Topher's Blog

HHN 28 ADDS AN EXTRA NIGHT TO THE EVENT

10/17/2018

Greetings internet dwellers!

We all know by now, HHN 28 has been a busy event. Two nights last week were sold out for single night tickets, and I have a funny feeling more sold out nights are on the way. While the length of the event is already long (we should get used to that for next year), the Suits have decided to try and accommodate the year's popularity.

Halloween Horror Nights 28, has added Tuesday, October 30th to the calendar. So, save the date and have fun.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

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HHN 28 HOUSE RANKINGS UPDATE

10/7/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

It's truly hard to believe that HHN 28, is barreling towards the finish line at this juncture. All in all, it's been a solid year. Lots to like, a few things not to like, and some things that have changed a bit. To keep this update brief, let's just get to the updated house rankings.

10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

CURRENT RATING: 2/5
Seeds continually gets worse every time I go through it. The timing of the scares is always off as well. The plant-camouflage is both a good thing, and a bad thing. They give themselves away rather easily. A lot of the time, it's just some Ghillie Suit; poorly hidden, and not even trying. The lighting is really bad in here too. It's gotten worse. Seeds, is just a totally ineffective house.

9. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

CURRENT RATING: 2.5/5
I will still stand by this house...a little bit. It's a bland concept for sure, but it's effective. The Happy Death Day stuff, is still my favorite part of the house. Yes, The First Purge feels tacked on, but the Scareactor's sell this house for me. It's not as bad as some want to make it out to be.

8. STRANGER THINGS

CURRENT RATING: 3/5
I went to HHN a lot last week. I was on vacation. I did Stranger Things every visit. It really has not improved. Yes, it puts you into the show. But again, all that does for me is highlight how much this show isn't a horror show. If just walking through the show is good enough for you, Stranger Things is a masterpiece. It's just not good enough for me.

7. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
Carnival continues its fall from grace for me. Like I said, I went to HHN a lot last week. I hit this house every visit. And every visit was the same. And that's a problem. Too much dead space in here with nothing going on. They've also abandoned one of the best parts of the house, the clanging metal barrels. I'm not sure why, or if it will be brought back. This was the biggest scare I had in the house, my first time through on opening night. I actually think the strongest part of the house, is from the LUV Shack on. The old-school dark ride feel, is the most effective part of the house.

6. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
Talk about most improved. Dead Exposure, still feels like a cheap house to me. I'm not a huge fan of the design. It's execution the first few weeks of the event, was atrocious. However, last week, they finally realized how to effectively do their scares in conjunction with the lighting effect. And it works. When that is on point, this house can be very terrifying. I consistently had good runs of this house last week. For now, it gets moved up on the list.

5. TRICK 'R TREAT

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Trick 'r Treat continues to be a solid house. Great design, good scares, and a nice atmosphere. I'm just going to accept the finale is just bad and weak. However, the rest of the house, is a nice treat.

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Again, not going to win points on design. However, the scares in here are always on point. My last run of the house last week, they changed things up a bit. They had different and surprising scares, which I was not expecting and they got me. They got me good. Still surprised with this, but I really enjoy this house quite a bit.

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
We keep hitting this house at bad times, so the scares haven't been coming as much. It's still a solid house, with a fun atmosphere.

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
The first part of the house, isn't as strong as it once was. The lion either doesn't do anything anymore, or the timing is off, the Tin Man has been replaced by the Scarecrow, and the hand through the body seems to have been abandoned. Still, Scary Tales is fun. I love the cast in here. The mermaids really got me a few times last week. They seemed a bit more aggressive.

1. POLTERGEIST

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Still consistently the scariest. Still consistently the best at the event this year. The drop down clown, has also returned, but he wasn't moving. Poltergeist for the win this year. FOR THE WIN.

Let's talk briefly about the scare zones.

5. THE HARVEST

CURRENT RATING: 1/5
Oof. Just oof. I love the Scareactor's in here though.

