HHN 28: FINAL REVIEW

Greetings internet dwellers!

Well, we've reached that point- HHN 28 is over. As I always do, I save my "official" review of any HHN event until the end. One of the reasons I enjoy going to the event as much as I do, is to watch the event evolve over time. Things change. Things are added. Things are taken away. Things just disappear. Things reappear. This is also why I keep an updated ranking of each house (and for the most part the scare zones), as the event goes on. 

When you have a constantly evolving live-theater event like HHN, things are bound to remold itself over time. It's just the nature of the beast. Sometimes, things that were at the top, could end up at the bottom. The same can be said in the opposite direction. 

Before we get to the final house and scare zone rankings, I want to address some things about the event first. Let's get those out of the way.

​OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

HHN 28 was a solid year. A very good year. I would say it's the strongest event they've put on since 2015. I think the event was slightly better than 2015, as I think the houses were as a whole, a lot stronger this year. However, compared to last year, and more so 2016, HHN 28 will go down as one of the event's better years.

I think the last time I personally enjoyed an event as much as this year, was 2009. 

SOME NEW AND WEIRD PROCEDURES

The past few years, it seems that daily operations of HHN become a surprise. Every year now, it seems like they are throwing new ways to do things at a wall, and seeing what sticks. Since I've been doing stay and scream (which is a LONG time), we generally only do Finnegan's. No, not just because of the bar. We just prefer that spot. It's rare that we do any other offered stay and scream spots. 

At first glance, expanding the Finnegan's stay and scream to encompass the Columbus Circle area of New York, and the pop-up bar in the extended Transformers queue, is a good thing. Anybody who has done the Finnegan's stay and scream, knows how awful Finnegan's can be at that time. It gives people options if they want to grab a bite to eat, partake in a beverage, and just gives people more space to move around in. 

However, what doesn't work, is the new way to let people out of the stay and scream area. That, was a weird clusterfuck of a thing. Why not still utilize Delancey Street, as well as the other side? Cramming people into two rows on the other side of Delancey, just doesn't work. And on top of that, their initial plan of one side is Poltergeist, and the other side is Stranger Things, was pretty much abandoned after the first night. And it just pissed people off as one side would be let out first in the end anyway. 

IT WAS A BUSY YEAR

Yep. It was a busy HHN. Last year, and even 2016, weren't as busy as 2015 was. This year, was just as busy as it was back in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Those years have a similar and common thread. A major anchoring IP. Stranger Things brought the crowds. There is no debating that at this point. And it's pretty safe to assume Stranger Things will return to HHN. HHN 28 saw multiple nights which were "sold out". I haven't seen as many nights sold out at the event, in quite some time.

WAY TOO MANY RIP AND EXPRESS PASSES SOLD

And with it being busy, that brings me to this point. You've probably heard the moaning in the past about overselling Express Passes. It was no different this year. However, there was a new trend; oversold RIP Tours. I've never seen so many RIP Tours roaming around before. One particular night, at the Academy of Villains show, the ENTIRE middle section of the theater, all rows, was reserved for RIP Tours. That is insane. It also slows down the regular line even more. 

That brings me to a point I made last year. Despite what some bloggers want you to believe, Express doesn't get you in to a house immediately. The Express cuts your wait time in "half". So if you wait and hour in Express for a house posted at a 2 hour wait, that's what the pass is designed to do. 

This brings me to my next point. Universal NEEDS to train staff better, to flow the ratio of regular guests and Express guests. There is no excuse to have the regular line wait 5 to 10 minutes, as Express is just flowed through. That is ridiculous. This is why wait times can get astronomical. They oversell Express, and RIP tours, and just let them flow in and forget about us poor people in the regular line. We paid to get into the event too. We shouldn't be treated like we don't matter. 

FINAL HOUSE RANKINGS

Anyway, let's get to those totally not controversial house rankings. I do not believe this was an end all, be all year for houses. You had a lot of middle of the road houses this year. I still think that 2011, has the best collection of HHN houses.

I'm doing this slightly different this year, so we'll see how this goes.

10. SEEDS OF EXTINCTION

ATOMOSPHERE: 4/5
SCARE FACTOR: 1/5
FINAL RATING: 2.5/5
In the end, Seeds came out at the bottom. This house, while having an "interesting" design, just was not scary. I went through Seeds probably close to 15-20 times over the course of the event. I was startled once. The lighting in here didn't help the cause. Scareactor's were constantly off pace. I noticed a lot of audio would go off, indicating a scare, but there was usually no actor, or they would come slightly after the trigger. Those tiny, "seedling" plants, were barely visible in the poor lighting of the house as well. You would hear the audio, and struggle to find where they were coming from. Hell, I didn't even notice them until a few runs into the house. This is just a concept they had no idea what to do with. The story of the house, just didn't translate well either. And no, just because there are a bunch of HHN references in here, it has no bearing on my overall rating. Jack & Eddie's Sunglass Hut, may be a questionable post-murderous life for the duo, but it don't make it scary.

