| FEAR FAIR:
Last season's new beginning is retained, and once again consists of sequestering
patrons in holding room to watch a CNN style news report announcing
some sort of unknown terror that's befallen Freeman Field.
Poisonous gas stored in Hangar 17 has apparently leaked into the
atmosphere, and the airborne pollutants are yielding tragic consequences.
While being told of an imminent evacuation, upcoming events are foreshadowed
via a CGI door that provides a glimpse of the treacherous war zone, where
armed soldiers are responding to secure the area, and a wretched monster
is seen entering the battle from the side. Without warning, the military
brigade begins firing upon the door to clear a path for access. It
suddenly slides open, and the abandonment begins into the crossfire of
utter chaos. Army men grab visitors, and quickly whisk them out of
the room into the midst of the frenzied combat! Boarding a train
under hurried commands of "Move it!" and "Let's go!" in tangent to assault
rifles blasting away at a giant, winged Slayer monster overtaking
a jeep, brings about a run-in with an impatient, pistol toting GI ordering
civilians to stay together, and "Move your a$$!" Disembarking the
old iron horse and ascending a flight of stairs encounters a jailed commando
encouraging progression, then an infected recruit pleading for help.
Following the path into a restricted area divulges a crazed medical facility
where x-rays are displayed, and distempered patients scream for assistance.
Mechanical surprises chaperone the transfer into a decontamination tent
concluding the Hangar 17 segment, and ushering in the Fear Fair
Film
Fest that's housed in the historic Vondee Theater. A small
crowd is on hand for the feature presentation, and what first appears to
be a dead end actually is not as a secret claustrophobic passage hidden
in the silver screen itself contains an unexpected surprise, then delivers
film buffs INTO their worst Hollywood nightmares! A series
of authentic horror movie recreations are on the horizon beginning with
a Jeepers Creepers II saga originating innocently enough in the
midst of a peaceful looking cornfield, but soon taking a turn for the worst,
as The Creeper storms onto the scene lunging and grabbing at passersby!
Fleeing into the safety of a log cabin finds a shotgun carrying old lady
defending her God-given right to own as many cats as her heart desires,
then it's onto a school bus for a renewed engagement with you know who
that witnesses the attack of a high school cheerleader and the team's star
basketball player! Evading his wrath brings us to the realistic façade
of the Myers' home, where the theme from Halloween escorts
the route past Michael who's peering out through the front window!
Stepping into The Boogeyman's residence with a happy birthday wish
unveils Uncle Ronnie duct taped to a recliner with his throat slit
interrupting his enjoyment of Universal's classic Dracula
on an adjacent TV! As Laurie Strode pleads for help, The
Shape grabs her, throws her down, and mercilessly kills her!
Vacating the premises leads through a murky basement straight out of Rob
Zombie's Halloween 2007, right past an antique furnace, the trademark
"MYERS" gravestone, and another conflict with pure evil himself!
Abdicating the danger introduces an elaborate laboratory that finds Zee
Doktor up to his old demented tricks, surprising guests with lethal
injections of serum, re-animating life right before your eyes, and energizing
the electrical arcs of an impressively captivating Tesla coil! A
brief run-in with his trusty assistant Igor gives way to passage
through a clothes-filled closet into a Nightmare on Elm Street segment,
where Nancy Thompson screams in terror as the likeness of Freddy
Krueger emerges through the wall above her bed! From there, it's
onto a bathroom where Nancy Thompson's enjoyment of a bubble bath
is interrupted by the torture of ole Fred's piercing glove!
Clearance into
Badham Preschool, and on past realistically steaming
pipes in the isolated furnace area allows for a few more skirmishes with
the scarred boiler room fiend, before entering into Friday the 13th's
Camp
Crystal Lake outdoor excursion through a campsite. Victims scream
from tents, and a poor soul burns alive while writhing in a sleeping bag
hanged above a profusely torched campfire! Multiple run-ins with
the machete clutching Jason Vorhees witness a woman viciously impaled
by a stake, and an innocent girl on a bunk bed becoming his most recent
kill when she suffers the fate of having her throat slit! Sidestepping
his sacrifice leads past a canoe, and shortly thereafter into
Harrison
Memorial Hospital, where warnings of "Don't Open Dead Inside" commences
an elaborate Walking Dead installment highlighted by a double door
CGI, and a plethora of zombie aggressions! A Rural Metro Ambulance
stands quietly outside hiding a corpsified encroachment, then it's past
a "We buy Gold" sign, and into a deserted discount drugstore where microwaves,
flat screens, etc. are readily available, and floors are littered with
prescription pill bottles. A large hole in the drywall where an undead
stalker has crashed through is taken advantage of to navigate onto roadblocks,
then back indoors for a zombie horde mass murder projection inside
a clothing store, followed by the eventual surrender of Atlanta past a
real fire escape, through a desolate diner, by an outrageous mechanical
surprise paralleling a photo-op, and many more undead invasions!
