So, as promised, this is my review of Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights 26. Well, it's hard to start and I hope I cover all areas. If you have read my last article, you would see that I have traveled to Orlando, Florida to experience the highly revered haunted attraction at Universal known as Halloween Horror Nights. I had heard mixed reviews about several things many people enjoyed and certain aspects that were unliked. I hope I can do it justice.

First off, the amount of people that travel during the Fall months to come to this event is astonishing. There were thousands of people in the park all standing in lines of about an hour to two hours per haunted attraction and I couldn't even begin to imagine how tired these scare actors get.

The production as a whole is top notch and you can tell that the budget bar is set high on this event. The costumes are realistic (as is the houses, themselves) and you start to believe you are actually stuck in the nightmare that is happening around you. If there is a house based off of your favorite film, you will not be let down. The houses appeal to all senses. You can see, hear and smell everything that is going on around you -- which could be considered a good or a bad thing.

The biggest issue that I have noticed is that when they let people into said attractions, they don't stop or slow groups down. It's literally one giant herd of people in at one time. So, imagine a stream of 2,000 people going into a haunted house at a non-stop rate. Yeah, exactly. The scares are a hit and miss. You might be able to see the third person in front of you get the scare by Leatherface that you long awaited. This was a giant letdown for many people, however--the wait times are already horrible, and I could not imagine how much worse they would be if they had to stop people and make them wait to enter.

Now, onward with a brief review of each house:

1. KRAMPUS

This was an excellent stop for the night, and might I add that this was the first stop of the evening. Upon entering this house, among others, you will find that the staff at HHN plays with your senses. This house was exceptionally cold. When entering you will be in the mood for Christmas, but something is wrong in this Christmas world. Dreadfully wrong. You will start to hear the winter wind buzzing outside, and smell the scent of gingerbread. I really loved the detail put into the house and I thought that the room by room concept described my favorite parts of the film in great detail. I wish they would have more of the Krampus character as a scare actor instead of an animatronic or statue. However, this haunt gets a 4/5 on my scale. It's quite the sight!

2. AMERICAN HORROR STORY

If you are fan of the show or not so much, you will still enjoy this haunt. It was a tribute to three of the seasons including Murderhouse , Freakshow , and Hotel. Immediately after entering, you will notice a few familiar characters acting out some of their most diabolical scenes from the show using every scare tactic in the book to push you past them. One of the points that I remember specifically was being pushed through a room and dealing with two Twisty the Clowns, one which was a real person while the other was a statue. The hair and makeup team does a good job at transforming the average person into the characters you remember from the show. I cannot really say a single negative thing about this haunt. I liked how the paths through the house helped you travel through the different seasons of the show. I grade this one a 5/5. A good time for any fan or non-fan of the show.

3. THE EXORCIST



The smell in this house wasn't as unbearable as I had heard it was going to be, but it still helped with the setting of this 1973 horror story. The outside of the house was as accurate of a portrayal as you could imagine of the Washington home of the MacNeil family. It was very cold in this house as well, much like the scenes in the film made it out to be and the colors were spot on. The house was quite realistic in making it feel like you were walking into a home, but with the screams and growls coming out of the walls--you know something is just wrong. The walls disappeared in the first room, showing scenes from Iraq and the infamous statue of the Pazuzu demon and Reagan would pop out of any nook and cranny to horrify you. The main thing I disliked about this house was that a few of the Reagans were fake, animatronic puppets although one of them spun it's neck in a 360 degree fashion. I would give this house a 4/5 for the sights alone. The experience alone was one to remember.

4. THE WALKING DEAD

Fan of the show or not, this house was done... alright. Yeah, it was nothing overly amazing, and to be honest probably needed to be done better for how monumental the response to the show has been. This house was pretty cool, but kind of boring if you look at the other houses in comparison. I can see why the tour guide on the RIP Tour threw this house in the middle of the whole tour. It helped kill time. It could be looked at in the comedic relief aspect, but let's face it, the idea of a zombie world is horrifying, but zombies as zombies are not. I feel as if there was a ton of empty space in the house that little odds and ins of props were used to occupy, but it didn't save the house. There was one room, however, that was impressive. You walked in a room of mannequin zombies to find that two or three of them were real and coming at you. This was the big finish of the house. I would give this house a 2.5/5. Could have been done so much better with the money that Universal has.

5. GHOST TOWN: THE CURSE OF LIGHTNING GULCH




THIS was super cool. One of Universal's original ideas for a house pertaining to the death of different fictional Western characters that moved out west during the gold rush. What a trip! They used a lot of aspects like lightning and fog to help bring the cowboy ghosts to life. When you stepped through the house, you felt like your clothes were going to be covered in dust. Either it was actually dusty in there, or they gave it the illusion of being extremely dusty. I feel like I had gotten shot twice by the old pioneer woman in the floral dress, not sure if I am still living, to be honest. Maybe my soul was left in Lightning Gulch with the rest of them. At one point a hand reached from the ceiling at us and that was an awesome and unusual scare tactic that we were not used to. I would give this house an easy 5/5 for the originality, the delivery and the plot used.

6. HALLOWEEN II: HELL COMES TO HADDONFIELD

I have a bias for this one. I love the Halloween movies, and this one was a great portrayal of "Halloween II." When you get in the house, it starts off where 1978's "Halloween" left off and you enter through a closet. There were certain areas of dead space that was occupied by hospital equipment, but I did enjoy that aspect of it. There was a small homage to "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" in this house, as well, which you will notice when you walk through it. It even got me scared a little at the end when I thought I was home free and actually got quite the fright. 5/5 for this one solely because I am a crazy "Halloween" fan.

More to come in the next article. Stay tombed!