2020 Haunted Houses - Reviews & Spoiler Talk

[Spookies n' Stuff]

Messing with the chronology is something that was most apparent in Killer Klowns and Ho1C last year, but before that was usually only done if they were completely reinterpreting the idea as a fever dream or psychological house (The Shining and The Exorcist)

For me, putting scenes out of order doesn’t really matter if it works

I would say the same about putting them in order

For instance, Ghostbusters went in order of the movie, but I would have liked it more if they went out of order as I found the flow weird

Library, Firehouse, Containment Unit, City Streets, Hotel transitioning right into apartment scenes, Keymaster, Rooftop, Stay Puft, Finale

To me this makes for less jarring transitions which I prefer

I am also hearing Beetlejuice seems like it was designed with more scares in mind, which, to me, is just as important as flow

Yeah, I mean like I said, all I really have to work with are some not great povs where you can really only catch glimpses of things happening, so its fully possible that it'll feel a lot more cohesive once I have a better perspective of everything happening and how scenes are executed.

 

[Legacy]

My issue with the Beetlejuice design (which is the same issue I had with Ghostbusters) is the “diorama” structure of the scenes. The waiting room, sorting room, Big Top Beetlejuice, and exorcism, just seen from the POV walkthroughs, have you just looking at the scene as you walk past. You’re not walking through the waiting room, you’re walking beside it. You’re not walking beneath Big Top Beetlejuice... he, Otho, and you are all the same height.

I think walking through a scene is a better experience, especially when the only trick for diorama scares is a startle opposite the scene or someone popping in from “off-frame.” That structure is necessary in some situations, but it should be an exception rather than a rule. When dioramas make up half the house, it makes the experience far too passive.

 

[SeventyOne]

Am I the only one that wasn't all that impressed?

I was told to keep my expectations low, then I saw people leaving and I heard it's the best house some people had seen in the past 5 years, people were crying, dancing, screaming....etc.

Has the GP become so deprived of HHN that standards have dropped? No doubt, some elements and scenes were fun and grande, but overall, I still think Brides takes the cake this year and Tooth Fairy is second. After seeing what they could do with Graveyard Games, Ash, and especially Trick r Treat in that building, I have to say it's the 4th best house to be in the parade warehouse in the past 5 years, but not the whole event.

'

I recognize exclusivity breeds unrealistic hype -- I even alluded to that in my initial post -- but after a second run, I feel Beetlejuice kept everything praised about Ghostbusters while attempting to fix some of the recurring criticisms (most obviously lack of scares, but also lack of actors v. inanimate effects). Pulsing obviously helped, too -- I definitely would be in if they ever try a limited attendance night.

That said, no question Bride was the star this year. First time since the original Dead End a house managed to tell an original 3-act story, yet still brought the intricate sets and the scares. And the cast just kept improving.

the order of scenes seems really strange to me and it just doesnt quite jive with me

Spoiler

After the opening room, it literally tracks Geena Davis' & Alec Baldwin's story thru the movie, skipping the Lydia-centric scenes. It helps to remember that Beetleguese the character is basically a glorified cameo in Beetlejuice the movie, so he's missing from the first half.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

'

I recognize exclusivity breeds unrealistic hype -- I even alluded to that in my initial post -- but after a second run, I feel Beetlejuice kept everything praised about Ghostbusters while attempting to fix some of the recurring criticisms (most obviously lack of scares, but also lack of actors v. inanimate effects). Pulsing obviously helped, too -- I definitely would be in if they ever try a limited attendance night.

That said, no question Bride was the star this year. First time since the original Dead End a house managed to tell an original 3-act story, yet still brought the intricate sets and the scares. And the cast just kept improving.

Spoiler

After the opening room, it literally tracks Geena Davis' & Alec Baldwin's story thru the movie, skipping the Lydia-centric scenes. It helps to remember that Beetleguese the character is basically a glorified cameo in Beetlejuice the movie, so he's missing from the first half.

Spoiler

It's kind of odd how little of Beetlejuice there actually is in...well, the movie Beetlejuice.

But yes, Bride fixed an issue with too many HHN houses, in that it had a very clear ending (BTW, I could swear that "Eraser (Baby Alarm Remix)" by Nine Inch Nails was playing in the finale...one of the songs in the Dead Exposure 2 facade).

