Ringwraith's Employee Preview Review

[Ringwraith]

First, we did not do Blumhouse because my fiance' has not seen the first Purge and we both have not seen Sinister yet, nor did we do AHS because we're not finished with those seasons.

 

There are some spoilers...nothing crazy...but just wanted to give a heads up.

 

Let's get into it, shall we.

 

Scarezones: Overall, much more impressed by this year than previous years.

 

Festival of the Deadliest - I'm going to cut this one some slack because I saw their set design back stage, so it was just scareactors. However, I have no idea what they're going for here. They played some dark rock songs and it looked like they were trying to go for a sleeker version of Demon Cantina. This has been our favorite zone to hang out in and watch scares, but we may be spending more time in Altars of Horror for that.

 

Altars of Horror - It was cool to see the IP characters up close and personal, but they definitely need some props in here. It's also very evident this year more than ever, that Universal has gone all-in when it comes to the advertising side. Some of the banners are tacky and remind me of Six Flags, but it's definitely an improvement over last year.

 

The Purge - Biggest scarezone surprise of the night for me. I don't really like anything Purge related, but the scareactors and the atmosphere get it done here. Much better, in my opinion, than that Mad Max looking zone we had last year. I don't even remember what it was called.

 

Invasion - Supremely disappointed. Odd scares, odd costumes, odd atmosphere. Last year, albeit small and cramped, this was my favorite scarezone. Here's hoping they up just about everything.

 

Trick r' Treat - This is the most aesthetically pleasing this area has looked in a long time. Photographs galore. The scares weren't there last night but WOW does it look nice.

 

Houses: Overall, it was a decent night. This is going to be more from an aesthetic standpoint from the look of the house and the makeup/effects unless there were some real standouts with scareactors(which...there WERE). I realize things change, some casts have on/off nights, some effects change, etc. but this is just what I saw. Here's my list from worst to first:

 

 

The Shining: Full disclosure: This film is my favorite of all time, so this review may be skewed a little. Good. God. Was this a disappointment. The scareactors were doing their best to work with what they had(horrible receding hairlines and makeup) in this house, but oh my what a turd. I'm sorry, but WOW. The Shining is GRANDIOSE! I thought Shining + Soundstage would equal GRANDIOSE! None of that need apply. Everything felt cramped and forced and not what you would expect out of a Shining house. First off...uhhhh...WHERE IS THE EXTERIOR OF THE OVERLOOK HOTEL?! They had a HUGE opportunity here to really give it that chilling factor. And based on what I saw from one house later in the night, you can't tell me it's not possible to do. That being said, the ballroom is a micro version from the film, but still very well executed and they have the effect in here where it's a more relaxed vibe, the light goes out, back on, and all hell breaks loose. I still find joy in that. The elevator blood scene was pretty poor, however, it is spot on to the way I thought they would do it, but with less space...which you have a TON of in a soundstage. Ugh. I've had houses grow on me over the course of the event(Frankenstein) and I'm truly hoping that happens with this one.

 

Saw: The Games of Jigsaw: This would actually be listed as my worst house had I not had such high expectations for The Shining. There's really not much to say. There are traps. We're not being put into the traps, we're just watching other people experience the traps with actually very little fear if they're going to get out. The props they use don't even come close to their face or remotely look like they're going to do any damage to the scareactor. Now, the scareactors, again, did a solid job of making it work, but I didn't have too big of expectations to begin with. The one cool scene I liked was the bathroom from the first film. They did an awesome job with the space they had, but overall, I wasn't impressed.

 

Ash Vs. Evil Dead: We were REALLY looking forward to this one and it was just ok. They left out some of the best quotes and best scenes from the show! It wasn't as funny or gory as I thought it was going to be, but it was...meh. They include the cabin, which is awesome...but meh. I'm sure they'll amp it up when everyone finds their groove(no pun intended).

