Jigsaw was directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (who previously directed Predestination and Daybreakers), and was written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg (Who both wrote Piranha 3D, I won't mention their other films cuz they suck). They all do a pretty great job here.
It's been eleven years since Jigsaw was killed, and seven years since Detective Hoffman's reign as Jigsaw's successor ended and the madness seems to have finally ceased. The peace and silence cannot last forever though. Bodies start to pop up, seemingly victims of a new game designed by Jigsaw. Strangely enough, all the clues seem to point to Jigsaw himself being the culprit this time around. Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) brings on coroners Logan (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) for some extra help in solving the case. It's a race against time to figure out who the killer is and stop the latest deadly game before it is completed. Could Jigsaw really have risen from the grave?
This time around, our victims are Anna (Laura Vandervoot), Ryan (Paul Braunstein), Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles), and Carly (Brittney Allen). They awaken from a drug-induced sleep to find themselves trapped in a barn, forced to work together if they are to survive. Naturally, none are as innocent as they seem, and the game's aim is to get each to confess to their crimes and solve the traps they are thrust into. The traps this time around manage to be pretty fun for the most part, though the film does rely on characters making exactly the right poor decisions in order to further the traps and plot. Jigsaw actually makes a small deviation from previous Saw films, in that it chooses not to focus on torture or gratuitous gore. There is still a good amount of blood, but compared to previous entries it's not quite as visceral, graphic or disturbing (except for the final kill, which is all kinds of delicious and grody).
Another welcome bonus is that a good deal of our cast play likable characters. Matt Passmore as Logan, Laura Vandervoot as Anna , and Paul Braunstein as Ryan were my favorites (Honestly, Ryan was my number one favorite character in the whole film. I also really liked Anna as she was a smart, capable woman though what her crime is revealed to be at the end actually turned me against her pretty quickly). Jigsaw also does away with all the grime, dirt, and grain seen in the previous entries. This outing looks, clean, polished and even has some color added to it. Compared to the other Saw films, this one almost pops a bit. Since this is a Saw film, you can expect some nice twists. All I'll say is I didn't fully guess what one of the twists was (though I did get part of it right). I loved the hell out of the twists in this film, they were definitely some of the better ones found in the Saw franchise (though they did leave me with a few questions).
SPOILER CORNER
I just have to discuss spoilers now. So if you do not wish to know any of the twists or surprises in Jigsaw, now would be the time to stop reading.
Tobin Bell does return as Jigsaw and manages to completely command the screen for the time that he's on. He definitely does a fantastic job as the titular character, and is better here than he was in some of the previous sequels. I also love that Matt Passmore as Logan ends up being the new Jigsaw, and that his MO is somewhat different than Jigsaw's. Logan seems to care more about justice than anything else, and I loved his final line: "I speak for the dead." I whole-heartedly welcome another Saw film with him as the antagonist (though we don't really need one. This latest entry would make for a fine stopping point. Might as well go out on top.). It's nice that the trap we spend most of the film watching is actually a prequel (while the scenes with Detective Halloran and Logan and Eleanor are set in the present day), as it's revealed it was actually Jigsaw's very first experimental trap. This is the part that leaves me with questions though: Did the trigger the criminal pressed at the beginning of the film really set off anything? Was there even another trap going on during the present day segments at all?
SPOILERS OVER
In the end, I walked into Jigsaw super hesitant but hopeful. I'm a fan of the Saw franchise, but not a super big one. No one was clamoring for yet another Saw sequel. Jigsaw definitely had it's work cut for it, it had to show audiences a good time (check) and prove that it had a reason to exist (nope). While it doesn't really do much new, I still found enough to like here. The traps were fun, I appreciated that it wasn't quite as bloody or graphic as previous entries, I liked that the focus was more on fun and less on torture, and it was nice to get some likable characters to root for this time around. Jigsaw likely won't draw any new fans to the Saw franchise, but if you at all enjoyed the previous Saw films you'll likely have fun with this one as well. It's definitely better than some of the other Saw films. I actually cheered a few times in the theater and applauded when the end credits rolled. I know I'll likely be picking this one up on blu-ray. I'd rank Jigsaw right up there with Saw, Saw 3, and Saw 6. It's not the best entry in the series, but I thought it was definitely one of the best (I'd say 4th best).
4 STARS
And just like that, my Fright Fest ends. Till next year, keep the screams alive!
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Friday, November 10, 2017
FRIGHT FEST: SMALLS TRIP REPORT FROM HHN 27
After missing last year's HHN 26 (which I heard not too stellar things about), I made it a point to get my ass to Orlando to attend this year's event. Let me tell you, it felt like I had been away way longer than a year. It felt good to be "home". This year's event had a very loose theme and icon: The Festival of the Deadliest (which was never explained or elaborated upon), and The Soul Collectors (which were also never explained, elaborated upon or even really seen at the event). I've said this before many times, HHN doesn't need a strong over-arching theme or icon to be a great event and this year proved that. Let's start with scarezones.
SCAREZONES
The Purge
The Purge returns once again to HHN, taking it's rightful place in the streets of NYC. The zone was pretty much the same as the one from 2014 (There's still a live auction on top of a school bus, and a roving motorcycle gang and truck that kidnap "victims" for the auction), but with added props and costumes from The Purge: Election Year (light-covered cars, a bonus mini-stage, and a pretty groovy woodchipper used to dispose of spare body parts). I am a super-huge fan of The Purge franchise, and I always enjoy getting to immerse myself in that loony world. Not the best zone of the night, but a super-fun one that was always a joy to explore.
