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Universal Horror Unleashed - Las Vegas, NV

  • Thread starter Thread starter chris.g
  • Start date Start date May 17, 2022
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Clive

Clive

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  • Yesterday at 4:55 PM
  • #721
kingmantis said:
I think you're right, that's an issue any walkthrough would face, but the difference here is that it's a permanent installation rather than seasonal. By the time other haunts start cutting staff, chances are they're gearing up to close anyway. I don't think we'll have a great idea on the future of Unleashed and how committed they are to maintaining staffing until we see how it looks in, say, January.

With the permanent location and fluctuating demand throughout the year, I was kind of expecting the mazes to be more effects/scenic heavy than they actually are; that scarecrow scene is awesome but the only real noticeable one I’ve seen so far. Instead the houses are more in line with the usual temporary installations; they seem scareactor-heavy which is a concern if they cut back on staff (Eternal Bloodlines from HHN33 is a great example of how terrible a house can be if you can’t keep it staffed, empty booholes galore).

Outside of the mazes is even more concerning; they weren’t really kidding about the warehouse feel. The bars and restaurants all feel like they have temporary overlays and leftover props rather than an actual space you’d want to explore and based on those preview videos they’re relying heavily on actors to make up the atmosphere. If they get cut, that’s just a big empty box.

Usual caveats apply (it’s a preview so things change, I haven’t been there personally yet), but the more I see the less I understand the market for this. Peak demand is Halloween season, but instead of going to Vegas why not fly another hour to HHN Hollywood for a fresher experience than Exorcist: Believer for a comparable price? I don’t really think it has the IP strength to encourage off-season demand either, which again returns to are they going to cut staff during the slower times? Which hurts the quality of what they’ve already built.

A lot of the permanent attractions I’ve seen in tourist areas fall tend to be much smaller in scope; like the Ripley’s Haunted Adventures may be like 2-3 scareactors running an entire half-hour walkthrough. It’s a low overhead diversion that doesn’t take up the full night. Is there actually demand outside of Sept-Oct for people to commit their entire night to a premium haunt experience without a headliner draw (FNAF, Stranger Things, etc.?) I kind of doubt it, but let’s see how it goes.
Click to expand...

With the caveats you mentioned, I think these are good criticisms and questions to be asking. I'm skeptical, too, even though I am absolutely part of the target audience for this.

I was also expecting more of an emphasis on the sort of special effects and scenic that isn't practical in a temporary installation. These just look like slightly longer houses.

Exorcist: Believer was absolutely foisted on them by Universal Pictures/corporate and will be the first house to go. I'm sure they'd love to get Five Nights at Freddy's in there.
 
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kingmantis

kingmantis

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  • Yesterday at 5:06 PM
  • #722
Clive said:
With the caveats you mentioned, I think these are good criticisms and questions to be asking. I'm skeptical, too, even though I am absolutely part of the target audience for this.

I was also expecting more of an emphasis on the sort of special effects and scenic that isn't practical in a temporary installation. These just look like slightly longer houses.

Exorcist: Believer was absolutely foisted on them by Universal Pictures/corporate and will be the first house to go. I'm sure they'd love to get Five Nights at Freddy's in there.
Click to expand...
Same here, I wasn't sure if it would last but I absolutely pumped to take a winter getaway for some horror. Getting married next year in March too so I was even considering if this would be a good option for a winter bachelor party but I'm much more wait and see now.

Also completely agree on Exorcist: Believer. Honestly based on the initial rumors for HHN Vegas popping up in 2022, you can absolutely tell they locked in this lineup in 2023. It's either the most popular HHN Hollywood houses in 2021-2022 or Believer, which feels like it was included in the HHN 2023 contract negotiations with Hollywood/Orlando. They already paid for the rights but got burned by the movie sucking so much the entire trilogy got cancelled, otherwise we'd be seeing the third one this year and the return of this house as a good marketing tie-in.
 
Legacy

Legacy

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  • Yesterday at 5:11 PM
  • #723
Parkscope Joe said:
Couldn’t this criticism be leveled at any walkthrough attraction? What could they do to alive you of those worries? I can’t think of any besides “trust us”.
Click to expand...
Sure… the criticism could apply to any walkthrough attraction. It does apply. But that’s why I had hoped Universal would at least put in (more) effort to hide the flexibility.

For example, the holding scenes are held simply because a performer steps out in front of you. Even something as simple as a sliding door would allow those scenes to feel more integral rather than just tacked-on moments. Sure, the door could remain open (when) if the holding scenes stop, but adding the door makes it appear more intentional and necessary to the experience.

The lack of multimedia, scale, animatronics, etc. also makes it feel less permanent than any of it should. Ironically, I feel like adding things that don’t require live performers would give a better sense of permanence to everything. And, again… that’s the problem. Why do a permanent house that doesn’t actually feel permanent?
 
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rageofthegods

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  • Yesterday at 5:54 PM
  • #724
Legacy said:
Sure… the criticism could apply to any walkthrough attraction. It does apply. But that’s why I had hoped Universal would at least put in (more) effort to hide the flexibility.

