Necropolis - Ohio Valley Haunts Review

OHIO VALLEY HAUNTS

HAUNTED HOUSE REVIEWS

HAUNTED ATTRACTION

NECROPOLIS

RATING: 9+

Reviewed 10/23/09

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LOCATION & ADMISSION INFO:

2525 N. Shadeland Ave.

Indianapolis, IN 46219

(317) 353-1987

$18 Adults / $10 Children under 12

$26 Combo / Children $15

- Child Tix sold until 8 PM -

AIA (Almost Immediate Access) add $9

REVIEWS

NECROPOLIS: Roaming monsters stalk the queue line area outside Necropolis. Down the stairs of this abandoned old warehouse lies the long forgotten city of perpetual darkness. Disgusting green water spews forth as the adventure begins through an underground sewer system and makes its way into the Necropolis Research Labs, where mad scientists work feverishly on bodies and other devious experiments. Spooky music and body bags accompany the course into an old wooden cabin that hides a sudden surprise before moving onto Freddy Krueger, The Wolfman, Jason Voorhees, Scream, and Jigsaw! A frightening cemetery is on the horizon, guarded by mysterious iron gates, and filled with coffins, tombstones, and dense fog. Spiders and animated skeletons haunt the graveyard crypt that exits through upright caskets and eventually into a torture chamber, where victims convulse in agony while being shackled, torn in two, and even put to death in an electric chair under the murderous supervision of an ax carrying Executioner. Escaping through a claustrophobic hallway delivers you into a clown infested area decorated with enormous stuffed animals that yields to a majestic skull fountain, and across a bridge shadowed by additional moving surprises. Then, it's back into an elaborate cemetery, and into a darkened chainsaw pursuit that brings you into a room where mechanical startles originate through several windows, one of which hides a fantastic surprise! Drop-down panels are yet to be encountered, as is a room of glow masks just prior to exiting Necropolis.

Analysis:
LENGTH - 8, 15 minutes.
ACTORS - 9, Attraction is much more densely populated in comparison to 2008. Cast is well hidden, and responsible for lots of startling surprises, although there's not much dialogue, and lots of masks. Total Characters = 28.
SCARINESS - 9½, Outstanding décor and frightening background music create a legitimately spooky environment.
DESIGN - 9½, No stone is left unturned from a decoration standpoint. Cemeteries are best, but clowns don’t really fit the theme, and a more climactic finish is needed.
PROPS - 10, As previously mentioned, detailing doesn’t get much better than this! Each and every scene showcases meticulous attention with lots of specialization, one of a kind creations, and an abundance of mechanical scares!
VALUE - 9+, Admission is up a dollar in comparison to last year. $18 is a bit steep for a single attraction, but equates to less than $9 as part of the three-haunt combo ticket.
RATING: 9+, Necropolis is one of the most elaborately decorated Haunted Houses in the country containing many authentic looking sets and structures. Improved acting has earned them a spot on Ohio Valley Haunts’ list of top 13 attractions!

ZOMBIE INN: The old, dilapidated Inn at 187 Deadview Lane consists of old, wooden corridors filled with pictures of long departed zombies. Deplorable creatures paw through crevices of the run-down building, reaching out and grabbing at passersby. A variety mechanical surprises compliment the course, as eyes follow your progression through one of the rooms and an animated monster springs upward out of a lamp. Piercing red lasers emit from the fingertips of some of the undead corpses, while an enormous hand prevents anyone from robbing the ice box! Caskets, and loud pounding accompany the journey past a sudden opening in the wall that delivers a startling surprise, and a little girl's room where a bunkbed hides another unexpected event. Other sights involve a giant spider examining his most recent capture, a pair of insane lunatics, and a dinner table full of zombie figures that includes another episode of unsuspected terror just prior to escaping Zombie Inn!

Analysis:
LENGTH - 5½, Only 6 minutes long.
ACTORS - 8, A larger, more irate cast occupies The Inn this season, many of whom are adorned with skeleton masks. Need to reevaluate the costuming and increase the use of make-up to create some unique looking undead beings in keeping with the theme to raise the score. Little girl is out of place in a zombie haunt. Total Characters = 13.
SCARINESS - 8, Appropriate mood music and some startling surprises along the way. Short duration impacts the ability to instill fear.
DESIGN - 7½, Setting is realistic in appearance, with rooms and halls exhibiting adequate décor, but course's length is a major weakness.
PROPS - 8, Detailing is a strong point as is the case with the main event, although not to the same degree. Animated surprises accompany bedroom and dining room scenes.
VALUE - 7, Serving as a supporting attraction to Necropolis, Zombie Inn needs a more time consuming course to rate higher. Expense of the combo ticket holds back the score.
RATING - 7½, Zombie Inn has the potential to be a much stronger secondary haunt by addressing the few shortcomings discussed herein.

DARK TERRORS: Scanning your palm print permits entrance into a detox area prior to emparking on the Dark Terrors adventure. Equipped with nothing but an intermittently working flashlight, the journey through a remote army research lab begins. Secret experiments have turned out unsatisfactorily, yielding tragic consequences. Radioactive material has been released, and although prolonged exposure won’t be an issue, there’s enough of the enriched uranium in the air to interfere with electromagnetic fields necessary to maintain electricity and light. Sudden interactions with previously concealed beings initiate entry through a spinning vortex and into the darkened surroundings that finds wooden crates scattered about, and a variety of animal specimens having been used for test subjects. Some have escaped their cages througout the restricted government facility, and the only source of illumination is the faulty flashlight that repeatedly fails at the most inopportune moment due to the high concentration of unstable isotopes in the atmosphere. Dead bodies and an oversized mutant creature occupy the dangerous facility that witnesses desperate pleas for help, vibrating lockers, and slamming doors as the course progresses into an office-like area where desks have been ransacked, and crazed, deformed creatures have taken up residence. Cages open and close on their own, pipes and panels fall to the ground, and a chandelier comes crashing down, as an onslaught of monsters charge forth out of hidden compartments chasing everyone out of Dark Terrors!

Analysis:
LENGTH - 6½, The experience lasts 8½ minutes.
ACTORS - 8½, Monsters are well hidden and deliver quality scares. Additional use of make-up to create more frightening individuals would prove benefickal. Total Characters = 17.
SCARINESS - 9, Darkness obscures scenery that only illuminates with the randomness of the flashlight, and provides an amazing environment from which monsters and mechanical surprises can deliver their startles. Energetic cast contributes to the fear factor. Soundtrack is a little on the quiet side.
DESIGN - 8½, Theme holds throughout, and the uncertainty of the flashlight really adds to the experience. Short duration of the attraction is the limiting factor.
PROPS - 7½, Tough to see much of the décor due to absence of light. Vortex, dropping chandelier, and pneumatic cages are most memorable, and of course the flashlight is best.
VALUE - 8, Dark Terrors is included with admission to Necropolis and Zombie Inn as part of the $26 three-haunt combo.
RATING - 8, This is one of the most unique attractions in the industry, and should be experienced by all. Expanding the endurance would raise the score since it ends long before you’re ready! Flickering flashlight is a one of a kind scare, and it’s only at Dark Terrors.