8/10
Invasion
Set in the area in front of the old Disaster building (which is to say the zone is pretty small), Aliens have landed on Earth. The military is fighting a losing battle, and have taken to cowering and running for their lives. The design of the aliens is absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, easily some of the best costumes and creature designs I've seen in all my years at HHN. There's also an impressive alien ship that has crash-landed in the middle of the zone. Not a scary zone at all, but always a joy to wander through the zone and marvel at the Aliens (They could experiment on me any day).
9/10
Trick 'r Treat
Universal originally waned to do this zone way back in 2008 (Which was the first year I ever attended the event), but sadly couldn't aquire the rights. Instead, they did The Skoolhouse, which was somewhat of a riff on the film (at least, on the haunted trick or treaters portion of it). This year, Universal finally nailed the rights to the film and got to do one of their passion projects. Based on the modern Halloween classic, Trick 'r Treat is set in the Central Park area. The whole zone is gorgeously decorated and designed, with a metric shit-ton of glowing jack o' lanterns high in the trees and a ghostly blue glow illuminating the whole zone. Numerous characters from the film wander around the zone (including the sexy werewolfs, Little Red Riding Hood, Old Mr. Kreeg, the murderous principal and his vomiting victim, numerous creepy trick or treaters, and Sam himself). Another zone that wasn't all that scary, but it was always fun to get to mingle with the characters in the zone and marvel at the atmosphere and theming. Trick 'r Treat perfectly utilized the Central Park zone in a way I haven't seen in years, so yeah, I was a pretty big fan.
9/10
Altars of Horror
Set in the Production Central area in between Shrek 4D and Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, this zone got the short end of the stick. Utilizing minimal poor theming (Literally just a bunch of sign posts indicating which house the characters you are encountering are from), the zone is just a way to get to see spend some more time with the characters from the IP Houses close up (including Ash Vs. Evil Dead, AHS: Volume 2, The Shining, The Horrors of Blumhouse, and Saw: The Games of Jigsaw). I like that it acted as a way for the costume designers and makeup artists to show off some of their work, the zone just wasn't executed all that well.
3/10
Festival of The Deadliest
Set in the Hollywood area, this zone was supposed to act as the heart of HHN 27. There is a raging party going on, and we are invited....to die! The Festival of The Deadliest is an intriguing idea, but it was never fully elaborated upon (same with the creatures in the zone: sexy, gyrating strippers, antler-adorned women, and masked creepy killers armed with scythes and such). It was very fun to walk through the zone, and the theming was pretty nice, it was just hard to get a pulse on exactly who we were encountering and what was going on inside. That said, the scareactors in the zone got me the most I've ever been got in a zone at HHN. Just about every few seconds a scareactor managed to really startle or scare me, and one near the end wound up chasing me in circles for a good minute or two (which left me huffing, exhilarated, and out of breath. I wasn't so much running away as I was dancing around and away from her).
8/10
HOUSES
American Horror Story: Volume Two
Last year, HHN did their first ever house based on the hit horror tv show American Horror Story. It incorporated Season 1 (Murder house), Season 4 (Freak Show), and Season 4 (Hotel). This year, the powers that be decided to bring AHS back to HHN for round 2. This time, they used Season 2 (Asylum), Season 3 (Cult), and Season 5 (Roanoke). Seeing as the house used my two favorite seasons of the show (Asylum and Roanoke), I was pretty stoked to get to walk through this one (It wa also my first house of the night, yay!). Each of the seasons were very well represented, and each got a good amount of scenes. It really felt like you traveling through the entirety of each season. I loved that the facade used was that of Asylum. I also loved how all of Roanoke felt connected (You start out in the woods, and then travel through the secret underground passageway into the house. You even get to make a quick detour into the inbred hillbilly cannibal shack. You can bet I was screaming "Croatoan" at all of the scareactors in the Roanoke portion). We get to encounter numerous villains from each season, and even some of the supporting characters and stars (including Adam Levine, Bloodyface, Dr. Arthur Arden, Pepper, Sister Mary Eunice Mckee, Sister Jude Martin, The Chens, The Butcher, Edward Phillip Mott, Scathach, Mama Polk, and Cricket Marlowe). Very scary, very fun, very impressive.
10/10
The Shining
Universal took on quite a challenge when they decided to try to do justice to one of the scariest and most disturbing films of all time, The Shining, in one of their haunted houses. While the house wasn't much scary, it managed to impress the hell out of me. The facade is the entrance to The Overlook Hedge Maze, and after a twist and turn or two, we find ourselves inside The Overlook Hotel lobby. The attention to detail was great, and the whole house was incredibly well designed. While each room didn't necessarily connect to each other, it always felt like we were in The Overlook Hotel and stuck within famous scenes from the film itself. The Overlook Lobby, The Gold Room/Ball Room, The Bar (with Lloyd), The Grady Twins, Danny on his trike, Delbert Grady, The guy with blood running down his face while raising a toast, the bear man costume (minus fellatio), here's Johnny scene, dead Hollorann lying on the floor, elevators of blood, the shower lady, and the frozen Jack Nicholson (which is the last thing we see) were all great. I found the elevators of blood effect to be the most impressive. You basically watched through a window as literal jets and fountains of blood sprayed and flowed over and in front of the elevators and over the floor as well. The Jacks in the house looked a little weak with the bald caps they wore. Overall, I wasn't sure how well Universal would be able to pull off the house and do justice to the source material but they succeeded beautifully in what is one of the best houses in HHN history. Not scary, but super impressive and effective.
10/10
The Fallen
In The Fallen, we travel through a decaying, crumbling gothic cathedral overrun by demons. The original theme was supposed to be the battle between Heaven and Hell, but for whatever reason we never see any angels in the house...only demons (rumors seem to suggest that angels were left out so as not to offend anyone. Weird choice.). Anyways, the house is beautifully designed, with fantastic costumes and creature designs throughout. I loved the glowing embers of lava/fire throughout as well. I also loved the effects used to make some of the demons fly. The facade was gorgeous too. My favorite creatures were the first demon who looked like Satan (You bet I was screaming Hail Satan at him), the Bungee Demon that would pounce at you only to be pulled back by the bungee cord (what an effect), and the final demon that would fly over your head. A very cool house.
