How do you feel about seeing actor playing movie Characters in haunts

[slaughter]

Hello guys, just wondering how you  feel about seeing movie characters in haunts? For the longest time I was against it , now that 's part of our gimmick. Funny how things happen! My orignal opinion was the costumes NEVER looked right. However as time has passed I personaly have honed my costume building skills, & now most of our movie costumes are pretty accerate. We even won " Best Jason V" from a haunted house reviewer last year. Tell me what you think & check out our haunt pics at http://www.theslaughterhousehorror.com Thanks!

[Slappy]

If they're used correctly, I like it.  But if they're just randomly thrown at you in odd settings, and they're not the right proportions (i.e. a 3-foot tall Jason Vorhees), then I'm all for it.

[slaughter]

I see it the same way, our actors that play the  characters play the same "movie character" every year, that way when the get the movement down they don't have to change the next year. Like Mike Myers moves, & acts completely different than the Jeeper Creeper. I try to get the actors to watch the movies so they understand what I want them to do. The olny problem is not everyone is 6'8 & 310 lbs. However,I try to keep the biggest guys  in the light & real close to the customers  so they can see their  size detail.. just maybe the customer will froget Tlyer Mane is 7 foot.
Anyone else have input?

[ReLlIK ThE KiLlEr CloWn]

I have to agree with them. In order to be in a haut then they need to be right

[Slappy]

Yeah...Tyler Mane sucks, lol!  Sorry, I'm more of fan of the original Halloween series.  But I understand what you're saying Slaughter.  Having someone comfortable in a role that they "fill" so well would definitely help.  And having them watch their respective movie(s) would certainly help their character study.  I enjoy an imaginative, original character, too, but the classics are always fun.

[slaughter]

Yeah.. don't get me wrong , my haunt is not just  about just  movie characters, we have other scenes with original characters too. I just kept having customers  saying  things like " your Mike Myers was awesome, but I didn't see Jason, I like Jason better". So...I got the idea to try to keep most of the peoples favorite characters around in a few scenes for their "fans" .  I think lesser known characters, like the miner in my bloody valentine & the cry wolf killer, are easier to duplicate because their costumes are not as well  known...
Don't even get me started  on all the various changes in costumes from movie to movie. The Jason costumes change drastically from movie to movie. I mean every movie is costume is different. I kinda took liberties with ours because certain parts of the costume just looked plain stupid in real life, like I love the look of the mask in in F.vs J. but the buckles on the side straps of the mask... I got them & they look really stupid on the mask  in real life, so I didn't use them.
I don't know... maybe I'm just over thinkng it all.
 I just don't want some "Wal- Mart type" movie character coustumes  in my haunt & hopefuly my customers don't either.

[ReLlIK ThE KiLlEr CloWn]

I just think that if your going to use a pull over mask like that.. make sure it looks correct and plus just don't show where the mask ends at...I can bare with walmart looking costume, cause you can fix it up to be better but when you show where your mask ends and stuff is what bothers me..

[Prof. Hacker]

.....
 I just don't want some "Wal- Mart type" movie character costumes  in my haunt & hopefully my customers don't either.

At Hacker House, we dont use movie characters because...
#1 - They're predictable.  A movie character can only look or act one way to remain authentic, outside of that,  its a 'guy in a mask'. 
#2 - They lack credibility.  For example, if you saw the the "perfect" Jason coming at you, he only has two choices. "Be" Jason and kill you (not good for repeat business), or not kill you and be 'just a guy in a mask'.
#3 - They're "easy".  Basically anyone can toss on a mask and be the character as best as they can (#2). 
#4 - There is only one story to be told (#1).  Its difficult, if not impossible, to have a movie character "be" anything other than what it is.  (I wonder how Jason would work in a group therapy session, or Leatherface in an apron serving dinner...)

Now, with that said, Spookywoods - years ago, had the perfect Myers character, set, scene, and action.  This scene could have been filmed and put in a movie. It was awesome!  (bring it back!) 
I haven't seen it, but I heard the Leatherface scene at Woods of Terror was great this past year.
(note - Both haunts re-created/adapted an entire scene from a movie in order to make it work.)

At Hacker House, we like complete unpredictability with our characters.  There's no telling if the character you're interacting with is really part of the show, or some vagrant that just came up out of the woods to see what the noise was all about - and he's hungry.

Please note, this is what works for us at HH, and its just my opinion, your mileage may vary!
;-)

-Prof.

[slaughter]

Well spoken Prof., in my opinion this is what makes this  forum so great, one can get different opinions & view points from other people in same field. I totally respect & understand you view on this topic, & kinda agree with some of it. Not so much with the whole "  guy in a mask point". That bascally discribes any person without makeup or latex appliances. I personally in years past have "played" several  roles, some with mask & some without & I don't remember any one being much easier than the other. I mean some characters don't talk, so I guess that was easier...but if you are standing in front of the line in someone's face  for 5 minutes without speeking before they  walk in the haunt, that gets some customers  out of the comfort their zone also. Sometime how the character is played is just as important as what they look like or what they are saying.
I guess being such a horror fan I look at it from a little different point of view.
The point of view where the customer understands he's not going to really be killed while going through a haunt by a  zombie, vampire,butcher, jason, or anything else... but when he leaves the haunt he is like" I can't belive we walked through the leatherface house & IT LOOKED GREAT & I even saw the old guy in the wheelchair'.  That is what I actually  said that after going through W.O.T. this past year.
Don't get me wrong, there are a hundred other different things I saw & loved at other haunts that wasn't movie realated in the past, & I don't think I would like a haunt that was completely one character or very much. No matter if it was movie based on not. I think it would get old fast.
I just think there is a place for some of  it... in my haunt anyway.

Like you said this is my opinion, & that plus a $ 1.00 will buy a small Pepsi!
So with all that said...KEEP IT BLOODY & GORY BROTHER!
Slaughter

[Dr. Johnas Hacker]

Prof Hackers quote:                                      At Hacker House, we like complete unpredictability with our characters.  There's no telling if the character you're interacting with is really part of the show, or some vagrant that just came up out of the woods to see what the noise was all about - and he's hungry.



This is why customers thrive to come back every year. When I roam with the victims before their fate, they always compliment on how awsome the makeup is. That makes me feel great because I do my own and the majority of the monsters do their own as well.  If you show talent with individual character, the reactions from my stand of view is more shocking. Poeple do ask if Freddy or Jason are in the house. I tell the customers that they are nothing but fairy tales. Most of the time they agree with a timid voice.......

[Badger]

The copyright issues with using a trademarked character in a for-profit haunt without permission can get to be a very sticky issue and I have heard that some movie studios will be cracking down on them.

I was at a haunt in Dayton Ohio and while it was very well done with props and animatronics, I was not impressed with some of the actors.  I was going through a VERY detailed torture chamber and I was impressed until I turned the corner and there in front of me stood a 5'7" Freddy Krueger who didn't do anything but wave his hand around.  It totally killed the rest of the haunt for me...

[Slappy]

Hey, that's only 3 inches shorter than Robert Englund...   

[slaughter]

I turned the corner and there in front of me stood a 5'7" Freddy Krueger who didn't do anything but wave his hand around.  It totally killed the rest of the haunt for me...

Thats a FULL 2 inches taller than Jaclie Earle Haley thats playing the new Freddy!

[Badger]

Oops, meant to day 5'3".  He or she was a short little thing...