Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nights

[silenthillXD]

Here are my PTR'S for the Halloween season. I'll be going to

Twisted Attractions Scream Nights - 16/10/14 & 18/10/14
Alton Towers Scare Fest - 21/10/14
Thorpe Park Fright Nights - 25/10/14

(I also wanted to go to Scare Kingdom, Dr Frights, Scream Fest Burton and Tulleys, but it's difficult to get to them by public transport )


So the Halloween season has started, and this year I have branched out and tried an independent scare attraction, the infamous Twisted Attractions event over in Birmingham! I have heard so many fantastic things about their mazes I thought it was about time I headed over to Birmingham to check out their two mazes for Halloween, The House of Insomnia and Ward 78. I'll try and keep the reviews as spoiler free as possible, as both of these mazes are incredibly impressive, and spoiling them would be a massive disservice to how fantastic they both are!

The House of Insomnia



The first maze I went on was The House of Insomnia, which is themed around the house of the Demurrer Twins, who are hillbilly serial killers. The first thing I noticed about this maze was how fantastically themed the maze was! You really did feel immersed in the maze, which helped bring a chilling atmosphere to the entire experience.

Another thing I loved was the layout of the entire thing. The path lead you from behind the walls of the house, through the many rooms of the house and out through the garage. The path twisted and turned at every opportunity and genuinely leaves you disorientated.

Now a good maze wouldn’t be anything without it’s actors, and boy did the House of Insomnia have some fantastic actors! They were all really enthusiastic, and got really creative with their scares! The main thing that I loved though, was how each actor had clearly thought out their character and given the role everything they could. You never felt like you were seeing the same person twice.

I loved the ending for this maze. Anyone who’s visited the Asylum at Thorpe will recognise the ending. Personally, I thought that here it was executed better due to a well placed claustrophobic walkway before the scare, that really forced you to walk head first into the scare.

The final thing I will mention about this maze is how well the actors improvised on repeat visits! I went through three times in total, two of those being all by myself. All I will say is I certainly felt them amplifying the scares, and my final run-through was incredibly intense and the final scene is something I will never forget.

Ward 78



The second maze was Ward 78, a maze designed to be taken alone, or in pairs. The maze was themed around a Victorian asylum and was by far the most intense and scary attraction I have ever been on. The entire maze was incredibly dark, and atmospheric.

I personally can’t even begin to explain how much I loved this maze. Without wanting to spoil any of the unique scares, which made the attraction so intense, reviewing this attraction is quite difficult. All I will say is, the actors are incredibly enthusiastic, lively, hands on and just in general very, very creative. Some of the things that happened to me in this maze are just terrifying! And each of the three times I went through some new twist was waiting for me inside. Ward 78 is an attraction I will certainly never forget, and may very well remain my number one favourite maze for some time! If you do visit, I would definitely recommend you do this attraction alone, as I have never experienced anything like it!

After Ward 78



After my final run-through of Ward 78 and The House of Insomnia, the crew came over to me and invited me for a behind the scenes tour of the mazes! It was amazing to see all the intricate details of the mazes, and the behind the scenes areas with the lights on. There has obviously been a lot of thought and care put into these mazes as they are both very well designed and both work incredibly well!

Once the behind the scenes tour had finished I was even invited back on the 18th to act in Ward 78! The experience was fantastic, and working in a scare maze is so enjoyable, though surprisingly challenging! The guys did a really good job helping me get the scares, and I think my makeup is pretty amazing!





Overall

Overall, I thought both mazes were incredibly strong attractions, with brilliant acting and theming! The mazes were far superior to anything at Thorpe or Alton, and gave a really unique experience. I would definitely recommend them to anyone, they are both well worth a visit!

*I am off to Alton on Tuesday, so expect a review on Wednesday*

 

[Lofty]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Matthew and James do a really good job with their attractions. I was going to go yesterday but had to come back for a production meeting. Glad to see you had a good time.

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Matthew and James do a really good job with their attractions. I was going to go yesterday but had to come back for a production meeting. Glad to see you had a good time.

Yeah I was really, really impressed! Both mazes were just fantastic, and you could really tell how much hard work was put into the designing and acting in the mazes. I can honestly say both mazes were miles better than anything I have done before! Also they're such a lovely team, it's great to see how well they're doing! I see you've got a Phsychomanteum signature Lofty, do you work for ScareKingdom then? I would literally love to try out Manormortis, but I live way too far away to get there :/

Expect my Scarefest review up tomorrow, I went today! I must admit Scarefest is very underwhelming this year, but Scary Tales is actually pretty cool. Not necessarily scary, but really good fun! I have videos of 2/3 of my run-throughs i'll edit together and post up with the review!

