HHN 28: Most Anticipated House

[Brian G.]

Which house are you most looking forward to this year?

 

[Tobias]

I have to preface that making this list was hard. Not just due to the fact I'm finally attending, but this lineup is stacked.

1. Poltergeist - This is one of my favorite ghost films, and there's a lot of crazy stuff you can do for this house. Add in the fact this is a "White Whale" for the creative team, and they're doing some unique stuff for the house to add in some scary unknowns, it's right at the top of a very solid lineup! This is the IP which has the best chance of scaring me.

2. Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces - I'll admit, once I first heard rumors about this house, it honestly swayed me to seriously plan on attending the event. This theme is solid gold, and there's so much the creative team can do with that. This could be a total package haunt with set designs, creativity and scares. I could've honestly put as my number 1, but I wanna' keep my expectations somewhat in check.

3. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero - I've always been intrigued by the original house, I love the general concept of it and this could very well freak me out in a very good way. Certainly a house I'm both excited and dreading to enter.

4. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After - Twisted Fairytales is honestly one of my favorite haunt themes, so I'm ecstatic ST is in the lineup for this year! Admittedly I would've preferred a entire Wizard of Oz house since there's so much you can do with that, but I'm happy with the Wicked Witch of the West being the main controller here.

5. Seeds of Extinction - A unique theme with camo scares galore, this could be downright terrifying. I'd honestly place this higher on the list, but the other ones are pushing some personal favorite buttons of mine.

6. Slaughter Sinema - Being a fan of cheesy B-Movies, this is right up my alley. An I'm totally fine with horror comedy houses, as long as there's a good attempted scare or joke in each film, I think I'll have a blast going through this.

7. Trick 'r Treat - I love the film, and from what I've read it'll probably be solid, so it's odd placing this at number 7. But that's a testament to how stacked this lineup is!

8. Horrors of Blumhouse - With Happy Death Day, that film was honestly a fun surprise and
I think the whole day resetting with different kills could work nicely. For the First Purge, I know people are tired of that IP, but since this is the first time it's not a overlay of something they lost, I think it'll be fine. An' of course it has to be said, this is a far better lineup then Hollywood's HoB.

9. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers *Dark Horse Pick* - This one's interesting, I do like Halloween and the event is so far 2 for 2 with Halloween houses. However H4 is not as good as the previous films, and the Shrek venue seems to be hit or miss, not to mention I'm curious how certain scenes from the film will translate or fit into that space. There's a lot of unknowns, but that makes it a great candidate for my Dark Horse Pick.

10. Stranger Things - Even though this is the biggest IP the event landed this year, knowing what scenes the house has (and what it doesn't), I think it's best keeping expectations low so I'm surprised rather then disappointed. I don't think it'll be a "bad" house, just not as grand as it could be.

There it is, and I can also add there's no house which I'm not looking forward to. I think each house could be fun in their own way, which is making next month's trip all the more exciting for me!

 

[hhnlover]

1 carnival graveyard - this might be hoty imo.

2 seeds of extinction - this also sounds good for scares.

3 trick r treat - i mean come on man it's trick r treat.

4 poltergeist - all time classic and tons of potential.

5 slaughter sinema - would make a wonderful laugh maze.

6 stranger things - could be good if they utilize the right things.

7 scary tales 4 - could be good like st3 or forgettable.

8 dead exposure 2 - i don't know about this one yet. so im gonna wait until more info but for now it's a 8

9 horrors of blumhouse 2 - first one was alright but now we have 2 meh movies here. might be a hit but idk

10 halloween 4 - im sorry but out of anything else they chose the fourth one. what about silver shamlock, or the 2018 remake? i do hope this will be good like 2014 and 2016 though.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

1. Seeds of Extinction - This sounds like Scarecrow all over again, which is probably my favorite house I've been in since attending in 2014. The potential of only having a single light source (if it pans out) could make this even more intense.

2. Slaughter Sinema - The stills released look great, and the whole theme of the house sounds like a blast. I don't know how scary this will end up being, but the creativity seems to be here.

3. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After - I'm expecting great sets here with a strong variety of scares to go with it.

