Alton Towers | Wicker Man | GCI Wood
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Efan
Mega Poster
I wasn't really commenting on whether the woodie would have been more successful than Saw, I just wanted to bash Saw
But to be fair, I think the success (or failure) of SW8 comes down to the marketing and not so much the ride. Firstly, why is this even a Secret Weapon? Is the definition of Secret Weapon basically just 'new major investment' now? I think this immediately puts them on the wrong footing with the usually loyal enthusiasts. At least with Thirteen, it had the whole 'world first' thing, which fits into the SW bracket. This is just a family wooden coaster which has the potential to be 'moderately fun'. Then there's the theme and snippets of marketing. It's clearly not suited to a ride of this size. Maybe the ride will be fun and the theme will be fantastic, highly detailed and "immersive". But it still just seems a bit mismatched? It's the equivalent of a horror film that uses all the scariest bits in the trailer to make it look more extreme and graphic.
Look at Oblivion. Perfect marketing really. Build you up, tease you and make you focus on one moment of terror. Then that terror is delivered quite literally. This Wicker stuff is actually pretty dark material, yet at the end you're going to ride a family :emoji_zipper_mouth:ing GCI. Nonsensical stuff to me.
I guess Alton want a good return on any roller coaster they spend a lot on, be it because the ride is actually good or because it's ok themed / highly marketed. They know if they use "SW" they'll pique the interest of the enthusiasts, whether it's a good ride or a bad ride. Many will still go there, despite it being disappointing in their eyes. It also gives a good way for the newspapers to publicize it before they actually release the name of the ride, which of course maximizes profits. After all, it is Merlin.
davidm
Strata Poster
Incidentally the competition they were running has given out its final clue now...
https://www.thewelcoming.co.uk/competition
tree / centre / chosen / fusing / ritual
Sandman
Giga Poster
But what baffles me and probably others is - why muddy the waters with a mature horror theme? If this coaster is an attempt to draw in the thrillseekers, then why wouldn't they build a coaster clearly designed for thrillseekers? They could have gone for something more cost effective and 'GP friendly' than this. Something that looks good to your average joe... I can't imagine teenagers/adults salivating over a 50ft (guess) woodie at Towers after The Smiler. And if they are actually aiming to please a family market then why go for this theme? Maybe I'm missing a trick here, but wouldn't Merlin gain more in the long term by going for a theme that caters to a wider family audience? I would have thought that was the safest bet, this seems riskier? Just trying to understand from a business point of view, I guess.
Efan
Mega Poster
To be completely honest with you, I have no idea. Maybe they just wanted something to go with the cheapest IP they could get. I mean, what child these days has watched "The Wickerman"? Maybe they thought that since Thirteen was a relatively family coaster with a horror theme yet had moderate success that this was a good idea? That's my best guess and I have absolutely no clue why they probably will go with The Wickerman, especially since the horror theming in Alton is abundant. It really is strange to me that this is not marketed as a family coaster and especially since it is in Mutiny Bay and close to Kantaga Canyon it would be fitting for it to be family themed? A simple pirate theme would be much more beneficial in my opinion, but who knows? Maybe Merlin have a trick up their sleeve here. It is certainly very confusing to me but who knows how this will turn out.
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
That or Zack Snyder. Did some amazing things in the past, but keeps making things darker, grittier, and simpler despite being consistently called out for it, and
Robbie
Hyper Poster
There shouldn't be many children who have seen The Wicker Man! Apart from it being old, this is the BBFC description of the 1973 version (contains spoilers):
THE WICKER MAN is a British horror film which tells the story of a policeman who is sent to investigate the disappearance of a young girl on a remote island where the locals practice a form of religion related to fertility.
Threat - Moderate horror includes undetailed sight of a man being burned alive.
Sex - Sex consists of a dimly-lit sequence, which reveals from a distance couples engaged in sexual activity. The lighting and distance conceal any details, the scene being presented in the context of a fertility ritual.
Nudity - Nudity includes sight of a bare-breasted woman dancing provocatively alone in her room. There is no full frontal nudity at this point.
The film also contains some very mild bad language ('hell', 'damn'), non-sexualised nudity and mild sex references. Certificate 15
Threat - Moderate horror includes undetailed sight of a man being burned alive.
Sex - Sex consists of a dimly-lit sequence, which reveals from a distance couples engaged in sexual activity. The lighting and distance conceal any details, the scene being presented in the context of a fertility ritual.
Nudity - Nudity includes sight of a bare-breasted woman dancing provocatively alone in her room. There is no full frontal nudity at this point.
The film also contains some very mild bad language ('hell', 'damn'), non-sexualised nudity and mild sex references. Certificate 15
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
I heard a rumour that it wasn't based on the film but rather on the original wickerman folklore.
Robbie
Hyper Poster
It's obvious Alton Towers haven't bought a licence to adapt the film, but the movie is based on the same folklore. Whatever way you look at it the new family coaster is based around the theme of human sacrifice and sexual awakening/fertility. Which, y'know, is a bit darker than Octonauts.
But this isn't what the theme is about at all. The theme is based on a secretive group within a forest that detest the advance of technology and are rebuilding a monument to their long lost saviour. There are no links at all between the wicker man movie (which nobody under 30 seems to have heard of) and this new ride. People seem to be over darkening the theme, because if we look at what has been released so far by the park, it isn't too dark or scary at all, more like mysterious.
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
Depends who I hear if from. Everything's a rumour if you don't want to get people in trouble ;p^ A rumour? Isn't that literally the only thing anyone with a bit of common sense has been saying?!
Matt N
CF Legend
Where did you hear that? As far as I know, nobody other than senior staff at Alton and GCI have physically seen it testing. People have heard it testing, I know, but I don't think anyone's actually seen it. This could have a really good pace to it for all we know.
DelPiero
Strata Poster
I've been told by someone who has seen it test, they weren't impressed. First testing runs are always slow, we know that, I'm hoping I get a message at some point that it's not as sluggish.
As much as I've rained on this from the beginning, I obviously want this to be a good ride and a success.
Matt N
CF Legend
My layout recreation in Planet Coaster must have been way off then, because my recreation did not go under 30-35mph for the whole layout.
elephant58
Hyper Poster
Yeah 30mph isn't exactly fast...