* Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
While I like the presence of the original Universal Monsters, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man felt a little stale. It was the layout of Alien vs. Predator from years ago and repurposing of last year's Universal Monsters maze. It starts out with the Wolf Man's story from gypsy curse to transformation. The coolest room is where they are both on slabs and get electrocuted with lab equipment everywhere as you try to squeeze past both of them. The jump scares were at least in different places than I expected, from behind curtains and movie screens.
While I like the presence of the original Universal Monsters, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man felt a little stale. It was the layout of Alien vs. Predator from years ago and repurposing of last year's Universal Monsters maze. It starts out with the Wolf Man's story from gypsy curse to transformation. The coolest room is where they are both on slabs and get electrocuted with lab equipment everywhere as you try to squeeze past both of them. The jump scares were at least in different places than I expected, from behind curtains and movie screens.
* Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The wacky color scheme and set designs along with the grotesque, giant aliens made this maze stand out from all the others. I always love feeling like I'm walking right into a beloved film and this one accomplished it amazingly. The shadow puppet scene and the bathroom attack scene in particular were fun to see and interact with. Voiceovers from the movie helped tie everything together in such a delightful way. The layout of the maze was less predictable than the others and large stature of the clowns made them pretty creepy to stand right next to. Killer Klowns was easily my favorite maze of the night.
* Ghostbusters
I didn't expect Ghostbusters to be a very good maze because it's more a comedy film than horror, but it impressed me. Many of the effects looked amazing. The room with the ghost storage had walls that faded and exposed hundreds of ghosts. Another had the transformation of the librarian ghost from normal to frightening. The whole maze had scares but also a fun sense of humor like Slimer playing rock, paper scissors with me or Ray jumping out and then saying "I thought you were someone else." Iconic scenes play out with Zuul, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and Slumer and I had a blast. This is the best of the horror-comedy mazes they've ever put on.
* Us
Us is one of my favorite movies of the year and the maze lives up to it. The outside is a replica of the Vision Quest from the beginning of the film and the inside replicates the mirror maze, complete with creepy owl. Just hearing the score alongside the scenes gave me chills. I loved the school room scene where Red is attacked by Adelaide. The doubles are eerie as they jump out of various places. Our awesome tour guide said their red jumpsuits were used in the film and the same choreographer from the film also worked on the maze. The maze truly encompasses the film in a unique way and I had so much fun going through it.
Us is one of my favorite movies of the year and the maze lives up to it. The outside is a replica of the Vision Quest from the beginning of the film and the inside replicates the mirror maze, complete with creepy owl. Just hearing the score alongside the scenes gave me chills. I loved the school room scene where Red is attacked by Adelaide. The doubles are eerie as they jump out of various places. Our awesome tour guide said their red jumpsuits were used in the film and the same choreographer from the film also worked on the maze. The maze truly encompasses the film in a unique way and I had so much fun going through it.
* Stranger Things Season 2
I honestly wasn't expecting a lot from this maze because last year's had a lot of statues and not a lot of actors due to the main characters being children. The first room was a bathroom that had walls that changed lighting to reveal tentacles all over as Will struggles with a creature on his face. The next scene had the upside down maze taped up all over with Will looking outside at the Mindflayer. It looked like he was truly looking outside at a huge monster in the distance. The rest of the maze was fine, but the same demodog is used over and over. It was better than last year and than I expected, but not amazing.
I honestly wasn't expecting a lot from this maze because last year's had a lot of statues and not a lot of actors due to the main characters being children. The first room was a bathroom that had walls that changed lighting to reveal tentacles all over as Will struggles with a creature on his face. The next scene had the upside down maze taped up all over with Will looking outside at the Mindflayer. It looked like he was truly looking outside at a huge monster in the distance. The rest of the maze was fine, but the same demodog is used over and over. It was better than last year and than I expected, but not amazing.
* Creepshow
The entrance to Creepshow was a comic book which interested me right away. Three of the original film's segments are portrayed: Father's Day, The Crate, and Their Creeping Up on You plus two bonus segment from the new TV show. The first segment is rather short, but gets in the crazy colors and reveal just right. The Crate focuses on the monster, which is the most compelling part. I love the first scene where a guy's feet are flailing out of the box with a pool of blood under it while Fluffy appears on top to scare you. The third segment always creeped me out and cockroaches on white surfaces always makes my skin crawl. The most stomach churning moment of the film is when cockroaches burst out of a man and it looks just as horrible (but awesome) in person. The new segments seem to be about some sort of mutant creature with plants growing into a house and a werewolf attack. The first was pretty creepy and the second felt familiar with a good werewolf design. I like that it pays homage to the original film and introduces some new stories.
The entrance to Creepshow was a comic book which interested me right away. Three of the original film's segments are portrayed: Father's Day, The Crate, and Their Creeping Up on You plus two bonus segment from the new TV show. The first segment is rather short, but gets in the crazy colors and reveal just right. The Crate focuses on the monster, which is the most compelling part. I love the first scene where a guy's feet are flailing out of the box with a pool of blood under it while Fluffy appears on top to scare you. The third segment always creeped me out and cockroaches on white surfaces always makes my skin crawl. The most stomach churning moment of the film is when cockroaches burst out of a man and it looks just as horrible (but awesome) in person. The new segments seem to be about some sort of mutant creature with plants growing into a house and a werewolf attack. The first was pretty creepy and the second felt familiar with a good werewolf design. I like that it pays homage to the original film and introduces some new stories.