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

'

Spoiler

After the opening room, it literally tracks Geena Davis' & Alec Baldwin's story thru the movie, skipping the Lydia-centric scenes. It helps to remember that Beetleguese the character is basically a glorified cameo in Beetlejuice the movie, so he's missing from the first half.

Found a better POV and I will say it looks better than I initially thought, but for whatever reason it still feels a little off to me.

Spoiler

I might just be salty that there was no attempt to recreate the Saturn scene lol. Could also just be bugging me since the formatting of starting with the underworld makes it seem like theyre going with a second person narrative where we're following in the Maitlands footsteps within the story, but then once it leaves the underworld it kinda ditches that. I know it's pretty common for houses to do that sort of thing with ips especially since having us functionally be the Maitlands in the narrative would cut out a few iconic scenes, but it just seems like an odd choice. Though of course I could be misinterpreting it a bit.

 

[Tristan]

[After the opening room, it literally tracks Geena Davis' & Alec Baldwin's story thru the movie, skipping the Lydia-centric scenes. It helps to remember that Beetleguese the character is basically a glorified cameo in Beetlejuice the movie, so he's missing from the first half.]

Alec Baldwin is in Beetlejuice? I've seen this movie two times, one yesterday, and I have a sticker of him from 30 Rock on my laptop. I'm so sad I didn't recognize him. But uh, yeah the house looks cool.

 

[Rikku]

Am I the only one that wasn't all that impressed?

I was told to keep my expectations low, then I saw people leaving and I heard it's the best house some people had seen in the past 5 years, people were crying, dancing, screaming....etc.

Has the GP become so deprived of HHN that standards have dropped? No doubt, some elements and scenes were fun and grande, but overall, I still think Brides takes the cake this year and Tooth Fairy is second. After seeing what they could do with Graveyard Games, Ash, and especially Trick r Treat in that building, I have to say it's the 4th best house to be in the parade warehouse in the past 5 years, but not the whole event.

I'm likely gonna have to wait for a better pov of Beetlejuice since I'm not gonna get to experience it myself, though I will say from what I've seen it gives me Killer Klowns vibes, which isn't an especially good thing, the order of scenes seems really strange to me and it just doesnt quite jive with me, but I gotta say some of the sets do look really good in terms of actual design. Dunno how much of what doesn't jive with me can be chocked up to the circumstances in which it had to open, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

I completely agree! I found Brides absolutely the best of the three. I found Beetlejuice fun but it also to me felt very reminiscent of Killer Klownz very similar style but I felt it didn't reach it (personally really enjoyed KKFOS). I also agree that people were desperate for anything HHN so the houses probably "felt" better than they were. Brides did not reach the heights of Monsters last year but I did still really enjoy Brides. My ranking is Brides, Beetlejuice then Tooth Fairy. But like what has already been mentioned the expectations and standards are different. While I know during a normal HHN the houses wouldn't be as strong the experience of going through slowly, paced, relaxed, no crowding was AMAZING and made the experience more than what the house was. Something I've been dying for. It is such a hard thing to call. So "that" kind of experience was worth it alone and for that I will remember the experience fondly and really well just I won't remember the houses themselves.

 

[shiekra38]

My issue with the Beetlejuice design (which is the same issue I had with Ghostbusters) is the “diorama” structure of the scenes. The waiting room, sorting room, Big Top Beetlejuice, and exorcism, just seen from the POV walkthroughs, have you just looking at the scene as you walk past. You’re not walking through the waiting room, you’re walking beside it. You’re not walking beneath Big Top Beetlejuice... he, Otho, and you are all the same height.

I think walking through a scene is a better experience, especially when the only trick for diorama scares is a startle opposite the scene or someone popping in from “off-frame.” That structure is necessary in some situations, but it should be an exception rather than a rule. When dioramas make up half the house, it makes the experience far too passive.

I'm not watching the POV, but does lack of transition curtains/ stuff in face affect this at all?

I ask because it greatly affected my enjoyment of the other houses

 

[Brian G.]

Tooth Fairy facade appreciation post.

 

[4hartthreat]

It really was a stunning facade. And I thoroughly enjoyed the house. Liked it way more than Brides or Beetlejuice

 

[vgp]

I feel like I’m the only one that was extremely underwhelmed by both Tooth Fairy and Bride of Frankenstein.

