Skelterbet
10-17-2006, 10:44 PM
For those of you who have not been there, Scream Park is a local attraction that has two Haunts: Mouth of Madness and Endless Graveyard. In addition, the night I went (Friday the 13th) was Haunted Denver night which included a chance to meet some of the critics and some of the regulars here on the October Lounge. The Radio Station 93.3 was on hand as well and there were free giveaways, haunted trivia contests, and several fantastic performances by the Firemancer crew.
I'll review each of the Haunts individually and then will combine the scores at the end of the review.
A review of Mouth of Madness in Haunted Denver format
Scare Factor: 7 (Pretty Good)
I need to state up front that I do not scare easily or often. Interestingly, Mouth of Madness actually scared me very well twice. I'll follow that up with one of the scares was the Startle Effect (where something jumps out at you from a place you weren't expecting it) and that I generally get annoyed by them. Mouth of Madness has several Startle Effects; the one that scared me were great, not because I was startled but because the atmosphere and buildup to it was skillfully done. One note: If the chainsaw guy scares you (and you like it), this is the Haunt for you.
Actors: 8 (Very Good)
The actors at Mouth of Madness overall did very well. When I went through they all stayed in character and looked well. I would have liked to have seen more of them (from what I've read about this and other Haunts, this is a common theme this season). The chain saw guys (yes, that is guys) were good. I don't like the chainsaw effect because it doesn't scare me; these guys recognized that immediately and went after the poor sods that are scared by it - which added to the fun immensely. The makeup effects were pretty good when you could see them, which brings us to:
Set Design/Props/FX: 9 (Excellent)
Overall, the Set Design was, well, excellent. The entire Haunt is outdoors. You enter the Haunt through the mouth of a giant skull that looked great. From there you went through a de-militarized zone where soldiers try (in vain) to save you from zombies (a la 28 Days Later). As you proceed into the Haunt, the sets contribute to the feeling that you are being hunted. Stark and run-down walls and spaces, dim lighting (if any), and long narrow areas that you must traverse (sometimes chased by madmen with chainsaws) are how the effect was achieved. I am unsure if this is the effect that the designers went for, but this is the effect it had on me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I do not recall seeing any animatronics, but I spent a lot of the Haunt trying to keep up with the group of scared thirteen-year-olds and a mom that were my group (which contributed to the fun).
Length: 8 (Very Good)
It took around 25-30 minutes to go through Mouth of Madness. I read elsewhere where someone complained about the Length as being too short. I disagree. Yes, it took only about 25-30 minutes, but that was mainly because I was chasing scared members of my group through the Haunt. It is a long walk for a Haunt and the shortened time is mainly due to people being chased by the chainsaw guys.
Overall Score for Mouth of Madness: 8 (Very Good)
A review of Endless Graveyard in Haunted Denver format
Scare Factor: 5 (Average)
As before, I need to state up front that I do not scare easily or often. Endless Graveyard uses the Startle Effect a few times and has a couple parts that built up a little tension...but it didn't scare me. There was one surprise that would have scared me (a la the Startle Effect), but I saw it last year, so I was left to enjoy it when the other members in my group (which included Robeaukatt) were scared by it. I liked that.
Actors: 8 (Very Good)
The actors in the Endless Graveyard did very well. They all stayed in character and the makeup/costumes looked great as well. As in Mouth of Madness, it would have been nice to have more of them (and again, that seems to be a problem for a lot of Haunts). The actors that were there worked hard to compensate for the lower numbers, and I think they suceeded.
Set Design/Props/FX: 6 (Decent)
This was a tough one to rate. On the one hand, many of the sets and pieces looked great; on the other hand, some of them you could only look into (presumably because of the Fire Code issue). Speaking with some of those who run the Haunt, they were notified on very short notice of a change to the code that affected their ability to let you walk through some of these cool looking sets. Considering that, it seemed to me that the majority of what was intended was open in some way. All things considered, I think the Scream Park staff did a good job of fixing what they could. The train broke down shortly before my group went through, so I was unable to see it. Walking through the area where the train would have taken us worked well, just the same. The actors there were very motivated and quite fun. One side note: it is called Endless Graveyard, but only one section of it appeared to be a graveyard.
Length: 7 (Pretty Good)
It took us about 20-25 minutes to go through the Endless Graveyard. It was a good walk and my group enjoyed the various scenes that we passed through.
Overall Score for Endless Graveyard: 7 (Pretty Good) (I round fractions to whole numbers).
Overall Score for Scream Park: 7 (Pretty Good)
A Note to everyone who says "It Sucks!" and other similar things:
First, you are entitled to think what you want about these Haunts.