9. THE HORRORS OF BLUMHOUSE

ATMOSPHERE: 3/5
SCARE FACTOR: 3/5
FINAL RATING: 3/5
Yes, Blumhouse wasn't the most elaborate house ever created. However, I really enjoyed how they did Happy Death Day. And yes, The First Purge feels tacked on. However, The Horrors of Blumhouse made up for it with the scares. The Scareactor's in here were always very energetic. They were always intense and brought their A-game. I had some of the best scares of the entire event in this house. And wouldn't you know it? Most of them came from The First Purge section. I say it every year, but energy. The Horrors of Blumhouse had a lot of energy flowing in it. Unlike Seeds and to a lesser extent, Stranger Things. So yes, while Stranger Things and Seeds of Extinction were the more elaborately themed houses, the scares were better in Blumhouse. 

8. STRANGER THINGS

ATMOSPHERE: 4/5
​SCARE FACTOR: 2
FINAL RATING: 3/5
Stranger Things, is just not a scary show. And the house only highlights that notion. While the house does a good job of throwing you into the show, it does a poor job at trying to scare you. The Demogorgon's are too plentiful in here. It was a cheap way to try and scare guests, as that was really the only thing they had from the show, to well, scare you. In fact, the biggest scare I had in here was the Hopper Scareactor. There were a few tricks and gimmicks I enjoyed. The total darkness ending, was a bit odd, and slowed the line down a little. Lord help you if went into the house when your eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet too.

7. TRICK 'R TREAT

ATMOSPHERE: 4/5
SCARE FACTOR: 3/5
​FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
In the end, Trick 'r Treat was a fine house. It was something in the middle of things. Like I said earlier in the season, I hated the finale of the house. It felt weird, and abrupt. However, the rest of the house was fun, with some unique elements thrown into the mix. I like the Kreeg/Sam hallway. That was fun. The werewolf scene was a little disappointing. Sometimes the fog would be so thick in there, you couldn't see the wolf puppet clear enough. Still, Trick 'r Treat was a good house. Solid, most of the run. It was consistent. 

6. DEAD EXPOSURE: PATIENT ZERO

ATMOSPHERE: 3
SCARE FACTOR: 4
FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
Dead Exposure was the most inconsistent house for me this year. Those of you may recall after the first week, Dead Exposure was at the bottom of the list. However, at some point, they figured out how to scare people in here, and use the lighting gimmick to its advantage. Over the course of the last few runs, things became inconsistent. Sometimes great, other times it was back to being the bad house I remember from opening weekend. In the end, I'll give Dead Exposure a little bit of a pass. When they figured out the lighting gimmick, the scares were really solid. I wish the house didn't look so cheap though. That was a bummer. 

5. CARNIVAL GRAVEYARD: RUST IN PIECES

ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5
SCARE FACTOR: 2.5/5
​FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
Carnival Graveyard, was frustrating. It was frustrating for me the entire event. I like the design of the house. However, there just weren't enough actor's strewn about in here. You would go long periods of time, without seeing a single person. Thus, the scares in here were few and far between. I really enjoy the end of the house. When you get to the LUV Shak and beyond, was my favorite part. The old school carnival vibe in there, had one of the best scares for me. The false mirror, got me really good the first time. Carnival, also was the victim of a few effects that would come and go and come back again, throughout the event. Of course I'm referring to the metal barrels. They came back, but as plastic. I'm told the metal ones were too loud, and the noise was bleeding into Scary Tales. In the end, Carnival was fun, but I wish it was a lot scarier. 

4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

ATMOSPHERE: 3.5/5
SCARE FACTOR: 4/5
FINAL RATING: 4/5
​Yes, Halloween 4 wasn't the most elaborately themed house this year. However, it more than made up for it with the scares. I had some of the best scares the entire event, in Halloween 4. That says a lot. This was dead last on my most anticipated list. I was just as surprised as anyone, at how much I enjoyed the house this year. They also did some unique things in here as well, to try and scare you. The house takes a few scenes to get going, but once it does, the house goes full throttle. Again, I am really surprised at how much I enjoyed this house. 