9/10
Dead Waters
Way back in 2014, Universal created a pretty cool scarezone called The Bayou of Blood. The centerpiece of the zone was a mini-show featuring The Voodoo Queen, who ruled over the zone and would perform a sacrifice for us onlookers. Unfortunately, a few too many "softies" complained and the show was nixed. Now, The Voodoo Queen is back to take her bloody vengence via her very own house, and what an impressive house it is. The facade is one of the best of this year's. We enter through a grounded New Orleans-esque riverboat, and from there on out we find ourselves trapped in the Voodoo Queen's bayou, where her minions and undead/zombies hunt and terrorize us. The creature designs were great, and every room was gorgeous. The house was pretty short, but plenty sweet. There are also a good amount of scares inside.
9.5/10
Hive
This was actually the house I was looking forward to most this year, and it did not disappoint. The theme is that we essentially get to travel through our very own personal 1980's B-movie. We are exploring an old, decaying house that feral, Nosferatu-esque vampires have turned into their hive. The vampires are glow-in-the-dark/blacklight (including their eyes). The last few vampires looked freaking awesome and were impressively designed. The house was plenty creepy and had some good scares. Not the best house of the night, but definitely my personal favorite.
9/10
The Horror of Blumhouse
Or as I like to call it: Blumhouse of Horrors. I loved that the facade is the Blumhouse logo, and that the whole house was designed so that it was like we were traveling through the Blum House. Purge, Insidious and Sinister were represented pretty well (Though Purge was clearly supposed to be Ouija but was changed last second). Most of the house was themed to Insidious. I loved the room with the swinging/swaying lightbulbs. The last few rooms felt rushed and quickly designed, and were super claustrophobic (small, tiny, twisting hallways that were just blacklight walls with characters from the films jumping/popping out at you). Not the best house of the night, but I thought it was the scariest (the Darth Maul demon scares the crap out of me. The only house where I wasn't fun screaming, but was get-me-the-hell-out-of-here screaming).
3.5/10
Ash Vs. Evil Dead
Universal brings the hit horror television show, Ash Vs. Evil Dead (which is a continuation of the beloved Evil Dead films) to life. This was the humor house of the night, which also means it was seriously lacking in scares. Luckily, it does justice to the two seasons of the show and is pretty fun. I always love getting to see Ash (Yeah, I yelled Hail To The King at him a few times and one of the Ash's even saluted me when I said it), and the Ash's in the house were pretty great (but more-so resembled Ash from the Evil Dead films and not the aging Ash from the TV show. Fine by me). I love that we enter through his trailer from the first season, and there were a few water effects throughout the house. We also get to visit the classic Evil Dead cabin, Jacksonville, the Brujo's ranch, and the bar at Elk Grove.
3.5/10
Saw: The Games of Jigsaw
Not really much to say about this one. It's essentially the same house as Saw from HHN 19, except we don't enter in through the Wilson Steele warehouse (aka Jigsaw's Lair). In this 2nd outing, we travel through several different traps from the films. It's not scary, the house doesn't flow together very well, and it all feels pretty disjointed. I did manage to see a good deal of the traps go off (which didn't happen with Saw 2009), so that was nice.
2/10
Scarecrow: The Reaping
In Scarecrow, we are exploring an old, depression-era farm house/barn where the scarecrows have come to life to harvest the soil with our blood. This house had the best facade of the night. Before we enter we pass by an actual small corn field (Universal grew actual corn stalks for the house). We enter in through an old barn silo/hay loft. The house had the most impressive and diverse creature designs of the night. My favorite was the large scarecrow, he seemed like he was 6 ft tall and looked like a huge scarecrow puppet. I love how it was like he grew out of one of the doors. I also loved the design of each room (especially the dripping water room). It always felt like you were in the same barn house throughout. Consistent theming and scares from beginning to end. Incredible.
10/10
SHOWS
Bill and Ted's Farewell Tour
This year, Universal dealt a shocking blow to fans of HHN when they announced that HHN 27 would be the final year for Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure (Presumably because they are planning on demolishing the Fear Factor stadium sometime early next year, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet). This year, Bill and Ted's excellent Halloween Adventure is interrupted by The Grim Reaper (from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Very cool that he was included here.), who regretfully informs the duo that he has been sent to reap their souls unless they can find one redeeming thing about pop culture in 2017. The show opens with one hell of a sexy dance number (set to Pour Some Sugar On Me. Really loved the ladies' outfits). The opening monologue with Melissa McCarthy/Sean Spicer was hilarious, and one of the best I've seen. Melissa/Spicey continues to pop up throughout the adventure, and just about runs away with the show (She's gut-wrenchingly hilarious, and absolutely perfect). It's also nice to have the actor who played Ted from 2008-2015 back again for one final goodbye (He took off for 2016). It was also nice that they brought back some memorable characters from past Bill and Ted shows (like Dr. Evil, who was sleeping behind the set since 2006. He demands to know where Beetlejuice and Jaws are.). This was definitely one of the duo's better shows, though the farewell portion feels a little rush (I'm pretty sure the decision to axe any future shows was done last second with little advanced notice for the crew, writers, and cast. I suppose I could be wrong though).
And now, some random highlights:
I got to high-five David S. Pumpkins
Grim Reaper accidentally kills Bill. When he brings him back to life, Bill yells "Great Movie Ride."
United Airlines flight attendants knock out Avatar "sex with their tails damn you" guy.
After water dancer humps Moana, she says: "Oh, that silly water. Always getting me wet."