Other recreations are still to come including a conflict with suspended
chains and dismembered craniums in tandem with Hellraiser’s
Pinhead
welcoming new victims to Hell; Mother’s Blood, where
Vivian
offers cellar intruders to stay for supper; and a multiple Scream
Ghostface dual that continues all the way into the exploration of My
Bloody Valentine’s
Thunderbird Motel
where blood-covered chocolates
lay uneaten, and an innocent soul falls the victim to Harry Warden’s
deadly pickax! Embarking upon
Hanniger Mine # 5 finds Warden
lurking deep inside proudly laying claim to his most recent slaughter -
a young woman that's been violated by his sharp scoop that's bisected her
jaw, and is still sticking out of her mouth! The Lambeth Asylum
is up next restraining a straight-jacketed loony, and begeting a cryotherapy
surprise. Segueing through the woods generates a Saw group
separation scenario based on gender, the playing of a "game," and a most
horrific Pigface surprise! Furthering the atrocity reveals
more of Jigsaw's suffering challenges including a frozen subject
whose opportunity to determine her own fate failed miserably within a lethal
walk-in freezer, Amanda's devious reverse bear trap predicament
that leaves her searching through the intestines of some patsy's exposed
stomach in desperate search for a key that's necessary to unlock her hideous
head contraption, then up the stairs to other Saw
related barbarities
peaking with barbed wire, and pantomimed by the intimidating Jigsaw
puppet under direct supervision of bed-ridden
John Kramer overseeing
his deadly orchestrations! The movie tour concludes with a trip to
Travis
County Texas and a cannibalistic, Leatherface engagement that
envies the real Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as the Fuller, Texas native
sets his sights set on adding some additional skin to his already disfigured
face in a hell-bent chainsaw pursuit and chase-out of Fear Fair!
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9+, 23½ minutes.
ACTORS - 9+, Aggressive military presence gets things
off to a rip-roaring start barking orders from the get-go. Movie
actors remain true to the characters they portray featuring strong performances
from Freddy, Pigface, and Leatherface, and Creeper
being
best by far. Jason didn't physically involve us in his scare
this year, nor did Myers, but both claim victims within their scenes
keeping them true to form. Some sort of physical altercation often
accompanies scares via some sort of touching, grabbing, or threatening
confrontation. Victims also do a good job selling their own demise.
Costuming is outstanding. Dialogue requires attention, although Cat
woman deserves honorable mention. One of the soldiers ordered us onto
"the jeep" instead of the train. Child actor is missing from Saw
tricycle, yet teens comprise much of the cast. Zombies do an alright
job, but their population is sparse, and none stood head and shoulders
better than the rest, nor did they exhibit the necessary intensity in comparison
to their Walking Dead counterparts. At least some of them
should be seen vicously attacking people. This category would ordinarily
take a hit this season, if not for the sheer number of performers, and
the element of touch, which continues to elevate their performance above
that of their peers utilizing similar talent. Zee Doktor
gets credit for the line of the year, "I trust you'll take note of the
special vacuform hump I've been styling for Igor!" We visited
on October 19th, Michael Myers' birthday! - How cool is that?
Total Characters = 49.
SCARINESS - 9½, The authenticity of the entire
set promotes the fright value. Actors separate groups, grab, pull,
and even bite at their victims! Soundtrack provides incredible audio
enhancement, and is individually specialized for each and every scene.
Bathroom Saw scene remains an impressive scare. Finish isn't
quite a powerful this year, and overall acting has declined a bit, thus
impacting the ability to deliver scares.