 

[Lofty]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

I'm the Director of Design for AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment and have designed Scare Kingdom since it's origin in 2008 and all the others shows we've produced in the meantime. We've just had Jordan and Conor (CF) come and see us, which was lovely.

Looking forward to your reviews of the other places

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

^ Thanks! Yeah Scare Kingdom looks fantastic! Hopefully next year I should be able to make it up for your Halloween event! Don't know if i'd be brave enough to manage Psychomanteum though :lol:

I am splitting the Alton trip report into two parts, the first being based on the rides, and the second on the scare mazes and scare zones.

Alton Towers Scarefest - 21/10/14



On the 21st I took my annual trip to Alton Towers for their fantastic seasonal Scarefest. Now last year my two favourite mazes were from the Towers, those being, The Sanctuary and Terror of the Towers. Seeing as this year I have already visited the fantastic Twisted Attractions Scream Nights, I was worried Scarefest would end up disappointing in comparison. Unfortunately this was the case, but I did still enjoy myself.



On my way to my first ride, The Smiler, I passed the entrance to the all new Scary Tales Scarezone, which looked rather impressive from the outside.



Once I arrived at The Smiler I quickly realised the ride was down, which to be honest, I shouldn't have been surprised by. Anyway instead of hanging around I headed over to Rita, only to find that down too. Thankfully Thirteen was open and had no queue, so I walked straight onto the back row.



The ride itself was rather enjoyable. On the back row the ride is surprisingly forceful, the outside drop gives a sharp pop of ejector and the following hills give some light floater. Sure it’s nothing overly impressive, but I certainly enjoy it. Unfortunately the ride ended up breaking down when we were on the outside transfer track. We had to be evacuated one by one, but thankfully we got a fast track out of it.

Seeing as Rita was still down I headed back to The Smiler, which opened up after a 20 minute wait and a couple of hail storms. The ride has gone back up in my expectations, I do love the inverted drops, and the following inversions are enjoyable and give some decent hang time. The two airtime hills are clearly the highlights of the ride and are relatively impressive. Unfortunately, the ride is still as rough as ever, and it would appear all the trains have developed a nasty rattle. I still love the ride, but by no means will it remain in my top ten for much longer. One thing that did make the ride highly enjoyable was that I rode next to a pirate. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures, but he was amazing! I was worried his hat would fall off on the ride though.



I headed over to catch the Skyride over to Forbidden valley, but on the way decided to pop into Hex. I must say it seemed far darker than usual, and was very enjoyable. I think this is the first time I have ever seen the smoke in the ride room. The ride itself was enjoyable as ever, and we even got to ride with Patch, one of the mascots from Scarefest. I thought this was a lovely little touch, and all the kids riding seemed to enjoy it.



Unfortunately the Skyride was down too, so I had to take the long trek from the Dark Forest to the Forbidden Valley in the rain. Seeing as I was passing Gloomy Wood, I went for a quick ride on Duel. I have a soft spot for duel, and I prefer it to Tomb Blaster. It’s no way near a perfect dark ride, but considering we aren’t blessed with great dark rides in the UK, it’s pretty enjoyable.



My first ride in the Forbidden Valley was Sub Terra. I have a love hate relationship with this ride. The actors seem to have toned down their performances and barely interact with the audience anymore, which is a shame. But the ride is still rather atmospheric and enjoyable… even if there isn’t much of a ride to speak of.

Now there’s no surprise what I rode next, Nemesis. Now anyone who’s read any of my previous trip reports will know that I feel Nemesis is highly overrated. I feel the ride experience can vary greatly from visit to visit, and at it’s worst can be rather dull. Thankfully today was an amazing day for the ride. The coaster was storming through all of the elements and had it’s signature force back. It was very snappy and really proved what a great coaster the ride can be! Unfortunately the loop still lacks force for some odd reason, but otherwise it was running great. (And there were no queues all day)


Obviously up next was Air. Now I am not a massive fan of the ride, but I do always enjoy my rides on it. The layout is pretty enjoyable, and provides some great “swoopy” moments. I love how relaxing it is to ride, but ultimately I think I’d prefer it if the ride had been more thrilling. It’s not an awful ride, as so many make it out to be, but the ride isn’t amongst the better rides at Alton.





The final ride I always make an effort to ride in the Forbidden Valley is Ripsaw. Recently the ride has been operating on a really awful setting. Thankfully today it was running on a better setting, which did more than hold us in position whilst spinning us around. Today there were a couple of decent flips, but it did meander around for a while doing nothing. I have seen it on better settings, but I have also seen it on worse. It’s a shame to see it running below it’s capabilities, especially when it has no queue.



Seeing as Nemesis still had no queue, and was running so well, I headed back for some re-rides. My second run was on the back right, and was even better than the back left. It really did prove the ride can be worthy of the praise it gets.



