Halloween Horror Nights 18

House 5: Reflections of Fear

TC: Whose house? Mary’s House! “Reflections” is HHN’s flagship house and the home of that pasty chick who’s been making kids cry on every billboard in Orlando. This place is chock full of mirrors, but don’t stop to check your teeth. Bloody Mary is waiting behind every one, and she’s not too subtle about her tactics. If anything, it’s sensory overload in Mary’s crib, with the sound of breaking glass and women screaming like pre-teens at an Enrique Iglesias concert. Sadly, the shtick gets a little old by about halfway through. I think I was more worried about broken glass on the floor than anything else. Oh, wait, those were sound effects? Never mind.

PH: I really dug this house, mostly because the progression of the story was easy to follow (unlike other houses, where it’s like “And then the psycho gulps the potion, and evil belches from his stomach, and then the world turned blue – didn’t you catch that?”). This one also uses spurting blood and close quarters to good effect, including billowing fabric walls that squeeze you tight and poop you from one scary room to another with little time to look around and spy the crazies before they threaten to get all stabby on you.