Greetings internet dwellers! Well, it's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the end of the event. We have gone over the mid-way hump, and the end is coming fast. I did not do a detailed update last week. Like always though, I did update my rankings on Twitter, which you can always follow me there @HHNLegacy. This, will be my last update on the blog before I do a final overview, sometime next week, or after. Because of that, I will keep this one short, sweet and simple. So, let's get right to it. HOUSES9. HIVECURRENT RATING: 2.5/5 I'm not sure this is going to get any better, as we approach the end of the event. There is no life in this house, it's too repetitive and worst of all, it has no scares. Unfortunately, even though I was pulling for Hive, I don't think it really has a chance to change my mind at this point. 8. AMERICAN HORROR STORYCURRENT RATING: 3/5 The house has fallen into the trap, that I didn't like about the house last year. With its vastness as a house, if the scares aren't plentiful, the house is boring. It becomes too long and dull. There has been a noticeable drop in the intensity in here, and it is hurting the house. Still, it can be a solid run, if you hit the right times. 7. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE (BLUMSIDIOUS)CURRENT RATING: 3.5/5 A surprise for me. At this point, I don't even consider Sinister, or Purge, part of the house. The Insidious stuff though, is quite good. The intensity has been brought up in here, and that section specifically works quite well. 6. THE SHININGCURRENT RATING: 4/5 My issue with The Shining, continues to be in the lack of scares department. There just isn't enough of them for me to love this house. However, the execution here is quite good. I mean, it is literally walking into the film. 5. ASH VS EVIL DEADCURRENT RATING: 4/5 Ash, took a tumble this week. Which makes me sad. The Ash is in the butt scene, has been either absent, or not happening the way it used to happen. One of the reasons I love this house so much, is the humor. When the humor is gone, it doesn't work quite well. Some of the scares have been off a bit too. Still, I quite adore this house. 4. SAW: THE GAMES OF JIGSAWCURRENT RATING: 4/5 Yes, Saw swapped places with Ash this week. Like Ash, for me, Saw is incredibly fun. It puts you into the films. It has the scares. It's not overly complicated either. The Guest Activated Triggers, add an extra layer to the fun as well. Every week, I am finding myself seeking out Saw, every visit. Kudos to the cast in here. They make this house work. 3. DEAD WATERSCURRENT RATING: 5/5 Depending on the run, my top 3 can interchange depending on my mood. Dead Waters, is consistently scary. The energy is always up, and the cast bring it every time. The glaring, consistent downfall though, is its length. The shortness makes me a Sad Panda. 2. THE FALLENCURRENT RATING: 5/5 The Fallen, took a tumble last week for me. However, they are back, baby! It's dirty. It's loud. It's scary. The cast in here, is so much fun. The design in here is fantastic. I love this house. So much. 1. SCARECROW: THE REAPINGCURRENT RATING: 5/5 Twice. So far. That is the number of times I have seen people fall in this house from being scared. On separate occasions. Scarecrow, is going to be one of those houses, people will compare future houses to. It's also a testament to what I say every year. It's not the most elaborate thing in the world. However, it's in the scares. And Scarecrow: The Reaping, has plenty of them. SCARE ZONESTo start off, I'm not even going to rank Altars of Horror. I will never consider this a scare zone. Ever. 5. FESTIVAL OF THE DEADLIESTCURRENT RATING: 3.5/5 Festival, is a lot of fun. I love the character interactions in here. It's a great zone for taking some photos too. People watching, is also a plus. 4. INVASION!CURRENT RATING: 4/5 Sure, it's not the scariest, or the biggest. However, it's a lot of fun. The aliens are awesome. I try to get over here, before the crowds start to take over the space. Still, it's a unique idea and zone for the event. Just a lot of fun. 3. SPRINGFIELD CLOWNSCURRENT RATING: 4.5/5 Yes, the true 5th scare zone of the event this year. These guys and gals, are so much fun. They bring it every night. Talk about people watching too. Stick around and watch the clowns do their thing some time. It's a lot of fun to watch. 2. TRICK 'R TREATCURRENT RATING: 5/5 Such a pretty zone. The characters in here, are all fantastic. The Sam's are great fun. Just a well rounded zone. 1. THE PURGECURRENT RATING: 5/5 Such great fun. Lots of energy. Lots of noise. Lots of interactions. There is a lot of stuff to just watch and take-in in The Purge. It's success as a scare zone, now twice, might bode well for its return in the future. Probably much to the dismay of some die-hard HHN fans. And that does it. I will return to the event this Wednesday for a brief time. It's seriously hard to believe, we are coming to an end soon this year. It's been a strong year. But all great things must come to an end eventually.