Second, I don't have to agree with you.
Third, I do think that if you want people to take you or your reviews seriously, you must express yourself better than just saying "it sucks!"
Fourth, I don't care if you agree with me or not.
I'll review each of the Haunts individually and then will combine the scores at the end of the review.
A review of Mouth of Madness in Haunted Denver format
Scare Factor: 7 (Pretty Good)
I need to state up front that I do not scare easily or often. Interestingly, Mouth of Madness actually scared me very well twice. I'll follow that up with one of the scares was the Startle Effect (where something jumps out at you from a place you weren't expecting it) and that I generally get annoyed by them. Mouth of Madness has several Startle Effects; the one that scared me were great, not because I was startled but because the atmosphere and buildup to it was skillfully done. One note: If the chainsaw guy scares you (and you like it), this is the Haunt for you.
Actors: 8 (Very Good)
The actors at Mouth of Madness overall did very well. When I went through they all stayed in character and looked well. I would have liked to have seen more of them (from what I've read about this and other Haunts, this is a common theme this season). The chain saw guys (yes, that is guys) were good. I don't like the chainsaw effect because it doesn't scare me; these guys recognized that immediately and went after the poor sods that are scared by it - which added to the fun immensely. The makeup effects were pretty good when you could see them, which brings us to:
Set Design/Props/FX: 9 (Excellent)
Overall, the Set Design was, well, excellent. The entire Haunt is outdoors. You enter the Haunt through the mouth of a giant skull that looked great. From there you went through a de-militarized zone where soldiers try (in vain) to save you from zombies (a la 28 Days Later). As you proceed into the Haunt, the sets contribute to the feeling that you are being hunted. Stark and run-down walls and spaces, dim lighting (if any), and long narrow areas that you must traverse (sometimes chased by madmen with chainsaws) are how the effect was achieved. I am unsure if this is the effect that the designers went for, but this is the effect it had on me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I do not recall seeing any animatronics, but I spent a lot of the Haunt trying to keep up with the group of scared thirteen-year-olds and a mom that were my group (which contributed to the fun).
Length: 8 (Very Good)
It took around 25-30 minutes to go through Mouth of Madness. I read elsewhere where someone complained about the Length as being too short. I disagree. Yes, it took only about 25-30 minutes, but that was mainly because I was chasing scared members of my group through the Haunt. It is a long walk for a Haunt and the shortened time is mainly due to people being chased by the chainsaw guys.
Overall Score for Mouth of Madness: 8 (Very Good)
A review of Endless Graveyard in Haunted Denver format
Scare Factor: 5 (Average)
As before, I need to state up front that I do not scare easily or often. Endless Graveyard uses the Startle Effect a few times and has a couple parts that built up a little tension...but it didn't scare me. There was one surprise that would have scared me (a la the Startle Effect), but I saw it last year, so I was left to enjoy it when the other members in my group (which included Robeaukatt) were scared by it. I liked that.
Actors: 8 (Very Good)
The actors in the Endless Graveyard did very well. They all stayed in character and the makeup/costumes looked great as well. As in Mouth of Madness, it would have been nice to have more of them (and again, that seems to be a problem for a lot of Haunts). The actors that were there worked hard to compensate for the lower numbers, and I think they suceeded.
Set Design/Props/FX: 6 (Decent)
This was a tough one to rate. On the one hand, many of the sets and pieces looked great; on the other hand, some of them you could only look into (presumably because of the Fire Code issue). Speaking with some of those who run the Haunt, they were notified on very short notice of a change to the code that affected their ability to let you walk through some of these cool looking sets. Considering that, it seemed to me that the majority of what was intended was open in some way. All things considered, I think the Scream Park staff did a good job of fixing what they could. The train broke down shortly before my group went through, so I was unable to see it. Walking through the area where the train would have taken us worked well, just the same. The actors there were very motivated and quite fun. One side note: it is called Endless Graveyard, but only one section of it appeared to be a graveyard.
Length: 7 (Pretty Good)
It took us about 20-25 minutes to go through the Endless Graveyard. It was a good walk and my group enjoyed the various scenes that we passed through.
Overall Score for Endless Graveyard: 7 (Pretty Good) (I round fractions to whole numbers).
Overall Score for Scream Park: 7 (Pretty Good)
A Note to everyone who says "It Sucks!" and other similar things:
First, you are entitled to think what you want about these Haunts.
Second, I don't have to agree with you.
Third, I do think that if you want people to take you or your reviews seriously, you must express yourself better than just saying "it sucks!"
Fourth, I don't care if you agree with me or not.