So I went to HHN two more times last weekend and things didn't change too much since opening Friday night.
I was happy to see that there were a few actors in the cirque du freak that were actually hiding behind things and jumping out to scare people. It's like they read my mind . . . or maybe just my last post. Great improvement but still not too scary of a scare zone when compared to some of the greats from a few years back. I'd say, as far as scariness goes, it graduated up to a 5/10. Oh, and I still think it's an awful lot like the freak shows HHN has just about every year, not that it's a bad thing.
Containment still doesn't have anywhere near enough fog or actors to get the effect they're looking for, 2/10.
The zombie war zone had a few more actors in it this time and that was really all that it was missing. This is easily the scariest scare zone this year, but that's not saying a whole lot, 6/10.
Haction, is a great idea that just doesn't work as far as scares go. It's fun to watch but it's not even slightly scary. While I like the show, I'm rating based on scares, sorry, 2/10.
What on Earth are they thinking at the cannibal area? I'm taking a stance on this one now that I've been on 3 different nights. 1/10. I'm placing the blame squarely on the actor's shoulders too. I'm not sure if you're doing it wrong, or more likely, if you're getting bad direction as far as what to do but IT'S NOT SCARY TO WALK BY A GUY THAT YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING WALK AROUND IN PLAIN SIGHT FOR 2 MINUTES. If that's what they're telling you to do, it's time to take some initiative and go rogue. Listen carefully, here's what to do. Hide behind something and when someone gets close, jump out at them. I know, I'm a rocket scientist, but there's no sense in having all of this knowledge and not sharing it with the people.
A close runner up for crappiest scare zone is the d-i-e in. It's more like a photo op than a scare zone. As I said last time, the walking pattern doesn't come within 15' of the scare zone so the actors are left with a tough choice, try to hide behind cars and scare people from 15' away or roam around in the open. Most of the actors go for the second option which makes it feel like a great place to get your picture taken but it's not scary . . . at all, 1/10.
Silver Screams had a minor change, they turned out the lights in the Valentine room. You lose a lot of the small details but the scares work better. This is my second favorite house this year so be sure to see it if you haven't been through yet or give it another shot if you already went once.
I made it through two new houses, leave it to cleaver and saw. Leave it to cleaver was a lot of fun but more campy fun than really scary. The theme is that you're touring the butchering facility of your local butcher shop, Meetz Meats--the "z" is for selection! Here's his secret to such great meat, it's made out of people! People I tell you, PEOPLE! Great detail and plenty of jump-out-at-you scares. The butcher shop is amazing, looks just like the real thing . . . but I think I'll pass on my regular order of belogna this week Mr. Meetz. If you accept this house for what it is, it's great fun, 7/10.
What can I say about Saw? This house is one of the absolute best of all time. Really good work. I'm not going to give anything away but I had said the "psychological" scare just doesn't work in a 3 minute haunted house, I'll admit it, I was wrong. I'll also acknowledge that if you have bad timing and hit each of the rooms right after the trap has activated you could miss just about everything there is to see, I'm sure that's where the negative reviews are coming from. That, or it's simply too scary for them. This is a solid 9/10 that's worth the long wait.
And speaking of LONG waits, Sunday, Oct. 4, was THE BUSIEST NON-PEAK HHN NIGHT I'VE EVER SEEN in my 6 years of attendance. I'm not sure if this was just an anomaly or if this is going to be the norm this year. All of the houses had at least 45 minute waits by 8pm. (Actually all but Wolfman, his house always has a short line. Looks like I'm not the only one that's not crazy about that house.) But here was the issue, most of the signs in front of the houses still said between 5 - 15 minutes. We even mentioned it to the staff but they still didn't change the sign. Strange to say someone that just waited in the 45 minute line isn't right, isn't it? Especially when you could just look over your shoulder and see the massive line. Oh well.
Bill & Ted's show was stupid and childish like it always is . . . and that must be why I like it so much! We've got a little more fun this year with a third host, Bill & Ted are joined by Seth Green's dork from Robot Chicken. If you enjoy idiotic humor then you're in for a real treat this year, it's the best Bill and Ted's I've ever seen, 10/10.