Where to even begin? I've been sitting on this one for a while and I apologize for not getting this out sooner but there was so much to take in here and we were truly blown away. It had been years since +Carrie H.C. and I had been there and it was the first time ever for +Filip Muncan.
What the folks behind this amazing haunt have put together is nothing short of awe inspiring and the dedication from the entire crew and staff is completely mind blowing. This team of 250 actors, costumers, make up artists and management seriously have their shit together. If you only make it to one haunt out there, this is it folks. They've gone above and beyond in so many places and the 24 years of experience they have shows in spades.
There's even VIP experiences that include a lounge for after hours to chill near Al Capone's cell and even flashlight tours of the grounds as well. They've covered all the bases with this one and there's screams, chills and thrills for all tastes once you've passed through the gates.
- Date Visited: 10/12/14
- Review Team: +Carrie H.C., +Filip Muncan and +Kitsune Hazard
- Rating: Excellent
- Recommendation: Don't even question the thing, just get out there and go! This is one special haunted attraction and it has to be experienced.
- Likes: The attention to detail, the actors and the level of interaction that's available when being "Marked" is just unreal. Seriously, there's nothing bad here, nothing at all.
- Dislikes: Can't think of a damn one that's actually haunt related.
- Pro-Tip: Take the chance and get yourself marked for the full immersion of it all. Just be warned though, what you will have to do is physical and you definitely will be touched!
Okay, now let's get this party started!
The fun starts way before you even get into the place with the roaming bands of guard and inmates alike. Just be on the look out though...you can and will be abducted and taken to points unknown if you're not careful! The atmosphere is hard to beat with this one. I mean it's a nearly 200 year old prison...where do you go wrong with this idea at all? Anyway, let's get down to the meat of the thing.
Featuring six different themed areas within the massive prison complex, the first stop you make is signing waivers and then you head into a little place where you get the rules and the lowdown on the whole "marked" thing. Seriously, the way this is done is great and the actors both explaining it to you and doing the marking are amazingly good. Of course, all of our group went for being marked, because...well, why not?!
You'll travel through the cell block and even find yourself on the 2nd floor. It's a maze of terror that seems completely unrelenting.
The scares were coming from all over and there was no safe quarter to be found in here as you make your way through the long abandoned cell block. Again, you can't buy this kind of atmosphere at all and the way it's set up really is disorienting as all get out.
After surviving Lock Down, you head into the Rotunda and then down a long and lonely cell block filled with flickering lights and the dire warnings from a prison guard, and a message to give once you get to The Machine Shop. Right next to the former death row of Eastern State, what lies beyond is a total head trip.
Okay, this is where things went completely off the rails and into epic territory. This was the start of the more physical and interactive part of the haunt and they really dialed up to eleven in this section. It's a shock to the system and we watched as groups of terrified folks were separated, grabbed and sent through alone. When it was our turn? Well, I won't spoil what happened to me but needless to say that it was a surprise and Fil and Carrie didn't not expect to have to look down to find me!
Our own group was separated here and then we finally managed to get ourselves back together afterwards out of sheer dumb luck I think. From here we made our way to the next stop on the list, Detritus.
Hopefully you don't end up like Fil...who got attacked by a chainsaw. We'll remember you Fil, it was nice knowing you.
While short in nature, it was a really cool thing to see and varies thing up from just "inside a prison" and it's not something you expect at all. Again, the actors were having an absolute blast with things and the screams could be heard far and wide.
Our next stop? The Infirmary and once again, our group was separated and sent through individually. I caught a glimpse of a few things that were happening to our group though as they were singled out to be experimented on, given their daily medicine and all manner of other craziness. Again, nothing bad here at all and the insanity of the whole thing just worked out great. It was another prime example of how to do the touching and interactive haunt idea properly.
After surviving The Infirmary, mostly (we're still not sure if Carrie was given the right meds) we found ourselves face to face with The Experiment 3D. This is a 3D maze and while I don't normally like these, this is just a twisted acid trip that's gone south very quickly. To say there's a rhyme or reason to the thing would be false, there just isn't. It's a total mindfuck and you have no idea what's happening...not sure if that means the treatments are working or not, but it's definitely one helluva ride! Don't be surprised if you're yet again separated from your group here and end up in a few surprising locations, it can and will happen!
Well, since I'm writing this, we managed to escape Night Watch and couldn't help but laugh and be just blown away by what we had just experienced. What the Terror Behind the Walls crew has put together is truly amazing. I personally haven't had that much fun at a haunted attraction in a long time and only a couple of others even compare to it in the past couple of years. The hour long journey that we partook in was off the rails awesome.
From here you can grab a bite to eat, check out the gift shop and even experience part of prison life while seeing some of the history by stepping into a cell block and into actual cells. It's a perfect harmony of scares and history that a place like this deserves. Really excellent job all around!
In the end, the dedication from the costuming department, making nearly every costume from scratch and the make up artists who come up with the looks and designs for every character and to the 250 actors that populate the place, my hat is off to you all. How you get it all done and ready to go in just two and a half hours is an achievement in and of itself, the fact that the show is just that mindblowingly good? All the better.
So, it's happened once again. Terror Behind the Walls has earned itself the rare and elusive Excellent from all of us on the review team. There's only been two others that have achieved this and it says a lot about the quality of the show and team behind it. We can't wait to see what comes from everyone there in the future and hope to get back next year!
There's still a couple of more nights to get out there to see this one and they're even open on the 7th and 8th for their Remix event which have all the lights turned out! So, head on over to the official Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary website to get tickets, directions and all that jazz!
No comments:
Post a Comment