Hasta La Bye-bye. Greetings internet dwellers! Well, I didn't do a full update last Monday for a few reasons. The world has been a crazy place this past week, both privately and publicly. So, I decided to hold off. I did update my rankings last week on Twitter. I just didn't go into detail about them on here. So, without further delay, lets talk about the updated rankings in more detail. HOUSESJust like always, I will start from the bottom and work my way up to the top. There have been a few major shifts in my rankings. We are pretty in the meat of the event. I don't expect any major, major changes going forward. Still, it is HHN, so anything can happen. I have been through these houses, many, many times now. People ask me about house counts. I don't do that. Just know, it's been a lot. Let's get started. 9. HIVECURRENT RATING: 2.5/5 Like I said before, Hive is dependent on the Scareactor's. It's repetitive environment, just can't overcome the lack of energy and scares in the house. I haven't seen too much improvement in the scare department, which is a shame. I think the house had some real potential, but it ultimately comes up short. We will see how the house fairs sprinting to the event finish line. For now, it remains at the bottom. 8. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE (BLUMSIDIOUS)CURRENT RATING: 3/5 I have decided to give Blumsidious, the benefit of the doubt. While my runs through the house have been a little inconsistent, the cast still gives it. That being said, it is the Insidious parts of the house, that work the best. The Purge and Sinister sections, continue to be the weakest parts. The tacked on feel of the those two properties, just hurt the house. And their shortness, doesn't offer enough time for scares. Still, when the scares are working, the house is fairly decent. 7. AMERICAN HORROR STORYCURRENT RATING: 3.5/5 American Horror Story, is not a bad house. It is the most inconsistent house so far at the event, for me. Like last year, the vastness of the house itself, can be its downfall. When the house is populated properly by Scareactor's, it works really well. When there is a cast change, or you miss the scares in the conga-line, or the Scareactor's are oddly not scarring, it can be boring. I have said this many times before, and I will say it again. You can have the best sets in the world, but if it isn't scary, then it doesn't matter. Just walking through the pretty sets isn't enough for me personally. 6. THE SHININGCURRENT RATING: 4/5 The Shining has upped its game a bit, my last few runs. This has the same problem American Horror Story has. It isn't as big of course, but it's all about the environment. When the scares are scarce, the house can be boring. Yes, cool, we are in the movie. But, scare me. Make an effort to do so. They have tweaked some things the last few weeks, to up the scare factor. Still, a solid house, even with the lack of scares sometimes. Like I said, it's a smaller house than American Horror Story, so some of the dead space doesn't affect you as negatively, because it's shorter periods. Nevertheless, a good house overall. 5. SAW: THE GAMES OF JIGSAWCURRENT RATING: 4/5 Saw, is currently the surprise of the event for me. Like Hive, the house suffers a bit from the repetitive problem. However, the difference is in the scares. You are more forgiving of its shortcomings, because of how fun and scary the house can be. The GAT's add an extra dimension to the house as well. The Scareactor's are consistent. And the house can be really scary. It feels like the Scareactor's are finding a good groove in here too. I am finding myself actually wanting to do the house, when I go to the event. Which is a good thing. 4. ASH VS EVIL DEADCURRENT RATING: 4/5 This is probably the most controversial house this year. However, I think when it comes to the IP properties this year, your enthusiasm for a house, may be a bit dependent on your favoritism of the property. I love this series. I adore the films. In a way, I both get the hate for this and don't. The humor aspect of the house, isn't for everyone. However, I think it's a really well done house regardless. It has some good scares, some great sets and some great characters. As a fan of the show, the humor in the house, just ups its joy-factor for me. I unabashedly love this house. 