Air also had a short queue, so I decided to re-ride it too.





After one last ride on Nemesis I headed back over to the other side of the park to prepare for the mazes opening. On the way I caught a ride on Sonic, which was enjoyable, and surprisingly aggressive, with some good floater. It’s not a great spinner, that would have to be Dragons Fury, but it is still highly enjoyable. I dare say I prefer it to Air and Thirteen.




Seeing as Rita had finally decided to open, I headed back to the Dark Forest. I do enjoy the ride, it has some fantastic ejector on it’s hills but wow… the ride was the roughest I have ever seen it! I was bashed around so much it really effected my enjoyment of the ride.



Up next was my second ride on Thirteen, using the fastpass I attained earlier from it breaking. This time I again rode on the back row, and it was still fun, and it even managed to complete the course this time!

I headed over to X-Sector for some ride whoring before I went on the mazes. First up was one ride on the Smiler.





Then it was finally time for my top steel coaster, Oblivion. The ride was as always, fantastic. I love how it masterfully builds up the tension, before finally releasing you and pelting you down that perfect drop!

 

[cjbrandy]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

It looks like you had a pretty good day with the coasters and its great that Nemesis was being forceful again (it wan't very intense for me last summer). The Smiler may not be the best or smoothest coaster, but I like its existence because it keeps people away from Oblivion :--D . Did you notice the awful smell coming from The Smiler's restraints?

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Yeah it was great to see Nemesis back on form, just a shame the loop still sucks. I remember that being one of the most intense parts of the ride a couple of years back! But yeah The Smiler seems to be going downhill fast, there was one run through I had, where the second half was so rough/rattly I just didn't enjoy it. Oh and dear god do those restraints smell bad, it's like cheese and vomit mixed together... They should really do something about it.

Alton Towers Scarefest Part 2
I rode Oblivion once more, before heading over to the towers for the two mazes. My first maze was The Sanctuary.





The maze itself was exactly the same as last year. Being inside the towers it has a really great atmosphere and they use a vast variety of scents in the maze to fully immerse you. Though looking back, the theming isn’t that great, it seems they rely too much on the building itself to create the atmosphere. I’d love to see more details in the theming if they do bring it back.



Personally I found there to be few scares this year, the actors were very passive and weren’t all that creative with their scares. I did a run through at the front and the back and both lacked scares, which is highly disappointing. My major problem was there were areas where there was light leaking through the windows, the worst instance being the bedtime scene, which relies on darkness to work. Other than that the final scene is still incredibly weak, I was sent through on my own and actually walked straight past actors without them reacting to me. I was very disappointed. It’s a cool maze, but it’s gone from one of my favourite mazes last year, to one of the weakest this year!



Terror of the Towers was by far my favourite maze last year, I had a ton of scares and I absolutely loved the maze. This year it was exactly the same, but with worse scares and less variety. The worst thing was that all the actors were the same generic vampires. None of them had any character and they all blended into one. Last year there was a great variety of characters who each brought a unique story element to their scares.



One positive thing is the scenery, it was as intricate as ever and was very atmospheric. Unfortunately the actors seemed to pick their scares very poorly. I understand it’s still early days for Scarefest, but I barely got attacked, which was shocking. There was one actor who did well, and he just so happened to have the best costume. He was a very creepy vampire and was in the corridor scene. The chapel scene was awful this year, the actor made no attempt to make us jump, they just read out a script. Going downstairs, the body bag scene as poor as all the actors were behind bars and just not engaging with us. And the final scene was a mixed bag. When I was at the back, I was shocked how the inhabitants just left me alone, and didn’t stalk me like they had in previous years. Yet at the front, they were very effective and lively! I must have had to climb around good 4 or so actors to complete the course. I love the finale, but the rest of the maze needs to change.

I re-rode both mazes and was still left disappointed. They really need to up their game next year, both mazes are very tired at the moment and need major changes or entire replacements for next year.

Seeing as the scare zones were due to open in an hour I headed back to X-Sector and re-rode The Smiler twice and Oblivion three times. Whilst in the queue for Oblivion I noticed something odd. Last time I visited the Towers in the Summer I saw they were clearing out some trees behind the breakrun of Oblivion. At the time there wasn’t much going on, but I have noticed they’ve cleared out a lot more since and left quite a big open space behind Oblivion. Now I am not naïve enough to think anything big is going there, but what do people think it’s for?





As soon as the scare zones opened I went straight over to the highly anticipated Scary Tales scare zone.



If you want to see my two run-throughs of the scare zone, watch the youtube video I have attached at the end of this report.

