Went on opening night! Here’s my full-rundown of my event. Will be reviewing everything in order of accomplishment. This will be a fairly spoiler-free review. I will not mention scenes that won’t be obvious.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Not a crazy huge FNAF fan, but this was still my most-anticipated of the event. Aside from the very obvious blunder at the beginning where it’s just Freddy performing, I thought the rest of the house was great. I was pleasantly surprised with how little they relied on the ghost kids and the few times they did, it worked great! Also zero black walls…which is very refreshing for an HHN Hollywood house. I enjoyed it!
Grade: B+
Terrifier: There was a crazy amount of hype for this house. Thankfully I managed to get in before the entire crowd mobbed the house, because i would’ve been pissed waiting four hours for that stupid house. Anyway I did it and unfortunately, I just wasn’t feeling it. Maybe I just a bad run through but I felt very underwhelmed with this house. The experience felt kinda passive. It also didn’t feel like a Terrifier house and more like a random house at HHN with Art thrown in there. IDK maybe I’ll get a better run through but I wasn’t feeling it. For now, it’s overrated and overhyped. It doesn’t help anything that I watched Orlando’s pov and that looked fantastic!
Overall: C
Poltergeist: Liked the house back in 2018, even despite the black walls….but man this really sticks out against the rest of the lineup. House was rough, but the ending was still great. Other than that….this house was really outdated. Meh. I’d rather skip it but I know I can’t because the line for this house will generally be short lol
Overall: D
Terror Tram: Enter the Blumhouse: This is absolutely one of the better Terror Trams. It’s up there with the 2016 one. I hope they stick with this formula moving forward by having this more of an “outdoor house” or “mini houses” along the path because it was very effective! I actually got a couple of jumps here! Well done Murdy!
Overall: B-
Fallout: Okay this one was awesome! Might be my favorite house in the Hudson Gate building. This felt like a true Orlando sound stage house. Vault 33 was VERY realistic and insanely detailed. Surprisingly intense. What really made the house for me was….that room. I don’t want to spoil it for those who have yet to go through it but it created a huge “Wow!” moment from me. Very impressive, but VERY short. I’m willing to forgive the brief black wall transitions because one, they were very brief, and two, the rooms were amazing enough to where I didn’t care lol. Easily my second favorite of the event.
Overall: A
WWE: Horrors of Wyatt Sicks: I’m not a wrestling guy, but this was really good! I didn’t get an amazing run through but I got some good jumps! This was also a nice-looking house. I’ll be hitting this one up more often. Solid house.
Overall: B+
Scarecrow: Music by Slash: Despite this being the second repeat of the event, it’s a good one! The original scarecrow was one of my all-time favorite houses ever, so it’s not terrible they brought this back. Although I will always prefer the original version, I had a good time with this one! The music was fine. Again, I still think part of what made the original great was the minimalistic soundtrack.
Overall: B
Chainsaw Man: The Chaos: Don’t care much for the anime but this was the better of the shows in the HHN DWT overlays. I was pleasantly surprised with how they utilized the side walls for this show. It’s not much but it’s a good way to rest your feet for 10/15 minutes. Check it out.
Overall: B
*Skipped the Purge Dangerous Waters as I assume it will be the same show and I wanted to prioritize all the houses. Maybe another time.*
Monstrous 3: Ghosts of Latin America: I’ve always enjoyed the Monstrous entries, but I think this one is my least favorite. It also didn’t help that I got a “meh” run through. It’s mainly my least favorite as it was essentially La Llorona 4.0, which was what I was afraid it would be. If they’re gonna do it, I really wish we would get an alternate vantage point of the river scene where we are under water and see the kids above us face-down. That would be awesome but I understand this was more of a budgetary decision. Oh well. It’s fine.
Overall: B-
Jason Universe: Saved the best for last. I got an AMAZING run through of this house. Man this house was intense! This felt like a glorious comeback to the HHN of old: Gritty, scary, gruesome kills, and in-your-face. There was one scene that seemed to be missing scareactors, but eh the house was great! Easily my number one
Overall: A+
Scarezones are fine. Would be nice if they changed up something besides Crowz. Liked the Hillibilly zone.
Although this year does have a few flaws (Poltergeist, Terrifier being a little overhyped, and the first scene at FNAF), this is overall a very, and I mean VERY solid year. Not sure if I prefer it over 2016, but it’s absolutely up there with 2023. This year is in my top 5 at least. I’m not sure when I’ll be back (Maybe Sunday?) but I REALLY enjoyed this year! I’ll be back multiple times for sure!