An incredible E-Ticket haunt experience. This house is worth any lengthy queue time it amasses.
I am no great fan of the films. I am only partial in my enjoyment of Terrifier 2, less so for 3, and I have no care for the first film. When Terrifier was brought up years ago, I compared it to Cannibal Holocaust. It is simply not an IP that Universal Studios would be interested in, even as the niche gritty HoTC-style house of any year. Let's be honest about Terrifier's chances for an HHN spot. This event hosts Stranger Things and Beetlejuice. Terrifier ain't on the table. That's what I thought.
In the same way that the previously mentioned House of 1000 Corpses actually works far better as a haunt attraction than as a film, Terrifier is that, only exponentially more. Needless gore and torture is simply more palatable and expected in a format like this. Counter-intuitively, the real life form ends up feeling significantly more detached than in film. It's simply easier to suspend disbelief and enjoy the carnage when it's happening to nameless rando mannequins rather than film characters with writing, personalities, motivations, etc.
Given all of that, both the cartoon energy of Art the Clown and the relentless and inescapable gore
are given full spotlight to shine. The house is long, but it never drags. It feels huge in scope, and all of these rooms feel purpose built for this IP. It's hits every beat you would want, and then some. The Terrifier carnival house; trudging through filth, pushing away clearly stained underwear and trousers in the only "poop room" the event has tried that's ever actually grossed me out; an entire big Christmas section; the Clown Cafe in full scale; and countless of the craziest kills seen across the series rendered in great detail. Kills are here that I thought would've been entirely off-the-table for the event. And yet, even as a person who viscerally disliked all of it on screen, those same kills are made into really fun and well integrated setpieces here. It all just works remarkably well.
Outside of the huge scope and clear passion thrown into this house, one of the major pillars making the house as so spectacular is the Art performers. Art the Clown is a stroke of genius in building a horror icon. Freddy Krueger if they acted like a Looney Toon. It's a wonderful elevator pitch, and all of these scareactors embody the role perfectly. Even in the films, the terrible gore is made so much more palatable because of Art hamming it up like he does. No different here. It's just simple fun to watch him every time he pops out.
My initial instincts were dead wrong. Art the Clown is the perfect character for Horror Nights. Able to both menace and goof without missing a beat, and seemingly adaptable to any setting you feel like dropping him into. The roaming characters are incredible. Even with their guest traffic concerns, they were such a fun addition that added so much needed variety to my many event nights. So many very memorable moments of him riding his trike, staring at me through NYC top-floor windows, or dancing at the club. I hope the idea sticks around in one way or another in future years.
The water finale is a bit of a gimmick. It doesn't amount to much really, as neither set of rooms are really that themed either way. It is pretty unique and certainly bold; and again, I'll admit when I'm wrong. I made a big thing about how water effects never work, and outside of that initial TM Preview incident, the effect had a totally seamless event run. That's wonderful! Even if the effect was turned down compared to it's initial settings, it worked consistently and delivered what it promised. I'm very happy it worked out how it did.
Terrifier and HHN fit each other seamlessly. It's representation this year is commendable in its' completeness to the source material. It's some of the best IP content the event has ever done. It delivers on all fronts, and somehow turns a niche-interest IP into something that anyone can enjoy. Terrifier isn't only a great HHN offering, it is a definitive headliner attraction for the park. Quite an achievement for a shock-horror indie gore-fest like itself.