| THE DENT SCHOOLHOUSE:
Just
glancing up at the old boarded up Schoolhouse is all it takes to
creep out many customers waiting alongside in the queue line. The
haunted adventure begins in a desolate playground adjacent to the building
itself where a ghostly cowboy rules the grounds and delivers an immediate
surprise, then laughs and torments groups as they make their way through.
Once lively swings and slides have long since been abandoned and left to
rust away to nothing. Teeter totters mysteriously sway back and forth
on their own, and a pair of skeletons play tug-of-war with a former student's
head! As recess comes to an end, the journey continues past Dent
District school bus 1031 that has a few tricks of its own up its sleeve,
then into the Schoolhouse proper. The indoor portion of the
experience gets underway in the presence of a ranting nurse, equipped with
a rather large syringe and attempting to inoculate "new students"
on their first day of school. Exploration reveals a variety of school
related atrocities like desks moving about on their own, or serving as
battering rams for distraught students' heads! Blood pools on one
of the workstations in particular where a delinquent pupil has impaled
himself on an upright pencil literally labotomizing his own brains out!
Lights dim, and flicker off and on, cramped lockers creak and conceal surprises
as well as unruly pupils as classroom bells ring, and other loud,
sinister sounds fill the air. Drop-down wall panels lie ahead, as
do moving bookcases that practically come crashing down on top of you,
and cob-web covered classrooms, each of which contain their own personalized
scares and give rise to various encounters with diabolical members of the
unwelcoming staff! Soon, the course progresses past a hanged teacher,
then downstairs into the custodial quarters where more dead bodies are
suspended from above, while others are scorched and incinerated inside
a flaming blast furnace! The horrific sight of half a dozen or so
bloody students hang around the bend - their intestines exposed,
torn from their bodies, and left dangling down towards the cold concrete
ground! Charlie appears on the scene amongst the sight of
some recent beheadings, and an area where the floor's been excavated away
revealing a make-shift graveyard that the old villain has obviously used
to hide some of his most monstrous deeds! Roaches crawl across a
casket that shakes and vibrates on its own, a corpse bursts forth from
it's coffin practically blocking the path, and a second confrontation with
the deadly Janitor comes front and center! Electricity shorts
out as pipes burst, and water spews out creating an overflowing cesspool
in the floor as a giant creature comes crashing through a wall - another
dead student in his grasp, and his eyes on YOU! Up next is Dr.
Carver’s demented shop class displaying more human remains, and the
gruesome sight of a girl whose arms, head and legs move about despite the
fact that her entire midsection has been bisected and ripped away by the
murderous blades of the treacherous teacher’s bloody table saw! From
there it's onto the boys' bathroom, auto mechanics class, locker room,
and Principal's office each with its own brand of ghastly surprises.
Kitchen, freezer, and cafeteria areas bear witness to recently slaughtered
bodies and swine, freshly dripping blood and finding their way onto today's
menu of deliciously nauseating delicacies! Other sights include an
auditorium setting reminiscing about prom night that's now haunted by enormous,
animated phantoms; an abhorrent science lab; and an abominable mechanical
"flesh eater" devouring anything and everything it can get its hands on!
Academics give way to fun and games at this point when corrupt clowns introduce
claustrophobic passages, a spinning vortex, and other circus-like shenanigans
en route to the eventual escape into the clutches of hungry werewolves,
and their neighboring hillbillies who treat trespassers to a hellacious
chainsaw chase out of
The Dent Schoolhouse!
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9, 19 min.
ACTORS - 9½, Costuming and make up are outstanding.
Character aggressiveness is high as they come crashing into their scenes,
loudly thrusting open shutters, violently releasing wall panels, and angrily
banging on desks, tables, walls, etc, but their engagement is a bit brief
at times which limits their opportunity for dialogue. Multiple encounters
with Charlie in the basement is most intimidating. Cowboy
clown in the playground is quite talkative, but really out of place
considering the theme. Total Characters = 34 down from 45+ a year
ago.
SCARINESS - 9½, Deceptive animatronics, spooky
lighting, and a fantastically loud complimentary soundtrack in every single
room. Detailing is unsurpassed, and cast intensity adds to the fright
value. New impressive scenes powerfully provoke visual stimuli that
leave people talking about them once they leave! Need to amp up initial
and final scenes to perfect the score.
