Howl-O-Scream: 20 Years of Fear Tampa Terror
Busch Gardens returned with their long running Halloween event for 2019. A year of mixed results, it still is an enjoyable event to visit.
Houses:
Motel Hell: Infestation- In past visits this house has been a highly entertaining trip through a motel that has been taken over by a serial killer named The Sandman. This year the decision was made to switch things up and make the motel a place infested with bugs and now you were dealing with the victims of the motel as well as exterminators. These changes just didn’t work. The focus on the exterminator angle really did nothing for the house. The house is still designed well, with a 50’s aesthetic that has decayed ever since that era. Unfortunately, the scares were less impactful than in years past, and the new theme didn’t work well.
3 / 5
Simon’s Slaughterhouse- A review of last year’s event didn’t go up on here last year, so let me give a quick review of this house from then. Horrible, atrocious, stupid, just plain bad. This year is better then last year, just for dropping the horrible Simon say’s aspect of the house. This is still not a good house, but it has made some strides. The slaughterhouse theme is decent, coming off as very generic, but the extreme amount of gore helps to make it feel threatening. The actors range from good to okay, with the victims coming off better than those doing the slaughtering. This is one to do if the line isn’t that bad and you’ve done a majority of the event already.
2.5 / 5
The Residence- The new house for 2019. Hopefully gone by 2020. This just feels like a far inferior version of Unearthed, which needed to be closed due to Iron Gwazi construction. The story is one of a cult that is set up inside a house. The set design feels like just a huge recycling of old props, with no imagination set in making anything feel fresh. Scares were virtually nonexistent, with actors seemingly unsure about what their roles were even supposed to be. Everything about this house feels tired and old, a major problem for a new house. Just bad.
1 / 5
Death Water Bayou: Wrath of the Queen- Queen is right. This is still the highlight of the entire event. A trip through the bayou and graveyards before ending up in the back alleys of the Big Easy. The set design is still incredible, with elaborate theming throughout. Prop use is excellent, and the actors are always on point. This one is the house that should be the blueprint for the rest of the event.
5 / 5
Insomnia: Patients’ Revenge- Another great standout of a house. This house has a feeling of being stuck in a fever dream. The walls shift back and forth. Windows show a hellscape of destruction outside. Rooms seem to breathe in and out. It all combines to create a feeling of delirium and tension that is intense. Combine this with actors that seem to be reveling in insanity and you have the recipe for another great house for the event.
5 / 5
Scarezones:
Instead of separating the scarezones, they will all be grouped together here. It seems fitting because even though there are separations in the zones, the park seems to meld them together to make one giant zone with different themes. Even pathways that aren’t in zones will have actors hiding in bushes or behind trashcans to get scares. The actors in general are fantastic, being vocal and active, running around everywhere in a mad attempt to cause fright. The only zone that seems to falter is a Dia De Muertos themed zone. The costumes are well designed, and the zone’s theming is on point, but the direction for the actors seems to be to just dance around and not even go for scares. While it is cool to highlight an interesting holiday, it still is labeled a scarezone, which it doesn’t feel like at all. Other than that the zones are mostly entertaining, and do a good job of keeping some tension in the air for the event.
4 / 5
Overall:
Howl-O-Scream is an event that feels perfect for a theme park, as it has as many peaks and valleys as a coaster. While there are a couple great houses, and the scarezones are an entertaining part of the experience, most of the houses are just not worth the wait. The Residence is particular is just bad, and hopefully not a sign to come for houses in future years. Here’s to hoping the budget for houses is increased and the creative team can go nuts, because some aspects of the event show that an incredible experience is possible. For now, this is still a solid enough event, made even better by the fact that tickets were cheap, especially with the deals from the summer that made tickets below $30. A good event to add to a trip if you have the time.
3 / 5
