NETHERWORLD (Season of the Witch):The
queue line winds its way through the Netherworld museum, which displays
various artifacts of the attraction's history, as well as flashbacks to
popular horror movies. Sights include The Abomination; a personified,
living tree, and a disorienting mirror maze in addition to Woody Harrelson's
chainsaws (Zombieland),
Necromonger
(The Chronicles of
Riddick), Robert Downey, Jr.'s head (Eight Legged Freaks),
Myers
Tombstone (Halloween), etc.
The overwhelming assault of the senses itself begins through
the majestic iron gates of a frightening cemetery, and immediately into
the clutches of an enormous, yellow-eyed beast, wearing a necklace comprised
of gears, and holding onto an elongated staff, while directing progression
onto a rearing animated horse, whose rider madly waves a murderous sword,
and displays a recently severed head! Continuance past an old haunted
house decorated with "Happy Halloween," unleashes an unexpected overhead
surprise, and the emergence of a stalkabout-like creature whose head protrudes
from the center of its chest! Upright caskets surrender undead conflicts,
as the enormous head of a bright, green-eyed grim reaper comes flying
down the path right next to a bottomless pit that appears to descend forever
and ever! Arched passageways, and stone-lined, ivy-covered walls
escort the route through torch and candle-lit corridors, and a tunnel illuminated
in red that soon dumps through a spinning vortex into the grasp of a four-armed
mechanical ogre. Dense fog, air cannons, and intimidating sounds,
complicate navigation through cobwebs and imprisoned skeletons, and onto
a collapsing walkway before yielding along fossilized hallways into eventual
darkness that claustrophobically pins advancement up against a neighboring
wall! Body vaults, witches, a tipping bucket, and an absolute onslaught
of animated surprises follow, including a space-invading defilement courtesy
of a bloody-mouthed rat! Unstable footing directs furtherance beyond
spooky paintings provoking the wrath of a gigantic, fanged, blue-eyed creature
that attacks as flooring simultaneously gives way, and aparitions commandeer
the surroundings! Elusion past a fireplace littered with the boney
remnants of its flesh devouring flames leads past suits of armor, a toppling
mirror, living statues, CGI startles, and a chained crate in the midst
of a ceremonial ritual that shifts about of its own volition, then onto
a wall of moving mouths and eyes, and a mummy-containing sarcophagus into
yet another mechanical encounter, this one at the hands of a snorting,
bellowing, oversized pig! Butchered hogs accompany the vicious sight
of man being savagely sawed in two, then it's onto the piercing red beam
emitted from an elevated eyeball that lights the way into a laser-dispersed,
vortex-like tunnel lined with coffins that tips and vibrates as you make
your way through. From there, its onto a den highlighted by a sculpted
bust, and a series of animal head trophies mounted to walls including deer,
an elephant with impressive tusks, and a bear that reanimates on the cue
of a witchdoctor-like character that restores life to the now dejected
beast! Spiders, dripping water, and tentacles busting through walls
hinder advancement through body bag-like cocoons, and an immense mutant
insect that sprays forth deadly venom combining to set the stage for a
vampire-infested zone that houses caskets; an animated gargoyle; and a
massive, carnivorous, sharp-toothed behemoth that bursts onto the scene
defying progression! Forging onward evokes the reluctance of an overgrown
stalkabout in advance of a cavern-like cave-in under duress of an enormous,
red-eyed, shackled monster that fades through a claustrophobic passage
inciting the anger of a bungee surprise before accessing a mirror maze
that departs through vertical tombs, a swinging body bag, and more animated
assaults. A voice distorted struggle with a Devil-like character
is still to come, as narrowed passages present more cramped encounters,
and a Baphomet-headed obstacle infringes upon the path summoning
an enormous, winged dragon into asserting its dominance over the
nocturnal domain! An oversized gator, mutated fly, and a homicidal
fiend armed with an axe are yet to be dealt with, as overhead nuisances
compound the maneuver through a quagmire-like swamp! All Hell breaks
loose, as more mechanical aggressions linger on the horizon, accompanied
by shifting floors and tilting walkways that invite huge, moving skulls
into more space-invading violations, that progress to an overhead zip-line
surprise that's soon followed by the violent invasion of an enormous, orange-toothed
beast that literally knocks you out of the way, and into the line of fire
of a contemptable brute thrusting a log directly into the route ahead!
