We just got home from the airport from our Universal/
HHN trip this weekend. We went to HHN on Friday night (the 20th) and truly had an absolutely fantastic time. We had express passes as well as the Scream Early ticket. We arrived at the front gates at about 2:55pm and they let us in. We went over and rode Gringotts before heading over to the New York/Finnegan's Stay and Scream area. We got there at about 3:50pm and the scanners and team members were already set up but they didn't let us in until exactly 4pm. We rushed over to Finnegan's and got a table and had a few drinks and a really solid meal to get our evening off on the right foot.
Firstly, the Marathon of Mayhem show was amazing. One of the best water projection style shows I have seen. The music, the lighting, the selection of footage was all perfect and it didn't overstay its welcome. We saw the midnight show and the crowd was sparse so we had a perfect spot right in the center.
We were able to do all 10 houses with relative ease. We took plenty of stops for drinks and snacks (including pizza fries, yum!) and never felt too rushed.
And now my thoughts/rankings of the houses, in reverse order. Keep in mind that I basically loved (to varying degrees) 8 of the 10 houses, so only the bottom two weren't great and even then I still had fun going through them. Please note that there are some MINOR SPOILERS below, so if you want to know nothing about the houses don't read any further.
10. Nightingales: Blood Pit - This one really didn't click with me for some reason. It felt like the laziest and most simple of the houses and I didn't particularly care for the smell. There is one awesome animatronic but that's about the extent of it.
9. House of 1,000 Corpses - I may be a bit biased because I think the movie is awful, but this house was merely okay. Certainly the recreation of sets and scenes from the movie are spot on, but I mostly found it annoying with only one good scare. The opening scene is the best part.
8. Jordan Peele's Us - I'm surprised I ultimately ended up with this so low, because I love the movie and thought it was a really solid house. I think it just speaks to the overall quality this year. It's a terrific recreation of the film, dealing more in overall creepiness than scares. The performers were all on point. And that final scene... one of the best scares of the evening.
7. Depths of Fear - This house may have been higher if not for the creature design, which I honestly found kind of silly and they made me laugh a bit? Yet the overall production design and concept are so sharp, with increased intensity thanks to the countdown clock and a few really good scares. The water elements are a great touch.
6. Stranger Things - A blend of scenes from season 2 and 3, this house is low on scares but high on production value (the mall scene, wow!) and attention to detail. As a fan of the show, walking through this was pretty awesome... they nailed it.
5. Ghostbusters - Although there are actually a few pretty good jump scares, this may have been the least scary house of the night with perhaps the most overall love and affection for the source material. This house is just pure fun and like stepping right into the movie. I don't think the entire point of HHN needs to be being scary, and this house proves it.
4. Graveyard Games - Without a doubt the scariest house of the night, certain scenes in this left me truly chilled and terrified and it was awesome. A masterclass in misdirection, sustained tension, and the variety of scares that can be achieved in an HHN maze. The entire cast was on point, and there's one really dark hallway... ooh boy, watch out.
3. Yeti: Terror of the Yukon - I went back and forth between this and Graveyard for number 3, but I ultimately had to choose this as my favorite of the original houses because while it's also quite scary (the Yetis are huge and threatening) with some really clever and inventive scares (from every possible angle with great misdirection) it's also really fun. I love the snowy setting, the production design, the huge sets, and the cold temperatures.
2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Is it scary? Maybe a bit more than you'd think. There's some really good jump scares. But this was also such a joy for me, such glorious neon, candy colored goodness with buttons to push, silliness abound, and some fantastic design elements. I love this IP and I think this does a great job of nailing it. Every year needs at least one silly/comedy houses, and this is one of my favorites. I didn't expect to rate this so high going into the evening, so it was just a wonderful surprise and delight.
1. Universal Monsters - An HHN masterpiece, plain and simple. This is the perfect blend of design, attention to detail, scares, intensity, and love for classic characters. There's a new character and a new room lurking around every corner and it just gets better and better until reaching one hell of a crescendo. The performers are incredible. Everyone clearly loves working in this house and it shows. Wow.
I hope to make a return trip in a few weeks if I can manage to fly down again. I'm so envious of those who are local and get to go frequently.
During that 5-6 hour when you have to wait, is there anything to do besides drink? Cause I guess that's fine. Would you recommend the Simpsons area then? We won't eat since we will be getting our RIP included food at 6:30.