 

The Fallen: Spoiler alert: This one is not a battle of Angels vs. Demons. It's just hell. Want to know why they removed(yes removed) the angels? Because an exec thought it was too violent toward religion. So...like I said....it's just hell..sometimes on earth? The soundtrack is pretty awesome, but it's mostly just demons munching dead remains and poppping out to get you, throughout. Again, a PERFECT opportunity to make things GRANDIOSE!! Soundstage! Hell! Nope. Although, we are getting on the right track with design here. There are some very cool effects, the makeup is great and the bungy demon is a badass. The scareactors have an opportunity to make things great  and it could end up being one of the top houses. I just fully believe they got shafted with what they have to work with from a story standpoint and it's not really A&D's fault.

 

Hive: The lack of a true facade for this one is understandable considering we lost The Conjuring, however, that immediately throws you off. They need to do something with that. As far as scares go, this, so far, is the Tomb of the Ancients of last year. The makeup is PHENOMENAL and the scares are even better. These guys really buy into the story and man do they go all out. The design is ok, but again, the scareactors are what will make or break this house on any given night.

 

Scarecrow: The Reaping: Besides the fact they clearly used a lot of Texas Chainsaw props from last year, they did a VERY good job with the space they had. The makeup and masks, again, are really solid and that's definitely a consistency I've seen across the board with this year(minus The Shining). They have a couple of pretty cool effects in here, including a scene where you feel like you're being bombarded by crows and then somehow they made me feel like I was in an actual cornfield for another scene, although you know you're not. I truly believe the tent house scareactors are maybe the best of the best because A&D knows they can pick up where they lack as far as design and the space they're able to use, because they're in mid-event form already.

 

And for my last review, I want to warn any of those who are afraid to get on any hype train and feel disappointed because someone built something up too much for you. I'm about to pour hype ALL OVER DEAD WATERS.

 

Dead Waters: OH MY F***ING GOOD LORDY D:SLIJHNSE:E:UHEO#*IH:FDJ:ELKFJE:LK!!!!

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

 

Unfreakingbelievable....If you can't tell by my The Forsaken avatar, when it comes to HHN, I'm a huge fan of crashed boats. I don't know why, but same thing with Dead Man's Wharf last year. This house has THE BEST facade I've ever scene at an HHN event. Period, end of story. The design inside is up there with THE BEST I've ever seen at an HHN event. They poured SO much love into this house and it is evident around every corner. From the swampy forest, to the paddle boat, to the sacrificing rooms, everything is just freaking amazing. The scareactors don't even need to be on point for this house to be awesome, in fact, I think they could run this house WITHOUT scareactors and it would still be the best(so far). This point of view is coming from someone who, again, is more into the design, story and aesthetics of the houses, than the scares. Full disclosure, I actually got choked up a couple of times walking through because of some throwbacks to the Forsaken, but mostly I just FELT. THE. LOVE. This house takes an event dripping with a corporate feel, and transports you into the world of voodoo and mystery. The one and ONLY complaint I have is that IT'S TOO SHORT! I feel like I can visit this house every night of the event and it will never bore me.

 

On that note, I'm looking forward to finishing the other two houses and seeing B&T and AoV this year. It's going to be a solid, not great, but not horrible year.

 

Ringwraith out.

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2017 by Ringwraith

[duh1011]

Thanks for sharing your opinions with us! I'm real disappointed that the angels are not in The Fallen :T and I'm sorry that the Shining wasn't as good as you'd hoped it would be. Glad to hear that Dead Waters is as good as it turned out to be!

[Pandry]

Thanks for the review, really good stuff.  Sons of bitches on The Shining!!  I had posted yesterday on the house thread that I'm keeping my expectations low as it's my fave horror movie.  Nothing worse than wasting a good sound stage.  How was the soundtrack for the house?  Dead Waters sounds right up my alley.  I shall check it all out mañana!

[Ringwraith]

2 minutes ago, Pandry said:

Thanks for the review, really good stuff.  Sons of bitches on The Shining!!  I had posted yesterday on the house thread that I'm keeping my expectations low as it's my fave horror movie.  Nothing worse than wasting a good sound stage.  How was the soundtrack for the house?  Dead Waters sounds right up my alley.  I shall check it all out mañana!

 

The soundtrack for The Shining was decent, as it opens with the song from the opening credits. The facade is the hedge maze and that's pretty lame. If your expectations are low, it's best to keep them there 

[Grime]

Pretty much the same feedback I've seen from other TM's. Since it's consistent, it must be moderately accurate.

