Man, I know I keep bringing it up, but it's still practically every take I've seen from everywhere since yesterday so I feel like it's okay to comment on it. I think people are dunking on this house way too hard, way prematurely. There have been so few stinker houses at recent HHN in my opinion that to be purposefully uncharitable regarding the few details we know or to immediately write this off as the worst thing ever because of a poor blurb and thumbnail, and the idea that it isn't Fear or The Director or something just seems silly to me.
We've had recent houses with way higher concepts to get across than kids recreating their parents' kills (Decendants of Destruction, The Darkest Deal). Some wonderful houses from HHN's history have been slashers (Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield, The Black Phone, Leave it to Cleaver). Solid execution can turn a silly or simple idea into a banger house. (Legacy's examples of Catacombs and Screamhouse from above, Graveyard Games, Blood Moon: Dark Offering).
It's just so incredibly weird how hyped and excited the community had been through the whole week, practically begging for Friday's announcement the night before; only for one reveal to leave this much of a stink. I think an original slasher house, especially one working with new named characters, could give the HHN team the chance to build up something truly special or interesting that they couldn't pull off with the IP restrictions that The Strangers, TCM, or Halloween would entail. The team has a chance to create another Meety Meats or Dogs of War here.
I don't wanna build it up too much, but I resolutely refuse to write this house off as "last minute knock-off IP replacement house" when we have no reason to believe that's the case other than the fanbase wanting FNaF or NoES or an Icon instead and creating rationalizations to deal with that. We'll see how it goes in August, but after seeing how Blood Moon turned out which I was pretty down on originally too, I'll give the HHN team room to cook with this one.