4. Carnival Graveyard - The layout of this house will be pretty unique. There's a possibility it doesn't work, but it'll be an interesting house at the very least.

5. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero - The strobes may get annoying, but I'm still looking forward to this more than any of the IPs.

6. Trick r' Treat - This feels like a passion project for the team. After the great scarezone last year, I'm looking forward to this quite a bit.

7. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Meyers - It's Halloween. I know what to expect based on the last two houses and will be disappointed if I don't get that.

8. Poltergeist - So uh, I haven't seen Poltergeist :look: Maybe this will go up once I see the movie.

9. Horrors of Blumhouse - I'm not really looking forward to this, but at least low expectations could lead to a surprise. Dunno. Having Split or Get Out would've bumped this up a bit for me.

10. Stranger Things - After reading Legacy's layout..... no. I like Stranger Things (the theme is even my ringtone), but this house sounds really boring. At least it'll be cool to see the show recreated?

 

[ChaseTuff]

I think just on a base level, this is my favorite lineup since I started attending (23). Definitely the best lineup of originals. IP's, there's the 2 big standouts. So honestly probably my first like 5-6 could be like anywhere.

1. Slaughter Sinema - Yessss, I love this. This entire concept is fantastic. And also I generally like the horror-comedy approaches. I'm probably one of the few who actually puts AvED in his Top 3 from last year. This sounds like a wild, popping house. Visuals and scares should be top notch.

2. Scary Tales - Been waiting for another full on Scary Tales house since I got a taste of the franchise from that meh ScreamPunk zone in 25 as well as Asylum In Wonderland 3D (which I liked a lot actually). And I love the concept of the Wicked Witch's takeover and spell, and the described scenes from the LIVE show sounded hilariously disgusting and awesome. And the return of a large as heck facade...hopefully they're a little more conservative with that this time around because I'd like to see this one breath a bit.

3. Carnival Graveyard - Without the HOS esque elements here, this is probably a bit lower...but with those elements, I'm gonna put it in my Top 3 because boy does it sounds interesting, especially having finally attended HOS as of last year. The scenes that were like the concept they seem to be doing here at HOS were fun. The big risk here to me is that it would really kinda hurt scares if you saw one all the way in the backend of the linear maze right from the beginning. That's what gives me a bit of hesitation.

4. Poltergeist - This is to me the big standout IP of the year (A/N: Haven't watched Stranger Things, sorry.) and definitely is one of the remaining possible big ones they could have gotten. This to me would have been exciting alone, but the extra details about the spin they're putting on this from the beginning scenes to the light, have me even more excited.

5. Trick R Treat - I loved the scarezone, I see no reason why I wouldn't like what is basically the scarezone but plus size in every way. There will definitely be some neat scenes here that they couldn't pull off in the scarezone that will be great to see like the quarry or the wolves in the forest. I see this being a really fun house, not sure how scary it will be, but hey.

6. Seeds Of Extinction - I went back and forth on putting this higher or lower. Higher because it is a great concept that is unique to Horror Nights and the fact that it's basically easter egg mania while being spit at by evil plants sounds legit fun. Lower because...settings for this could be kinda samey in my head. Just average areas but green ain't the most interesting. Can never be too confident in a new location on it's first year, just that natural hesitation. And as much as they're claiming how terrifying this is, the idea of evil plants makes me think of the one that sang so...gonna reserve it to a middle slot until I see it for myself

7. Halloween 4 - It is amusing to me how it took so many years for Michael Myers to get to Orlando, but once he arrived once, he's been coming back pretty consistently. I remembered the first one pretty well, 2nd one a little less so. Halloween 4? Woof, I got nothing. Not a single kill or scene could be immediately remembered from me. But in the end, and that's kinda what they seem to going with more in the advertising, it's the return of Michael Myers. I don't hate it, I'm just confident that right down to the location, this won't be as interesting or engaging as the first two.

8. Dead Exposure - This definitely should be a scary maze, if it's anything like I've heard about the first one, this could blow me out of the water. But gotta address the issues I do have. This may sound dumb, but I think we needed at least like another year without zombies. I'm not gonna flip flop just because it isn't Walking Dead or an IP. Second...can't help but be a little disappointed that it sounds like that despite the Paris setting, they ain't even utilizing a lot of the fun locations they could put zombies in and instead seem to be holding us to a "reverse scenic route" approach.