 

Shame about The Shining. Maybe I'll have enough of a buzz going after a few shots before going in on Friday to ease the pain. You and I have both seen houses do a complete 180 in terms of quality within a couple of weeks. But that's not really possible when a major part of the problem is the set. Idk, we'll see.

 

I'm excited for Dead Waters the most at this point. Everybody has said it's gorgeous.

 

See you this weekend maybe? If so we've gotta grab drinks or food and hit some houses. Sending you a PM.

7 minutes ago, Ringwraith said:

 

The soundtrack for The Shining was decent, as it opens with the song from the opening credits. The facade is the hedge maze and that's pretty lame. If your expectations are low, it's best to keep them there 

 

The facade is the end of the movie. Lel.

[Ringwraith]

3 minutes ago, Grime said:

The facade is the end of the movie. Lel.

 

Yeah, the maze is at the beginning and end of the house, and cleverly, it's different. The opening is slightly snowy which is what it was at the beginning of the film when they're just meandering through it and the end is colder and harsher when he's trying to find Danny.

[Grime]

3 minutes ago, Ringwraith said:

 

Yeah, the maze is at the beginning and end of the house, and cleverly, it's different. The opening is slightly snowy which is what it was at the beginning of the film when they're just meandering through it and the end is colder and harsher when he's trying to find Danny.

 

Ok, that sounds pretty cool. I want to poke for spoilers about what's in the house and what's not, but I'll refrain. I can wait a day.

[Ringwraith]

3 minutes ago, Grime said:

 

Ok, that sounds pretty cool. I want to poke for spoilers about what's in the house and what's not, but I'll refrain. I can wait a day.

I give this house a lot of grief, but they were honestly trying to pull off the impossible. Kubrick is best at suspense and meandering long takes and wide shots. When you're cramped on space, you're trying to move people through quickly and trying to get jump scares, this just doesn't work as a house. It would have been better as an "in the mind of Jack Torrance" type house instead of scenes from the film. 

 

I would have preferred walking through a blizzard of snow and "All work no play..." papers than having them stick on the wall, etc.

[themazethinker]

can you tell me what the traps were in saw

 

[Ringwraith]

15 minutes ago, themazethinker said:

can you tell me what the traps were in saw

 

 

Some drill thing in the sides of the guy's head, the rib cage thing, the watermelon head trap thing, the ice cube head smasher thing, the original bathroom trap, the barbed wire maze thing.

[Grime]

31 minutes ago, Ringwraith said:

I give this house a lot of grief, but they were honestly trying to pull off the impossible. Kubrick is best at suspense and meandering long takes and wide shots. When you're cramped on space, you're trying to move people through quickly and trying to get jump scares, this just doesn't work as a house. It would have been better as an "in the mind of Jack Torrance" type house instead of scenes from the film. 

 

I would have preferred walking through a blizzard of snow and "All work no play..." papers than having them stick on the wall, etc.

 

They would've had to pull off some incredible perspective manipulation to really get the feel for this house. I know I was treading on glass getting hype for this one, but I knew what I was getting myself into. Houses at this event are always better for more aggressive scares than going for "ambiance" simply because the lack of space makes everything in your face whether you like it or not. It doesn't really play well for a more slow, methodical psychological thriller like The Shining.

 

And with that thought, maybe it's better we're not getting an Alien house on board the Nostromo. It just sucks because the more slow, edge of your seat horror movies are more my thing than in your face aggressive stuff.

[Ringwraith]

6 minutes ago, Grime said:

 

They would've had to pull off some incredible perspective manipulation to really get the feel for this house. I know I was treading on glass getting hype for this one, but I knew what I was getting myself into. Houses at this event are always better for more aggressive scares than going for "ambiance" simply because the lack of space makes everything in your face whether you like it or not. It doesn't really play well for a more slow, methodical psychological thriller like The Shining.

 

And with that thought, maybe it's better we're not getting an Alien house on board the Nostromo. It just sucks because the more slow, edge of your seat horror movies are more my thing than in your face aggressive stuff.

AvP was pretty cool because of the Xenomorphs, but maybe it would serve better as an Aliens or Alien Covenant so that there's more of them.