DESIGN - 10, Theme holds practically throughout.
No stone is left unturned, from the playground to the chase-out, as scenes
and rooms exhibit unsurpassed detailing. Connecting corridors along
the progression of rooms are short and ALL are equally as well decorated.
Once again, several new scenes are being introduced this season, and they
are much more visually impressive than their predecessors! " Prom Dance"
has received some much needed attention as well. Playground beginning
remains weak and is crying out for more activity, and better characters.
Introduction to the house itself would also benefit from a more powerfully
memorable revamp. Same goes for "expulsion" as an attraction of this
nature needs to "knock your socks off" on your way out the door!
That in a nutshell is the roadmap to Haunt of the Year!
PROPS - 10, Every room is decorated to the maximum degree!
Additonal animatronic surprises have been incorporated to the already impressive
tour.
VALUE - 9½, The single admission ticket has been
eliminated in favor of a combo purchase with Detention Hall.
Consequentially, it'll cost you $5 more if you just purchased regular
admission to The Schoolhouse alone last season (and that comes on
the heels of a $2 price hike in 2010). However, price is unchanged
if you also toured DH a season ago, and fast pass pricing remains
the same as well. So the bottom line as far as cost goes is it's
really no different than it was last year, although the method of marketing
implies otherwise. Unless of course you've no interest in DH,
then you'll have to fork over the difference. Take advantage of their
website discount whenever possible.
RATING: 9½, Annually, among the elite
haunted houses in the region, The Dent Schoolhouse
always brings
its "A-game" to the table and 2011's performance is no different as they
once again present a strong case for the coveted Ohio Valley Haunts
Haunt
of the Year Award! This season, they're offering a "Zombie Night"
on Sunday, Oct. 23rd, as well as a "Lights on" tour Sunday Oct. 30th from
5:30 - 7:30 PM. Don't miss one of the best Haunted Attractions the
world has ever know - The Dent Schoolhouse!
REVISIT UPDATE: Playground is a bit
more active. Swings are in motion, and Cowboy has been replaced
by a bloody, more sinister Teacher/Principal-like character.
Note: 2nd revisit unfortunatly found the
return of Playground Cowboy, whose presence makes no sense whatsoever,
is lame, and inappropriate for the theme, thus costing the attraction its
run at Haunt of the Year. |
| DETENTION
HALL: Included with admission to Dent
this season, Detention Hall is best described as a labyrinth of
chaos that begins through a claustrophobic passage into fog filled fence
maze inhabited by chain saw packing lunatics and other demented monsters.
Loud sirens, dead ends, flashing strobes, and even a false finish combine
to confuse, misguide, and misdirect. Relentless chainsaw confrontations
persist to the very end, and the more crowded it gets, the more difficult
it becomes to escape the hopelessness amid other delinquent students obligated
to stay after school at Detention Hall.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 7, We completed the course in 7 minutes, but
an exact time is indeterminate as the duration varies depending upon one's
successful navigation of the maze..
ACTORS - 7, Cast is here to distract and terrorize groups
in order to add to their confusion. No real chance for dialogue or interaction.
Total Characters = 6.
SCARINESS - 7, Attractions of this nature are designed
to intimidate and unnerve their guests. Constant chainsaws are most
threatening. Majority of frights stem from emotional unrest within.
DESIGN - 8, Everything is here that needs to be present
in order to create the desired environment - loud sounds, dense fog, flashing
lights, misdirecting characters, tormenting chainsaws, dead ends, loops
and false finishes. A lengthier, more difficult course would elevate
the score, but create flow issues due to the large crowds the attraction
is expected to handle this season as a result of its inclusion with the
main event. Don't just stick together... ditch your friends in the
crowd and see who makes it out first!
PROPS - n/a, It's a maze, so this category isn't applicable.
VALUE - n/a, Included free of charge with admission to
The
Dent Schoolhouse.
RATING: 7, Detention Hall isn't designed
as a stand alone attraction, rather a secondary "supporting" event, thus
it's difficult to measure it on the same grading scale as the primary drawing
card. Nevertheless, it provides quality entertainment, and
is a nice complimentary bonus when visiting the site. |