3. SCARY TALES: DEADLY EVER AFTER

ATMOSPHERE: 5/5
SCARE FACTOR: 3.5/5
​FINAL RATING: 4/5
Scary Tales was pure delight from start to finish. I had eluded to the facade of this house, way back in a My Talking Head episode. While I think what I was told was a little over-hyped, I still really enjoyed what they did. Scary Tales, was dripping with atmosphere; from the facade, to the mirror room at the end. While some elements were taken away completely (like the hand through the body), and some elements changed (The Scarecrow replacing The Tin Man), Scary Tales was one of the strongest entries in the series. Lots of energy in here, plenty of scares, and a great deal to look at. Awesome use of puppets in here as well. 

2. SLAUGHTER SINEMA

ATMOSPHERE: 5/5
SCARE FACTOR: 3.5/5
​FINAL RATING: 4/5
Slaughter Sinema is a gem. While some of the scares wore off as time went on, and some whole characters vanished (the suited performer in Schittie's Kids for example), Slaughter was always a fun time. Always a lot of energy throughout the house. The Devil Dogs portion, was probably the most disappointing for me. Although, that was still fun. While I don't think this was the complete homerun I wanted, I still had a great time with it. 

1. POLTERGEIST

ATMOSPHERE: 5/5
SCARE FACTOR: 5/5
FINAL RATING: 5/5
There isn't much more to be said about Poltergeist. This thing met all my expectations, and then some. Way back in the My Talking Head episode I did on Poltergeist, I made mention of the effects work in the film, and if HHN would be able to pull some of that off. Well, from the giant demon head, to the closet monster, to the clown, they succeeded on so many levels. The first time through Poltergeist this year, I came out shaking. There were a TON of great scares in here, and they stayed consistent throughout the course of the event. I don't think Poltergeist is my all-time favorite IP done at HHN, but it's definitely in the top 3. We'll see as time goes on how this ages. 

A FEW WORDS ON THE SCARE ZONES

I will briefly fun down the scare zones.

THE CHAINSAW DRILL TEAMS

The standard fare. The group in Springfield was the stronger of the two. Whenever we walked through San Francisco, it was kind of bland. The ones in Springfield were always on point though. We love to watch them from the smoking bridge all the time. 

5. THE HARVEST

FINAL RATING: 1/5
While the Scareactor's tried their best every time, there's not a whole lot to say with this. Rushed, and not very well put together. The Harvest was a disaster.

4. TWISTED TRADITION

FINAL RATING: 4/5
Central Park is always a pretty zone. Twisted Tradition, was no different. Also no different, is how crowded this area gets. This year, was really bad. Sometimes the Scareactor's were way out of the zone, near the church, as they had more room to move around in. Still, Twisted was a solid zone. 

3. REVENGE OF CHUCKY

FINAL RATING: 4/5
Chucky, was consistently a lot of fun. I like that they seemingly didn't hold back on the Chucky interaction too much. He was delightfully dickish. I love all the characters and interactions in here as well. 

2. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

FINAL RATING: 4/5
I know it's novel to gush all over this zone, but allow me to be the hater for a moment. It's a solid zone, but there's nothing really special about it besides the klowns. No real props. Just some lighting and projections, and the space it's in sucks. Yet, Killer Klowns is a lot of fun, and the Klowns are the centerpiece anyway. 

1. VAMP '85: NEW YEAR'S EVE

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5
Yes, Vamp wins the scare zone war for me this year. You all know, this was dead last on my anticipation list. However, Vamp impressed me. Sure, it's a typical New York scare zone. However, the Scareactor's in here, and dancers, are what put it over the top. Especially the dancers. Having to do all that dancing, multiple times a night for as long as they did? That's impressive. 

A FEW PARTING WORDS

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the trivia app. This thing was all kinds of wonky. I tried to play. As of this writing, I ended up in 5th. I'm sure there were some...advantages going on with other players (*coughcheatingcough*). And besides that, the app would do weird things like, not match overall numbers. Still, it's a random trivia app. 

So that about does it. I talked about AOV in a previous post. They put on a great show, despite having lost some of its intimacy. Who knows where that show goes from here, or what shows will appear next year. 

This has been a long year, folks. I will attempt to do a My Talking Head Live next week, where I will talk a little bit more about the event. I also want to thank all those who follow me. 

With that said, I will probably be taking a little break from all this. I won't be for long. After the event ends, I'm going to be doing a little down time from the Theme Park Blogging world. A lot of stuff went down the last two years. I got death threats last year, and this year had some unpleasantness. It won't be for long, so fret not internet dwellers. 

With all that being said: 

HHN 28
​FINAL RATING: 4.5/5