September 30th, 2018 Review

[TheShape1031]

Okay here it goes. Went to HHN on Sunday the 30th. Had express pass and was able to get to all the mazes and scare zones. Only did each maze once, so my review will be based on what I saw and didn't see. Overall had a great time as always. I did feel like it was definitely more crowded this year than last and the distance needed to walk from each maze to the next was quite exhausting (especially the exit from Seeds of Extinction and Trick r' Treat.) By the end of the night we were all pretty beat. Also, I read a few reviews saying the security in each maze was toned down a bit? Not the case this time for me. There was a staff member around every corner it seemed on this night. A few rushing us through as usual. I know they need to be there but I hate when they ruin the scene by waving their arms and telling you to move it... Anyway, here's my take on the event. 

 

Mazes from best to worst:

 

1.) Poltergeist: This maze blew me away. I'm ashamed to admit I've never seen the movie before, but from what I gather this house hit the nail on the head. The facade to start the maze was spectacular and the use of animatronics, puppets and scare actors was perfect. The way they made it feel colder in some parts as well as rain was great. In my opinion this was the best IP for  sure and my top maze of the event this year. Perfect mix of amazing sets, thrills and scares. 

 

2.) Stranger Things: What can I say that hasn't already been said. This maze was great. Scare factor wise it won't knock your socks off, but what a job they did to make you feel like you were right in the show. The casting was perfect (I thought Hopper was spot on as well as the actresses playing Winona Ryder's character) and the way they made you feel like you were in the upside down was just great. Amazing set designs effects and the Demogorgon costumes were great . I put this 1b to Poltergeist this year. 

 

3.) Seeds of Extinction: Great maze. The way the actors blended in with the sets was so good. I liked the use of the little hand puppets as well. There was one particular costume in this one that stood out to me as one of the best in the event. Really well done and definitely scared me a few times

 

4.) Scary Tales: I really enjoyed this one. The facade with the witch at the beginning was great and the different takes on the classic tales was very well done. Really liked the Humpty Dumty , Goldilocks and Repunzel scenes especially. Also had a great scare at the end that made my brothers girlfriend jump out of her shoes. 

 

5.) Dead Exposure: Was hard to see in this maze, but the scare factor was definitely at the highest in this one. Scare actors coming from every direction and because of the lighting you couldn't see too far ahead to spoil it. Awesome costumes and effects in this one.

 

6.) Halloween 4: I am very biased when it comes to anything Halloween, but it was good. I didn't have the best run through for this one (not sure if there was a casting change or not) but I really liked how they captured the movie so well. Unfortunately I missed out on the Jaime actress and the red neck, but overall they did a good job. I still enjoyed H2 better, but it was a solid maze.

 

7.) Slaughter Cinema: Fun maze. Really enjoyed the detail they put in the sets in this one. The different B movies were really cool to see and walk through. Decent scares in this one as well. 

 

8.) Trick R' Treat: May be an unpopular opinion, but I base my reviews on scare factor as well and I just didn't think this as scary. I don't find Sam to be scary at all honestly (he's more of a cute doll in my opinion) but the set designs in this one were perfect. The sights and smells were amazing and the casting was again spot on. Beautiful maze overall just not that scary . 

 

9.) Carnival Graveyard: See above. Great sets, few scares, but nothing that really jumped out to me. The one thing I did really like was the scares near the end with the mirrors. They did get me on that one a couple times. 

 

10.) Blumhouse: Dud.. I will admit I had no expectations going into this one. I didn't like either movie to be honest, but I was not going to skip any maze. I can admit that the HDD portion was actually pretty good. They did a great job incorporating the movie to the maze. Purge was a waste of time. Didn't scare me once and just felt like it was thrown together. The scare actors even seemed a bit out ofi t as well. 

 

 

Scare Zones: 

 

Walked through all of the zones but honestly didn't spend a lot of time in any of them. In no particular order: 

 

1.)  Chucky: Walked through at the end of the night and chucky wasn't on stage. Saw some videos and it looks decent. 

2.) Killer Klowns: Fine for what it is, a selfie zone. Nothing scary about it

3.) Vamp 85: Fun zone. Again, nothing too scary about it, but definitely cool 

4.) Twisted Traditions: Seems like a watered down TRT. Cool visuals and costumes though 

5.) The Harvest: Boring. Another photo op with the big pumpkin guys on stilts. 

6.) Chainsaw dudes: Always fun to watch

 

 

Overall I enjoyed almost all of the mazes. They really did do a great job this year with all of them. I can take or leave the scare zones. They're fun for what they are. Very fun year though. 

[Midnight Detective]

With a swap of Scary Tales and Trick r Treat I'd say your review is spot on. I skipped Blumhouse entirely by accident over my visits it was so far off my radar