4. TWISTED TRADITION

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
The Scareactor's seem to be getting a bit bolder in here, despite the constant flow of people walking through. I really think Universal should open the Central Park viewing area, for people to walk around if they want to. It would alleviate some of the traffic.

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Still a lot of fun. I love the Scareactor's in here. Chucky is always fun. The added doctor is great.

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
They are killer klowns. I hear they are from outer space. And they're a lot of fun.

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Still super fun. Still a good time.

So that's it from me for this week. I return to the event this coming Thursday, and Friday.

Hasta La Bye-bye.

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HHN 28 HOUSE RANKINGS UPDATE, AOV

10/1/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

We are trucking right along with HHN 28. Hard to believe we are this deep into it already. Houses for me, are starting to stabilize a bit. However, I have found the bottom tier of the houses, are constantly battling for last place. Sometimes, one night is better than the others. One house in particular, has fallen really far from grace for me.

I don't want to spend too much time this week, so let's get right into the current rankings.

10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

CURRENT RATING: 2.5/5
The first week, I had a few really bad runs of Seeds. The second week, things got a little better. This week, things got really bad. With its inconsistency, lack of scares, disappointment, and just general poor execution, I'm officially putting this at the bottom. The only thing that Seeds can do now, is really up the scare factor in order for me to get behind it.

9. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

CURRENT RATING: 3/5
While I still don't find Dead Exposure particularly "good", the scares have gotten a bit better. The house still feels very cheap, which I really don't enjoy. However, because of the upped intensity of the last few runs, I'll give it a pass this week.

8. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

CURRENT RATING: 3/5
While I will still stand by that Blumhouse isn't as bad as last year's house, it's just not that exceptional either. I really, really like the Happy Death Day stuff in here. And while The First Purge feels tacked on, I don't mind the scares in that section of the house. The cast really makes this house for me. There's just nothing to really elevate it up higher. It still has better scares than Seeds of Extinction, and Dead Exposure in my opinion.

7. STRANGER THINGS

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
I think I'm going to officially site this as the most disappointing house of the year. Yes, it has some great design, but not much else to go on. Too many Demogorgon's, make this thing feel repetitive. And it's just not very scary either, which is a shame.

6. TRICK 'R TREAT

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
While I still don't like the abrupt finale, the scares in here have been very consistent. The design is good, and it's just a fun house. While it's not going to win points for originality, it makes up for it in atmosphere. My runs the last few weeks, have just gotten better and better.

5. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
I struggled with this decision. I'm keeping Carnival at 5 for now, but it may get booted by Trick 'r Treat next week if that house continues to improve. We'll see. I still say this house has a lot of missed opportunities. However, when things are working, it's enjoyable.

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
While the house takes a few scenes to get going, when it goes it goes. The biggest surprise of the year for me still. I find myself wanting to do this house a lot these days. It's a lot of fun, and it really has some unique and good scares. Yes, it has a lot of Michael's, but it works for the house. Still super surprised by this house.

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
We've had a few inconsistent runs of Slaughter Sinema as of late. The last few times, I think we hit cast changes, so there was a lot of dead space. Still, I love the concept, I love the design, and I love how fun this house is. We'll see how things go next week. If I see a trend in downgrade, then I'll bump the rating down a notch. Still an overall fun house.

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Such a fun house. It's consistently scary, has a great atmosphere, and is a ton of fun. Certain scenes are starting to standout for me. I love the Hansel & Gretel scene. It's probably one of my favorites of the last few years. Scary Tales, is just a well rounded house, with a great design and consistent scares.

1. POLTERGEIST

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
There's not much else one can say about Poltergesit. It's hands down the scariest house at the event this year. It's the best house at the event this year. No competition.

I haven't spent as much time in the zones as of late, so I'm just going to quickly give their current standings.

5. THE HARVEST

CURRENT RATING: 1.5/5
The Scareactor's are trying.

4. TWISTED TRADITION

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
Still a purdy zone. Still kind of a cluster to walk around.