Grim Reaper perfectly sums up Bill and Ted: "Yeah, it's kind of dumb. But it was always fun."
After Spicey does a little impromptu dance, the audience cheered and she kept dancing. The Grim Reaper scolded the audience, saying: "Don't encourage her."
Spicey: "We will butt-hurt you, we will butt-hurt you hard!"
Spicey: "We are pro gender equality. We will sexually exploit anyone and everyone."
Grim Reaper to Bill and Ted: "All of this will have been like a dream, but one you were lucky enough to have had."
Grim Reaper reveals near the end that Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure is the only redeeming thing in pop culture.
And so ends, Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure. It wasn't always of the highest quality, but it was always damn entertaining and provided a nice escape from all the running and screaming at HHN. Their message will always ring true, especially in these turbulent times we currently find ourselves in. "Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"
8.5/10
RIDES
It has been several years since I had been to Universal Studios, and I had missed riding Rip Ride Rockit (my favorite coaster at both parks). I managed to rope my bro into riding it at night (when it was completely dark out) and in the first row. Sometimes, when you ride you get a shaky/bumpy car but luckily we got a smooth one this time. The wind in my face, and being able to see all the studios lit up for HHN was a real treat. It helped that it was one of the smoothest rides i've had on it. Really reminded me why I love Rockit so much! It really can be like art in motion (especially at night). I also got to take my bro into Diagon Alley for the first time, where he finally rode Escape From Gringotts. He LOVED it (I've never been over the moon about the ride, but it's always fun).
Conclusion
HHN 27 really was one for the books. Most of the houses were superb, memorable, and impressive and a good deal of the scarezones were strong as well. Scarezone of the year would be a toss up between Invasion and Trick 'r Treat. I'd probably rank Scarecrow as House of The Year (with AHS a very close second. Hive would still be my personal favorite, though it wasn't best of the night). I'd easily place this year right up there with HHN 21. My only regret is I wish I could have attended more than once, but hey, at least I got to go at all. What a treat! Till next year (Hopefully), this is Smalls, your roving reporter, signing off from scare central.
10/10
SCAREZONES
The Purge
The Purge returns once again to HHN, taking it's rightful place in the streets of NYC. The zone was pretty much the same as the one from 2014 (There's still a live auction on top of a school bus, and a roving motorcycle gang and truck that kidnap "victims" for the auction), but with added props and costumes from The Purge: Election Year (light-covered cars, a bonus mini-stage, and a pretty groovy woodchipper used to dispose of spare body parts). I am a super-huge fan of The Purge franchise, and I always enjoy getting to immerse myself in that loony world. Not the best zone of the night, but a super-fun one that was always a joy to explore.
8/10
Invasion
Set in the area in front of the old Disaster building (which is to say the zone is pretty small), Aliens have landed on Earth. The military is fighting a losing battle, and have taken to cowering and running for their lives. The design of the aliens is absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, easily some of the best costumes and creature designs I've seen in all my years at HHN. There's also an impressive alien ship that has crash-landed in the middle of the zone. Not a scary zone at all, but always a joy to wander through the zone and marvel at the Aliens (They could experiment on me any day).
9/10
Trick 'r Treat
Universal originally waned to do this zone way back in 2008 (Which was the first year I ever attended the event), but sadly couldn't aquire the rights. Instead, they did The Skoolhouse, which was somewhat of a riff on the film (at least, on the haunted trick or treaters portion of it). This year, Universal finally nailed the rights to the film and got to do one of their passion projects. Based on the modern Halloween classic, Trick 'r Treat is set in the Central Park area. The whole zone is gorgeously decorated and designed, with a metric shit-ton of glowing jack o' lanterns high in the trees and a ghostly blue glow illuminating the whole zone. Numerous characters from the film wander around the zone (including the sexy werewolfs, Little Red Riding Hood, Old Mr. Kreeg, the murderous principal and his vomiting victim, numerous creepy trick or treaters, and Sam himself). Another zone that wasn't all that scary, but it was always fun to get to mingle with the characters in the zone and marvel at the atmosphere and theming. Trick 'r Treat perfectly utilized the Central Park zone in a way I haven't seen in years, so yeah, I was a pretty big fan.
9/10
Altars of Horror
Set in the Production Central area in between Shrek 4D and Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, this zone got the short end of the stick. Utilizing minimal poor theming (Literally just a bunch of sign posts indicating which house the characters you are encountering are from), the zone is just a way to get to see spend some more time with the characters from the IP Houses close up (including Ash Vs. Evil Dead, AHS: Volume 2, The Shining, The Horrors of Blumhouse, and Saw: The Games of Jigsaw). I like that it acted as a way for the costume designers and makeup artists to show off some of their work, the zone just wasn't executed all that well.
3/10
Festival of The Deadliest
Set in the Hollywood area, this zone was supposed to act as the heart of HHN 27. There is a raging party going on, and we are invited....to die! The Festival of The Deadliest is an intriguing idea, but it was never fully elaborated upon (same with the creatures in the zone: sexy, gyrating strippers, antler-adorned women, and masked creepy killers armed with scythes and such). It was very fun to walk through the zone, and the theming was pretty nice, it was just hard to get a pulse on exactly who we were encountering and what was going on inside. That said, the scareactors in the zone got me the most I've ever been got in a zone at HHN. Just about every few seconds a scareactor managed to really startle or scare me, and one near the end wound up chasing me in circles for a good minute or two (which left me huffing, exhilarated, and out of breath. I wasn't so much running away as I was dancing around and away from her).