9. Stranger Things - Eeeyyy, guess who hasn't watched a single full episode of this? There's a bald chick who likes waffles, some babysitter who has a barbed wire baseball bat but apparently he's more in Season 2 so probably won't be in this maze, and the villain is a plant looking monster called the Demogorgan from some upside down dimension. I did read that maze walkthrough...yeah, it totally went over my head. Hilariously enough, based on responses of StrTh fans to that walkthrough, I will probably end up liking this more than other people...ignoring potential wait time fatigue.

10. Blumhouse - Happy Death Day is a great film and deserved its' dues. I'm very interested to see how they portray the repeating days and interested to see what kills specifically they are gonna use. But in total, I think this definitely stands out as kinda generic, especially with only one killer and...oh yeah The First Purge. Uhh...first Purge film I didn't see in the theaters. Why? Don't particularly know. Ant Man and Wasp was out and then I went to PA. Then...just wasn't feeling it this time. Maybe I'll try to rent it before the event...but honestly it's the Purge, I have my doubts I'll get it less. But yeah after the PURGE OVERLOAD of a personal scarezone, being a bit part in Altars, and being a (late addition aside) bit part in Blum last year...definitely could have used a Purge break. Hopefully they ignore that TV series for next year at least.

Most Potential To Fall: Probably Carnival Graveyard if my fears regarding it come true.
Most Potential To Rise: SOE is obvious, Dead Exposure being scary enough would make me ignore the issues, Blumhouse could do...a Blumhouse again. Even the bottom half here has a lot of potential to me.

 

[JoeCamel]

So, I didn't attend last year but I heard Blumhouse was an unexpected hit. Is it just the Purge overload that puts it at the bottom of everyone's list this year? How about if the cast does an outstanding job?

 

[ChaseTuff]

So, I didn't attend last year but I heard Blumhouse was an unexpected hit. Is it just the Purge overload that puts it at the bottom of everyone's list this year? How about if the cast does an outstanding job?

The Purge overload and IMO, just ranking it on base level of what we know, as I'm trying to, it's definitely the least interesting to me.

 

[Allison]

Separating them but...

IP’s
1. Stranger Things - I just really, really love the show
2. Poltergeist- love the movie, I better see my sis Tangina in there!!!!
3. Trick r Treat - love the movie, it was my favorite zone last year, can’t wait for this one
4. Halloween 4 - Mikey’s my favorite of all the horror icons but I’m getting a little tired of him at HHN
5. Horrors of Blumhouse - didn’t care for HDD & I’m sick of The Purge, might just skip this one

Originals
1. Slaughter Sinema - sounds slightly funner than Carnival Graveyard
2. Carnival Graveyard - sounds slightly funner than Scary Tales but also not really
3. Scary Tales - I really just wanna put SS, CG & this one at a 3 way tie for first
4. Seeds of Extinction - simply cause this sounds like it’s gonna be dark and I struggle with night vision, but it doesn’t sound like it’s gonna be as dark as...
5. Dead Exposure - I’ll be shocked if this is visually bright enough for me to walk through tbh

 

[RevFreako]

Basically, nine houses are tied, then StrTh close behind. Not much of a list, but there you are.

 

[HalloweenStar]

Top 3 are:

1- Stranger Things. Because this show has my heart. The end.

2- Poltergeist- So freaking excited for this. That's just one of those franchises that stuck with me as a kid! :bigeye:

3- Dead Exposure: Patient Zero- The original Dead Exposure is my #2 house of all time so I have high hopes for this one.

I think as far as everything else I'm equally excited for the rest.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Really hard to choose this year.

