Best and Worst Houses of Halloween Horror Nights 2018
Our annual Halloween Horror Nights rankings have arrived! Throughout the event, we ranked the houses on a 200-point scale on categories including nightly points, set design, and scares. Take a look to see how your favorite houses ranked at Halloween Horror Nights 2018 at Universal Orlando Resort.
10th Place: Halloween 4 (41 Points)
At the bottom of our list stands Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. We liked some of the scares and sets in this house but, overall, the house lacked substance compared to other houses at the event. Furthermore, some cast members did an excellent job, but others lacked energy in their scares. Overall, we still liked this house even though it does come in last for us.
9th Place: The Horrors of Blumhouse (56 Points)
The Horrors of Blumhouse featured Happy Death Day and The First Purge for Halloween Horror Nights 2018. We enjoyed the Happy Death Day part of the house as the creative team perfectly encaptured the Groundhog Day Effect of the movie. However, the Purge part of the house fell short for us and lacked creativity.
8th Place: Trick ‘r Treat (89 Points)
Trick ‘r Treat contained beautiful and elaborate sets including two story house facades and full-sized school busses within the house. Plus, this house accurately captured the spirit of the movie and was a real treat to go through each weekend. Although, due to the large sets, the house was shorter and lacked as many scares.
7th Place: Dead Exposure Patient Zero (95 Points)
Dead Exposure Patient Zero proved to be one of the scariest and darkest houses at the event this year. The house featured constant strobe lights, solid jump scares, and one very angry monkey. Despite the house taking 7th place, we enjoyed this house throughout the run and will call it an “honorable mention” outside the top five.
6th Place: Seeds of Extinction (98 Points)
Seeds of Extinction served as another one of the scarier houses this year. However, we found this house to be very hit or miss throughout the season. On some nights, the house exceeded expectations, but on other nights, it failed to impress. With that being said, we enjoyed the theming of the house and fun Easter eggs spread throughout.
5th Place: Slaughter Sinema (99 Points)
Slaughter Sinema barely edges out Seeds of Extinction to land a spot in the top five. This house and the 80’s B-movie monsters provided a strong mix of fun and scares each night. Plus, those ravenous swamp yetis spared no victims!
4th Place: Scary Tales (136 Points)
Scary Tales Deadly Ever After began low in our rankings at the beginning of the season but then quickly grew on us. As the cast began to learn their unique characters, they ran with them and were filled with energy each night. Plus, the great set design, original costumes, and stunts within the house led it to finish in the number four spot.
3rd Place: Carnival Graveyard (139 Points)
Carnival Graveyard Rust in Pieces prevails as our favorite “original” house of Halloween Horror Nights 2018. In fact, we experienced some of our favorite scares of the season in this house. Additionally, we loved the mountains of carnie junk and the oddball inhabitants that made this house so unique and fun to go through. (And remember, never always hit the red buttons!)
2nd Place: Stranger Things (148 Points)
Stranger Things takes the runner-up spot in this year’s rankings excelling in authenticity and overall quality. The house featured highly detailed sets from iconic scenes and plenty of Easter eggs to exceed expectations of even the biggest fans. In addition, Demogorgons provided excellent jump scares around every corner to keep guests on their toes. However, we do wish the cast retention was better as the house had some missing scares towards the end of the season.
1st Place: Poltergeist (170 Points)
Poltergeist delivered on every aspect and, rightfully, takes the number one spot for us at Halloween Horror Nights 2018. We loved this house every time we went through with the oversized props, unique set design, and perfectly timed scares. Congratulations to the cast and crew of the house for winning with an impressive 170 points!
That does it for our Halloween Horror Nights 2018 house rankings! Which houses did you like the most? How do your rankings compare? Let us know down in the comments below!
You can also view our Halloween Horror Nights 2017 rankings by clicking HERE.
