Fortnitemares (HHN 35)

[Tbad556]

I think we’re arguing different points. I’m not saying HHN has always been pure horror. I’m saying it feels like it’s shifting from curating great Halloween experiences to chasing the biggest cultural footprint. Maybe Fortnite ends up being fantastic... I genuinely hope it does. But on paper, it feels like a step in that direction.

I think a lot of HHN fans need to start having a moment where they realize that we’ve done it. We’ve done the grails. They’re almost all gone. We’ve done multiple Evil Dead’s, Texas Chainsaws, Halloweens, Elm Streets, Trick r Treats, Killer Klowns, Jasons, Saws, etc. We’ve driven into movies, we’ve done games, we’ve seen incredibly niche TV. We’re finally getting Hellraiser. Many of the ones left are either in rights-holder limbo or held up in other ways. At a certain point, it’s time to either get weird with the IPs, get incredibly niche, or drill repeats into the ground.

This isn’t the first “weird” IP and it won’t be the last. If your focus is on worrying about Universal chasing the bag, that’s your prerogative. Have at it. Hold that fire in your heart lol. But I’m here for giving the weirdness a shot each and every time.

 

[Imperius]

We had David S Pumpkins at the event just recently. Walking dead was really chasing the cultural footprint also for how long it stayed. Is Fortnite chasing money? Of course, but so is every other large IP they have gotten. They might have a great idea for how the zone will work and wanted it for that. Stating the team is just corporate sell outs because Fortnite is coming as a zone is a little much.

 

[MartyMcFly]

I think a lot of HHN fans need to start having a moment where they realize that we’ve done it. We’ve done the grails. They’re almost all gone. We’ve done multiple Evil Dead’s, Texas Chainsaws, Halloweens, Elm Streets, Trick r Treats, Killer Klowns, Jasons, etc. We’ve driven into movies, we’ve done games, we’ve done niche TV. We’re finally getting Hellraiser. Many of the ones left are either in rights-holder limbo or held up in other ways. At a certain point, it’s time to either get weird with the IPs, get incredibly niche, or drill repeats into the ground.

This isn’t the first “weird” IP and it won’t be the last. If your focus is on worrying about Universal chasing the bag, that’s your prerogative. Have at it. Hold that fire in your heart lol. But I’m here for giving the weirdness a shot each and every time.

Fair enough, and you make a good point. But I’d still rebut with... “We’ve done most of the classics” is a reason to get creative, not to abandon curation altogether.

Because if the principle is simply “it’s weird and popular,” where’s the line? Roblox? Minecraft? Among Us? At some point the event still has to decide what actually belongs at HHN.

Every event has a line. The debate I think is where it should be.

 

[Legacy]

For YEARS, fans pleaded for Universal to start representing video games at HHN…

“Not like that…”

 

[Imperius]

Which is a fine discussion but I don’t think Fortnitemares crosses that line. It’s a Halloween related even in the game. It has great character designs and as a zone, it works pretty well in theory. We have had far worse and dumber zone ideas over the last years.

 

[Brian G.]

I think we’re arguing different points. I’m not saying HHN has always been pure horror. I’m saying it feels like it’s shifting from curating great Halloween experiences to chasing the biggest cultural footprint. Maybe Fortnite ends up being fantastic... I genuinely hope it does. But on paper, it feels like a step in that direction.

Also I wasn’t trashing Aiello “like he killed my first born”, that’s a pretty exaggerated reading of what I said.

I think there is a distinction between saying "They're bringing Fortnite to the event", and "They're bringing Fortnitemares to the event". HHN has always been celebrating Halloween AND Horror. You are right that it definitely isn't Horror, but the mode is very much Halloween. They've always tried to diversify their line-up.

This is the same event that had Fear Factor as a haunted house. This whole argument about the event has been nothing but goal posts moving because of personal preferences. Saying you don't like it is one thing, but arguing that it doesn't belong when there's a long history of Universal doing things like this is another.

 

[MartyMcFly]

I think there is a distinction between saying "They're bringing Fortnite to the event", and "They're bringing Fortnitemares to the event". HHN has always been celebrating Halloween AND Horror. You are right that it definitely isn't Horror, but the mode is very much Halloween. They've always tried to diversify their line-up.

This is the same event that had Fear Factor as a haunted house. This whole argument about the event has been nothing but goal posts moving because of personal preferences. Saying you don't like it is one thing, but arguing that it doesn't belong when there's a long history of Universal doing things like this is another.

Fair point, well made.

 

[Imperius]

We had The Weeknd house which was “horror related” and it was a top tier house. Let creative do what they do with an idea they like. If it sucks, we will complain about then, but all this gatekeeping of HHN is tiring.

 

[MartyMcFly]

We had The Weeknd house which was “horror related” and it was a top tier house. Let creative do what they do with an idea they like. If it sucks, we will complain about then, but all this gatekeeping of HHN is tiring.

Fair enough. I don’t see it as gatekeeping though. Every long-running event has an identity, and debating where its boundaries should be is part of being a fan. We just draw that line in different places