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
Still a lot of fun. I like the new doctor bit. Although, I think he needs a mic. You can barely hear him. Still, he's a lot of fun.

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
Still a lot of fun. Still hate the location.

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Still a great zone. Lots of energy. Lots of fun.

ACADEMY OF VILLAINS: CYBERPUNK

RATING: 4.5/5
I was finally able to see the new show. I've said this from the beginning: Academy of Villains are a fantastic edition to HHN. I remember way back when, people poo-pooed the idea. I was on board from the start. Just seeing some of their stuff was enough for me to get behind them. Cyberpunk, takes what fans have come to admire about the group, and pluses it.

That being said, for me, I do kind of miss the more intimate, simple stuff from the last few years. Yes, even the Irma show. Cyberpunk is a big, and bold show. It's a great show. These guys and gals, are so good at what they do. They bring so much energy every time they perform. Cyberpunk is also a unique show. The more grand approach to the show, may hurt a little bit of the intimacy, but it's still a fantastic show to watch. Academy of Villains are a real treat to HHN. I'm so glad they got a dedicated space this year. They deserve it.

So with that, ends another week at HHN. I return to the event on Wednesday, with a little bit of a marathon (4 days in a row).

With that, Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

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HHN 28 WEEK 2 OVERVIEW - HOUSE RANKINGS UPDATE

9/23/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

HHN 28 is grooving right along. Week two has come to a close. Unlike last week, crowds were a bit more manageable the second week. The added Wednesday, which was done very late in the game, was nearly dead.

While the crowds naturally grew over the course of the weekend, they really weren't as bad as the opening two days. With less crowds, yours truly was able to complete all ten houses and then some. While I still have not seen Academy of Villains: Cyberpunk, it's one of the things on my priority list as we move into next week. I really wanted to take advantage of the smaller crowds and get a solid feel for all the houses.

So with that, let's get into the updated rankings for the houses.

Probably some very unpopular and surprising opinions incoming. I say this every year, but I don't judge houses solely on design. Or "Easter Eggs" for that matter. Things need to flow. And yes, here it comes, have ENERGY. It's a term I use every year. If there is no energy, a house is bound to fall flat. Put all the references to past HHN's in the house as often as you want. If the house doesn't flow, and yes, scare me, then it isn't doing its job.

And with that, the updated top 10 list.

10. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

CURRENT RATING: 2.5/5
I've seen feelings of Dead Exposure run the gamut of emotions. Some people really love it, some really hate it. My dad for example, who some of you may know as "Pops" from social media, actually really liked Dead Exposure. I've done it a few times now and while it's not an epic fail, it's not as effective as probably they were hoping it would be. Surprisingly, the entire house feels cheap. Which I wasn't expecting. It's very reminiscent of House of Horrors from 2012, and not Dead Exposure from 2008. While it does have some effective scares, I'm waiting for them to dial it up a notch. Until then, it's a pretty bland house for me. The blandest of HHN 28 by far.

9. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

CURRENT RATING: 3/5
Sure, it's not going to win any awards for originality, however a lot of Blumhouse is effective. The Happy Death Day stuff, is done really well in here. It was by far, my favorite part of the house. It has some effective scares and the repetitive nature of the scenes worked for me. The First Purge stuff, really does feel tacked on, however I even thought some of that stuff was done well. I need to do Blumhouse a few more times before I can get a true handle on it, but it's miles better than last year's house in my opinion. The scares are just way more effective, and the Happy Death Day portion is more inventive than anything they did in the house last year.

8. STRANGER THINGS

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
I would personally categorize Stranger Things, as a missed opportunity. Sure, it places you into the show. However, because of that, it truly highlights how Stranger Things isn't really a horror show. And because Stranger Things isn't really a horror show, the creative team took the biggest horror element of the show (the Demogorgon), and just chucked them in the house at every opportunity. I mean, these things are everywhere. While every run of the house I've done so far has gotten a little better in terms of scares, the house needs to up the ante a bit to get me on board. Great design though, I'll give it that.