8/10
HOUSES
American Horror Story: Volume Two
Last year, HHN did their first ever house based on the hit horror tv show American Horror Story. It incorporated Season 1 (Murder house), Season 4 (Freak Show), and Season 4 (Hotel). This year, the powers that be decided to bring AHS back to HHN for round 2. This time, they used Season 2 (Asylum), Season 3 (Cult), and Season 5 (Roanoke). Seeing as the house used my two favorite seasons of the show (Asylum and Roanoke), I was pretty stoked to get to walk through this one (It wa also my first house of the night, yay!). Each of the seasons were very well represented, and each got a good amount of scenes. It really felt like you traveling through the entirety of each season. I loved that the facade used was that of Asylum. I also loved how all of Roanoke felt connected (You start out in the woods, and then travel through the secret underground passageway into the house. You even get to make a quick detour into the inbred hillbilly cannibal shack. You can bet I was screaming "Croatoan" at all of the scareactors in the Roanoke portion). We get to encounter numerous villains from each season, and even some of the supporting characters and stars (including Adam Levine, Bloodyface, Dr. Arthur Arden, Pepper, Sister Mary Eunice Mckee, Sister Jude Martin, The Chens, The Butcher, Edward Phillip Mott, Scathach, Mama Polk, and Cricket Marlowe). Very scary, very fun, very impressive.
10/10
The Shining
Universal took on quite a challenge when they decided to try to do justice to one of the scariest and most disturbing films of all time, The Shining, in one of their haunted houses. While the house wasn't much scary, it managed to impress the hell out of me. The facade is the entrance to The Overlook Hedge Maze, and after a twist and turn or two, we find ourselves inside The Overlook Hotel lobby. The attention to detail was great, and the whole house was incredibly well designed. While each room didn't necessarily connect to each other, it always felt like we were in The Overlook Hotel and stuck within famous scenes from the film itself. The Overlook Lobby, The Gold Room/Ball Room, The Bar (with Lloyd), The Grady Twins, Danny on his trike, Delbert Grady, The guy with blood running down his face while raising a toast, the bear man costume (minus fellatio), here's Johnny scene, dead Hollorann lying on the floor, elevators of blood, the shower lady, and the frozen Jack Nicholson (which is the last thing we see) were all great. I found the elevators of blood effect to be the most impressive. You basically watched through a window as literal jets and fountains of blood sprayed and flowed over and in front of the elevators and over the floor as well. The Jacks in the house looked a little weak with the bald caps they wore. Overall, I wasn't sure how well Universal would be able to pull off the house and do justice to the source material but they succeeded beautifully in what is one of the best houses in HHN history. Not scary, but super impressive and effective.
10/10
The Fallen
In The Fallen, we travel through a decaying, crumbling gothic cathedral overrun by demons. The original theme was supposed to be the battle between Heaven and Hell, but for whatever reason we never see any angels in the house...only demons (rumors seem to suggest that angels were left out so as not to offend anyone. Weird choice.). Anyways, the house is beautifully designed, with fantastic costumes and creature designs throughout. I loved the glowing embers of lava/fire throughout as well. I also loved the effects used to make some of the demons fly. The facade was gorgeous too. My favorite creatures were the first demon who looked like Satan (You bet I was screaming Hail Satan at him), the Bungee Demon that would pounce at you only to be pulled back by the bungee cord (what an effect), and the final demon that would fly over your head. A very cool house.
9/10
Dead Waters
Way back in 2014, Universal created a pretty cool scarezone called The Bayou of Blood. The centerpiece of the zone was a mini-show featuring The Voodoo Queen, who ruled over the zone and would perform a sacrifice for us onlookers. Unfortunately, a few too many "softies" complained and the show was nixed. Now, The Voodoo Queen is back to take her bloody vengence via her very own house, and what an impressive house it is. The facade is one of the best of this year's. We enter through a grounded New Orleans-esque riverboat, and from there on out we find ourselves trapped in the Voodoo Queen's bayou, where her minions and undead/zombies hunt and terrorize us. The creature designs were great, and every room was gorgeous. The house was pretty short, but plenty sweet. There are also a good amount of scares inside.
9.5/10
Hive
This was actually the house I was looking forward to most this year, and it did not disappoint. The theme is that we essentially get to travel through our very own personal 1980's B-movie. We are exploring an old, decaying house that feral, Nosferatu-esque vampires have turned into their hive. The vampires are glow-in-the-dark/blacklight (including their eyes). The last few vampires looked freaking awesome and were impressively designed. The house was plenty creepy and had some good scares. Not the best house of the night, but definitely my personal favorite.
9/10
The Horror of Blumhouse
Or as I like to call it: Blumhouse of Horrors. I loved that the facade is the Blumhouse logo, and that the whole house was designed so that it was like we were traveling through the Blum House. Purge, Insidious and Sinister were represented pretty well (Though Purge was clearly supposed to be Ouija but was changed last second). Most of the house was themed to Insidious. I loved the room with the swinging/swaying lightbulbs. The last few rooms felt rushed and quickly designed, and were super claustrophobic (small, tiny, twisting hallways that were just blacklight walls with characters from the films jumping/popping out at you). Not the best house of the night, but I thought it was the scariest (the Darth Maul demon scares the crap out of me. The only house where I wasn't fun screaming, but was get-me-the-hell-out-of-here screaming).
3.5/10
Ash Vs. Evil Dead
Universal brings the hit horror television show, Ash Vs. Evil Dead (which is a continuation of the beloved Evil Dead films) to life. This was the humor house of the night, which also means it was seriously lacking in scares. Luckily, it does justice to the two seasons of the show and is pretty fun. I always love getting to see Ash (Yeah, I yelled Hail To The King at him a few times and one of the Ash's even saluted me when I said it), and the Ash's in the house were pretty great (but more-so resembled Ash from the Evil Dead films and not the aging Ash from the TV show. Fine by me). I love that we enter through his trailer from the first season, and there were a few water effects throughout the house. We also get to visit the classic Evil Dead cabin, Jacksonville, the Brujo's ranch, and the bar at Elk Grove.