There is much to suggest that you would be the exception if you felt a significant pull either way (love / hate) from either house.

 

[ultimateforce]

I hate to say this but the art style for the Tooth Fairy house illustrations are just awful.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I hate to say this but the art style for the Tooth Fairy house illustrations are just awful.

I think it was kinda intentional. Reminded me a lot of the Three Brothers scene from Deathly Hallows 1.

 

[Nick]

There is much to suggest that you would be the exception if you felt a significant pull either way (love / hate) from either house.

Well that's the thing. I didn't love or hate either house. They were just meh.

 

[MrBlonde]

I definitely preferred Bride over Tooth Fairy overall, but the cascade in Tooth Fairy was fun. With the signage and the book you walked past, it almost felt like a dark imaging in the aesthetic of Toothsome’s Chocolate Factory.

For BJ,

Spoiler: BJ first room

the ramps as BJ is working the crowd is a fun way to get into the mindset of the house and character, but I feel like he’s better off actually outside the house working the crowd rather than waste a room for riffing from an actor. I still liked it but I’m nitpicking.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I completely agree! I found Brides absolutely the best of the three. I found Beetlejuice fun but it also to me felt very reminiscent of Killer Klownz very similar style but I felt it didn't reach it (personally really enjoyed KKFOS). I also agree that people were desperate for anything HHN so the houses probably "felt" better than they were. Brides did not reach the heights of Monsters last year but I did still really enjoy Brides. My ranking is Brides, Beetlejuice then Tooth Fairy. But like what has already been mentioned the expectations and standards are different. While I know during a normal HHN the houses wouldn't be as strong the experience of going through slowly, paced, relaxed, no crowding was AMAZING and made the experience more than what the house was. Something I've been dying for. It is such a hard thing to call. So "that" kind of experience was worth it alone and for that I will remember the experience fondly and really well just I won't remember the houses themselves.

Bride > Monsters for me.

I'm just not crazy about mashup houses with zero overarching story. I thought Monsters was a very solid to good house (those projections out front!) but Bride just did what I wanted much better. Only thing missing from it under normal circumstances would be flying Dracula brides.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

For BJ,

Spoiler: BJ first room

the ramps as BJ is working the crowd is a fun way to get into the mindset of the house and character, but I feel like he’s better off actually outside the house working the crowd rather than waste a room for riffing from an actor. I still liked it but I’m nitpicking.

Spoiler

Yeah, to be entirely honest I expected the facade to basically just be his grave with an actor interacting with the crowd, but I guess in practice that would throw off the order of scenes and its not thaaaat different from what we ended up getting, first room still feels a little weird to me, might just be that the flow is compromised for distancing so you spend a bit longer in there than you probably would at a normal walking speed.

 

[SirAustin77]

My review of both houses (I didn't get to see BJ sadly)-

Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives
Easily one of the best sets in houses I have ever seen. The façade with the Bride dropping the pillar actually was an amazing idea, I thought I was gonna get crushed since I was directly under it. The actors gave a lot of energy, specifically the ones portraying the "Bride's assistant". The blood draining scene was just beautifully executed. Wasn't as scary as Tooth of course, but I got several good scares, such as the scene near the end where three of Dracula's Brides jumped out at the same time, I almost fell backwards. I also loved the Creature of the Black Lagoon cameo. Overall amazing house, I give it a 8.5/10.

Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
Absolutely terrifying. This was the first house that made me cry in fear (yes I am a baby) and the first time I've been through a house without an adult. The façade for this house may be my second favorite of all time. The design for the fairies looked like something out of my nightmares, and again, the actors gave so much energy. I love how you weren't ever safe. At every turn, there was a fairy waiting to attack. The sound effects were freaky as heck and added a lot to the scare factor. The sets and references to past houses were just amazing. Definitely one of my greatest of all time, I give it a 9.25/10.

P.S.:
"OH, YOU FOUL THING!!!"

 

[londonwerecat]

I just noticed the Necronomicon in the Tooth Fairy house for the last time last night. Neat!

I dont think its technically the necronomicon. its the contract that the Westhorne have made with the tooth fairies. It's more understandable if you know the full lore of the tooth fairy house