Andrew Douglas' The Amityville Horror Review

In a society where the horror genre is overrun by Paranormal Activity, it was nice to see an actual representation of paranormal horror. I watched this movie as a child, and recently reviewed it again. I was pleasantly surprised by the (not cheesy) jump scares and interesting plot. From the moment they stepped into the house, I knew there would be spirits within. However, I was once again pleasantly surprised that it was not the typical paranormal movie.

The cliche paranormal films usually go something like this... A nice family moves into a seemingly typical house. After a short amount if time strange events begin to take place. The woman of the house, and the children are usually the first to notice, while the husband is naive and does not believe any of it. The strange events escalate into full blown paranormal phenomenons and the husband finally realizes what is going on, right at the end. In the end it is typically resolved and the family lives on with their lives. Sounds familiar right? I bet you could name many paranormal movies that fit this scenario. Well, frankly I am tired of the same replay that these movies have. This is the main thing that stood out to me with The Amityville Horror, it does not follow the same mundane script as the rest. Sure it has its similar elements, but it succeeds in hitting a deeper and darker nerve.

As I watched the film I couldn't help but to feel enthralled by the eerie nature that surrounds it. Throughout the entire film I was constantly engrossed in the scenes. As each new event seemed to be full of scares, and twists. They created a lot of new aspects that are not found in many other films, and even when they did use a common scheme, they made it original by amplifying it.

Just when of the film the whole story is wrapped together in an excellent way. It answers all questions that you may have, and even throws some more information in there just to toggle with your mind. During this time, you are also witnessing the most intense part of the movie. It is a slow pace movie, up until the end, which gives an even more significant feeling of surprise. As you finally get to see the creature that has been causing all of the havoc. This movie really left me with the feeling that I had watched a quality film, and one that actually had an interesting plot, along with solid scares. It is a must watch for any horror fan.

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Scare Zones

Imagine walking through a cloud of fog, as strobe lights flash in the background. Just as you think you're emerging from the fog, a blood covered face appear in front of you and makes an unearthly sound. You recoil in fear and jump in the opposite direction. Welcome to a Halloween Horror Nights scare zone. As if the rest of the park isn't enough to completely have me startled and amazed. These zones are the final touch that made me so attached to this event.

Dark Christmas Concept Art

Dark Christmas Concept Art

The very first time that I ever stepped foot into a scare zone, I recognized how unique this was. No where else that I had been offered this experience. You can wonder around fog covered land, and repeatedly have fear thrown through your body. It's executed in such a way that I forgot about everything else around me, the other guests, my life worries, and just focused on the atmosphere around me. It's all consuming. 

At Halloween Horror Nights 2014 there was 5 scare zones. On the upper lot, 3 of these were located. The first of which was Dark Christmas. At first I was a bit reluctant. I thought, "how are they going to make Christmas scary?" Well I was wrong to be hesitant. This scare zone was executed in the best way possible. All of the popular christmas themes were represented, but each had a dark twist on it. 

Mask-a-Raid Concept Art

Mask-a-Raid Concept Art

The next maze on the upper lot was Mask-a-Raid. This was an original concept created by John Murdy and His partner Chris Williams. To sum up who these characters were portraying, they were members of a cannibal cult during pre-revolutionary France. Mixed in with other members at a masquerade ball, these characters released havoc amongst the party. Their presence resulted in an eery atmosphere that can be described as stepping inside of a nightmare.

The last scare zone on the upper level of the park is The Purge: Anarchy. Based off of the popular movie, this scare zone features dangerous civilians who are set on creating havoc for one night out of the year. In a time where all crime is legal, what is to stop them? This is the main scare zone, which means FLAME CANNONS! This is a signature for H.H.N. and really creates a sense of chaos.

The Purge: Anarchy Scare Zone

Skullz Concept Art

Now onto the lower lot where the Skullz scare zones takes over. These scare-actors run around the lower lot on stilts. These propel them into the air at more than 8 feet tall. They have animal skulls on their head and legend has it that they have an insatiable need for human flesh. With these characters lurking above, it's hard to not feel stalked.

The Walking Dead Scare Zone

On the far back end of the park is the very last scare zone. It is AMC'S The Walking Dead. Just like in the show, herds of walkers can be expected. As you venture onto the backlot you can only predict what awaits you. As you enter the scare zone, building rise up around you, and it creates a trapped

The Walking Dead Scare Zone

feeling. You ease into the fog, and the walkers become visible, a herd is approaching, and the only way to get out, is to keep going forwards. It was truly mind blowing to be able to get that close to what it would feel like to actually be in the zombie apocalypse, without actually being in any danger.

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How Halloween Horror Nights Becomes Possible

In a previous post I gave a brief run down of my favorite mazes at this years Halloween Horror Nights. But because of my deep appreciation for this event, I thought that each aspect of H.H.N needed to be given more attention. First off I will explain how the event begins, from the very start. Some of you may believe that this is public knowledge, however, that is not fully accurate. Yes you could find this information on the internet, but unless you have been following the daily social media updates of the Creative Director John Murdy, then you may not be aware of the exact perimeters in which this event comes to be.

