| DEAD ACRES: Ranked
among the best haunted houses in the country by Hauntworld Magazine,
Yahoo.com,
and others, Dead Acres is an experience you have to see to believe!
Huge silos guard the queue line area, belching flames skyward alongside
arguably the most impressive haunted attraction in the country. Right
away, an absolutely horrific surprise, and an all out chainsaw assault
wait just inside the doors of the attraction also known as the Haunted
Hoochie. Caskets give up the undead, gigantic vampire bats flap their
enormous wings, and a multitude of irate monsters burst through previously
closed doors, and lunge out of drop down windows and wall panels, grabbing
and clawing at all who dare enter. Hallways appear to be on fire,
as flames shoot up from windows, and the corridor begins to fill with smoke!
From there, a butchered pig maze leads to skeletons, clowns, a giant mechanical
serpent that springs to life right before your very eyes, and a most impressive
encounter with an animated headless horseman, that comes alive as you approach
defying your progression onward. Practically non-stop startles, both
human and pneumatic wreck havoc on your emotions. Highly aggressive
characters play off the numerous distractions springing forth from more
secret panels, and grabbing at you from the rafters overhead. Escaping
to an outdoor area provokes a number of fiends armed with various weapons
including chainsaws that actually come in contact with your legs, and maybe
a few other body parts! Fleeing into a cabin finds caged spooks desperately
attempting to escape their incarceration, and a darkened maze that yields
to a plethora of sparks and chainsaws! Skeleton lined walls, and
overwhelming loud music give way to thrashing, inverted bodies suspended
by chains from the ceiling, and a bed whose sheet covered occupant convulses
up and down. An absolute barrage of animated surprises yield to sprays
of mist, blasts of air, a near miss from a hit and run driver, and another
abominable
surprise taking the form of an induced labor, demonic childbirth, courtesy
of a demented OBGYN, and his oversized hammer! A brief darkened entrapment
awaits your emergence from a spinning vortex, where a crazed, chain-saw
madman suddenly appears out of the lightlessness, turning the power tool
on a helpless, chained-up victim who suffers the obscene fate of having
the front of his face and torso ripped open by the loudly revving device,
before exiting into a cage maze, and your eventual freedom from Dead
Acres.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9, Right on 20 minutes.
ACTORS - 10, Quite a bit of aggressive intensity from
continues grabbing, hands reaching out towards your face, and the numerous
weapons arming much of the crew. Chainsaw lunatics actually rubbing
their gas guzzling noisemakers up against you is beyond comparison!
SCARINESS - 9½, Numerous distractions provided
by a boat load of animated props, perfectly capitalized upon by the energetic
cast. Very little in the form traditionally spooky music, but the
soundtrack is designed to compliment the intense nature of the haunt, which
it accomplishes dramatically.
DESIGN - 9½, Major surprises are new, but otherwise
similar to last year. Cabin and other authentic structures are outstanding.
Clown confinement has been eliminated, thereby reducing the possibility
of groups bunching together. That still occurs as a result of the
surprise entrapment, but it’s near the release into the maze finish, which
is intentionally chaotic anyway given the dead ends, and vicious monsters
it contains. The maze itself isn't all that difficult, but is created
that way in order to assist crowd flow, and still provides numerous opportunities
for "too close for comfort" confrontations with more of the attraction's
savages. Mechanical props provide plenty of scares, which set
up the large cast of dejected actors, who are well concealed and anxious
to pounce! The only negative results from the popularity of the attraction
itself, which attracts long, early arriving lines, which in turn increases
group size, thus dampening the experience.
PROPS - 9½, An overwhelming number of animated
scares, some of which could possibly be missed by larger groups.
Once they get you inside, someone, or someTHING is interacting with you
practically throughout. A few noticeable eliminations (animated gravesite
skeleton beginning, and Impaler), and none of the season's newest technological
advances have taken their place, which allows the pursuing competition
to close the gap a bit.
VALUE - 9½, A little on the expensive side, and
a parking surcharge, but no increase from a season ago, and quite possibly
the best haunted attraction around.
RATING: 9½, The most action packed
adventure in the state of Ohio, featuring impressive animatronics, and
some of the most highly motivated characters around. This powerful
combination makes for an absolutly overwhelming experience that’s not to
be missed! Ohio Valley Haunts’ 2006 HAUNT OF THE YEAR picks
up right where it left off last season! Get to Dead Acres
for the haunted house experience of a lifetime! |
