Halloween Horror Nights 28 - Orlando (Early Review)

HHN got off to an even earlier start this year, extending its season from September 14th into the first weekend of November. With 10 houses including the super popular Stranger Things this year, this extension seems justified. What isn't justified is the extension for paid parking... it seems to be permanently upped from 8pm to 10pm, leaving people with 2-3 hours to enjoy the houses and still save $22. Insanity. Entrance-wise, Universal has added their express holders to enter gates on the side. This largely goes unenforced... not sure why they wouldn't use the 'secret' entrances near Rip Ride and on the Hard Rock side. Whatever. Onto the event! Here's our marquee this year..

Now let's rank the Scare Zones!

1. Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Phenomenal job here. Though it was close with Vamp '85 (more on that in a second), Saturday night put it over the top when I realized they do the shadow puppet scene from the movie using projections on the buildings. The costumes are spot-on here. The ice cream truck and workers are even here! Literally has everything except the popcorn, which I'm anticipating will be added in. The actors here must be applauded as well. Their demeanor of just being cool and relaxed really made this feel like the movie. A+

2. Vamp '85

Vamp is going to become more a place for people to hang out. The scene is New York 1984 on New Years Eve. When midnight strikes, out come the vampires. The entire time, 80s music is blasting over the loudspeakers. Caught a few people here just dancing for hours. Pretty decent scares once the vampires come out, but mostly just a great fun time (and it keeps people out of the house lines). B+

(Brittany is an '85 Baby, so of course had to get a photo)

3. Twisted Traditions

Looked great, though didn't get it. Set design was in line with Trick 'r Treat last year with some nice additions including a run-down church. Costuming including light-up jack-o-lanterns on stilts. Pretty solid, didn't find scary as much as photo-genic. B

4. Revenge of Chucky

Don't think this works as a large-scale scare zone. Should be in the area where The Harvest is.. kind of like how they used Chance two years ago. The evil toys are a neat idea but crowds gather around the puppeteered Chucky as he insults people in the audience. It was pretty funny but not enough to carry the large Los Angeles area of the park. C+

5. The Harvest

This just serves as an intro to other houses really. They tried to set it up as a barn but really just looks like a street with wooden walls on either side. They have haunted haystacks in there but no one is really paying attention to them. Most people I saw were just running through this scare zone to get in line for Stranger Things. Would've worked with Chucky here I think. D

Now onto THE HOUSES! (done in reverse order)

10. Dead Exposure: Patient Zero

This house had the potential to be one of the greatest in history. Universal released postcards months ago via Twitter between a newly married couple honeymooning in Paris to the bride's maid of honor back in Ohio. The husband gets bit, wanders off as a zombie, area quarantined, etc. But what is the point of creating this elaborate story and building this elaborate set if it's going to be COMPLETELY dark?! So very stupid.. I couldn't even see what was jumping out at me. I really hope they decide to add a little bit of lighting because I imagine the sets are really cool (especially the subway and catacombs). Until then, have to give it a D.

9. Trick 'r Treat

Everyone had high anticipation for this after last year's successful scare zone. And the set didn't disappoint at all. The issue here is the layout, as there are a lot of straight-aways that give away the scares miles ahead of when they happen. Pretty much the same scenes as last year, good house just not scary. C-

8. Blumhouse II: Electric Boogaloo

This year's edition of Blumhouse is a million times better than last. We only attack two movies this time with Happy Death Day and The First Purge... wasn't nuts when I heard the First Purge was going to be featured but it ended up being the best part of the house. HDD was a little repetitive though the scenes are well done (mostly the college dorm). Haven't seen The First Purge but scares used were effective. C+

7. Carnival Graveyard

This set is so awesome, but the scares are sparse. That train of thinking actually reminded me of last year's The Fallen (which happens to be in the same studio). Lot of different sets used with deranged carnival feeling. Not many clowns, which is good, thought it would've been overused this year. Fun first house to do of the weekend. C+

6. Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After

ST starts off being introduced to the Wicked Witch of the West, who has seemingly taken over the world. She flies over the crowd and you're into the twisted fairy tale world. We see things like Hansel and Gretel getting ripped apart and The Three Little Pigs with meat cleavers. Thought this was a clever house, great opening statement, scares were more plentiful than Carnival. B

5. Halloween 4

Michael Myers is back after exploding in the hospital in Halloween 2. We see him recovering and then he's off to go back to Haddonfield and find his niece. The set here was a lot better than Halloween 2 a few years back. Complaint here is that it was in the Shrek building, which is notorious for short houses. That aside, you get from great interactions on either side of you with Loomis and Michael until he finally ends up in the mine shaft. Not sure if Brittany will ever go back in to this one. B

4. Seeds of Extinction

A meteor has hit the planet. All of a sudden this mysterious plant destroys all humankind and takes it over. Sound lame? Sure, but the house isn't. Deadly plants are around every tight corner of this house. The environment is humid like a rain forest, as you make your way around dead people and even a plane crash. Seeds had cool use of water and some wind machines. Tight quarters made it a great house. B+

THE TOP THREE!

3. Stranger Things

Anyone not familiar with this show is bound to be totally confused. Since we both binged it easily, everything made sense and was very well done. The casting was nearly perfect (only questionable call was Mike) but Dustin is a spot-on match. Demagorgans are everywhere, look for El with a strong ending. Not as scary as the other top two but the story told was the strongest of the top three. A

2. Slaughter Sinema

This is exactly what Horror Nights is to me. Slaughter Sinema is essentially knock-off horror B-movies from the 80s that come to life at an abandoned drive-in. The titles are incredibly awesome such as 'Cult of the Beast Baby' and 'Amazon Cannibals from Planet Hell.' The scares are frequent and very strong. It's just the right mixture of funny and horrifying. Where Ash vs Evil Dead failed last year, this landed on every note. A+

1. Poltergeist

I'll be the first to admit: I was not and am not a fan of this movie. I think it's stupid, campy, not witty, and especially not scary. This house is the exact opposite somehow. You start off at the end of the movie (hint: you're in a dug-out pool) and you make your way through all the iconic scenes. Won't give too much away here, but if you're afraid of enclosed areas I would stay away. The best effects are used here, especially a wind tunnel, and has some great storm effects too. Lighting and sound are incredible here, and I think it may go down as one of the best houses in history. A+

Thanks for reading! Of course, this list is subject to change as HHN season rolls on.