Before the previous year even comes to a close, John Murdy receives many offers from executives celebrities, musicians, directors, or producers. These people all want their product to be featured at H.H.N. They realize the high publicity that H.H.N. could provide for their property. As this goes on, Murdy decides what properties he could use at the event, and he trashes the others. He is constantly brainstorming new ideas, and he puts every single one onto a sticky note, that he places on the wall in his office. By December this wall is completely filled with small sticky notes, all containing ideas that could later be translated into full blown mazes.

As time passes, each and every one of these ideas must be addressed, he searches through them all and decides which properties have the potential to translate into a successful maze. This is a daunting task, and there are three main characteristics that he looks for in each property. Are there environments that could be used to fill the rooms of a maze? Are there characters that could be played by scare actors? Is this property recognized by the general public? Without all three of these things, it can not be translated into a maze.

After a very short amount of time, Murdy must take his list of narrowed down properties and finalize which ones he would like to see at the event. In the end he must pick only seven. Imagine trying to pick seven things out of an entire wall of ideas, some of us have trouble trying to find what clothes to wear in the morning, yet alone that large of a task.

Now that all seven mazes are picked out, he must begin the precise explanation of what the maze will look like. This means he must write out every single object, detail, light, smell and decoration that he wants in each room of the maze. That is everything from the lights that shine above you, to where the scare-actor will be located, to the vine that is on the wall. These treatments are extensively long, and are basically the blueprints, or starting guide for every maze.

An American Werwolf In London Facade

Then begins construction, the walls go up, and the main details are laid out. This process takes most of the year, and always ends just short of when the event begins at the end of September. A large team is brought in for each maze, and this becomes their sole task. Near the end of construction for each maze, Murdy comes in and prepares the lighting. Each light must be placed in the correct location, in order to give off the correct effect. He puts specially created smells into each room, in order to fully engross all of your senses. No maze is complete without its signature facade. Outside of every maze is a detailed front. Just like all books have a cover, all mazes have an opening scene.

By this time, all the mazes have been announced and all the fans are dying of anticipation to see what has been created inside the gates of Universal Studios.

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Halloween Horror Nights 2014 Experience and Review

Previously, I have posted about a Halloween event that takes place in California every year. You can view that post here. On October 17th I made the long journey from Iowa to California for my favorite event in the world, Halloween Horror Nights. I had been anticipating this day since I left Universal Studios the year before. H.H.N. is top of the line, and because of this, I am left wanting more every single year.

As night fell on October 18th I arrived at Universal Studios and I was instantly hit with nostalgia as the familiar gates of H.H.N. stood tall. I entered the park and my best experience at this event to date, began. The front of the park was decked out in the usual lights, fog and music. These combined created an intense atmosphere that can never truly be imagined unless you witness it for yourself. Placed around the front gates are the famous H.H.N. go-go dancers. They dance in sync to the eerie music that is being blasted from the speakers, and they often distract much of the crowd so that the scare-actors can initiate their attacks.

As I sprinted farther into the park, the main scare-zone came into view. This year, John Murdy (Creative Director) chose to replicate The Purge. Dozens of chainsaw wielding scare-actors crept out from the shadows and began to stalk their pray. They then began the opening scaremony. The scare-actors rev their chainsaws and began to charge the large crowd. All of my senses were engrossed, and H.H.N. constantly does an amazing job of doing so. As the night began, I made my way towards the mazes. Below are some of my favorite mazes from this years event.

The Walking dead
For the past 3 years H.H.N. has hosted this incredibly popular show. They recreate everyone's favorite scenes and showcase the most popular characters. The prison was rebuilt in a way that made me feel like I was really on the set of The Walking Dead. The scareactors did an astonishing job of playing their roles, and utilizing their talents of scaring the guests.

Alien Vs. Predator
At this years event The Creative Director John Murdy went all out. Inside of this sound stage was a full size recreation of the space ship that is featured in Alien Vs. Predator. It was so large that it had to be built in three separate pieces, in order to fit it inside of the door. There was an immense amount of detail inside of this maze, and many animatronics that gave off the impression that they would come to life and any moment, a great task that H.H.N always seems to pull off.

An American Werwolf In London
In this maze they showcased the transformation from the human form into the form of a beast with expert precision. Through prosthetics, you could visually see the transformation occurring with your very eyes. This was the highlight of the maze, along with the numerous scares located through out.

Every year H.H.N. seems to raise my expectations, and every year they more than surpass them. This year is no exception to this. I was overwhelmed by the amount of detail that each location had. Anyone who attended this event would be a fool to not notice the obvious amount of time that is spent going into every single detail, and finishing touch. These are the things that brought this even to life for me, yet again.
http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/hollywood/2014/

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