Haunted House season is almost over (major sad face), and I can’t let Halloween pass without weighing in on a subject that is near and dear to my heart – Intellectual Property (IP) houses. You know what I mean, haunted attractions (specifically Halloween Horror Nights) centered around sometimes popular, sometimes obscure horror movies and TV shows (Cabin In The Woods, Evil Dead, Stranger Things, etc). Is this trend good for business? Yeah, admittedly, it is. So, of course I understand exactly why Universal does it. But is this trend really beneficial for haunted house fans? I’m (just a little) conflicted on the subject.
Pros
You get to see your favorite TV show or movie “come to life.”
Perhaps the most obvious pro for haunted house fans, it is truly magical when Halloween Horror Nights chooses to feature your favorite show or movie. Intimately familiar with the story, you immediately recognize landmarks and even small symbols that remind you of a favorite episode or subject. As you walk through the carefully selected scenes, your brain fills in the blanks so you are enjoying the full story all over again. Not to mention that Halloween Horror Nights belongs to Universal Theme Parks – the place where you can ride (or in this case walk) the movies.
You might find a new favorite.
By the same token, a well-done IP house has the potential to introduce you to a new show or movie you hadn’t previously considered. This is difficult, as it’s unlikely to happen unless the house can effectively communicate the story rather than simply the highlights, but it is possible. I was so intrigued by the Season 1 Stranger Things house (2018) I watched the first episode immediately after returning home (literally), and I was hooked.
Cons
The haunted houses feel less creative.
As I alluded to earlier, IP houses are generally designed to feel like a highlight reel of whatever movie or TV show they represent. The creators pick a few famous scenes and recreate them, assuming that you will fill in the blanks with your knowledge of the story. BUT if a haunted house creator wants visitors unfamiliar with the IP to enjoy the house, they need to consider more than the movie’s highlights. They need to decide which scenes will flow together in a way that tells a cohesive story. (For regular HHN-goers, I’ll give an example. The Cabin in the Woodshouse (2013) told the story very well. As someone who has still not seen the film, I understood basically what was going on. On the other hand, Us (2019) only made sense if you had seen the movie. If you were not familiar with the story there was no way you could follow the disjointed scenes.) Sometimes an IP house is so well done you might not even know it’s supposed to be about a movie. More often, however, the house is so focused on showing the highlights without any context that someone who hasn’t seen the IP can’t follow it. That kind of story telling can only satisfy the group familiar with the chosen IP.
Want to be prepared? It’s going to cost you.
While the ratio of original to IP-centric houses has remained relatively steady throughout Horror Nights’ history, the overall number of houses has dramatically increased – from a single house in 1991 to 10 houses in 2019. Meaning that early in the event’s history, you could “prep” for the event by watching one, maybe two movies. Now if you wanted to watch all of the IP for HHN29 (including every episode of Stranger Things’ seasons 2 and 3), you would have to sit in front of the TV for over 20 hours – almost an entire day. In my opinion, this is way too much to ask of your attendees.
Halloween Horror Nights 2019 Haunted Houses Ranked!
The bottom line is that, while I recognize the financial benefits for an attraction to use an IP-centric house, I’m not crazy about this trend. When an IP is so well-known that it’s been part of pop-culture for years, such as Chucky or Freddy Kruger, I think it can and does work. But with a few exceptions these not-quite-main-stream-pop-culture IP houses (Us, Killer Klowns, People Under The Stairs) just don’t impress me the way an original house does.
What do you think? Leave a comment below to discuss!
