RE: Howl-O-Scream 2011
DoctorMoneyMD said:
^I think we've found the issue.
The Best "Scare-Zone" Busch ever did was Last-Year's Harvest Hallow.
I know I said I liked Last Laugh Industries, but I actually agree with this. I thought it was extremely well-done.
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I dont get it exactly. You agree the best thing Busch ever did in the way of a scarezone was Harvest Hallow(2010), but you go on to talk about how the taste and the market is different for each thing.
My Ultimate point is that there is a way to do everything, every kind of scary, every kind of event TASTEFULLY. I laughed at the decorations in Banbury cross. It's got *little* to do with the "target" Audience. But I mean stuff like the Crows and Rats... I see Garage Haunts more tastefully done than that. I mean the scarezone that accompanied a house like "Catacombs" looked so family friendly, I wonder how many parents let their guard down and took their kids in because the area didn't look "so bad"... And then was right down there at Guest Relations after complaining about how scary the event was...
Scarezones are not decorated areas with a sprinkling of actors. Anyone remember the Germany "Scare Zone" last year? The standing around Vampire Skater Sliders? Where were the props? Where was the lighting, where were the decorations on path and off the path? Where was the change in atmosphere? I felt like I was walking around Busch at night with a few actors out. The Scare Zones arent really scary in any kind of way and Im not impressed with them... Like I've said again, and again, and again, and again, really, It only takes a bit more than a few actors standing around in a barely themed area to scare me.
These are good examples of well-executed scarezones themed to terrify everyone entering. I understand this is not what Busch is aiming for entirely... But these scarezones if you ask me are a great example of how the lighting and theme and Props should be taken care of in a scarezone to create a creepy atmosphere. After you have a well themed scarezone, all you have left to do is fill it with actors giving performances in accordance with the theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg8GRQzFuXw&feature=fvst
Busch hasnt done anything like that for any scarezone other than harvest hallow. It'd be one thing to do a good job and a scarezone and perhaps have one or two actors on scaring duty to keep it tame. And of course the themes would be more tame than anything HHN does... But even with the minuscule budget they appear to have for HOS, they should be able to provide better quality experiences at HOS, While maintaining their "image".
