ThrillRide! Special Features

La Llorona: La Cazadora de los Niños (The Child Hunter)

This is the one maze that carries over from last year, which is a great thing because Doug and I loved the original. The spectacular news is that they added to it, made it better, scarier, more intense.

The decrepit mission gates at the entrance are unchanged and are still hauntingly beautiful. I'd have been very disappointed if they'd been altered or replaced.

inside, much will be familiar to those who got to HHN last year, despite little differences here and there. The statues, the, uh, "horses," all the good stuff is back. And the signature scene, that of the children floating face-down in the water, is just as dreadful as I'd remembered it. Shannon, a mom to three young boys, made note of that room in particular.

But as this maze ramps up to its big finale, that's where they plussed the experience considerably; where it ended last year is just the beginning of the end this year. I won't say more but know that this maze is well worth a long wait, even if you went through it in '11. Fantastic.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Saw is the Law

If forced to pick a favorite maze, I'd have to say that this one would be my selection. Walking Dead and La Llorona were both exceptional, and exceptionally terrifying, but this maze put me smack-dab into the middle of one of the best horror movies ever made.

When Universal offered a TCM maze back in 2008, it was based on the remake, which I'll admit, was not a bad film at all. And that maze was insane. But not as good as this one.

You'll have to forgive me a quick digression: I first saw Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a midnight screening in college and it was a seminal experience in my life. This is how tense we all were, in anticipation of what was to come: one of my friends got up and left during the opening credits. He just couldn't handle it. And I can remember several moments when I thought I might have to leave the theater as well. Like when Leatherface is carrying the kicking and screaming young lady into the freezer room and the camera pans until we see that meathook come into view (and we know she's going on that meathook).

But the worst moment of all was when that guy goes into the bad house alone (LIKE AN IDIOT), and walks down that hallway, and there's that metal door at the far end, and it slides open, and there's Leatherface, and he smashes a hammer down on this poor dude's skull and drags him behind the metal door, and that door SLAMS SHUT... and the camera lingers... well, I will probably never be that scared in a movie theater again.

So when we walked into this maze, and we were in that house, it was kind of heavenly, in a most hellish way.

Roaring chainsaws, more appalling smells, Leatherface coming at you with his leather face mask, made up real nice and pretty, SUPER-FREAKING MEGA-SCARY.

God bless everyone for going back to the original and bringing it to life, so vividly.

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We all made it through the night, Brent included, with no obvious psychic scarring (not yet, anyway). And all agreed that John Murdy, his entire creative team, and the many hardworking folks who toil in the mazes and throughout the scare zones night after night have once again delivered one of the best fear-fests in the world.

I wish I was back there right now.