7. TRICK 'R TREAT

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Trick 'r Treat has gotten better every run I've been through in the house. While I still don't like the abrupt finale, the house is quite effective. It's a pretty house to roam, and the scares are mostly effective. I like the use of the Sam's and everything flows nicely. Except for that finale. I just don't like the finale. A solid house nonetheless.

6. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Seeds of Extinction is growing on me. While I still don't think they nailed the potential of the premise, the scares have gotten a bit more effective. Things flowed better every time we went through and yes, there was a different energy. I find myself liking the house more and more. We'll see if it can maintain that energy going forward.

5. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
This is by far, the most frustrating house for me this year. There is so much potential to be an all-time great, but it usually falls a bit shy every time. I'm not sure if they aren't using enough cast in here, or what the deal is, but Carnival Graveyard has a lot of nothing going on, for long periods of time. There just aren't enough scares in here, or attempts at scares. If they can step up that game, maybe it will move up on the list. For now, it's a solid house, with the occasional good scare.

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
The most surprising house for me this year. Again, it's not going to win any points for originality. However, it's effective in its scares, and approach. The design of this house in this space, is interesting to experience. It's definitely to most unique of the houses in the Shrek theater to date. Color me surprised, but Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a solid house. Very solid. We'll see if it can maintain its effectiveness.

3. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Scary Tales had a few hiccups this week during our runs. Some line stoppages, cast changes, and non-working puppets. However, it's still a great house. I'm going to give it a pass this week. We'll see how it goes by next week. It's still a treat of house to go through, with some great scares, sets, and environments. The house is still my favorite Scary Tales house yet. We find ourselves going through this house a lot this year. We love this house a great deal.

2. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
While the last two runs of Slaughter Sinema seemed to come on a cast change, I'm going to give it a pass. It was consistent the first week, with two blips this past week. I've done Slaughter Sinema a handful of times now, and it's still one the best houses at the event this year. It's fun, weird, creepy, funny, and scary. There's some great stuff in here. I adore this house.

1. POLTERGEIST

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Poltergeist is, and continues to be, the scariest house at the event. Not only does it place you in the film, but it does things on its own terms without losing the integrity of the film. Poltergeist has also been the most consistent house we've gone through so far this year. Scares are always on point, and the energy never lets up. It's a fantastic house. And it's quickly climbing the all-time charts for me.

Scare zone's this year a really effective. It's the best collection of scare zones we've had in some time. There is one, that is not very good. However, for the most part they all work.

5. THE HARVEST

CURRENT RATING: 1/5
Kudos to the Scareactor's really trying in here. However, the less said the better.

4. TWISTED TRADITION

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Much more solid this past week. The crowds still hinder the zone, but it's such a great place to just stand a gawk at all the pretty things.

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Still a lot of fun. The character interactions in here are everything. The toys are great, and Chucky is great. However, on busier nights, the crowd gathering to watch Chucky, can be a bit much. Still, it's a fun zone.

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

CURRENT RATING: 4.5/5
While the zone isn't going to get points for set design, it's very effective. I still feel it's a bit too cramped of a space to put a zone. However, the Scareactor's are great and the Klowns are a lot of fun.

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Still the most effective zone this year. It's a lot of fun and the interactions with guests are a delight. The New Year's Eve ball, stopped working for a few days which was a shame. However, I think it's working again, so, yay!

The roaming hordes are what they are. The fill the gaps in San Francisco and Springfield. I would say the Springfield horde is the better of the two at this point.

So that's it for me this week. I return to the event Wednesday. Hopefully it's another slow night, as it's only bound to get busier from here on out. As always, you can follow me @HHNLegacy on Twitter for in-park updates and photos throughout the course of the event.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

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HHN 28 OPENING WEEKEND OVERVIEW - CURRENT HOUSE RANKINGS AND MORE

9/16/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

Well, my opening weekend has ended. As of this write-up, there's still a Sunday left to go. Alas, I must return to work. However, I will return to the event on Wednesday, so there's that. We'll talk about a few things here.