3.5/10
Saw: The Games of Jigsaw
Not really much to say about this one. It's essentially the same house as Saw from HHN 19, except we don't enter in through the Wilson Steele warehouse (aka Jigsaw's Lair). In this 2nd outing, we travel through several different traps from the films. It's not scary, the house doesn't flow together very well, and it all feels pretty disjointed. I did manage to see a good deal of the traps go off (which didn't happen with Saw 2009), so that was nice.
2/10
Scarecrow: The Reaping
In Scarecrow, we are exploring an old, depression-era farm house/barn where the scarecrows have come to life to harvest the soil with our blood. This house had the best facade of the night. Before we enter we pass by an actual small corn field (Universal grew actual corn stalks for the house). We enter in through an old barn silo/hay loft. The house had the most impressive and diverse creature designs of the night. My favorite was the large scarecrow, he seemed like he was 6 ft tall and looked like a huge scarecrow puppet. I love how it was like he grew out of one of the doors. I also loved the design of each room (especially the dripping water room). It always felt like you were in the same barn house throughout. Consistent theming and scares from beginning to end. Incredible.
10/10
SHOWS
Bill and Ted's Farewell Tour
This year, Universal dealt a shocking blow to fans of HHN when they announced that HHN 27 would be the final year for Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure (Presumably because they are planning on demolishing the Fear Factor stadium sometime early next year, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet). This year, Bill and Ted's excellent Halloween Adventure is interrupted by The Grim Reaper (from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Very cool that he was included here.), who regretfully informs the duo that he has been sent to reap their souls unless they can find one redeeming thing about pop culture in 2017. The show opens with one hell of a sexy dance number (set to Pour Some Sugar On Me. Really loved the ladies' outfits). The opening monologue with Melissa McCarthy/Sean Spicer was hilarious, and one of the best I've seen. Melissa/Spicey continues to pop up throughout the adventure, and just about runs away with the show (She's gut-wrenchingly hilarious, and absolutely perfect). It's also nice to have the actor who played Ted from 2008-2015 back again for one final goodbye (He took off for 2016). It was also nice that they brought back some memorable characters from past Bill and Ted shows (like Dr. Evil, who was sleeping behind the set since 2006. He demands to know where Beetlejuice and Jaws are.). This was definitely one of the duo's better shows, though the farewell portion feels a little rush (I'm pretty sure the decision to axe any future shows was done last second with little advanced notice for the crew, writers, and cast. I suppose I could be wrong though).
And now, some random highlights:
I got to high-five David S. Pumpkins
Grim Reaper accidentally kills Bill. When he brings him back to life, Bill yells "Great Movie Ride."
United Airlines flight attendants knock out Avatar "sex with their tails damn you" guy.
After water dancer humps Moana, she says: "Oh, that silly water. Always getting me wet."
Grim Reaper perfectly sums up Bill and Ted: "Yeah, it's kind of dumb. But it was always fun."
After Spicey does a little impromptu dance, the audience cheered and she kept dancing. The Grim Reaper scolded the audience, saying: "Don't encourage her."
Spicey: "We will butt-hurt you, we will butt-hurt you hard!"
Spicey: "We are pro gender equality. We will sexually exploit anyone and everyone."
Grim Reaper to Bill and Ted: "All of this will have been like a dream, but one you were lucky enough to have had."
Grim Reaper reveals near the end that Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure is the only redeeming thing in pop culture.
And so ends, Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure. It wasn't always of the highest quality, but it was always damn entertaining and provided a nice escape from all the running and screaming at HHN. Their message will always ring true, especially in these turbulent times we currently find ourselves in. "Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"
8.5/10
RIDES
It has been several years since I had been to Universal Studios, and I had missed riding Rip Ride Rockit (my favorite coaster at both parks). I managed to rope my bro into riding it at night (when it was completely dark out) and in the first row. Sometimes, when you ride you get a shaky/bumpy car but luckily we got a smooth one this time. The wind in my face, and being able to see all the studios lit up for HHN was a real treat. It helped that it was one of the smoothest rides i've had on it. Really reminded me why I love Rockit so much! It really can be like art in motion (especially at night). I also got to take my bro into Diagon Alley for the first time, where he finally rode Escape From Gringotts. He LOVED it (I've never been over the moon about the ride, but it's always fun).
Conclusion
HHN 27 really was one for the books. Most of the houses were superb, memorable, and impressive and a good deal of the scarezones were strong as well. Scarezone of the year would be a toss up between Invasion and Trick 'r Treat. I'd probably rank Scarecrow as House of The Year (with AHS a very close second. Hive would still be my personal favorite, though it wasn't best of the night). I'd easily place this year right up there with HHN 21. My only regret is I wish I could have attended more than once, but hey, at least I got to go at all. What a treat! Till next year (Hopefully), this is Smalls, your roving reporter, signing off from scare central.
10/10
Thursday, November 9, 2017
FRIGHT FEST: HAPPY DEATH DAY
Happy Death Day is the latest Blumhouse production. In it, we follow popular, clique-y college girl Tree (short for Teresa) on her birthday. Most people would be happy on such a day, not Tree though as it brings with it some sad memories from her past. At the end of the day, a masked killer murders Tree and sets off a wild chain of events where Tree is forced to relive her death day over and over again until she is able to uncover the identity of her killer and stop him/her from murdering her (Yes, it's another twist on the Groundhog Day formula. Just roll with it).
