So this year I may just put the horror movie reviews on the back burner. Hopefully, down the road, I'll watch a horror movie that will be cool enough to tell you all about.
In the meantime, I do have something Halloween themed I can review for you. I had the fortune to visit a new Haunted Attraction in town. My buddy, Bones, and I braved up and hit the road south of here to visit.....
The Abandoned Haunted House Complex - This haunt is brand spanking new and has been in development for the last two years. I remember seeing the building with the sign on it that read "Haunted House Complex" when I would be going south toward Chicago, usually to visit the local Renaissance fair that is nearby. I always wondered about it because I heard very little about it. It's a big enough building that once housed a banquette hall and bar. Apparently it was still in the building stages.
After going through this past Friday night, Bones and I were pretty impressed with it. It's main strength is with its scare-actors. All were in character at all times and having a blast, which can be fully witnessed if you get there early enough, just before it opens, when all of the ghouls come rushing out from behind a small and dilapidated farm house adjacent to the complex. Before most of them enter into the complex they spook and freak out patrons that are in line. A few of the ghouls stay outside to continue to torment the patrons waiting to get in. One creepy clown was especially effective on the group of young girls afflicted with coulrophobia.
The outside of the complex isn't adorned with too much of a creepy facade. There is a body hanging from a noose, however. Once you enter into the first room of the haunt, it is evident that the settings improve greatly from the outside. A very good talent for detail is evident throughout the haunt, making most of the settings pretty cool to look at. The lighting effects were also pretty mesmerizing in some places. There is a severe lack of hydraulic or pneumatic special effect props here that you'll find in many local haunts. This haunt relies on it's heavy use of scare-actors jumping out from the corners of darkness. Some of my favorite areas where the hallways where severed heads and body parts where hanging by ropes, swaying back on forth and you had to navigate around them. That was pretty much all the prop movement that was utilized in this haunt. There was also another part where I was convinced we were going in circles... or where we?
It was also a pretty decent in its length. I'd say it took a good 20 minutes or so to get through the whole thing. And we were moving at a decent pace too.
If I had to come up with a negative I'd have to say the price is a little steep in what they are offering. Many local haunts deliver just as good an experience for under the $20 it costs to go through this haunt. Perhaps, if in future years, they could incorporate a few big ticket effects they could justify the full $20 price. It's not cheap to run a haunt. I get that. But, you also want to stay competitive.
But, in the end, this place is fun and shows a lot of promise. Major kudos to the actors and actresses in this place. They are a top notch group!
Now I've regaled you with my visit to a haunt, let's all go to one together. This is a special viewing of a haunt known as Lemp Brewery located in St. Louis, MO. It was filmed during a "lights on" tour for a Haunted Attraction symposium. It is broken down in a few parts and brougt to YouTube by the wonderful people at McKamey Manor. Don't let the "lights on" fool you. It is still a wonderful and spooky attraction to behold. Here we go....
Ya know. Since we got this footage form McKamey Manor (currently in San Diego), why don't we visit them also?
That's a heck of a lot of haunting for today. Let's move on to another topic other than Halloween and Haunted attractions. Trust me. This subject will be worth it.
There has been a lot of Buzz about the new James Bond Movie coming out next month. Reviews of Skyfall are already starting to surface and people are saying that this will be one of the greatest Bond movies of all time. I don't want o get myself over excited, but November 9th can't come soon enough!
You can read brief summaries of the reviews HERE! Only the reviewer for The Gardian seems to be a fuddy duddy about the movie.
Here's a few more goodies to wet the appetite before Skyfall's release!
So there you go. A post with a whole bevy of video goodies to get you into the Halloween mode as well as the Skyfall mode.
Until next time, stay vertical!
Zangz.
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