Overall the Scary Tales scare zone is definitely a fantastic addition to the Scarefest line-up. If you’ve read any other reviews, you’ve probably heard that it’s more like an outside maze, rather than a scare zone. I would definitely agree with that, and the batching for the scare zone is done rather well!

The scare zone was increadibly atmosphere rich, and is without doubt the best themed attraction at Scarefest. The actors in the zone were amazing and did create some very effective scares. The actors also had a nasty habit of stalking you without you realising, and much to my delight they did that to me numerous times! Overall the acting in the scare zone was fantastic!

The story in the zone was very cool too, with four fairy tales featured; Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and the 3 Little Pigs. Each of these tales were themed incredibly well and there were some fantastic little details. Another thing worth mentioning, the costumes were amazing, I particularly loved the three pigs masks, they were very cool!

If I had to make some complaints about the scare zone I would say there were some characters which were clearly missing, the witch in Hansel & Grettle and Snow White, and the Wolf in Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs. Otherwise the only improvements that could be made are making the zone longer. It’s by no means short, in fact the zone is rather long, but I loved it so much I wish there was more! There are so many more tales to expand upon, I really hope they add some more for next year.

Next up was the Zombie scare zone, which is a personal favourite of mine since they perfected it last year. Now it’s never been the most intense scare zone ever, but it’s always been a good laugh. The acting this year really was top notch, I got attacked numerous times by some very disgusting zombies. The layout of the zone was also impressive, there were numerous tents along the way, which hid some very aggressive zombies. On top of the impressive layout the theming was brilliant, with some really impressive set pieces. There was also a great amount of fog in the zone, leaving you open to attack as you couldn’t see the zombies hidden behind the scenery. Overall it was pretty similar to the last years zone, but perfected even further.

After another runthrough on Zombies and Scary Tails I headed over to Sonic for another ride. Again it’s a fun ride, but nothing mind blowing. Unfortunately it was time for my second evacuation of the day, this time on the break run for sonic, in the rain. It wasn’t fun, but at least it was quicker than Thirteen’s evacuation. (Yay for two evacs in one day! Can anybody else beat that?)



Seeing as I had loved it so much, I headed through Scary Tales again, and this time got one of the best scares of the day, I got attacked by the donuts in the Hansel and Gretel theming. I may have got tangled up for a while… Oh well it was funny! Anyway after one final ride on The Smiler and Oblivion it was time to leave.



Overall Scarefest was disappointing, both of the paid mazes were the weakest they’ve been for some time, and obviously there was a maze missing. I will say though, the scare zones were both very strong, and actually saved Scarefest from being a waste of time. Next year Alton really needs to focus on introducing a new maze to replace The Sanctuary and really needs to update Terror of the Towers. I know it’s unlikely they’ll do that at the same time, but if they do one next year and one the year after, Scarefest could definitely return to form.

*The youtube run though of the scare zones is taking forever to upload, so come back later and i'll post it up once it's done!*

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

I have finally managed to upload my video of both the scare zones! Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sHOzjKCbDU[/youtube]

 

[Lofty]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

^ Thanks! Yeah Scare Kingdom looks fantastic! Hopefully next year I should be able to make it up for your Halloween event! Don't know if i'd be brave enough to manage Psychomanteum though :lol:

Great. Let me know and I'll get you in - if you're near any other of our productions across the UK, let me know.

Shame to hear that about The Sanctuary - as an experience; it's a visual delight but I've always found it to be an extremely passive experience with little vignette's and little in the way of interactivity. Not that that's a bad thing, it certainly excels at that.

Apparently Terror of the Towers has a new scare captain overseeing the attraction and it's on top form, which is good to hear as the experience became extremely stale last year.

Scary Tales looks fab, both in the daylight and at night time. It's a move more towards the American scare zones at parks (especially HHN pre 2012), with great sets and interactivity with fluid scares throughout. Congratulations Towers.

 

[caffeine_demon]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

I did twisted attractions myself tonight - thought it was excellent, well worth the 30 mins wait for each!

I Actually preferred insomnia - did a great job of building up the scares and creepyness!

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

^^ (Lofty) Awesome! Yeah ScareKingdom is number one on my to visit list, so I should hopefully go next year. Yeah I totally agree with your opinion of The Sanctuary, it's an incredible experience, and I almost want to call it beautiful at points, but there are just no real scares anymore. The actors go for the disturbing route rather than the aggressive route. Yeah I think I just had a bad run-through on the Terror of the Towers, it's a fantastic maze, but dear god, it needs to go! Oh yeah Scary Tales is fantastic, I loved it so much! It's very atmospheric and produces some great scares. I really hope they expand on it next year as I want more of it! (Not that it's short at all)
^ (caffeine_demon) Yeah I was blown away by twisted attractions, both mazes were incredibly strong and gave some great scares! I would honestly say they're far superior to anything at Thorpe or Alton! (And certainly worth the wait too!) Yeah it was close for me with which I preferred, Insomnia was just so atmospheric and immersive, and scary too! But I think the individual treatment I got on Ward 78 just rose it above as it was incredibly intense for me! (On one run-through I was put in a wheelchair and blindfolded)

Anyway I am off to Thorpe tomorrow so expect another ptr soonish! I have changed my plans though, I kinda can't be bothered with the queues, so I am going for half the day (leaving after the mazes are done) then heading off to Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest, for the evening! Which should be ace as I have never been before!