Happy Death Day is the latest in a long line of PG-13 "horror" films. Most times, I find that PG-13 horror films kind of suck. They pander to the dumb teen demographic, rely on annoying jump scares, and just aren't all that scary. Happy Death Day is one of the rare PG-13 horror films that actually works though, mainly because it's more-so interested in being funny than scary. That's right, Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy who-dun-it, with an emphasis on the comedy. The film is creepy, atmospheric, and tense at odd moments, but is really more concerned with having it's own personality. The death's aren't focused on all that much (There's really only one cool death in the film, and it's spoiled in the trailer), and it's a fairly blood-less film. Normally, this would not bode well for a horror film, but Happy Death Day's focus on fun over scares helps save the film.
Happy Death Day stars Jessica Rothe as our heroine Tree and Israel Broussard as film nerd/regular guy Carter. Tree starts out as a pretty unlikable character (she's not the worst girl I've ever seen, but she's still pretty mean and self-centered). She is having an affair with a married professor/doctor, makes out with her roommates crush in front of her (just because she can), wakes up in Carter's bed after a drunken night and basically shrugs him off (not even having the courtesy to remember his name or even care), and is a member of the bitchy sorority on campus. Yeah, you want to see her die many times over and the killer could really be just about anyone on campus (she has a way of making enemies). It's not an easy task to take an unlikeable character and find a way to bring the audience fully on her side by the end, but Happy Death Day does just that. The film slowly peels away her layers, revealing more about her backstory and the reasons why she hates her birthday. A large part of the plot is about Tree learning the error of her ways, and taking steps to become a better person (much like Groundhog Day). I am completely in love with Jessica Rothe and her character of Tree (Not to mention Rothe can also sing as evidenced in her small role in La La Land. Just more reason to love her). I found her to be sympathetic, and super hot and cute (both in personality and looks) by the time the end credits roll.
Israel Broussard is completely winsome and likable as the warm-hearted nice guy who has a love for film (as can be seen by his awesome choice in movie posters that adorn his dorm room). He continually assists Tree in her attempts to unmask the killer throughout the film. The two actually have some chemistry together, and I loved them as a duo. I won't say if they wind up together (though the answer is pretty obvious right from the opening of the film). I also loved the Baby-Mask killer, and the design of the mask he/she wears (It's the mask of the school's mascot, which is being handed out en masse thanks to an upcoming sports game). However, I wasn't crazy about who the killer winds up being and I found his/her motivation to be silly and stupid.
Happy Death Day is not a great film, but seeing as I went in reluctantly, expecting another shit PG-13 horror film and I walked out smiling, I'd say it's a success. It's not scary, but it is silly, goofy, funny, and fun. It also has some clever moments (one example: Tree always wakes up with residual trauma from her previous deaths. This doesn't really lead to anything, except that it's implied that eventually Tree will die for good and she winds up feeling pretty sore and tired by the end of the film. I also loved the choice to set it in college instead of high school.) Our two main leads are likable, the direction is fairly strong (from Christopher Landon who previously directed Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. This is his best film), and the script (by Scott Lobdell) is good. Happy Death Day is a film with it's own, fun personality. It's definitely one of the more memorable entries in the PG-13 horror film craze.
3 STARS
Side Note: The film replaces 50 Cent's catchy "In Da Club" with a short, generic, goofy and forgettable Happy Birthday ringtone. A missed opportunity if there ever was one.
Happy Death Day is the latest in a long line of PG-13 "horror" films. Most times, I find that PG-13 horror films kind of suck. They pander to the dumb teen demographic, rely on annoying jump scares, and just aren't all that scary. Happy Death Day is one of the rare PG-13 horror films that actually works though, mainly because it's more-so interested in being funny than scary. That's right, Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy who-dun-it, with an emphasis on the comedy. The film is creepy, atmospheric, and tense at odd moments, but is really more concerned with having it's own personality. The death's aren't focused on all that much (There's really only one cool death in the film, and it's spoiled in the trailer), and it's a fairly blood-less film. Normally, this would not bode well for a horror film, but Happy Death Day's focus on fun over scares helps save the film.
Happy Death Day stars Jessica Rothe as our heroine Tree and Israel Broussard as film nerd/regular guy Carter. Tree starts out as a pretty unlikable character (she's not the worst girl I've ever seen, but she's still pretty mean and self-centered). She is having an affair with a married professor/doctor, makes out with her roommates crush in front of her (just because she can), wakes up in Carter's bed after a drunken night and basically shrugs him off (not even having the courtesy to remember his name or even care), and is a member of the bitchy sorority on campus. Yeah, you want to see her die many times over and the killer could really be just about anyone on campus (she has a way of making enemies). It's not an easy task to take an unlikeable character and find a way to bring the audience fully on her side by the end, but Happy Death Day does just that. The film slowly peels away her layers, revealing more about her backstory and the reasons why she hates her birthday. A large part of the plot is about Tree learning the error of her ways, and taking steps to become a better person (much like Groundhog Day). I am completely in love with Jessica Rothe and her character of Tree (Not to mention Rothe can also sing as evidenced in her small role in La La Land. Just more reason to love her). I found her to be sympathetic, and super hot and cute (both in personality and looks) by the time the end credits roll.
Israel Broussard is completely winsome and likable as the warm-hearted nice guy who has a love for film (as can be seen by his awesome choice in movie posters that adorn his dorm room). He continually assists Tree in her attempts to unmask the killer throughout the film. The two actually have some chemistry together, and I loved them as a duo. I won't say if they wind up together (though the answer is pretty obvious right from the opening of the film). I also loved the Baby-Mask killer, and the design of the mask he/she wears (It's the mask of the school's mascot, which is being handed out en masse thanks to an upcoming sports game). However, I wasn't crazy about who the killer winds up being and I found his/her motivation to be silly and stupid.