1. Carnival Graveyard - Dead Waters was #1 maze last year (and of all time) and I just love it when mazes are beautiful but creepy at the same time.
2. Stranger Things - So much potential, not really looking for scares, but all the settings should be fantastic.
3. Halloween - I love Michael Myers. The soundtrack and figuring out where he is going to come from makes a really great house.
4. Slaughter Sinema - Interesting concept that has the potential to be really intense.
5. Poltergeist - Sooo much content to showcase. Really interested in how they do several scenes.
6. Scary Tales - Really looking forward to the costumes for this and the settings they choose.
7. Trick r' Treat - The scare zone was my favorite of all time. Only reason why it's my #7 is because all of the above have been topics/IPs I've been wanting HHN to have.
8. Dead Exposure - I hope this is intense. The idea of walking thru catacombs has me excited.
9. Seeds of Extinction - If it's like Scarecrow/Tomb of the Ancients, it'll be awesome.
10. Blumhouse - I didn't hate last year's maze but the jumping from movie to movie really kills the vibe of the overall house. (FYI, I don't dislike the Purge at all, I understand the entire overuse argument, but everything Uni has done with the purge, aside from last year's representation in Blumhouse, has been great. Even the Scream house was one of the most intense HHN house I've been to)

This is the strongest lineup I've seen from HHN (aside from missing BT) and was really difficult to make a top 10 list.

 

[horrornights789]

After reading all the details about the houses and thinking about possible scenes my hype list a 9 way tie for #1 and then Blumhouse; but even then Blumhouse is my pick for the Dark Horse HoTY like it was last year. IMO this is the best house lineup since 21 and the best zone lineup since 25. This year is looking to be one of the greats(still keeping expectations in check, but this year does seem top flight)

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

1. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero
2. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After
3. Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces
4. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
5. Stranger Things
6. Seeds of Extinction
7. Slaughter Sinema
8. Poltergeist
   
9. Trick 'r Treat
   
10. The Horrors of Blumhouse

 

[SeventyOne]

10) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. The movie was unnecessary from a creative perspective, driven solely by corporate avarice. I can’t imagine the house will be any different. Myers overused at this point.
Best Case: The house’s failure to make a dent in crowds convinces The Higher-Ups that Bill & Teds really was worth saving
Worst Case: Like TWD, we still have two more years of this coming—and they’ve already skipped “Season of the Witch”

9) Horrors of Blumhouse. Been over using The Purge at the event for a while—I find it in bad taste. Now it’s also just plain tired. Haven’t seen Happy Death Day yet but hard to imagine its rooms being more than a one-note gimmick.
Best Case: Solid cast and architectural design like last year make it tolerable; Gen Z eats it up, easing up crowds elsewhere
Worst Case: Gets an Ash v. Evil Dead rep for being skippable, does nothing to absorb crowds

8) Seeds of Extinction. Just not feeling the premise. I expect way too much stuff in face and fanbois making unfunny Little Shop of Horrors jokes. But killer space plants meant to be taken seriously? C'mon man. Legit shocked this is the early consensus #2 pick
Best Case: It uses tight turns and camouflaged actors to capture a Scarecrow vibe and surprises me
Worst Case: Unless handled perfectly, this just screams potential punchline for years, like Cold Blind Terror

7) Poltergeist. One of the first scary movies I remember as a kid. But not sure there’s enough in it to flesh out a full-length house. Kind of over the 1970s/1980s suburban house as a location, too—it feels like the concept gets reused every year, and by now they blend together. And is it really Poltergeist without Zelda Rubinstein in it? She’s the only truly iconic character (hero or villain) in the movie. Then again, word is Spielberg is making regular trips to oversee the development of Dreamworks in Park 3—if you know he’s likely to walk through your house at least once, I suppose you do whatever you can to make it count.
Best Case: Solid cast and faithful recreations of the setpieces mean I eat some crow
Worst Case: One of those forgettable adaptations no one talks about again after November 1

6) Trick r Treat. Has risen to become the definitive Halloween movie for me, loved the scare-zone last year. More of the same only with the freedom of being inside should work, right? (Pipe down Saws n Steam!)
Best Case: As much fun as last year, with a cast that enjoys scares
Worst Case: Feels too redundant from the zone last year, like we’ve already walked through it a dozen times; another ridiculously long queue like Ash v. Evil
Dead