* House of 1000 Corpses
When I went through this, I was very confused about the beginning. Then I rewatched the film and found that it was Captain Spaulding's Murder Ride in his fried chicken and gasoline shop. The first few rooms have infamous murderers like Lizzie Borden, Ed Gein, Albert Fish, and of course Dr. Satan with animatronics and tableaux. Then we descend into the twisted world of the Firefly family where they torture and kill whoever comes by their home. My favorite room is the final one with Dr. Satan, his chair, and the Professor. After seeing the movie, I wish more of Firefly family had been shown. It's also ironic that Universal treated Zombie badly and passed on the movie altogether and now embrace it as part of their attraction.
When I went through this, I was very confused about the beginning. Then I rewatched the film and found that it was Captain Spaulding's Murder Ride in his fried chicken and gasoline shop. The first few rooms have infamous murderers like Lizzie Borden, Ed Gein, Albert Fish, and of course Dr. Satan with animatronics and tableaux. Then we descend into the twisted world of the Firefly family where they torture and kill whoever comes by their home. My favorite room is the final one with Dr. Satan, his chair, and the Professor. After seeing the movie, I wish more of Firefly family had been shown. It's also ironic that Universal treated Zombie badly and passed on the movie altogether and now embrace it as part of their attraction.
* The Curse of Pandora's Box
This is the first year Horror Nights has had full mazes of original concepts. It's loosely based on a hodgepodge of various mythologies. My tour got trapped right outside for about a half hour as all the lights came on and the sounds turned off. No idea what happened but we got lost backstage because not all the guides were back in their positions. The maze was fun with lots of neon colors. I especially liked the part with speckled bright orange everywhere and demons that blend into the background with lights turning off intermittently. The whole thing has an 80's funhouse feel to it but a little updated. The skeleton rooms are what Dark Ride at Knott's tries to be. The Medusa rooms were delightful. Even though 80's and mythologies are kind of a weird mix, it works and it's fun.
This is the first year Horror Nights has had full mazes of original concepts. It's loosely based on a hodgepodge of various mythologies. My tour got trapped right outside for about a half hour as all the lights came on and the sounds turned off. No idea what happened but we got lost backstage because not all the guides were back in their positions. The maze was fun with lots of neon colors. I especially liked the part with speckled bright orange everywhere and demons that blend into the background with lights turning off intermittently. The whole thing has an 80's funhouse feel to it but a little updated. The skeleton rooms are what Dark Ride at Knott's tries to be. The Medusa rooms were delightful. Even though 80's and mythologies are kind of a weird mix, it works and it's fun.
* Holidayz in Hell
Holidayz in Hell takes each holiday and injects horror into it. Our tour guide let us know that each room is based on a vintage holiday card, which really shows. The maze starts with January and deranged, evil babies as the new year. The Valentine room has the most deranged heart candies along the walls and a woman being sacrificed. The leprechaun home in St. Patrick's Day is full of gold and bones and the Easter Bunny has giant eggs birthing monsters and giant bunnies terrorizing children. The Fourth of July was one of my favorites with a severely burned man who lost limbs because of fireworks and deranged Uncle Sams. The Halloween room is a bit underwhelming, but effective nonetheless. Thanksgiving has a person instead of a turkey on the table and Santa takes on a more Krampus persona for Christmas. Each holiday had a morbid, amusing twist. I'm looking forward to more original concept mazes.
Holidayz in Hell takes each holiday and injects horror into it. Our tour guide let us know that each room is based on a vintage holiday card, which really shows. The maze starts with January and deranged, evil babies as the new year. The Valentine room has the most deranged heart candies along the walls and a woman being sacrificed. The leprechaun home in St. Patrick's Day is full of gold and bones and the Easter Bunny has giant eggs birthing monsters and giant bunnies terrorizing children. The Fourth of July was one of my favorites with a severely burned man who lost limbs because of fireworks and deranged Uncle Sams. The Halloween room is a bit underwhelming, but effective nonetheless. Thanksgiving has a person instead of a turkey on the table and Santa takes on a more Krampus persona for Christmas. Each holiday had a morbid, amusing twist. I'm looking forward to more original concept mazes.
* Jurassic World the Ride
I prefer the original Jurassic Park ride, but this update is pretty fun. The mosasaurus and a small dip before the huge one completely soaked my boat. There are videos throughout the ride of Jurassic World characters telling us about the dinosaurs getting out of their cages and what to do to stay safe. Before the final plunge, the T-Rex literally swings in to battle the Indominus Rex. It's fun, but prepared to be completely soaked.
I prefer the original Jurassic Park ride, but this update is pretty fun. The mosasaurus and a small dip before the huge one completely soaked my boat. There are videos throughout the ride of Jurassic World characters telling us about the dinosaurs getting out of their cages and what to do to stay safe. Before the final plunge, the T-Rex literally swings in to battle the Indominus Rex. It's fun, but prepared to be completely soaked.
* RIP Tour
The RIP Tour is shown to be completely worth the price tag year after year. My group of around 15 people stuck together the whole time and were led through a backlot tour, each maze, a buffet, and a show (that nobody wanted to see) and then we were set loose the rest of the night. The backlot tour was fun and focuses on horror films. We saw Norman Bates in front of the Bates Motel and got an exclusive photo op that usually has a huge line. We also got to see Amity beach and the house from House of 1000 Corpses plus were treated to some ghost stories. Our tour took the express lane to each maze and never had to wait more than 20 minutes. By the end of the night, each maze was over an hour and Killer Klowns was almost at 3 hours. The buffet was delicious as usual. There was plenty of time to shop and redo some mazes plus access to some rest areas with fun photo op sets. I highly recommend at least getting the express lane tickets because you may not be able to see all the mazes. Keep in mind I went in late September and crowds get worse into October.
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