BEST HHN EVER?

You may have seen the Hype Train rolling on social media over the weekend. There are a lot of people proclaiming this to be one of, if not the best HHN's of all time. Is it though? I'm not quite so sure yet. However, HHN 28 is strong. Very strong. There's a lot to love about the event.

In a way, HHN 28 has gone back to basics, but still continued the trend of moving forward. The houses seemed to focus more on scares this year, but still had the set construction eye-candy that people love. There also seems to be more of a balance (minus one or two things we'll get to in a minute). Overall, HHN 28 is off to the strongest start I've seen in a while.

DEM CROWDS DOE

Opening night for HHN 28 was packed. How packed? It was the busiest opening night I've seen in my 19 years of attending the event. Rumor has it, they were close to 10% over projections for the night. That is A LOT of people. The pull of Stranger Things was heavy. It was very reminiscent of the first 3 years of The Walking Dead at the event. The wait time for the Stranger Things house, was already at, near, or exceed 2 hours BEFORE the park was officially open. And the line never really dropped below 90 minutes throughout the course of the nights.

I had flashbacks to the The Walking Dead era. With this success, you can bet Stranger Things will be around for a while. This also means I may not get to do the house a whole lot. As someone who doesn't have Express, I have to pick and choose houses, or hope that times are inflated. Which the majority of the houses we did the first two nights, times were greatly inflated. Carnival Graveyard had some sort of problem, which delayed us for a while. Besides that though, most of the houses we got through quicker than the posted wait.

Regardless, it was busy. Very busy. It also seems that buy one, get one free campaign, may have worked a little too well. We'll have to see as we move on.

Speaking of moving on...

CURRENT HOUSE RANKINGS

Let's talk houses. Like I alluded to earlier, HHN 28 is a strong event. However, so far, I'm not quite sure the house collection is quite as strong. Without me using express, I was able to get 6 out of the 10 houses done Friday and Saturday. Next week, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just jump in line for Stranger Things...

Anyway, here's where things stand so far in my book. Starting from the bottom, as always.

6. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

CURRENT RATING: 2/5
This is going to require a few more visits. Lots of people raving about this house, but for me, this thing was awful. Sure, some of the actor's blend in well with their surroundings. However, I found everything about Seeds to be bland, repetitive, remarkably uneventful and just not scary. You would think that with the camouflage, there would be a lot of scares, but there wasn't. Surprisingly. I liked some of the design, but it just didn't all come together for me. It's still early, so we'll see if this picks up as we go along. For now, it's seeded at the bottom. See what I did there? Seeds? Ha, I kill me.

5. TRICK 'R TREAT

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
Trick 'r Treat is a solid house. The design of the house in the Parade Building, is a little bit of a treat. I'm not quite sure we've had something quite like Trick 'r Treat in that space. I believe we hit Trick 'r Treat during a cast change, and the finale was a little abrupt and weird. However, it's a solid house with solid scares and design. If you love the movie, you'll love the house. One of the Sam's got me good in here.

4. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Carnival is another solid house. I like the design, but it was lacking the scares. Carnival Graveyard, has a little bit of an old school haunted house feel. It does indeed have an "open" feel to it, which is nice. I'm waiting for the scares though. Again, not sure if there was a cast change or not, but it seemed to lack people. So, for now, we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It almost overcame my doubt. Almost.

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Slaughter Sinema, is pure delight. It's funny, scary, and owns its cheesiness with pride. It's hard to rank these next three houses. Slaughter Sinema was my most anticipated house. While I loved what they did here, I think the next two houses surprised me more. Still, this house is amazing.

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
This house is amazing. From the sets, to the scares, to the Scareactor's, everything works so perfectly here. Like I had said in a few My Talking Head episodes, I was hearing about the facade to Scary Tales for a long, long time. It's a great way to setup the experience. There are a lot of great scares in here too. Everything just works in here for me. It's a fantastic house, and may be my favorite Scary Tales house so far.