3. THE FALLENCURRENT RATING: 4.5/5 The Fallen, may have dropped a few pegs over the past few weeks. However, I still love the house. The scares, have been a bit inconsistent my last few runs. Nevertheless, the house still ranks high. The top three houses on my list, are all incredibly solid. Got to do this a few times by myself, which for any house is horrifying. 2. DEAD WATERSCURRENT RATING: 5/5 So beautiful. Such great scares. I actually ran out the house, during one of my runs this weekend. Dead Waters, is also probably the most consistent house at the event. Whichever cast you get, they still bring it 100 percent. 1. SCARECROW: THE REAPINGCURRENT RATING: 5/5 The intensity of this house, is unrivaled this year. Scarecrow is creepy, horrifying, fun and exciting. The Scareactor's have really taken advantage of the the close quarters, of the house. The false scares, the jump scares, the sounds, the environment; all gel, to make one horrifying house. This past weekend, I found myself, heading straight for Scarecrow, whenever I could. It is a great house. SCARE ZONESThe vast majority of the scare zones, are really great this year. Everyone pretty much gives effort, and the settings, are great. 5. ALTARS OF HORRORCURRENT RATING: 0/4 It's not a scare zone. 4. FESTIVAL OF THE DEADLIESTCURRENT RATING: 3.5/5 Festival, is a lot of fun. The characters are great. The music is great. There is a part of me, that wishes there was a bit more. Nevertheless, it's a fun scare zone. 3. INVASION!CURRENT RATING: 4/5 They have added some stuff to the scare zone, which is cool. Some dead aliens, who did not survive the saucer crash, can now be seen around the ship and inside. Yes, it may not be the biggest zone, but it may be the most fun. The alien designs are cool, the actors are very interactive and they actually try to scare you. 2. TRIC 'R TREATCURRENT RATING: 5/5 The design of the scare zone alone, is unrivaled this year. It's a very beautiful scare zone. The characters are great, and it's one of those zones, where you tend to just linger for a while. 1. THE PURGECURRENT RATING: 5/5 Overall, still the best scare zone this year. So much going on in here, it's sensory overload. I love the interactivity in here as well. The auction is always fun, and the Scareactor's like to do some surprising things in here. THE SPRINGFIELD CLOWNSThese guys are great. It's the true 5th scare zone this year. Their shenanigans, are a lot of fun to watch. Their scare tactics are great as well. SHOWSGot around to seeing Bill & Ted, as well as the new expanded AOV show. BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT HALLOWEEN ADVENTURELook, the show is a staple of the event. People are going to miss it. I am not one of them. For me, the show, ran it's course 10 years ago. It lost its true sense of parody a long time ago. The obsessed fans ruined this show for me, as well. I haven't found Bill & Ted funny in quite some time. The show this year, is not great. However, it is a solid sendoff for the show. It's bound to make the die-hard fans of it happy. The show will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm glad to see it go. If you like the show, then you will have a good time. Fair warning: don't sit on the sides of the stage. The set this year, obstructs a lot of your line-of-sight. ACADEMY OF VILLAINSThe show, is obviously not Afterlife. However, their expanded Irma show, is so much fun. I'm always amazed, at these guys and gals. Their enthusiasm and energy, constantly ooze off the stage. They are a lot of fun, despite having to change their show because of Irma. So, that does it for me this week. I return to the event this Thursday. HHN 27, is good year so far. There have been a few surprises, like Saw. I was not expecting to like the house, as much as I do. As per usual, barring any kind of obstruction, I will update again next week.
You can always follow me on Twitter, for my live reactions at the event, @HHNLegacy. Until then, Hasta La Vista. |
TOPHER PICCOLOHHN LEGACY OWNER Archives
July 2023
|