 

[caffeine_demon]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Cool - I'm doing tulleys farm too! Looking forward to it!

 

[Lofty]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

^^ (Lofty)Yeah I totally agree with your opinion of The Sanctuary, it's an incredible experience, and I almost want to call it beautiful at points, but there are just no real scares anymore. The actors go for the disturbing route rather than the aggressive route.

The problem is; due to the passiveness of the experience, they need to tamp up the aggression level ever so slightly to make it entertaining rather than a walk through of a museum. Due to the lovely sets, without a certain level of aggression to certain characters, (a mix of creepy and aggressive characters works best for a roller coaster of emotions), the experience becomes boring and repetitive. Which is a shame as it has the potential to be incredible.

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

The problem is; due to the passiveness of the experience, they need to tamp up the aggression level ever so slightly to make it entertaining rather than a walk through of a museum. Due to the lovely sets, without a certain level of aggression to certain characters, (a mix of creepy and aggressive characters works best for a roller coaster of emotions), the experience becomes boring and repetitive. Which is a shame as it has the potential to be incredible.

Yeah I completely agree. I assume the "downstairs" section of the maze is meant to be the part where the aggression is amped up, unfortunately it often falls flat on it's face there as it's nowhere near as intense as it's sister attract ToT.

Now for this final report i'll be covering Thorpe Fright Nights and Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest! Because I didn't get on many rides, as the queues were horrendous, i'll focus on reviewing the mazes more in this report.

Thorpe Park

After queueing for quite some time picking up my Fast-track and behind the scenes tour I headed over to The Swarm.



Seeing as they’ve given up on their brave it backwards queue, I managed to head straight onto one of the backwards rows. I have always had a soft spot for Swarm and I actually rate it far higher than Nemesis. Today was no different it was fantastic! The drop is very enjoyable, and the inversions have some great hang-time. Overall it’s got to be one of the most enjoyable coasters in the UK.



Next up was my behind the scenes tour for My Bloody Valentine. It was actually a really enjoyable experience, I got to see the entire maze with the lights on and saw all the hiding places. There were some really interesting snippets of information on the maze, and it was really cool to see the maze in it’s full glory!

Unfortunately Stealth was down all day, apparently it’d been closed for 3 days. So I headed over to the best ride at the park, Detonator. I always forget how genuinely intense the ride is. The drop is very small, but makes up for that by being ridiculously packed full of ejector airtime. I would honestly say I prefer it to any of the coasters at the park.





X was the only coaster in the park without a queue, so I braved the mediocrity and rode it. I surprisingly enjoyed it! Now don’t get me wrong it’s an awful coaster by itself, but Thorpe have done a brilliant job with the lighting. The lasers are pretty decent!

Quantum was the only ride I could fit in before my first maze. It’s an ok ride, nothing special, but is far more enjoyable than say Zodiac or Vortex. Once done, I headed over to the mazes.

Saw Alive



Saw Alive was by far the weakest maze last year, and this year is no different. Before I start critiquing the maze, I should say it has some fantastic theming, and the use of scents is rather impressive. Unfortunately this year somebody decided to turn the lights down and pump the entire maze so full of fog, you couldn’t see the detailed sets, removing the only good part of the maze.

To make matters worse, the entire attraction was very low on scares, with one actor at most in each room. Most of the actors weren’t very lively and didn’t perform as well as the other mazes. Something else that really impacted on the scares, the special effects didn’t seem to be working, the pendulum wasn’t spinning and the shotgun carousel wasn’t going off. Also why bother having the traps in the rooms if the actors aren’t going to be in them?! I thought the maze was bad last year, but this was even worse. I can’t see it leaving anytime soon, but it really does need to go.

Studio 13






I must admit I have really hyped myself up for this maze. I was never a fan of the asylum as I felt it was lacking in scares and theming, so when I heard it was similar, I was cautious. Thankfully Studio 13 is one of the strongest mazes this year! I honestly wish I had experienced it again.

The concept of being in a film studio is really unique and makes for a fantastic maze! I love how each room is a different part of the studio, from makeup to costume, then on set. There were some cool Easter eggs too, with every past scare attraction memorialised in a film poster in the entrance corridor.