5) Dead Exposure: Patient Zero. Big fan of the first house, but as much for the story it told as the effects. Also, that was pre-Walking Dead, when zombies didn’t feel played out. Really curious how the lighting effects work and what the in-story justification for them is. Also, catacombs will be fine, but hope they can do above-ground Paris justice in a tent. Middle of the pack because I could see it going either way for me.
Best Case: Sleeper pick for House of the Year
Worst Case: The Terror Mines/Walking Dead mash-up nobody ever wanted

4) Stranger Things. I admit if I'd made this list last November, this would have been #1 easily. But Legacy has me tempering my expectations. I think it will be good, but no longer convinced it will be an all-timer. Still, I love the show, being exactly the target age (same as the dungeon party back in 1984), so I’m excited just for the nostalgia rush.
Best Case: A Shining-like adaptation that stays truthful to the source material even tho it kind of lacks scares
Worst Case: Too static, big sets but no one actively scaring, not enough 11--in other words, boring

3) Slaughter Sinema: I’m a sucker for comedy houses, and this one sounds like a blast. I think the variation in movies should keep things fresh. Particularly looking forward to Florida’s own Skunk-Ape (even if I think he could have supported his own serious urban legends house). Hoping they play up the kitsch like H.R. Bloodengutz did.
Best Case: The comedy works, ala H.R. Bloodengutz
Worst Case: The comedy doesn’t work, ala Penn & Teller

2) Scary Tales: Deadliest Ever After. Probably my favorite in-house HHN franchise. Missed the original, but II and III in my top 20 of all time, as are the related Wonderland and Oz scare-zones. With that track record, I see no way this isn’t at least very good.
Best Case: House of the year, with lots of swipes at the Mouse and a surprise Snow Queen room
Worst Case: Fun but overshadowed by some of the more original houses this year

1) Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces. Giant sets, a new but still familiar Halloween theme, an evil Zultan the Fortune Teller … this sounds like it could be a Scooby Doo episode come to life. Everything I look for in a house: fully immersive sets with lots of opportunities for scares.
Best Case: All-time top 10
Worst Case: Too short, like Bayou of Blood, and/or too timing-dependent and open to allow effective scares

 

[JungleSkip]

10) Halloween 4 Been there, done that. I haven't been impressed with either Halloween houses, so I'm not holding my breath on this one. This is the only house I have no real excitement for.

9) 2Blum2House I really, really enjoyed HAPPY DEATH DAY, so I'm excited to see it at the event. But the Purge? The Purge is the new Walking Dead for me.

8) Stranger Things Love the show, but I'm not convinced it will be a great house.

7) Poltergeist Amazing, classic, and long overdue. I hope this turns out as surprising as American Werewolf in London was. Some all-time horror moments in the movie. If they pull it off this could end up being one of the best of the year. Key word: "If"

6) Dead Exposure: Patient Zero I wasn't at the event for the first Dead Exposure, but I did see the classic monsters house that was inspired by it. That house was pretty decent, so I'm interested in the "real thing".

5) Trick R Treat My favorite Halloween-set movie, and what I watch every October 31. They knocked the zone out of the park last year, and if the house is just as good it could be one of my favorites ever. It's down at 5 because the original concepts are just so strong this year.

4) Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After Evil fairy tales are always fun. I'm expecting some incredible scenic work from this one. If they use bungee scares, I just hope they're better implemented than last year.

3) Slaughter Sinema HR Bloodngutz is one of my favorite houses of all time, and this feels like that house's spiritual successor. It could be just as good, but it can easily be another Penn & Teller. I'm hoping for the former, and hopefully a cameo by Bloodngutz himself.

2) Seeds of Extinction Scarecrow: The Reaping was my favorite house of all time. This sounds like it has the same camouflage/claustrophobic potential as Scarecrow did. If that's the case, Seeds could be another all-timer.

1) Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces I think this one has the potential to be both the best or worst house of the event. It sounds like they're really trying something new, and that could either mean a new classic, or a new disaster. I can't wait to see it either way.

In all honesty, not only is this lineup the biggest, it also has the most houses I'm excited to see since I started going to the event in 2011. I was desperate to see IT, and think WB should have at least allowed Orlando to use the property. But with a ton of horror IPs taken off the table by WB, A&D has come up with their most exciting sounding original lineup since HHN21, and that's something to be excited about.

