With this being my 4th year attending, I would like to think it's easier to make an anticipated house list. But I said it before in the spec thread, the houses this year are a bunch of ragtag wildcards. And I LOVE me some ragtag wildcards! So from that aspect, this year really was the hardest one for me to figure out for my anticipated list, and it will truly be hard to top next year because of that!
As the usual preface, once again I like all ten houses announced for the event. Even ones at the very bottom, that's not a knock on how I feel about the house. So without further ado, let's roll from the bottom up!
10. Halloween - Since I started going to HHN in 2018, I never got to see the O.G. house here. My introduction was Halloween 4, which still scared the heck out of me several times since the cast was on fire. The sets weren't memorable, but I will never forget the first masked Michael getting me so bad I had to lean again the opposite wall for a moment to regain my bearings, and the multiple times Dr. Loomis of all people got me in that house. Even with this being a redux house, if it has a good cast, I'm in trouble!
9. Hellblock Horror - For being a last-minute house change, a Prison full of Literal Monsters is a rather fun idea! And with the inmates being various monsters of HHN past, there's bound to plenty of easter eggs, fanservice etc. Though I will say I hope the house is just fun to go through in general, and not because of just to see the easter eggs etc. (Something which last year's Icons couldn't shake.)
8. Descendants of Destruction - A trip through NY's subway tunnels with a whole bunch of mutants? Sounds like a promising time! Now I did experience 2018's Seeds of Extinction once, and it was a little middle of the road for me due to unfortunate timing in the scares. I was fine with the concept and all, so I'm intrigued to see how this sequel of sorts fares. I will say, I think this'll fare better in a Sprung tent than it did in the parade warehouse.
7. Dead Man's Pier: Winter's Wake - Bout' time they had this theme for a house! I felt so bad when Dead Man's Wharf was revealed to be in San Fran, since sure enough the bottleneck issues showed up rather quickly. But now that it'll be a house, I think it'll be a downright gorgeous.
6. Horrors of Blumhouse - Here we go again! 2018's HoB was...definitely not the dark horse that 2017's was! Personally, I liked the Happy Death Day segment and felt The First Purge segment ended things on a weak note. (But even with that said, I didn't think it was as bad as others made it out to be.) Either way, for this year I think The Black Phone and Freaky as the segments this year are a lot more fun and intriguing. I'm very interested to see how they handle The Black Phone. And then there's the factor this is in a brand-new house location, so there's a lot of wildcard aspects in this one house.
5. Spirits of the Coven - High Concept. Roaring 20's (I'd say Goring 20's, but I think Knott's may have been an inspiration on that one.). Speakeasys. Witches disguised as Flapper Girls. Hooch. PROHIBITION. Smuggling. Sure, Lackadaisy is a fun comic!
4. Fiesta de Chubacabras - Like with
@SeventyOne, I've been waiting ten years for this house. Big fan of cryptids, love the concept on why we're there. I'm really excited to see how this one is pulled off!
3. The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare - Easily one of the most intriguing IP's the event has gotten, and unlike the others we're seeing a passion and excitement from the artist themselves that we haven't seen before. (Seriously, I don't think anyone expected that Abel himself would start replying and quote tweeting HNNightmares in regard to the spec map and rumors of his house.) I'm really looking forward to seeing how this "Nightmare Concert" turns out, I hope it's a trip!
2. Bugs: Eaten Alive - My feelings on this house are the same I had for Dead Exposure: Patient Zero. I'm looking forward to this house as much as I am also dreading it. I know this is the Horror Comedy house, but from everything I've read and heard so far, yes the setup for the house is wonderfully campy...but the experience on the inside is going to cranked hard into horror. I've already seen a bunch of comments from folks who won't go into this house. I can't recall a house where folks have really stated that!
1. Universal Monsters: Legends Collide - I'm a fan of the UCM, and I've definitely enjoyed the past two houses. I love that the team is now going in the direction of coming up with fun original tales for the monsters to be in. Anything I've heard or read about this house is getting me more and more excited. Big house! Dracula! Mummy! Egypt! Wolf-Man! Anubis! I'm a mythology buff and a Furry, so most of those (especially the last two together) instantly check all the boxes of what I'm hoping for in this house. Am I shameless for that being the reason for putting this at number one? You bet I am!
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And that's that! It's quite the lineup, and honestly any and every one of them can really kill it this year! The next couple weeks can't go by soon enough!