“Let’s all go to the lobby!” We’re back in Carey, Ohio (as if Ohio wasn’t scary enough) for a visit to the drive-in to see eight new horror B-movies. No, not that Bee Movie, we’re talking campy, gory concepts that serve as testing grounds for new Halloween Horror Nights concepts in Slaughter Sinema 2.
House
It’s time for another horror movie marathon at the Carey Drive-in! Scream through scenes from creature features, grindhouse gore and more.
Backstory
While a sequel to 2018’s Slaughter Sinema, the houses are only related in that they both take place at the Carey Drive-In, and they both feature a mash-up of morbid movies. You don’t need to know anything about the first house to understand this one. Trailers for each of the fake B movies are projected on the drive-in screen outside the house (once it’s dark out).
The screen also advertises snack stand treats provided by Major Sweets Candy Factory.
Review of Slaughter Sinema 2
This is a weird house to review, since it’s like eight mini-houses in one. We’ll go through each section and then the house as a whole.
1: Mardi-Gras Murders
Two lovers, recently engaged, meet a grizzly fate during a visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. There’s fake vomit in this room, if that bothers you. We were too busy dancing to “My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now” to care.
2: Heavy Metal Hell
Inspired by the 80s hysteria, this “movie” asks the question, “What if metal music really was Satanic?” One teen finds out in a gruesome manner. (P.S., bring your 3-D glasses). You get to walk through a corpse, which is cool.
3: Killer Kringles
“Christmas, but make it creepy” may be overdone, but old-school HHN fans will appreciate the throwbacks to H.R. Bloodengutz. This one also deserves a warning for the implied deaths of children. The bag of naughty kids moves. The elves are creepy. Santa came at us with an axe and said, “Ho-ho-hold still.” It’s exactly what you expect but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
4: Night of the Undead Clowns
This is the only actually creepy part of Slaughter Sinema 2, set in a dark, underground space. Are you afraid of zombies? How about clowns? Okay, but what about zombie clowns? These are officially the best versions of zombies HHN has done in a while. Sorry infected and walkers — you’re boring. Zombie clowns are awesome. We love the tie-in to last year’s Bugs: Eaten Alive.
5: Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters
We had a chance to tour Slaughter Sinema 2 before the event began, but tonight, we couldn’t remember a thing about this from the tour. And frankly, there’s not much going on here. It’s supposed to be about a pair of hunters named Hatchet and Chains who hunt demons, but one of them is actually a demon. There are a few chained-up demons in the space but they aren’t effective. We saw one hunter — we don’t know if they were Hatchet or Chains.
6: Blood and Chum
This is a winner just because of the enormous shark puppet. “Blood” glows in its teeth. Plus, the set design does lend itself to underwater vibes. But seriously. Enormous. Shark. Puppet. (Give us a “Jaws” house, please!)
Unfortunately, in our second go through the house, the shark puppet wasn’t being operated, which made the scene much less interesting.
7: Mummy Strippers Unwrapped
We love when HHN leans into classic campy horror, and this is just that. There’s also a cameo from The Mannequin Formerly Known as Tim Foyle (as seen in Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth from HHN 30). His eyes glow when his soul is stolen, which is a nice effect.
8: Zyborgs
This is sci-fi horror and utilizes elevation to put us in the trenches of a cyberpunk war. For a Sprung Tent location, they do well with the allotted space. It’s a good and interesting scene.
Overall
This is bound to be a hit with HHN hardcore fans and may be entertaining, at least, for newcomers or casual fans. The whole house is visually interesting with pretty costumes. It’s fun and fast-paced. The queue video is a love letter to the fans. But it’s not scary.
The best “movies” are Night of the Undead Clowns, Zyborgs, and Blood and Chum. Eight movies were too many, though. Most of them only get one tiny room. Even with low crowds, you still move too fast to connect with any characters or premises. The concepts are all there but the pacing kills it.
Rating out of 7: 4
Location of Slaughter Sinema 2
The entrance to Slaughter Sinema 2 is located in World Expo near Coca-Cola Refresh. Find it at I on the map below.
More Slaughter Sinema at Halloween Horror Nights 33
Stop by the lobby for a snack! A Carey Drive-In themed food booth is located outside the Animal Actors Amphitheater, serving Walking Tacos, Sinema Popcorn, Rocks From Hell, and more.
There’s no Slaughter Sinema-specific merchandise, but the logo is featured on the house lineup collection, which you can see in our full list with prices.
Halloween Horror Nights 33 at Universal Orlando Resort runs on select nights from August 30 – November 3. Stay tuned for our full guide to this year’s event.
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