Even with an opening date set a week earlier than previous years, Halloween Horror Nights has once again delivered a satisfyingly terrifying experience! Before revealing our preferred houses, I’d like to take a moment to comment on the awesome variety Universal provided this year. If you count Universal Monsters, half of the 10 houses were original content and storylines. The other half, the intellectual property (IP – otherwise known as a “house based on a movie or TV show”) houses included a wide range so that there was something for everyone. You have straight-up gore with House of 1000 Corpses, science fiction with Stranger Things, classic comedy with Ghostbusters, just plain creepy with Us, and finally the necessary-horror-event-clown-element with Killer Klowns from Outer Space. While I have mixed feelings about IP houses (enough feelings that I could write a whole other post on the subject), I certainly appreciate that Universal provided enough variety that most people could find at least one IP house they could appreciate.
Ok, enough discussion! Here are our rankings of the 2019 Halloween Horror Nights Haunted Houses! Warning: there will be a few light spoilers ahead.
10. House of 1000 Corpses
I just couldn’t get into this house. Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t know anything about Rob Zombie. I’m sure if I had any knowledge of the IP, I would have appreciated this house more. As it was, however, I didn’t understand a thing that was going on. It was definitely creepy and gory, and there were some cool scenes – including one where you are viewing the corpses underground. But overall, I didn’t really like it.
9. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Another IP house that I just didn’t get. I’ve never seen, nor have I had the inclination to see Killer Klowns from Outer Space. But to try to appreciate the house, I did look up an IMDB synopsis of the movie while waiting in line. It didn’t really help. I still had no idea what was going on. The only reason this one is rated above House of 1000 Corpses is because at least I can understand the basic creepiness of clowns without knowing the storyline of the movie.
8. Graveyard Games
One of this year’s original houses, Graveyard Games has a pretty cool story. Teenagers playing games and vandalizing a graveyard are attacked by evil spirits and vengeful dead. Despite its low rating, there were some pretty awesome effects used in this house, and the set was very detailed. The only reason I rated this one so low was because the overwhelming number of corpse scaractors became a bit redundant. By the time I was done with the house, I was tired of corpses.
To be completely fair to the house – we may have missed out on one of the awesome effects. I’ve read other reviews that mention an amazing finale scene. Our finale was simply a pitch black room. While this certainly upped the creepiness factor for me, I can’t help wondering if there was a glitch and we happened to miss one of the coolest parts of the house.
7. Us
If you’ve seen the movie (as I have), then you’ll love this house. The sets are well done, and the scaractors recreate their represented roles well. You certainly feel as if you’ve walked into the movie and are watching these scenes play out in front of you.
I rated this one lower on this list for two reasons. Firstly, if I had not seen the movie this house would probably be on the bottom of this list. Certain symbols like rabbits or the “shadows” holding hands were, of course, instantly significant and creepy to someone familiar with the story. However, those symbols are incredibly benign to someone that has not. I imagine that I would be bored in this maze if I didn’t understand the story line. At least the IP houses I was unfamiliar with had universally scary themes like clowns and apparently sadistic maniacs.
Secondly, this house was very dependent on timing. The first time experiencing the house, I watched interactions between the scaractors re-enacting scenes from the movie, and the finale had an ultimate creep factor. The second time my timing was very off. I completely missed interactions I had seen before, and the finale was just not creepy at all – even understanding what they were trying to accomplish.
6. Stranger Things
I love Stranger Things, so of course I really enjoyed this house. It starts exactly where last year’s house left off and tells the rest of the Hawkins story (the story we know so far anyway). This house was unique in the sense that it focused on depicting scenes from the show instead of jump scares. Some of the more iconic scenes (for example: Eleven closing the gate in the season 2 finale) were shown using mannequins and props as opposed to live actors.
Of course my biggest question mark before experiencing this house was the “mind flayer” from season 3. How would Universal convey the true horror and magnitude of this creature? Will it be done effectively? Well, yes and no. You encounter the mind flayer three times in the course of the house. The first two occurrences (the hospital and Hopper’s cabin) use lighting, sound, and wind effects to dramatize the mind flayer puppets. It works. Both of these representations feel huge, intimidating, and ultimately terrifying. In the finale, you see most of, if not all, the body of the mind flayer in the final battle for the Starcourt Mall without as many lighting and other effects. I was underwhelmed by this final reveal. I totally understand that Universal is trying to compete with CGI effects, and it’s just not possible to have the same overwhelming creature in person. But the space allotted to depict a mall food court is ultimately very small, resulting in a mind flayer puppet that is maybe 25% of the size you expect it to be. It was a great house with a unique but just ok finale.
5. Universal Monsters
YES! As the original source for horror, I LOVE seeing Universal return to its classic monsters! Based on what little I had read about last year’s California incarnation, I was expecting this house to focus on the big three: Dracula, Wolf Man, and Frankenstein – but there were so much more!! This house also featured the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and my personal favorite – The Phantom of the Opera!
4. Nightingales Blood Pit
A brood of supernatural beings is drawn to the bloody gladiator battles of ancient Rome. As the gladiators are fighting and dying, the creatures begin to feed on their battered bodies.
Wow! What an awesome original house! We first met the nightingales in 2011 in a war setting, but the ancient Roman storyline adds an extra layer of horror. This house is tied with 1000 Corpses for the goriest house of the year, and there are plenty of smells to enhance the scenery too. On top of that, this house contains a large lion puppet for an awesome jump scare!
3. Depths of Fear
Deep in the ocean, employees of a mining company have been infected by the parasitic “Mouthbrooders.” These creatures reproduce by infecting hosts with their flesh eating eggs. As the eggs’ acid seeps into a person’s body, they become crazy, blood thirsty, and generally terrifying.
I felt this house deserved a higher rating because it used screens and other effects to create the illusion of being under the water. The creatures were terrifying, but even scarier were the infected hosts. One scene depicted a host tearing one of her colleagues apart from the inside out, complete with disgusting smell and sound effects. This scene stuck with me and helped to earn this house one of the top three spots.
2. Ghostbusters
The only IP house to make the top of the list, and it’s not because I love Ghostbusters. I don’t. I’ve only seen the movie once, and I didn’t really care for it. This house gets awarded one of the top spots because it’s just that awesome. Screens, puppets, mannequins, props, and sets work together to create a house full of diverse effects, scenes, and characters. Each ghost is depicted differently, so you’re not going to get bored of the same kind of effect. You even have a larger than life encounter with the Stay Puft marshmallow man, complete with sickeningly sweet smell.
1. Yeti: Terror of the Yukon
In a remote camping lodge, you must face the terrible beasts known as the Yeti! This was hands down, absolutely my favorite house. Another good mix of screens, actors, and other effects and it can’t hurt that this house is located in one of the coveted large sound stage locations. The set is incredibly detailed, and the yeti scaractors are convincingly animal-like. But what really puts this house in top spot was the opening sequence: as you enter the house you feel a major temperature drop and see a secluded cabin. Through the windows, you can see the Yeti moving around and creating havoc. As you turn to enter the house, not only can you then look out to view the snow storm through the windows but you are greeted with a scene of maximum carnage. The “half body” table effect is used to create the illusion that the yeti is eating its victim alive – and it’s not shy about enjoying it.
While I obviously enjoyed some houses more than others, all of them delivered high quality scares and maximum entertainment. I think Universal has struck a fair balance of original houses and diverse IP to create an awesome event that all Halloween fans can enjoy!
Good post, I just IMd the link to a buddy who was doing a little research on this. Thanks again.