DESIGN - 9½, New to the site for 2012 is
the immaculate Walking Dead Atlanta expansion. As was the
case with last year's Hangar 17, it's every bit as authentic as
the remainder of the house, further strengthening Fear Fair's commitment
to being the most realistically designed haunt in the industry. This
season's add on is arguably the most elaborate scene ever constructed for
a haunted house, and features a real ambulance, asphalt roads, concrete
sidewalks, and curbs! A hole in the actual drywall is maneuvered
through as part of the navigation! Zombie population may be a bit
sparse, and unfortunately Sheriff Rick Grimes was absent because
the actor went home sick. As for the rest of the attraction, scenes
themselves are meticulously detailed, and more consistent with their actual
films than those at any other haunt! Nurses have properly been removed
from the war zone as endangering them in the middle of a gunfight didn't
make much sense. Transformation INTO the movie recreations continues
to be cleverly accessed first through white, then black claustrophobia
foreshadowing entrance into the dark world of horror films that's soon
to come. Many areas retain multiple attack zones to provide legendary
slayers several opportunities to engage and provoke scare seekers, while
award winning Saw skit and Texas Chainsaw Massacre Village
continue as masterpieces! On the down side, initial video is a bit
too calm considering the catastrophe that's taking place, and the rushing
of customers through the first half with an army escort doesn't give them
much time to fully appreciate the moving train, nor enjoy the attraction's
best prop (mechanical monster), which is located off to the side as opposed
to placement directly in the line of sight. Plus it causes the trickle
down effect of shortening overall duration (beginning section is just over
4 minutes long). Seating visitors onboard the train for a brief interactive
segment might solve this dilemma, and offer more of an opportunity to appreciate
all that's going on. Mother's Blood
should be canned because
of its obscurity and the fact that hardly anyone knows what it is.
Most, if not all of this year's attention has gone into creating Walking
Dead, thus the remainder of the attraction remains unchanged.
Air raid siren didn't sound upon approach, bullet impacts weren't noticed
on the CGI door, and grenades weren't tossed into the holding room to explode
as was the case last season. Machine gun was unmanned (or broken),
train ride is short and doesn't go anywhere, chainsaw can be heard on the
staircase, claustrophobic air bags exposed the ceiling overhead for some
reason, Halloween theme bleeds into
My Bloody Valentine,
and Wolfman was m.i.a. between there and Saw, whose barb
wire cage was unoccupied. Asylum tip-chair was empty, sparks
have been lost, and the finish is slightly weaker with only one Leatherface
who no longer comes leaping off the roof, although it's more movie accurate.
The haunt as a whole is a bit less gory with the removal of the girl eating
guts outside the train, which could easily be relocated to Walking Dead.
PROPS - 10, Movie sets are complete to the extent that
it’s difficult to tell these fabrications from the originals! Tesla
coil remains the most impressive by far, and stands as the centerpiece
in a recently remodeled laboratory that like the remainder of the attraction
showcases elaborate detailing. Initial CGI door was new last season,
and portrays the scene that's about to be encountered, and it uniquely
slides out of the way permitting entrance into its scene,which simply isn't
the case at any other attraction, where a different route is provided while
the door remains stationary. Another CGI debuts for 2012, as does
convulsing drop down surprise that brilliantly sets up the photo-op!
Railroad cars are authentic in their movement. "Slayer" monster remains
most impressive, but isn't appreciated to its fullest extent due to positioning,
and more so because customers are being pushed through its scene.
Wartime machine gun, WW2 style décor, and Jeep add to the
legitimacy of Hanger 17, and are also notable. And an entire
city block has been constructed for Walking Dead that feature legitimate
façades, actual buildings, a real fire escape, and an ambulance.
VALUE - 10, No price increase for the consecutive year
keeps the cost of admission at $15! While more affordable than many
attractions, and outside a major metropolis, Fear Fair is one of
the best, most unique haunted houses in existence.
RATING: 9½ (9.57), Fear Fair annually
adds more and more impressive structures and scares to their already impressive
collection, and this season's high-impact arrival is Walking Dead!
This annual contender for best of Indiana, and overall Haunt of the
Year continues to impress, and never ceases to amaze. It's not
a haunt in the traditional sense - It's an experience that puts customers
right in the middle of the scenes! Fear Fair is once again
offering Myctophobia: Total Darkness tours this year on Oct
18th and 25th where customers go through by themselves, and are left to
explore the haunt in complete darkness with only a glow stick to light
their way! Drive a little, scream a lot at Fear Fair, "Indiana's
Scariest Haunted House!" Live the Horror! |
| MYCTOPHOBIA:
One by one, customers make their way into the Hangar 17 section
of Fear Fair, but this time it's every man for himself, AND the
lights are turned out! That's right! Everyone goes through
in the dark, ALONE, and no talking is allowed! Upon entering, and
signing a mandatory waiver, individuals are given a glowstick, and the
Myctophobia
experience
is underway. Like the usual haunted house that's open weekends during
the season, this too is divided into two separate parts. Act one
requires the navigation through Hangar 17, and onto the train.
The machine gun located just to the left of the main entrance opens fire,
and a few moments later, a fiend comes out of a door, gets in your face,
and briefly blocks progression with a shovel. Maneuvering through
the train, then disembarking leads to someone following you up the stairs,
past the jail cell, then looping around and descending back downstairs.
