So Halloween Horror Nights 23 is now officiously over and the reviews are in from David Harley and myself. Here is a look at some of our favs!
Evil Dead - A house devoted to the 2013 remake of Sam Raimi’s classic splatter film! Evil Dead pits you inside the cabin where the necronomicon is read and all hell has broken loose. The gore effects in this house stand out like no others. We get some great video effects on the walls as the words are spoken from the book. We are then transported into some of the goriest scenes of the film including Mia puking on her friend, face cutting, meat tenderizing and so much more! You also go down into the basement to see what has happened in the dank and dark depths of the daunting cabin. As I did not really care for the 2013 remake...The house does a great job of capturing the films essence for all the fans out there. Universal tackled this house as the goriest house on property, and it definitely delivers! They even pull off the only scene I really dug from this film with beautiful raining red colors.
(Keenan)
The Cabin in the Woods - It didn’t take long for HHN to snag this one up. In fact once the film was released, Universal was immediately in contact with Lionsgate and Drew Goddard to make one of the (if not THE) best horror film of 2012. When this was the first house announced this year I was ecstatic! Cabin delivers on so many levels! (*rimshot*) You walk through the Cabin, fight through the Redneck Torture Family, and go down into in the elevator following the events right to when the release button is hit! Universal did not skimp on scares here with some of the best masks and lookalikes I have seen in years. Although there was one “aquatic creature” effect I hoped would have been pulled off better. The cube level alone will make you shout in terror! There are also some classic HHN winks in this house. See if you can find them if you dare visit ‘The Cabin in the Woods.’ (Keenan)
The Walking Dead: The Undead Streets - When The Walking Dead was announced as the theme for this year, fans were a bit sceptical since Universal Orlando had a Walking Dead themed house the year prior. A lot of folks figured Universal was putting all their undead limbs into one basket. After more was explained about how the streets would flow, fans started to let up. The streets this year go through the seasons of AMC’s undead television horror/drama. You are walking through the streets of Atlanta way after the walker outbreak where season one takes place. There are banners hanging around reading “Dead Inside”, the tank Rick runs to for shelter is also in the road, even the famous ‘bike girl’ is around to say hello! You then travel out of the first season and into season two where you walk through Hershel’s barn on fire. All you can smell is burning flesh as walkers nip at your heels. I love these small additions to the streets. They are almost fun mini houses! Central Park is turned into the woods where you find dales Camper and our heroes camp site. Into the streets of Hollywood is season three where the famous buildings are transformed into Woodbury during it’s final hours of the season. Walker traps are scattered about the streets with rotting corpses stuck to them begging for a taste of flesh. There is even a crazed group of survivors driving a truck full of walkers around and releasing them among the living. One thing I really enjoyed about this year’s streets were the walker feeding stations. For instance, in the woods there was a dead deer on a rock with Daryl’s arrows sticking out of him and walkers would be perched on the deer tearing it apart. In the streets of Atlanta, humans are nabbed up and taken away and torn apart on sand bag stations. There is some great interaction this year, as opposed to just having walkers shamble around. WE GET TO SEE THEM FEED!!! (Keenan)
Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City - Universal Studios Japan went all out earlier this year with a Resident Evil attraction/game/maze which equipped guests with a light gun and contamination meter before letting them loose in Raccoon City to fight hordes of the infected. Universal Orlando hasn’t quite gone to those lengths but in working closely with Capcom, they’ve done a really good job of recreating the feel of Resident Evil 2 and 3, right down to the color palates, medicinal herbs, and save room. Hunters, Lickers, and even Nemesis make an appearance, along with a few protagonists. The maze itself is just too short, though, and that’s where it sort of falls apart. The designers managed to cram a lot of cool stuff in every room, but due to its length, it feels cramped almost to the point of visual overload in some areas. (David)
An American Werewolf in London - Universal has been in talks with John Landis for years, trying to get him on board with an HHN attraction and, seriously, bless the person who got the ball rolling because the final product is one of the most intricate and accomplished houses they’ve put together in the event’s twenty-three years of existence. Starting off on the doorstep of the Slaughtered Lamb, the maze takes you through the film’s highlights before ending up in the alleys of Piccadilly Circus. The rooms feature some great detail, including See You Next Wednesday posters and a Mickey Mouse toy, but what sets the AWIL house apart are the werewolf puppets. PUPPETS! I was in awe of how fluid their movements are and how fantastic they look. For me, this was definitely the highlight of the evening. (David)
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure - Bill and Ted’s annual Halloween soiree is always something I dread. Every year, the duo run down a laundry list of pop culture events and personalities from the previous year with only the broadest of strokes and that is the show’s biggest downfall. Everything is expected: they’re gonna twerk and there are Duck Dynasty gags. The showrunners never really hide that fact; they figure you know what you’re getting yourself into by now and if you don’t think it’s funny, they hope you’ll be humored by the half-naked people strutting around on stage - possibly the most insulting thing about the whole show. Kudos to them for actually setting it at a Camp Crystal Lake knock-off this year, which actually makes it more Halloween themed than previous years. (David)
Hope you all enjoyed! See you in 2014 Horror Nights!