Stars light the sky as a cantankerous, flying gargoyle descends from up
above shadowed by a humongous skull that sends the course fleeing through
a tentacle-lined hallway into the waiting arms of octupus-like creatures
that have arms and limbs growing out their mouths and noses! Sirens
blare, firecrackers pop, and gears pierce and protrude through walls as
the route stumbles upon a half-human robot having a drill for one hand,
and a clamp for grasping as another! Gigantic cogs and pinions rotate
behind him, and walls cave in as running for your life only discovers a
20 foot tall, supersized specter carrying a bloody spear, and guarded by
skeletonized gargoyles that climaxes with a dual chainsaw sendoff from
Netherworld! |
SPLICED: Roaming
monsters terrorize the approach to the secondary on-site attraction called
Spliced.
A spinning vortex of spikes initiates the adventure that continues across
vibrating floors, past pipe-lined walls, and descending ceilings that dangle
remnants of skin in people's faces in advance of a path-blocking monster
ingesting human tissue. Encased skeletons shadow progression, along
with hanged corpses suspended by their wrists as bloody hands grasp down
from above, floors shift about, and breathing walls comprised of intestines
and guts expand and contract trapping visitors inside! Electrical
short-circuits, severed heads, imprisoned captives, and a bottomless pit
compromise navigation onto a CGI surprise, that's soon followed by an assortment
of revolving arms and legs, stockpiled for potential use in the next spliced
together
experiment. Monsters reach their tentacles out from within cages,
as the route continues into the clutches of a giant, tusked beast before
departing through a tilted hallway, where a snake bursts forth from within
a cadaver, and mutilated torsos are encased like fossilized specimens within
surrounding walls. An overhead fan beckons advancement across more
unsure footing, and more hanging tentacles as a body is split in two spraying
passersby with blood, as an enormous rotating saw thrusts its way forward,
and a gigantic locust-like insect pesters continuance into some sort of
dental mishap that erupts with another spraying surprise. Walls comprised
of body vaults sway, and close in from both sides, as a huge-toothed monster
pounces onto the scene, and the metal bars from an elevated jail cell come
crashing downward permitting the escape of its incarcerated detainee.
Forging onward through a red, rope-lit tunnel springs more mechanical confrontations
including a 3-fingered mutant, and his giant-tongued cohort. Boarding
a moving subway car transporting dead passengers exposes gas-masked wearing
fiends, then climaxes with an onslaught of ambushes that include a horn-honking,
near-miss hit-and-run inside an auto repair shop that's guarded by a rabid
watchdog! Still more animated creatures make their presence known
as lifeless bodies litter the surroundings, and hang from chains suspended
from the ceiling above, prompting entrance into a fog-filled, brilliantly-lit
maze of blinding white light that excites an unexpected chainsaw chase-out
of Spliced. |
Overall Analysis:
LENGTH - 9, Season of the Witch = 21 minutes/Spliced
= 9½ mins.
ACTORS - 9+, Elaborate costuming is present throughout.
Dialogue is minimal, but cast's purpose is to supplement scares within
an absolutely overwhelming environment. Roaming characters entertain crowds
waiting to enter, and are equally as well attired as their indoor counterparts.
Total Characters = 36 (Season of the Witch)/ 16 (Spliced).
SCARINESS - 10, The atmosphere that exists within is
completely indescribable. Dim lighting and specialized soundtracks
compliment Hollywood style scenes from start to finish that are
jam packed with action. So much is happening all at once that you
often don't know whether to stand back in awe, take cover, or run for your
life!
DESIGN - 10, Netherworld is an absolute gothic
masterpiece from a design standpoint. Astoundingly elaborate sets
combine with mind-boggling animatronics to create total sensory overload.
Spliced
presents a more bizarre theme, focusing primarily on experimental, cloned
mutations, while Season of the Witch casts spells that unleash more
traditional horrors. With its incredible special effects and captivating
monsters, this place is like the best haunted attraction you've ever visited
on steroids.
PROPS - 10, No stone is left unturned from a decoration
standpoint, and the density of mechanical, animatronic, and actortronic
scares is second to none.
VALUE - 10, Prices vary depending upon whether you visit
during the week or on busier weekends. Regardless of the cost, this
is THE haunted house experience of a lifetime!
RATING: 9½+, If ever there
was a perfect 10, here it is!! Many of the animated scares project
directly into the path creating numerous space violating invasions.
For true haunt enthusiasts, this is one place you just have to see to believe!!! |