Once again, this all happens in the dark, with only a glow stick to light
the way. Passing through the decontamination chamber, and into the
Vondee
Theater concludes the opening leg, and this is where things take a
major turn for the worse! Thugs come out of nowhere and surround
you, strip you of your glow stick, handcuff you, and tie a burlap sack
over your head (ok, it's really cheese cloth), and all the while swear
and curse at you demanding to know what's become of their lost key they
presume you have in your possession. A few alternate versions exist
from here on in. Some are physically accosted, rushed into an unknown
area, and forced to lie flat on their backs on the floor. Others
are strapped to a backboard, and carried into that same unknown area, and
placed on the ground. You're not alone here, as other hostages are
held in similar predicaments. At this point water is poured on the
bags covering your faces, and the brain trust of the hoodlums orders you
searched, and they even go so far as sticking a sanitary gloved finger
or two in your mouth to continue the exploration for the key, whatever
it goes to. Coinciding with accusations that you've swallowed their
precious key, a machete is rubbed on your stomach amid threats to slice
you open in order to retrieve it. And of course, you continue to
be cussed out, insulted, and called every name in the book. As their
patience runs thin, a hothead villain shoots one of the prisoners.
Realizing they're now in over their heads, they decide to move everyone
to a warehouse, so those of us that are lying down are dragged to our feet,
and whisked through a hall, down some steps, and thrown face down into
the back of a running hearse (you never find out it's a hearse), and subjected
to more cussing and abuse. Anyone strapped to the backboard is carried
down the same route, nearly dropped on a couple of occasions, and placed
at a 45 degree angle on the ground for a short bit before being added to
those already on the hearse. Next, you're taken for a ride
to some undisclosed location amidst idle chatter among the delinquents
about what our fate will be. Upon arrival, those of us lying on our
stomachs are pulled off, while the ones on backboards are unloaded and
unstrapped. Then we're all shoved up some steps, and down another
hallway while still being cussed at and degraded. Burlap sacks are
finally removed, then we're placed in holding pens, again in the dark -
some standing, others lying flat on our faces, and headphones are placed
over our ears. The thugs come to get us one by one, and conduct security
checks during the interim, shining red lights, then green lights, then
flickering lights directly in our faces. We're also subjected to
being touched again with knives, but you can't see by whom, or where they
come from. Those lying down, have someone come in and unlock one
of the handcuffs, in order to try and help them escape, but the attempted
rescue is thwarted, and the cuffs reapplied. This all goes on for about
20 minutes until your turn comes. When it does, handcuffs are removed,
and you have to make your way through the dark (through Scream and
My
Bloody Valentine) to another confrontation, where you're blindfolded,
ordered to sit in a chair, and vulgarly interrogated yet again over the
whereabouts of that d@mned lost key! The prisoner (actually a plant)
next to you is physically tortured with a blow torch, and he or she screams
in agony, then is forcibly removed from the area. As the hooligans
return, some victims have a shoe and a sock removed, and the torch is held
near their foot in an attempt to make them talk! Blindfolds are eventually
removed, and they smear blood on your face telling you it came from the
stooge they just carried out. They get in your face again, yell and
scream, and cuss, and implore you to divulge the location of the key.
Remember, all this time, it isn't permissable to speak. Finally,
they stand you up, drag you away, and tell you not to breathe one single
word about any of this to anyone, or they will hunt you down and kill you.
Then you're pointed toward the door, and Fear Fair's nightmare known
as Myctophobia comes to an end.
Analysis:
LENGTH - Duration easily lasts in excess of 45 minutes.
ACTORS - Cast is totally aggressive, in your face and
acts as though everything is real! If you don't want to be touched, grabbed,
manhandled, blindfolded, handcuffed, gotten wet, insulted, slandered, violated,
or on the receiving end of profanity, don't go! I think these guys
enjoyed themselves just a little bit too much! Yikes! Total
Characters = Roughly 10.
SCARINESS - If you play along, it's certainly a frightening
adventure. Don't let your fear show, or they'll just make things
that much worse on you. If you happen to panic, shout the code word
"jeopardy," and you'll be immediately escorted out.
DESIGN - It's a very realistic dramatization, sort of
like taking part in a real life Snuff film. If you want to know what
it feels like to be kidnapped against your will, tortured by a group of
crazed maniacs, and uncertain of where it's all going to end, here's your
chance! And don't look at this review as a spoiler, because they
change things up all the time, so your experience may be quite different
than what's recounted here.
PROPS - You can't see much of anything because what part
of the time you're not blindfolded, it's completely dark!
VALUE - It's one of the most unique experiences to be
had, and costs only $10.
RATING: NR, This unique, interactive special
event is only held twice per season, and doesn't conform to typical grading
standards, thus it has not been rated. Look for the next installment
of Fear Fair's Myctophobia, coming in the Spring of 2013!
Reviewed 10/25/2012 |
