While Mr. Disgusting has been covering the Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights, Bloody Disgusting's Tim, David and Keenan were taking on the event at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. While both studios have the annual event, they each carry different attractions and mazes within each theme park that make them both special in their own way. You can read David Harley's event report below for the Orlando Horror Nights, which runs all through the month of October. This is one not to miss!
A few years back, Universal used Freddy, Jason and Leatherface as their mascots for Halloween Horror Nights, resulting in the best time I’ve ever had at the event in the four years I’ve been attending. This year, HHN turns 19 and to celebrate, Universal has gravitated back to having a movie themed year – though, let’s be honest: Universal almost always uses films as the basis for their houses, even if it isn’t officially. Using a mix of well-known and somewhat obscure films, Universal is mining the filmic well for everything from their upcoming Wolfman remake to a certain film involving mutants in the NYC sewers.
Silver Screams – An undead usher, Julian Browning, treats attendees to a tour of his movie theatre, complete with a walkthrough of several horror movie scenes. While Silver Screams has a few small touches that makes it stand out in this year’s line-up (theatre hallways connecting movie scenes with ushers directing you with their flashlights, dialogue taken straight from the films, etc.), the house suffers from having too many ideas crammed in and not really giving you enough of any film to feel completely immersed. For instance, The Winchester from Shaun of the Dead takes around 15-20 seconds to walk through. There’s nothing in there to scare you; it’s simply a short walkthrough of the bar with the characters preparing for the zombies to break in. A few zombies hanging in through the windows or breaking through a door could’ve solved that easily. It’s a faithful recreation, right down to Ed dancing to Queen in the corner, but not one that is particularly scary. One other scene of particular note: Medieval Dead, which is clearly supposed to be Army of Darkness, has Ash running through the Pit Witch’s dungeon spouting dialogue at people (“Gimme some sugar” was yelled at my guest), but no Pit Witch was in sight. Other films include John Carpenter’s The Thing, Phantom of the Opera, The Strangers, and My Bloody Valentine.
Saw – While I’m not a fan of the Saw series at all, I have to admit this house does an excellent job of immersing you in the series’ universe completely. Not only did Tobin Bell record the dialogue that’s being played throughout the house, but the use of strobe lights actually works as a great representation of the quick-cut editing of the films. Several scenes from the film are recreated, with a few variations and surprises thrown in as well. There was one section of the house that completely confused me: During a walkthrough of the bathroom scene from the first film, someone came out and started taping a broken piece of the toilet back onto the bowl. I have no idea whether or not this was actually supposed to be part of the house but it seemed very out of place, especially since the worker said excuse me and didn’t seem to be in any sort of costume.
The Wolfman – All of the houses have exit signs in them (it’s kind of a given), but this was the first house that it actually bothered me in. Having 2 exit signs tacked to more than a few trees in the opening forest scene of the house completely disrupted my suspension of belief and the house never managed to reel me back in after that. This house is also extremely dark; there was one segment where Talbot is strapped to a chair mid-transformation and I managed to catch a faint glimpse of the incredible make-up job they had done on him but the light above him works on a timer and when it was my turn to walk past him, he was shrouded in darkness. It was a missed opportunity to show off some of the incredible work they had done. The house also seems to end abruptly, with a great outdoor scene that I dare not spoil.
Chucky: Friends Til The End – This is one of the most confusing and disorienting houses I’ve been through at HHN since I started going in 2006. Chucky makes a few appearances (though it looks rather odd seeing a life-sized Chucky with an oversized head jumping out of Good Guys boxes) but this house mostly features other toys gone amuck. None of it seems to really meld together and between the rotating walkway that makes everyone topple over (more so since everyone is trashed at HHN) and the large, open areas that are shrouded in darkness and fog (causing patrons to walk into creature hiding areas – my guest wandered into a hiding place and bumped into a creature who actually spoke and redirected her to the exit, which is a first), I couldn’t tell what the hell was going on half the time.
Frankenstein: Creation Of The Damned – I feel like I could write the same review for the Frankenstein and Dracula houses. Both are way too dark and foggy and you can’t see more than 2 feet in front of you. While that’s great in spurts and can add a little something to the overall atmosphere of the time period and location of the house’s events, I spent my entire time walking with my hands out in front of me and making thud noises as I walked into walls. I thought the workers were supposed to be imitating Frankenstein, I didn’t know I’d be doing it too. If anything, check out the Iron Man-esque creature in the beginning and the Brundle teleporters right before the house’s exit.
Dracula: Legacy In Blood – Again, dark as hell and too much fog. There was a lot of detail put into this and the Frankenstein houses – I could faintly make out plaques, claw marks, blood splatters, devices, etc. – and it’s a shame you can’t see any of it. Before entering, our tour guide explained that there were two different kinds of female vampires in the house and because the house was so dark, I couldn’t tell the difference until I entered a brightly lit room before the exit. There were also a lot of creatures in the house and while I could hear them jumping out, I couldn’t see them. Tex Massacre said that the fog was much thicker on employee preview night and they toned it down a lot but it still wasn’t enough. Considering that they had a Vlad the Impaler approach to this house, rather than the standard Dracula ordeal, it was very disappointing.
The Spawning – I was most jazzed about this house since it’s the closest I’m ever going to be to starring in C.H.U.D., one of the best cheesefests of all time. The sewers felt very authentic during my walkthrough, complete with a horrific smell that mirrors that of a New York subway car during the 80s. The creatures don’t look exactly like C.H.U.D.s but it’s close enough considering they didn’t actually obtain the rights to the film in the first place. Not a lot of scares, however this house was the first of the evening that featured creatures lurking above walkways, which is pretty ingenious and was probably the most startling thing in the house.
Leave It To Cleaver – Sam Meetz and his slaughterhouse, Meetz Meats, harbors a dark secret: the town of Carey, Ohio is actually being fed transient humans instead of beef, pork and chicken. The house itself is more tongue-in-cheek than anything (there’s an amputated arm swirling around in a garbage disposal) and I appreciated that, considering this years’ other offerings seemed to be more straightforward. The slaughterhouse workers are dressed up like the female characters out of the The Strangers and there aren’t very many scares. Still, the house provided more than a few laugh out loud moments and is a great cross between Motel Hell and the Tales From The Crypt episode, ‘What’s Cookin.’
Much like last year’s event, HHN’s biggest and only notable downfall is that some houses are just shrouded in too much darkness and fog to be properly appreciated. The creativity is as astounding as ever and the creature designs and sense of humor that inhibits the houses are still amusing. Universal has a real knack for properly representing horror properties in their houses and I hope they continue to use a mix of mainstream and the obscure in the future like they did this year.
This year's HHN, while not the best, still manages to capture an atmosphere and essence that just makes it a lot of fun. I was shocked how good Saw was and how faithful it was to the movies. Usually all the houses in that area SUCK (I'm looking at you Jason) but this one was good. I have to disagree about Silver Screams. It is by FAR the best house this year and one of the best ever. The Strangers' room was very effective and the "scareactors" just stood there like in the movie. Love it. Frankenstein sucks, Wolfman almost sucks, but the rest of them this year are pretty damn cool.
Ok from first-hand experiance I can tell HHN sucks balls. The lines were so horrible we only got to go in two houses. You have to get the express pass which cost an arm and a leg. Annoyed by all the kids, I think I will just be sticking to hayrides and saving a few pennies while doing so and just have the kids step on my toes there.
well it was the first time i had been to the universal hhn and i thought it was brill im 46 and screamed like a gisl all night i only wish the uk had anything like it would defo go again if there when its on
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