Happy Death Day is not a great film, but seeing as I went in reluctantly, expecting another shit PG-13 horror film and I walked out smiling, I'd say it's a success. It's not scary, but it is silly, goofy, funny, and fun. It also has some clever moments (one example: Tree always wakes up with residual trauma from her previous deaths. This doesn't really lead to anything, except that it's implied that eventually Tree will die for good and she winds up feeling pretty sore and tired by the end of the film. I also loved the choice to set it in college instead of high school.) Our two main leads are likable, the direction is fairly strong (from Christopher Landon who previously directed Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. This is his best film), and the script (by Scott Lobdell) is good. Happy Death Day is a film with it's own, fun personality. It's definitely one of the more memorable entries in the PG-13 horror film craze.
3 STARS
Side Note: The film replaces 50 Cent's catchy "In Da Club" with a short, generic, goofy and forgettable Happy Birthday ringtone. A missed opportunity if there ever was one.
Monday, November 6, 2017
FRIGHT FEST: THE BABYSITTER
The Babysitter was the film I was looking forward to most this Halloween season. It's directed by McG (who doesn't have the best track record when it comes to directing films), and the movie went through several delays until it was decided it would be released directly to Netflix. While all this did send alarm bells ringing in my head, the premise and trailer looked fun enough. In The Babysitter, 12 year old Cole (Judah Lewis) is afraid of almost everything. He pines after his smoking hot babysitter, Bee (Samara Weaving). When she promises him to throw a party when his parents leave for the weekend, Cole couldn't be happier. Unfortunately, Bee and her friends ( Max played by Robbie Amell, Sonya played by Hana Mae Lee, Allison played by Bella Thorne, and John played by Andrew Bachelor) are actually part of a satanic cult that wants Cole's blood because of its purity. It's up to the kid who's afraid of everything to conquer his fears and put an end to his crush's madness.
Everyone does a pretty fine job acting wise, with the standouts being Judah Lewis as Cole, Samara Weaving as Bee, and Robbie Amell as Max. Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis actually have surprisingly strong chemistry during the first act and are super cute together. It's not hard to fall for Bee yourself as she is super smoking hot and has a very attractive personality. It got to the point where I kind of wanted them to end up together. Max is a muscular jock who hides a somewhat soft heart under his tough exterior. He takes breaks from his pursuit of Cole to actually give the kid advice, and gives him several chances to stick up for himself (My favorite line of his : "Don't worry kid, I won't let you die with egg on your face."). Cole himself is at first glance, a loser, but he proves to be a pretty cool kid despite his numerous fears (his first scene is him freaking out over having to get a shot. I can totally relate). He proves to be surprisingly capable, although he makes many stupid mistakes along the way.
Unfortunately, despite a fun premise and likable leads, it's clear why The Babysitter went through so many delays: It's not that good of a film. The first act is all obvious set-up for things to come later in the film. It's overly stylistic to the point where it can feel like the film is over-compensating. Some of the stylistic choices work, most do not though, and are just flashy and come across like McG is yelling "Look at me! Look at me!. It feels like most of the style found within, while fun, has no reason to exist. That said, The Babysitter does have some nice bait-and-switches that I did not see coming, so props to that.
In the end, The Babysitter was a disappointment. It stretches believability at points, the characters make stupid decisions throughout (one example: The cult sees Cole trying to cut through a rope they restrained him with and even comment on this, but do nothing to stop him), and the numerous stylistic choices end up hurting the film in the long run. Luckily, the characters are likable and our main leads are pretty great (plus, there's a steamy extended make-out scene between Bella Thorne and Samara Weaving). The Babysitter isn't a great film (or even really a good one when all is said and done), but it is silly, stupid fun. If that sounds like your cup of Pumpkin Spice, maybe you should check it out.
2 Stars
Everyone does a pretty fine job acting wise, with the standouts being Judah Lewis as Cole, Samara Weaving as Bee, and Robbie Amell as Max. Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis actually have surprisingly strong chemistry during the first act and are super cute together. It's not hard to fall for Bee yourself as she is super smoking hot and has a very attractive personality. It got to the point where I kind of wanted them to end up together. Max is a muscular jock who hides a somewhat soft heart under his tough exterior. He takes breaks from his pursuit of Cole to actually give the kid advice, and gives him several chances to stick up for himself (My favorite line of his : "Don't worry kid, I won't let you die with egg on your face."). Cole himself is at first glance, a loser, but he proves to be a pretty cool kid despite his numerous fears (his first scene is him freaking out over having to get a shot. I can totally relate). He proves to be surprisingly capable, although he makes many stupid mistakes along the way.
Unfortunately, despite a fun premise and likable leads, it's clear why The Babysitter went through so many delays: It's not that good of a film. The first act is all obvious set-up for things to come later in the film. It's overly stylistic to the point where it can feel like the film is over-compensating. Some of the stylistic choices work, most do not though, and are just flashy and come across like McG is yelling "Look at me! Look at me!. It feels like most of the style found within, while fun, has no reason to exist. That said, The Babysitter does have some nice bait-and-switches that I did not see coming, so props to that.
In the end, The Babysitter was a disappointment. It stretches believability at points, the characters make stupid decisions throughout (one example: The cult sees Cole trying to cut through a rope they restrained him with and even comment on this, but do nothing to stop him), and the numerous stylistic choices end up hurting the film in the long run. Luckily, the characters are likable and our main leads are pretty great (plus, there's a steamy extended make-out scene between Bella Thorne and Samara Weaving). The Babysitter isn't a great film (or even really a good one when all is said and done), but it is silly, stupid fun. If that sounds like your cup of Pumpkin Spice, maybe you should check it out.
2 Stars
Sunday, November 5, 2017
FRIGHT FEST IS EXTENDED
Sometimes the darkness refuses to go back to sleep. Prepare yourselves for reviews of HHN 27, The Babysitter, Jigsaw and Happy Death Day. All coming to you this week! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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