| CHAMBERS OF HORROR: Various
creatures of the night lurk in the darkness outside this year's Chambers
of Horror. New for '07 are television monitors entertaining the
waiting area, playing a smorgasbord of horror flicks. "Wanna play
a game?" If those words are familiar to you, then you'll better appreciate
the queue line video that introduces the house rules of The Chambers.
(Puppet master from the movie Saw) When he finishes, the door
flies open, and a ghoul butler leads you inside to the ticket area, where
the seller too is dressed in full costume! Tension builds from here,
as creepy music begins to work on your nerves, and the butler character
delivers his masterful performance, before sending you through the Dead
End Cemetery, where graves readily surrender their undead corpses from
their earthen tombs. Then it's into the 30 plus Chambers,
characterized by dim lighting, uneven floors, secret passages, some of
the most intense actors in the business, and nearly 100 doors, many of
which conceal vicious monsters, are booby trapped with dead ends, or false
exits, or simply refuse to open at all! Walls close in, and ceilings
come crashing down as you desperately try to overcome confusion, and find
the correct path. Numerous entrapments are encountered as your emotions
continue on a downward spiral! Take an unnerving walk through an
upright casket into Count Dracula's Chamber, or a ride in the Hellivator.
It can ascend to Heaven, or plunge you into the depths of Hell. Why
aren't we surprised when it takes us in a downward direction? In
some of the other Chambers you'll meet up with Jason, Freddy Krueger,
Michael Myers, Leatherface, a mad doctor offering a meal of human fingers,
ears, and other body parts, a live, bodiless head resting on a table, and,
two of The Chambers' signature characters - the maniacal, bloody
butchers, who lock you in their freezers, and fully intend on you staying
for dinner, although perhaps not in the normal capacity! They'll
chop you up, cook you till you're done, and serve you to the monsters that
inhabit The Chambers of Horror.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9½, Easily over 20 minutes, and perhaps
much longer depending on the various entrapments.
ACTORS - 9, Some of the most intimidating characters
around - aggressive and downright hardcore! Many converse with you,
as opposed to simply yelling or growling. Freddy, for example, demands
to know where we're going as we pass through his boiler room, and another
warns, "Time to die!" just as the walls of a corridor come crashing in
on us. Still a lot of masks, but more make-up than in years past.
Butler, butchers, Leatherface, and mad doctor are most memorable.
SCARINESS - 9, As intense as ever! We questioned
twenty or so patrons as they exited on the night of our visit, and each
and every one told us "it was "good!"
DESIGN - 9, More Chambers, a longer path, and
enhanced entrapments (doubling up on the room of doors) are among the improvements.
Passageways are extremely narrow and quite capable of inducing some claustrophobic
anxiety! Combine that with unsure footing (unevenness of the floors
), and those relentless monsters, and it's pretty easy to suffer an emotional
meltdown!
PROPS - 8½, Not a lot to look at through many
of the hallways, but ceiling and wall surprises are among the best you'll
see.
VALUE - 9½, One of the most reasonably priced
haunts around, yet one of the all-time best. Very patron friendly
at $9 per person. Bring a can of food and receive a dollar discount,
reducing the cost of admission to only $8!
RATING: 9, What
The Chambers of Horror may lack in the extravagant prop department,
they more than make up for in a traditional sense. In a day and age
where many haunts are relying more on expensive, technological methods
of delivering surprises, these guys know how to scare you! It all
begins with the wait in the front foyer of The Chambers, and builds
throughout. They solicit your fears by playing on your emotions,
and then masterfully exploit them to the fullest extreme. If you're
looking for an old-fashioned, affordable haunted house, here it is.
Ohio Valley Haunts encourages a trip to Middletown's Chambers of Horror. |