The maze itself takes the same route as the asulum, but gone are the fences and in are a series of new themed rooms. Personally I think it’s a vast improvement as you can never see the actors around the corner. I must say, I would like to see some more actors in there, but in general it was one of the more intense mazes, especially in the motel section. My favourite section has to be the chainsaw, which has obviously returned. This time was different though. Unlike the Asylum where the actor comes out with the chainsaw, the Studio 13 actor doesn’t have the actor to begin with. This caught me off guard as I was expecting the chainsaw actor to have it on them at all times, rather than pick it up and start chasing me. (Yay for being at the back) Overall it was a fantastic maze, and I can’t wait to see it evolve over the next few years!



My Bloody Valentine





My Bloody Valentine was pretty much more of the same from last year. Which is no real problem as it is my personal favourite maze at Fright Nights. I don’t know about other people but gas masks, pick axes and mines scare me quite a bit, so when I came face to face with Harry Warden (numerous times) it was rather impressive. I should mention, they have upped the number of Harry Warden characters in the maze, making it far more relevant to the film this year.

One thing I will say is that the actors seemed to be using the hiding spaces less this year, but then again that could be because I was at the back of the group both times. Also they weren’t very touchy or hands on, which is slightly disappointing. But no worries, they still got a ton of scares out of me. The maze is still very intense, jumpy and aggressive, and has some pretty amazing theming, if you ask me. It’s still my favourite maze at Fright Nights, it’s just now sharing it’s top spot with Studio 13.

Cabin in the Woods



All the reviews I have heard from this year have pointed towards Cabin in the Woods being the best maze this year, so needless to say I was hyped. Unfortunately I must have had a pretty dire run-through, as I was severely disappointed.

Whilst the multiple routes idea is very clever, they really need to make sure they aren’t focussing on quantity over quality. The rooms I went into were not themed all that well, and the actors didn’t seem to be able to hide in any of them. I mean in the first room I went into, there was no actor in there at all! (The forest room on the back wall) There was no real sense of atmosphere or immersion in the maze, which is really sad considering even Saw gets that right!

Like saw, the maze had some of the weaker actors, they weren’t very lively and there weren’t very many of them. I must admit, they did have a difficult job, as when I visited, the maze was clogging up with groups catching up with one another. It’s a real shame they still haven’t fixed this issue. Another thing they haven’t fixed is the Trommels Tunnel, which is broken, and looks as cheap as ever, with stickers of the monsters on it. Another weak addition is a crawl space, which is hardly longer than a meter. What is the point?!

If I had to say one nice thing about the maze, it would be that they’ve clearly tried adding in new creatures, I was pleased to see the Sugar Plum Fairy from the film appear in my run-through! (The creepy ballerina with a gigantic maw for a face)

It’s a shame I was disappointed, as it’s clearly got potential, but unfortunately it’s still not the maze it could be.

After finishing The Cabin in the Woods I left the park to head over Tulleys. I’ll post my report of Tulleys tomorrow! In the mean time, here are some random pictures from Thorpe.

 

[Lofty]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Great report - I like that you actually critique and don't just say "It was ****" or "It was scary".

I agree about My Bloody Valentine being the best last year, by far was, I loved it. Cabin is ****, I don't get what the hype actually is with the place? In terms of Saw Alive, the company who did the theming are truly fantastic (Scruffy Dog) and they also do a majority of the other bits for the park; this is where the problem lies. They're not scare entertainment producers, they're a theming company, so why so much belief is put upon them is beyond me.

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Great report - I like that you actually critique and don't just say "It was ****" or "It was scary".

I agree about My Bloody Valentine being the best last year, by far was, I loved it. Cabin is ****, I don't get what the hype actually is with the place? In terms of Saw Alive, the company who did the theming are truly fantastic (Scruffy Dog) and they also do a majority of the other bits for the park; this is where the problem lies. They're not scare entertainment producers, they're a theming company, so why so much belief is put upon them is beyond me.

Awesome, thanks! Glad you like my reviews! I may make a youtube video summing everything up in one place (only the scare attractions that is)

Yeah MBV is by far the most intense maze there, I do love it, but it could be longer. Yeah Cabin is just a mess. Yeah as you said with the sanctuary, saw just feels like a museum, it doesn't feel like a scare attraction. Which is why I was so angry about the amount of fog in there this year, you couldn't see the props that actually makes the maze worthwhile. I just think the Saw IP doesn't work well as a maze, the fear shouldn't be coming from the victims, it should be coming from doing horrible disgusting challenges. (An interactive saw maze would be amazing!)

Oh and Caffeine_demon how did you find Tulleys?

