puts the event all together. 2016 is totally the best year of HHN so far and I can't wait for what's in store for 2017! 

 

HHN Hollywood 2016 gets an A++!

 

Thanks for reading my review for this year and I hope you guys have a great day!

[foodstampsFTW]

There's no proof that Texas was a rush job replacing the Conjuring

[DTH316]

Great, detailed review. I don't know if this is the first maze to have cussing in it though (I'll have to look into that).

I definitely agree Halloween is such a stand out maze, simply for that ending. I wish we'd get more surreal mazes like that.

[HorrorNightsFan13]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was not a rushed replacement for anything this year. The conjuring was never planned for this year at least. John wouldn't have passed up the marketing opportunity to have the Big Four at the event this year, that's not something that can be a last minute replacement. 

Other than that great and very detailed review

[Henry14]

Sorry about the whole Conjuring/TCM thing. I thought that was once the word on the street around this site but I guess I misheard. 

[DTH316]

That was the word on this site and other sites, but a lot of people say some unfounded things purely on guesswork haha. It's possible it's true, however, nobody has confirmed it.