 

[happy bunny rabbit]

1. Carnival Graveyard - Sounds game changing from what the designers and Legacy have been sharing.

2. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero - I know people have been talking down this one, but I'm still just so pumped for it, having loved Hive and Scarecrow last year.

3. Halloween 4 - I just love Michael houses, and I've only been through H2 so I don't have the same fatigue other users have expressed.

4. Poltergeist - After finally watching the film (and wow it was fantastic), this house was bumped up from spot 9 all the way to 4. The imagery, creative scares, environment, music, creatures, ALL of it will potentially be fantastic to see in person. I can barely contain my excitement. This has the potential to be insanely creative, but also might have the adaption pains that The Shining (and The Exorcist from what I've heard) had.

5. Slaughter Sinema - I love the idea for this one, and everything they've shown has me excited, but could end up being more of a comedy house than a scare house.

6. Seeds of Extinction - Seems to have some serious scare potential, and I'm anticipating some surprises in this one.

7. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After - Have never been through a ST house, so I initially wasn't interested in this but after the announcement of the stories included (Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty, Three Little Pigs) I am extremely excited to see these scenes in action, whether they be animatronic, costumed, or static model.

8. The Horrors of Blumhouse Vol. 2 - Sounds like the design concepts with HDD could be interesting, and the Purge section actually being designed for the Purge won't hurt.

9. Trick 'r Treat - Been there, kinda did that, wasn't a fan. Probably will be much better in a house.

10. Stranger Things - Don't really like the show, so if it's a house focused on showing off the scenes it'll be a snoozer. The Demogorgon is the only thing I'm at all excited for.

 

[Octobers Fade]

1) Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces
2) Trick 'r Treat
3) Poltergeist
4) Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After
5) Seeds of Extinction
6) Slaughter Sinema
7) Dead Exposure: Patient Zero

8) Stranger Things
9) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
10) The Horrors of Blumhouse

 

[Robert Bliss]

1. Carnival Graveyard
2. Slaughter Sinema
3. Scary Tales
4. Seeds of Extinction
5. Dead Exposure
6. Stranger Things
7. Halloween 4
8. Poltergeist
9.Trick r Treat
10. The house I didn't want

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

1. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero
2. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After
3. Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces
4. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
5. Stranger Things
6. Seeds of Extinction
7. Slaughter Sinema
8. Poltergeist
   
9. Trick 'r Treat
   
10. The Horrors of Blumhouse

I guess I should add some reasoning..