For example, the holding scenes are held simply because a performer steps out in front of you. Even something as simple as a sliding door would allow those scenes to feel more integral rather than just tacked-on moments. Sure, the door could remain open (when) if the holding scenes stop, but adding the door makes it appear more intentional and necessary to the experience.

The lack of multimedia, scale, animatronics, etc. also makes it feel less permanent than any of it should. Ironically, I feel like adding things that don’t require live performers would give a better sense of permanence to everything. And, again… that’s the problem. Why do a permanent house that doesn’t actually feel permanent?
Click to expand...

Maybe they're planning to cycle it out faster than we expect.

Still, yeah I'm a little concerned about holes here.
 
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pumpkinbot343

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  • Yesterday at 8:02 PM
  • #725


At the 1:08 mark, the little Pharoah statue, is that the actual model they used for the opening for 1999’s Mummy? I saw behind the scenes pics of that film, and this statue looks very similar.
 
krazyhorrorkid

krazyhorrorkid

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  • Yesterday at 8:20 PM
  • #726
I can’t get over how bad some of the costumes look in Monsters. Creature looks so horrible.
 
quinnmac000

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  • Today at 1:13 AM
  • #727
I don't think its bad....is it worth the $65 dollar admission price? Maybe not but its not so bad. I think there is a lot of opportunity for them to improve for Chicago.

The Bad:
First thing is the space needs to be a lot more intimate. There is way too much dead space with non kinetic energy that gives it the huge warehouse look and the empty feeling.

Second thing: Premiere House table service area is one of the worst themed things I have ever seen. The design and everything does not fit what audiences want nor is it a place that is able to advertise itself to others. If you want to keep it Blumhouse....make the outside a old run down movie theater where you enter a lobby and leads to a dine in area styled as a creepy movie theater with Blumhouse films playing in the background.

Third thing: The Jack and Chance show. You are competing against Cirque and all the other Vegas shows in terms of entertainment....that show needs to be leveled up. This isn't Orlando. if you are going to do a performing arts show, level it up by 20x.

Fourth Thing: the makeup for the monster house needs to be better. They did Quasimodo wrong with that clearly rubber spirit Halloween mask.

The Good:
There are a lot of good bones for this. Some unique standing areas were great and clever.
 
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mccgavin

mccgavin

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  • Today at 1:42 AM
  • #728
quinnmac000 said:
Second thing: Premiere House table service area is one of the worst themed things I have ever seen. The design and everything does not fit what audiences want nor is it a place that is able to advertise itself to others. If you want to keep it Blumhouse....make the outside a old run down movie theater where you enter a lobby and leads to a dine in area styled as a creepy movie theater with Blumhouse films playing in the background.
Click to expand...
It seems like that area is the designated multipurpose space for group events and buyouts. Sounds like it will only be accessible to general guests when it isn't in use for that purpose.
 
TheCodeMan95

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  • Today at 6:29 AM
  • #729
Here's the thing - I am absolutely part of the demographic for this. But I live in Pennsylvania.. I will never go to this.

If they opened one in NYC? Absolutely I'd be there very soon after opening. But I'm absolutely not making a special trip to Vegas for this lol
 
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pumpkinbot343

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  • Today at 7:32 AM
  • #730
Seeing as they had Lady Luck’s wheel right there as a very visible prop, I think it’s a missed opportunity not to have Luck and some of her icon friends prowling the warehouse as regular scareactors. The actors seem to have great fun with their interactions with the guests outside of the mazes, so it would have been cool to see this with someone like Usher or Caretaker.

Glad they went with Chance’s 25 look rather than her 26 design.

EDIT: when does this place officially open again? Maybe they can fix the costumes and makeup in time.
 
Last edited: Today at 11:24 AM
Clive

Clive

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  • Today at 12:58 PM
  • #731
pumpkinbot343 said:
Seeing as they had Lady Luck’s wheel right there as a very visible prop, I think it’s a missed opportunity not to have Luck and some of her icon friends prowling the warehouse as regular scareactors. The actors seem to have great fun with their interactions with the guests outside of the mazes, so it would have been cool to see this with someone like Usher or Caretaker.

Glad they went with Chance’s 25 look rather than her 26 design.

EDIT: when does this place officially open again? Maybe they can fix the costumes and makeup in time.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the reason they didn't try for Lady Luck again is they've never been able to crack the character, but I do think a Jack/Lady Luck double header would work extremely well in Vegas, at least for marketing, if they just leaned into Luck's sultrier/temptress side.
 
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Freak

Freak

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  • Today at 2:20 PM
  • #732
I've only seen a couple of clips of their TCM, but it reminded me a bit of Orlando's TCM house they did about a decade ago. Is it basically the same0ish layout as Orlando's TCM house?
 
mccgavin

mccgavin

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  • Today at 2:50 PM
  • #733
Freak said:
I've only seen a couple of clips of their TCM, but it reminded me a bit of Orlando's TCM house they did about a decade ago. Is it basically the same0ish layout as Orlando's TCM house?
Click to expand...
Yes, I've heard it mentioned that it seems to be inspired by Orlando's TCM from 2016.
 
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