Howie
Donkey in a hat
So here's a section of the forums I don't delve into very often; the Halloween and Scare Attractions topic. And there's a very good reason for that; I don't do Halloween and scare attractions.
Or do I?
See, a couple of years ago I stumbled across some of @Lofty's ramblings about something called The Clinic at Walibi Holland that they hold during their Halloween event. It sounded gross, and terrifying, and twisted... but it also sounded unique, original and very clever. I was intrigued. Considering the only scare attraction I've ever done is the Terror of the Towers (which was utterly awful), this looked like something on a whole other level.
Here is a trailer for The Clinic at Walibi Holland. It's in Dutch, but you get the idea:
So, I asked Lofty a bit more about it and he explained to me, without any real spoilers, what it entailed and I concluded there and then that there was no way in hell I'd ever put myself through something like that.
Not. A. Chance.
Besides, I was very unlikely to be visiting Walibi Holland during Halloween event anyway, so it didn't matter.
Fast forward 6 months and would you believe it I'm booked up to visit Walibi Holland during their Halloween event, and despite my initial abject horror at the thought of being strapped to a gurney and wheeled through various scenes from my own demise, for some reason I'm also booked in to do The Clinic.
What can I say? Morbid curiosity got the better of me and besides, if Lofty can do it, I could do it, right?
So yeah, I did it, and it was mind blowingly good. Ingenious, twisted, scary as hell but also quite profound and deeply moving. Probably one of the best theme park experiences I've ever had. In fact, probably one of the best experiences I've ever had. Period.
Anyways, that brings me round to the point of this post. It turns out that The Clinic has a sequel... kind of... and it's called Neurogen and it's on at Walibi Holland whenever they're not holding their Halloween event. It's even held in the same building as The Clinic and you 'check in' at the same reception desk.
So when I minced over there last week to have a blast on Untamed, I simply had to spare some time out of the day to check out Neurogen.
So what is Neurogen, I hear you ask? Well, it's a VR attraction.
No wait, hear me out... I know those dreaded 2 letters are an instant turn off for most, but this is good. Really good.
First of all, it's nowhere near as in-your-face as The Clinic, this is a much more subtle experience that is based on creepy atmosphere and suspense rather than full-on horror, but like The Clinic it's extremely well done and very clever, and you do have to experience it on your own. No group sessions here.
Honestly, this is a finely crafted, immersive attraction that makes a certain VR Ghost Train that we all know look like some sort of amateur school project.
Here are a couple of promo trailers for Neurogen:
I think these are great - so cheesy, but there's something ever-so-slightly 'off' about them that makes them creepy and unnerving, like something out of a Paul Verhoeven movie.
The Verhoeven similarities continue when, after navigating a few space-age corridors with LED lighting and swish sliding glass doors, you are instructed to sit in a chair that resembles something out of Total Recall and place your headset on.
Like I said, this isn't the full-on horror experience of The Clinic, but it ain't no child's play either. It contains explicit sex, drug and death references and includes a bit of swearing, even a couple of f-bombs. This is most definitely 'adult' stuff.
Anyways, the point is, I highly recommend it. If you're over at Walibi Holland this summer to ride Untamed (and let's face it, why wouldn't you be?), or if you're waiting until September for the CF Live, you should definitely consider checking this out. It only costs €5 and you can prebook a timeslot online to avoid any queue faff, and it should give you something different to do in between whoring that RMC goodness.
Of course, if you're there during the Halloween event you should definitely do The Clinic too... if you're brave enough.
Or do I?
See, a couple of years ago I stumbled across some of @Lofty's ramblings about something called The Clinic at Walibi Holland that they hold during their Halloween event. It sounded gross, and terrifying, and twisted... but it also sounded unique, original and very clever. I was intrigued. Considering the only scare attraction I've ever done is the Terror of the Towers (which was utterly awful), this looked like something on a whole other level.
Here is a trailer for The Clinic at Walibi Holland. It's in Dutch, but you get the idea:
So, I asked Lofty a bit more about it and he explained to me, without any real spoilers, what it entailed and I concluded there and then that there was no way in hell I'd ever put myself through something like that.
Not. A. Chance.
Besides, I was very unlikely to be visiting Walibi Holland during Halloween event anyway, so it didn't matter.
Fast forward 6 months and would you believe it I'm booked up to visit Walibi Holland during their Halloween event, and despite my initial abject horror at the thought of being strapped to a gurney and wheeled through various scenes from my own demise, for some reason I'm also booked in to do The Clinic.
What can I say? Morbid curiosity got the better of me and besides, if Lofty can do it, I could do it, right?
So yeah, I did it, and it was mind blowingly good. Ingenious, twisted, scary as hell but also quite profound and deeply moving. Probably one of the best theme park experiences I've ever had. In fact, probably one of the best experiences I've ever had. Period.
Anyways, that brings me round to the point of this post. It turns out that The Clinic has a sequel... kind of... and it's called Neurogen and it's on at Walibi Holland whenever they're not holding their Halloween event. It's even held in the same building as The Clinic and you 'check in' at the same reception desk.
So when I minced over there last week to have a blast on Untamed, I simply had to spare some time out of the day to check out Neurogen.
So what is Neurogen, I hear you ask? Well, it's a VR attraction.
No wait, hear me out... I know those dreaded 2 letters are an instant turn off for most, but this is good. Really good.
First of all, it's nowhere near as in-your-face as The Clinic, this is a much more subtle experience that is based on creepy atmosphere and suspense rather than full-on horror, but like The Clinic it's extremely well done and very clever, and you do have to experience it on your own. No group sessions here.
Honestly, this is a finely crafted, immersive attraction that makes a certain VR Ghost Train that we all know look like some sort of amateur school project.
Here are a couple of promo trailers for Neurogen:
I think these are great - so cheesy, but there's something ever-so-slightly 'off' about them that makes them creepy and unnerving, like something out of a Paul Verhoeven movie.
The Verhoeven similarities continue when, after navigating a few space-age corridors with LED lighting and swish sliding glass doors, you are instructed to sit in a chair that resembles something out of Total Recall and place your headset on.
Like I said, this isn't the full-on horror experience of The Clinic, but it ain't no child's play either. It contains explicit sex, drug and death references and includes a bit of swearing, even a couple of f-bombs. This is most definitely 'adult' stuff.
Anyways, the point is, I highly recommend it. If you're over at Walibi Holland this summer to ride Untamed (and let's face it, why wouldn't you be?), or if you're waiting until September for the CF Live, you should definitely consider checking this out. It only costs €5 and you can prebook a timeslot online to avoid any queue faff, and it should give you something different to do in between whoring that RMC goodness.
Of course, if you're there during the Halloween event you should definitely do The Clinic too... if you're brave enough.
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