1. Dead Exposure - The 2008 house is in my all time top-10. I'm hoping they're able to re-create the tone of that house with this year's. I have some doubts, but I'm very excited to see how it compares. I may be setting myself up for disappointment.
2. Scary Tales - Again, the 2008 house is in my all time top-10 (top 3, really.) I'm hoping for a good blend of awesome scenic/costumes mixed with well-designed and clever scares. I will say that I was very disappointed with the scarezone in 2015. I hope they steer clear of anything resembling that zone in here.
3. Carnival Graveyard - Potential. Bold creative choices here could potentially be just what the event needs. It could also potentially fall flat. No matter what though, it's going to be eye candy. I hope the overall tone of the house is more scary than fun.
4. Halloween - The 2014 house is also in my all time top-3, and I really enjoyed the 2016 house. I don't think you can really go wrong with Michael Myers in a haunted house. I am not a fan of the 4th movie and would have preferred this house was based on the new Blumhouse movie. I'm a bit fearful of the limitations the Shrek theater presents, but..in the end, it's still Michael Myers. It's still the iconic music. I think I will really enjoy the house.
5. Stranger Things - This house would have been ranked higher if they were taking a different route in translating the content to their haunted house. It would have been ranked lower had they not decided to cast lookalikes in the main characters' roles. I'm a fan of the show (who isn't?) and I'm excited to see some of the settings from the show brought to life. However, the time waiting in line for this house may end up being scarier than the house.
6. Seeds of Extinction - Speaking of queues being scary, I don't think my feet are fully prepared for the walk to and from this house. To justify repeat treks to the end of the world, this house is going to have to deliver in a big way. The concept doesn't scream "frightening" to me. I wonder if going with Scarecrow comparisons will be too much to live up to in the end. Admittedly, I wasn't as fond of Scarecrow as most. For now, this house seems a bit all over the place in content/theme/tone. We shall see.
7. Slaughter Sinema - I'm not a fan of b-movies. But with this house, I hope they really play up the camp. I just don't know if it's going to work as a scary house. Humor may be the way to go with this one. The entry setup should be cool.
8. Poltergeist - Recently re-watched the movie for the first time in many, many years. It has held up well. However, I fear the content just doesn't lend itself very well to a haunted attraction. Also, supernatural houses aren't usually my favorites. While not as bad as Seeds of Extinction or Trick 'r Treat, I'm not looking forward to the hike to and from this house.
9. Trick 'r Treat - I think the content from the movie lends itself better to a haunted house rather than a scare zone, so that's a plus. However, I do not typically enjoy repeated IPs at HHN and especially not in back-to-back years. While the traditional Halloween holiday themes are some of my favorites, I feel like they have been overdone at HHN in recent years. Add in Twisted Tradition as a loose pre-house zone and it's just a bit too much of the same to me. Not looking forward to the long queue, either. This house would have been much higher up on my list had it been at say HHN 18/19/20.
10. Horrors of Blumhouse - As much as I ended up being surprised by last year's house, I don't expect a repeat this year. The only thing that intrigues me about this house is how well they'll adapt Happy Death Day's repeating scenes. If I could exit the house midway through and completely skip The Purge content, I would. I hope the actors make me eat my words.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I guess I should add some reasoning..

1. Dead Exposure - The 2008 house is in my all time top-10. I'm hoping they're able to re-create the tone of that house with this year's. I have some doubts, but I'm very excited to see how it compares. I may be setting myself up for disappointment.
2. Scary Tales - Again, the 2008 house is in my all time top-10 (top 3, really.) I'm hoping for a good blend of awesome scenic/costumes mixed with well-designed and clever scares. I will say that I was very disappointed with the scarezone in 2015. I hope they steer clear of anything resembling that zone in here.
3. Carnival Graveyard - Potential. Bold creative choices here could potentially be just what the event needs. It could also potentially fall flat. No matter what though, it's going to be eye candy. I hope the overall tone of the house is more scary than fun.
4. Halloween - The 2014 house is also in my all time top-3, and I really enjoyed the 2016 house. I don't think you can really go wrong with Michael Myers in a haunted house. I am not a fan of the 4th movie and would have preferred this house was based on the new Blumhouse movie. I'm a bit fearful of the limitations the Shrek theater presents, but..in the end, it's still Michael Myers. It's still the iconic music. I think I will really enjoy the house.
5. Stranger Things - This house would have been ranked higher if they were taking a different route in translating the content to their haunted house. It would have been ranked lower had they not decided to cast lookalikes in the main characters' roles. I'm a fan of the show (who isn't?) and I'm excited to see some of the settings from the show brought to life. However, the time waiting in line for this house may end up being scarier than the house.
6. Seeds of Extinction - Speaking of queues being scary, I don't think my feet are fully prepared for the walk to and from this house. To justify repeat treks to the end of the world, this house is going to have to deliver in a big way. The concept doesn't scream "frightening" to me. I wonder if going with Scarecrow comparisons will be too much to live up to in the end. Admittedly, I wasn't as fond of Scarecrow as most. For now, this house seems a bit all over the place in content/theme/tone. We shall see.
7. Slaughter Sinema - I'm not a fan of b-movies. But with this house, I hope they really play up the camp. I just don't know if it's going to work as a scary house. Humor may be the way to go with this one. The entry setup should be cool.
8. Poltergeist - Recently re-watched the movie for the first time in many, many years. It has held up well. However, I fear the content just doesn't lend itself very well to a haunted attraction. Also, supernatural houses aren't usually my favorites. While not as bad as Seeds of Extinction or Trick 'r Treat, I'm not looking forward to the hike to and from this house.
9. Trick 'r Treat - I think the content from the movie lends itself better to a haunted house rather than a scare zone, so that's a plus. However, I do not typically enjoy repeated IPs at HHN and especially not in back-to-back years. While the traditional Halloween holiday themes are some of my favorites, I feel like they have been overdone at HHN in recent years. Add in Twisted Tradition as a loose pre-house zone and it's just a bit too much of the same to me. Not looking forward to the long queue, either. This house would have been much higher up on my list had it been at say HHN 18/19/20.
10. Horrors of Blumhouse - As much as I ended up being surprised by last year's house, I don't expect a repeat this year. The only thing that intrigues me about this house is how well they'll adapt Happy Death Day's repeating scenes. If I could exit the house midway through and completely skip The Purge content, I would. I hope the actors make me eat my words.