Anyway, here's:

Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest

Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest is the iconic Halloween scare park in the UK. Needless to say I have had high hopes for the mazes in the park, and all the reviews I have read have been highly positive. I must admit, the park was a mixed bag. All of the attractions had some really interesting ideas, but not all of them were executed well.



The Cellar



I’ll start off by saying how impressive the theming of this maze was, from the start to the finale, the maze looked impressive, and had a great atmosphere, which in no doubt was helped by the dank smell and the overwhelming darkness.

The start of the maze was very intense, and the actors were incredibly lively, even if they couldn’t touch us. This continued through the rest of the maze, but it seemed to slightly die down towards the end, but when a maze is as long as this, you can’t really complain. Though I did love the air guns, which seemed intent on deafening me. One thing I must say, for a maze to be that long and to keep me entertained from start to finish, is impressive.

Now I thought the maze was fantastic, but there were some flaws. There was a distinct lack of a plot, even though I have heard there is one. I would have loved to see the actors living the plot, I thought they were meant to be mutants/creatures; instead they were just generic scare actors. Their costumes were far too generic, and just confused the plot.

The other major flaw I had with the maze was the use of animatronics, I understand they’re there too add to the scares, but to me they just break the immersion. All the examples in not just this maze, but all the mazes at Tulleys, were just cheesy and laughable. In all examples they weren’t needed. The only final thing I would complain about is that some of the scares weren’t very creative, they all seemed to be growls, or even worse boo’s.

I really enjoyed this maze, I just wish that there could be some changes made to it to make it a real 10/10 maze.

Twisted Shock & Roll



Twisted was certainly one of the weaker mazes at Tulleys. It was a clown maze with a twist. Unfortunately this twist was it’s downfall. Basically the maze is constructed of a twisting path through numerous curtains. The walls are also covered in curtains, so you have to feel your way through the maze. The idea itself is very cool, but considering how long it lasts, the gimmick grows old quick. I must admit I got bored in this maze.

The other problem is the clowns weren’t scary, or even menacing, unlike the ones in The Carnival of Screams. They didn’t even attempt to make us jump; it was as if their prescience was meant to be enough to scare us. To add to the problems, there weren’t even that many clowns in the maze.
As much as I have problems with the maze, there were two noticeable scenes, which worked rather well. I loved the Trommels tunnel in this maze, it was spinning crazy fast and made everyone feel very uneasy walking. The other scene I loved was the ball pit scene, which was highly enjoyable. I was disappointed with this maze, but at least there were some redeeming features to it.

The Tunnel



The Tunnel was a very interesting maze, it had a great premise, of being very very dark, but ultimately fell a bit plat in places.

As I mentioned, the maze itself was very dark, and beautifully themed at the start when you could still see ahead of you. There was one room I specifically remember being in awe of, we were walking along a rickety bridge above a massive chasm in the ground, with thunderous air cannons shooting at us. Unfortunately there were parts where the darkness was used to hide a lack of theming. As much as it was unnerving to walk through pitch-black corridors it was lacking in atmosphere, and actors. In fact there were long stretches without actors, using the darkness to create the fear. Sure it was unnerving, but not terrifying as I had hoped…

The few actors we did come across weren’t very lively and again weren’t creative with getting scares. I really think had they been able touch people they would have got some great scares!

Unfortunately even after a great start, the ending really failed to produce scares, it felt very out of place and disappointing. By this point they had given up on the theming and just emptied us out into a tent with strobes and wire fencing, with rock music playing, breaking any immersion I had. The rooms were far too open to be in a realistic mine, and I feel claustrophobia could have played a bigger role in this maze.

The big final scare was your predictable chainsaw chase scene. Having done two other mazes with particularly strong chainsaw finales this year, The House of Insomnia and Studio 13, I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately this was without doubt the worst use of a chainsaw ever. The room was a wide open space, meaning we could easily run away from the actor and spread out to avoid him. Also the actor just seemed to run past us, not interacting with us at all. It seemed as if the mere prescience of the chainsaw was meant to scare us. My problem is, I don’t get scared of tree surgeons, so why should I be scared of this guy, who obviously has no interest in chasing me.

It’s a real shame I was left disappointed, as the maze had a genuinely fantastic premise, but was let down by poor execution. Even then it was still a great experience, and I would recommend it, just not as highly as The Cellar.

Hellements Inferno



I won’t lie, Hellements Inferno was by far one of my most anticipated mazes this year. I have been dying to do a maze where you have bags placed on your heads, and seeing as I missed out on The Passing at Thorpe, this would be my first.

The plot for the maze was a fantastic idea, traveling through the greek underworld, experiencing different elements along the way, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s exactly a scary premise. The actors quoting Latin along the path were more humorous than scary.