1. POLTERGEIST

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
My favorite house of all time is An American Werewolf in London (the first one). It also edges out the original Halloween house, for my favorite IP house. Poltergeist, is giving both of those IP's a run for their money. This thing is so perfectly done. From the scares, to the design, to the puppetry, to the flow, to the length, Poltergeist is a total blast. I was a little blown away to be honest. They did things in here, that I didn't think they could do. But they did. And it made me happy. And the scares are on point. The feel of this house is amazing. It shattered my expectations for the house, and that's hard to do.

CURRENT SCARE ZONE RANKINGS

With the houses having astronomical wait times, there's not a whole lot left to do but drink, and stick around the zones.

5. THE HARVEST

CURRENT RATING: 1/5
Yeah, this thing is just not good. Kudos to the Scareactor's trying to make things work. However, short of Jebus coming in to save the day, I doubt there's much anyone can do here. The ghilliesuit thing doesn't quite work. It's just a mess.

4. TWISTED TRADITION

CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5
As per usual, the crowd ruins this zone. I was hoping that with the stage not there this year, the bottleneck in that area, would be taken care of. However, that is not the case. It's a beautiful zone though. The church, and the victims running around, tie into the 80's thing nicely. It's just too packed in here to really do anything. The glowing pumpkin dudes are a nice touch too.

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

CURRENT RATING: 4/5
Revenge of Chucky is a lot of fun. It feeds all off your nostalgia. The interactive Chucky puppet is really funny. Yeah, he doesn't quite sound like Chucky, but he's a lot of fun. It's half Insult Emporium, half Icons: HHN show scenes. The surrounding "minions" and toys, are great. I still can't believe there's a guy walking around wearing a diaper.

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
Killer Klowns is a great zone. Atmospheric, interactive, creepy... it's almost the total package. Almost. South Street does not work for a zone. It's too cramped. It's even more cramped than San Francisco, and is in danger of becoming the new Central Park. Especially with people hanging around in here. Still, Killer Klowns rises above the problems. The Klowns are great and are really interactive with guests. Great zone, minus the space.

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

CURRENT RATING: 5/5
I use the word energy to describe things every year. Energy is important. When there is no energy, things fall flat. Vamp '85 has that energy and then some. The zone is a lot of fun. The shows, the interactivity with guests, the costumes, the story...it just all flows. Yeah, you have the usual obsessed types camping out in Vamp, but I've had to ignore that the first two nights. The zone is just too much fun to let that ruin it.

PARTING WORDS

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the HHN Blogs meetup on Saturday. Thanks to those who came out. It was nice meeting you all. Thanks to HHN Crypt for the photos, and Horror Night Nightmares for organizing the thing.

I return to the event on Wednesday. As per usual, I continue to keep a running commentary as the event wears on. HHN 28 is in full swing. Hopefully the crowds don't screw up things too much.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

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FINAL HHN 28 HYPE LIST, TROPICS, SOME THOUGHTS

9/5/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

As we approach t-minus one week until the start of HHN 28, I have done my final "Hype list" for the event. You can view the video below. There were a few other things I wanted to discuss briefly as well. First and foremost...

The "Hype List"

Every year, we like to rank our most anticipated things for the event- houses, scare zones and shows. Of course, this year only has one show, so that makes it easy. This year, I went full video with this as I had the time to do so. You can view the My Talking Head episode below, to hear my full thoughts on why I am excited for, and not excited for, certain things.

A Running Commentary

Throughout the course of HHN 28, I will update, pretty much every weekend, where I feel things are standing. The houses and scare zones will fluctuate, probably for the first two weeks. Because I go so much, I like to keep a running list every week for where things stand. A final ranking of everything, will come at the end of the event.