Yeah I'm hoping that they use as many opportunities as possible to be "truly scary" instead of just "fun." I enjoy comedy at HHN so long as it's surrounded by ****s-to-the-wall scariness. While I felt the same way about DE that you did about Scarecrow, this version sounds far more appealing to me.

I'm betting they add some new scenes to Poltergeist, similar to Exorcist. That said, It would've lent itself much better to a house.

Anyways, here's my <incomplete> list, bottom three explanations copy-pasted from Nightmares:

#10--Horrors of Blumhouse, Vol 2
From what I've seen of it, Happy Death Day does NOT belong in the event (if they had to have it in some capacity, I would've preferred it to be in the house last year in place of Sinister and for Sinister to be a whole house this year). WAY too "cutesy" in a year where we already have two camp houses, two "family friendly" horror houses and three campy zones (my only real concern about this year--honestly if we have to have Purge I would've rather had an entire Purge house).


#9--Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers
Really wish they had been able to do the new one, which looks really good. Ah, well. It's just a bit awkward that they're "promoting" the new one by using a house based off a movie whose canon is going to be voided. Could've easily just made the first half a condensed version of the first house and then gone through the trailer. I will say, I love that this is in the Shrek theatre.


#8--Stranger Things
As great of a job as they've done marketing this, and even though I VASTLY prefer this show to TWD and AHS, I'm just not THAT hyped about this appearing--partially because I feel like the other houses we have that are either camp or light-hearted horror just sound better. Also runs the risk of being VERY one-note on scares. Like I said, I'm not angry about this coming at all, but given that it will probably pull record wait times, I'm just not sure if it's gonna be worth waiting for more than once.


#7--Poltergeist
I know that this is a passion project for A&D. I strongly appreciate Spielberg's presence is (temporarily) being brought back to Universal between this and Stranger Things (seriously, that shirt design put a smile on my face). The announcement video was GREAT. It has the potential for some amazing effects. So given all the praise I've just heaped, why is it this low? Pretty simple, I just feel like this is a bit too family friendly, especially when the main IP is also family friendly. Maybe this bothers me WAY more than it should, but yeah. I'm interested to see what they do with it, but it has that handicap to deal with. If we didn't already have several family properties already this would be a bit higher. This, along with my next pick and one in my top five, has the most mobile potential, for better or worse.


#6--Seeds of Extinction
The only reason this is above Poltergeist is because this seems like they're going for a truly scary/dark vibe with this--Legacy implied that this will be the scariest. The description of the different types of attacking plants ("poisonous pollens") has me really interested. Also after being wowed by that crashed boat last year, I'm excited about the crashed plane. I get the feeling there's going to be A LOT of stuff hanging in my face, as well as ghillie suit guys. Will shoot up on my list if the thing about the moon being the only light source is true.


#5-1--not sure which order, yet
I can't decide. I'm PSYCHED for the rest of the houses. Even though I wasn't a big fan of the first DE, this concept sounds far more appealing to me. I adore anything classically Halloween related, so obviously TrT is a must. Despite my opinion that there's too many lighthearted haunts this year, so many of the rooms in SS sound like instant winners (can't wait for the singing barbers). CG looks like a terrifically fresh albeit risky take on a dated theme: I was sold when the "indoor scare-zone" part was revealed; I was even more sold when they mentioned each character being very detailed. ST3 is my favorite house I've ever been through, so naturally I had to put ST4 up here.