The gimmick itself of the bags on the head, was unfortunately that exactly… A gimmick. I soon realised they let in a lot of light and actually made the maze less scary in my personal opinion. Unfortunately the lack of visual impact really reduced the effectiveness of the jump scares, and meant that I received zero scares from the actors. The special effects were cool though, but not exactly scary. (Bar the fire explosions, which were deafeningly loud.)

Unfortunately the attraction just felt empty, you could see through the bags to a degree, and you could tell you were just walking through a tent with zero theming, and few actors. Being guided along by the rope just added to the open-ness as you couldn’t branch out and explore your way around.

I really wanted to like this maze, but I ended up finding it my least favourite maze at all the attractions I visited over Halloween. There was no theming once inside the maze, and the actors weren’t scary. To end off a disappointing maze there wasn’t even a real ending, just a room where you’re told to take off your bags. I really hope this maze leaves, it’s very weak and could be replaced by a much better experience.

The Haunted House



The Haunted House is Tulley’s maze for children, so features less scares than the others.

Strangely enough the maze started out very strong, it was very reminiscent of the Cellar but obviously toned down in intensity. I will say though, the actors did a pretty good job at scaring us at the start. And similar to The Cellar, the theming started out great! There was one room with cockroaches all over the wall and strobes going off, which made it appear that the roaches were moving.

Unfortunately the maze ended weak, the actors disappeared halfway through the maze, and the amazing theming was replaced with cheap, tacky and cheesy theming. I do question how suitable this maze is for children, as I mentioned the start was relatively intense, and I would have thought a more toned down narrative experience might be more suitable.

Horrowood Studios Haunted Hayride



The Haunted Hayride has to be one of the craziest, most unique and enjoyable attractions I have ever experienced. Whilst I wouldn’t rank it incredibly highly for scares, I loved the attraction and think it’s worth the visit to Tulleys alone!

The attraction is a tour through numerous different themed scenes. I would say that the clash of themes along the route creates a disjointed attraction, but then again it does leave you excited to see what’s waiting around the corner.

There were some really cool scenes, I personally loved the Circus, Cult, Crash and Slaughter House scenes. And the chainsaw scene was absolutely perfect, lets just say a ton of people on the trailer get a close experience with the chainsaw.

Unfortunately there were some scenes that really didn’t work, the pirate scene, the ufo scene and in particular the cowboy scene, didn’t generate any real scares and were rather wasted on me.

As much as some scenes didn’t work well, I was impressed by the variety of scares there were. There were certainly many up close and personal scares where actors would come on the trailer, but also many where they’d interact with the trailer dropping down on it, climbing above it and attacking the sides of it. I was certainly thrilled by the all around assault on the riders.

Overall I loved the experience, it wasn’t just scary but it was also highly amusing at points. I will point out the ending is hilarious and a genuine surprise to anyone who’s never been before!

Spoiler

Once you reach the end, you come across some nuns declaring you sinners for your actions, they are aggressive until they get on the trailer when Beyonce starts playing on the trailer and they start twerking to Single Ladies

It was a perfect end to a great night, and a great Halloween.

It’s a shame I didn’t get to visit everywhere I wanted to, but I know for a fact I will be trying my hardest to visit, Scare Kingdom, Dr Frights and Screamfest Burton next year!

 

[caffeine_demon]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Oh and Caffeine_demon how did you find Tulleys?

Just got on the bus, and there it was!!

anyway - Haunted house was rather weak, the cellar was excellent, The tunnel really had some strong parts, but was just a bit too long, hellements was interesting, Haunted hayride was just such good fun, absolutely fab! Shock and roll also had its moments, and while the clowns were more creepy than scary, it's probably what you expect from clowns.

The only queue was for the hayride (about 50 mins), got everything done in time to get back to the hotel in time for match of the day!

 

[silenthillXD]

Re: Halloween 2014 - Scream Nights, Scare Fest & Fright Nigh

Just got on the bus, and there it was!!

anyway - Haunted house was rather weak, the cellar was excellent, The tunnel really had some strong parts, but was just a bit too long, hellements was interesting, Haunted hayride was just such good fun, absolutely fab! Shock and roll also had its moments, and while the clowns were more creepy than scary, it's probably what you expect from clowns.

The only queue was for the hayride (about 50 mins), got everything done in time to get back to the hotel in time for match of the day!

Yeah I agree with pretty much everything you said, Haunted House was one of the weakest, but oh well I was expecting that. The Cellar was amazing, and the Tunnel certainly was too long. It felt like they ran out of ideas, and just used overly conventional elements for the finale. Personally I thought Helements was the weakest, the only scare I got was from the flame throwers. Yeah Haunted Hayride is the star attraction alongside the cellar, I loved them both! But yeah the Shock and Roll was odd, the clowns just had no scares, even compared to the Carnival of Screams ones.