[themazethinker]

which ones better, orlandos saw or hollywoods 

 

[StupidStupidDan]

2 hours ago, Ringwraith said:

somehow they made me feel like I was in an actual cornfield for another scene

Is this the same effect they used for the forest scenes in TWD last year and at HHN24?

Edited September 14, 2017 by StupidStupidDan
spelling

[Ringwraith]

40 minutes ago, themazethinker said:

which ones better, orlandos saw or hollywoods 

 

Hollywood by far, but I think it's more of a space and design issue than a content issue. I'm not exactly the person to ask about the Saw films because I think they're pretty horrible and their content is mostly just torture porn.

18 minutes ago, StupidStupidDan said:

Is this the same effect they used for the forest scenes in TWD last year and at HHN24?

Yep it is. Except this looks better and I don't know why.

[StrengoitDiamond]

I realize that this is a random question, but where was the exit location for Scarecrow and Hive? Normally the exit would be where Scarecrow's queue is now.

[BenjaminNicholas]

I had some fear that these kinds of last minute corporate decisions would hurt the event.  If the idiots running USO think that offending religious folks is a problem, clearly the event is going in a direction I couldn't care less about.  This is about scaring people...  Not about being politically correct and appeasing the snowflakes.

 

I hope that USO reads these boards, takes the criticism and makes positive changes, quickly, into the event.  

[clash]

7 hours ago, Grime said:

 

They would've had to pull off some incredible perspective manipulation to really get the feel for this house. I know I was treading on glass getting hype for this one, but I knew what I was getting myself into. Houses at this event are always better for more aggressive scares than going for "ambiance" simply because the lack of space makes everything in your face whether you like it or not. It doesn't really play well for a more slow, methodical psychological thriller like The Shining.

 

And with that thought, maybe it's better we're not getting an Alien house on board the Nostromo. It just sucks because the more slow, edge of your seat horror movies are more my thing than in your face aggressive stuff.

 

I strongly disagree with an alien house. 

AVP had perfect sets for an alien house. 

If u add a birth scene at the beginning the house would be perfect. 

 

Just because the alien doesnt show up as much in the movie it doesnt mean it has to be that way in the house.

 

The werewolf barely shows up in american werwolf in london movie. 

Yet the house had him almost in every room.

 

Why wouldnt alien work that way?

[MercWithAMouth67]

@Ringwraith would you expand upon the crow bombardment scene in the scarecrow house either on here or in a direct message so as to avoid spoiling it for anyone else? It would be much appreciated.

[OhHaiInternet95]

Yes, I'm intrigued by the crows.

[clash]

I cant say im surprised the shinning sucks, pretty hard movie to translate to house.

I saw that coming 

[Ringwraith]

12 hours ago, MercWithAMouth67 said:

@Ringwraith would you expand upon the crow bombardment scene in the scarecrow house either on here or in a direct message so as to avoid spoiling it for anyone else? It would be much appreciated.

 

SPOILER ALERT:

 

 

 

 

There is a room where crows surround you sitting on perches and they're caw-ing. I'm pretty sure I felt something drop on my arm which may or may not have been intended as bird poop. If so, gross, but awesome. Anyway, right after, you walk into a really dark hallway with air blowing from all sides, the sound of swarming crows flapping and caw-ing. Not sure what they used to touch our heads but it makes it feel like their wings hit you as they "attack."

[Cody]

If what you say is true about The Fallen, I'm incredibly disappointed. Angels vs. demons is a rarely seen concept for live horror like haunts, and Universal has the budget to pull it off spectacularly. It sounds like a panicked decision at the last minute has completely neutered A&D.

[MercWithAMouth67]

@Ringwraith thank you very much for the info and your review. Looking forward to experiencing it tonight.

[Ringwraith]

3 hours ago, Cody said:

If what you say is true about The Fallen, I'm incredibly disappointed. Angels vs. demons is a rarely seen concept for live horror like haunts, and Universal has the budget to pull it off spectacularly. It sounds like a panicked decision at the last minute has completely neutered A&D.

 

I think I missed out on some of the flying demons they had in there though. Very much looking forward to catching those.