Keep Your Eyes To The Tropics

This time last year, we were preparing for Hurricane Irma. September 10th is the peak date for Hurricane season. This year, has been very, very quiet in the Atlantic. A little too quiet if you ask me. The Atlantic is starting to heat up a bit, with waves training of the African coast. While it is a running gag to constantly be bombarded by rain on opening weekend of the event, we don't want no hurricanes.

Hopefully, things stay away from Florida, but you never know with these things, They like to have the most inopportune timing. There's a few out there now, which may require some close monitoring, so just be vigilant.

Scare Zone Construction

Barring any hurricanes of course, I have continued the updates via Twitter. You can follow me @HHNLegacy there for instant updates, while down there. This Friday, will probably be my last time out at the parks before the event starts next week. I have to work, and I don't have another day off until then.

I don't anticipate too much to be added, as Rock The Universe is this weekend and some of the more gruesome stuff, may have to wait. Plus, it's a pretty busy event for Universal, so people are busy...doing stuff.

Merch

Those who follow me and have done so for a long while, know I don't like to pimp myself out. However, I'll make an exception this one time. I started a merch store via Spreadshirt a while back. I have some things for sale there. If you would like to purchase something, by all means do so. You can do so, HERE.

There Will Be An Opening Weekend Meetup

I am not one for meetups, but again, I'll make an exception this year. By all means if you see me in the park normally, don't hesitate to say hey. The HHN Blogs meetup, will take place on Saturday, September 15th at 8:00pm. It will be on the waterfront in front of Transformers: The Ride. It will consist of myself, HHN Vault, HHN Rumors, HHN Crypt and Horror Night Nightmares. There is also a nifty shirt for the occasion, if you so choose.

That about covers things for now. Of course during the event, I will continue to post all of the things via the blog, and Social Media.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

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QUICK HHN CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

8/28/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

Got down to the Studios this early afternoon, to take a gander at the progress in the streets. By the time this goes up, it will be moot...but I digress. I will be back down at Universal Friday to see the progress. We got some stuff now up in Revenge of Chucky, mostly just the main stage. Yes, Chucky will be "interactive". How interactive is anyone's guess.

Vamp '85, has started to put stuff out. The Macy's windows were recently filled with store mannequins, sporting some 80's fashion. The area which will contain the New Year's Eve ball drop, is also starting to take shape.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space, has started to show signs of props. We got a big sign on a wacky pole, and some hanging, wrapped bags (the cotton candy cocoons).

In addition, we also have the traditional HHN food and beverage tents. They have started to sprout around the park. Publix, has also put out their HHN displays. The tickets this year are neat: VHS tapes.

Anyway, that's it for now. As always, you can follow me @HHNLegacy on Twitter, for real time updates when I'm in the park.

Adios for now.

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HHN UNVEILS THIS YEAR'S COMMERCIAL

8/27/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

Reports have begun to circulate that digital billboards, are already showing up along the highway. The full marketing blitz for HHN 28 is about to commence. With that, comes the commercial for the year. These past few years, have been quite interesting for the commercials. While some have been controversial, I like the fact that the team has gone a bit cinematic in their approach.

One of my favorites, was the commercial for HHN 24. While that year gets criticized for yet more use of The Walking Dead, I quite enjoy that one. I also really like the one from HHN 26. The operatic singing in the theater, with the systematic reveal of some of the year's horror icons, I thought was delightfully efficient and short. Last year, saw director Eli Roth, helm the commercial. I really, really enjoyed that one.

This year's version, is quite neat. Of course, it's showcasing the three big IP's: Poltergeist, Halloween 4, and of course, Stranger Things. Once again, the commercial feels very cinematic. Which I like. The total blackness with the reflective water, adds a nice creepy touch (Under the Skin anyone?). The die-hards will probably hate it, but I really dig it.

You can catch it below.

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SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER COMPLETES HHN 28 LINEUP

8/21/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

Well, this morning the minds behind HHN 28 did a round table conversation discussing this year's event on Periscope. Which for me, I can't believe they didn't advertise they were doing this before they did it. Anyway, in the discussion, lots of details were revealed. This included talks about the houses themselves, scare zones, and a reveal of the final house in this year's lineup.

Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After, completes the record breaking 10 houses for HHN 28. The house will follow The Wicked Witch, as she has corrupted other fairy tale stories. It was also revealed, that the "splatter" scene teased by Mike Aiello earlier in the year, came from Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After. It's a scene involving Humpty Dumpty. Well, he won't be putting himself back together this time it seems, as he's been splattered all over the walls. This scene, supposedly will smell too.

The team also gave some details about the merchandise. They showed off shirts featuring Stranger Things and Trick 'r Treat, among other things. Later, on the blog, Universal confirmed that two days have been added to the event. September 19th and the 26th.

And with that, ALL has been revealed! Put to bed the speculation. Put to bed the leaks. Put to bed cryptic "hype" lists. Put to bed months upon months of chatter, and whispers of secrets yet to be revealed. It's here. It's coming. And it's coming fast.

March on towards the turnstiles HHN fans. This lineup is strong. Very strong. And it's either going to be epic, or a monstrous failure. Either way, it's upon us. Finally.

That's it for today. Later, all.

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HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE RETURNS

8/21/2018

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Greetings internet dwellers!

Well, I was down at the park yesterday with family, and I did not get a chance to update on the announcement. So, here it is: Blumhouse returns in Horrors of Blumhouse 2. Or is that Chapter 2? Or Volume 2? Hollywood's is branded Chapter 2. Then Patrick Braillard referred to it as "round 2". I already have vertigo, so I'm just going to move on.

Anyway, Orlando's version will feature Happy Death Day, and The First Purge. This has been an interesting house to follow this season. Lots of uppity-dippity-do with the development. Did it, or didn't it? What was in it, what wasn't in it? Was it even, or was it not. We probably will never know the true answer to that.

Besides that, this is the house I referenced in a My Talking Head a while back, which was the one that was going to rub people the wrong way. Horrors of Blumhouse last year, wasn't well recieved by most. While it had some die-hard fans, the vast majority of people seemed to not like it. While I agree, and this isn't high on my anticipation list, it still isn't dead last.

It beats out Halloween 4 for one reason: Happy Death Day. While Happy Death Day isn't going to win an Oscar anytime soon, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it a while back. It's fun with a slick premise, and I want to see how the team portrays its premise in the house. I have no desire to see The First Purge. I'll close it at that.

And with that, we have one house remaining. Kind of hard to believe how close the event is. Despite my bout with vertigo and what will come next, I'm chugging forward.

That's it for now. Catch you soon.

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<<Previous

10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

9. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

8. STRANGER THINGS

7. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

6. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

5. TRICK 'R TREAT

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

1. POLTERGEIST

5. THE HARVEST

4. TWISTED TRADITION

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

​10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

9. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

8. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

7. STRANGER THINGS

6. TRICK 'R TREAT

5. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

1. POLTERGEIST

5. THE HARVEST

4. TWISTED TRADITION

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

​ACADEMY OF VILLAINS: CYBERPUNK

10. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO​

9. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

8. STRANGER THINGS

7. TRICK 'R TREAT

​6. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

5. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

3. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

2. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

1. POLTERGEIST

5. THE HARVEST

4. TWISTED TRADITION

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

BEST HHN EVER?

DEM CROWDS DOE

CURRENT HOUSE RANKINGS

6. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

5. TRICK 'R TREAT

4. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

3. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

2. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

1. POLTERGEIST

CURRENT SCARE ZONE RANKINGS

5. THE HARVEST

4. TWISTED TRADITION

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

PARTING WORDS

The "Hype List"

​A Running Commentary

Keep Your Eyes To The Tropics

Scare Zone Construction

Merch

There Will Be An Opening Weekend Meetup

TOPHER PICCOLO

Archives

10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

ACADEMY OF VILLAINS: CYBERPUNK

10. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

6. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

A Running Commentary