 FRIGHT
MANOR: Frightening music invites you into
the living room of The Manor. Scares commense almost immediately
from the likes of Michael Myers; caged skeletons that shake and
move about on their own; and a vibrating casket encased behind an iron
fence, and guarded by an enormous bat suspended directly above! Dining
rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms of the old Haunted House are visited,
each containing their own brand of fear inducing surprises. The creepy
old estate also houses an execution chamber, where an electrocution is
in progress, and chained prisoners lunge forth as you pass them by.
Then it's onto the medical wing, where bodies propel off of gurneys, while
an insane doctor treats himself to some human delicacies, and the only
escape is found by crawling through a morgue's body vault! Secret
wall panels yield to more surprises, as ceilings shrink, floors vibrate,
and another unexpected occurrence takes place as you're forced to crawl
your way to "safety" once again. Another big surprise lies ahead,
as you progress to a grotesque meal being served in the restroom of the
Happy
Time Nursing Home, then make your way to Old Man Grizzly's Woods,
and
a multiple chainsaw chase-out of Fright Manor.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 7½, Under 15 minutes.
ACTORS - 8, Well hidden throughout, but seemed as though
the cast was downsized in comparison to last year. Loss of Grinner
and his trusty barbed wire covered baseball bat is most unfortunate.
Still some pretty good interaction and intensity, but pales in comparison
to the lengthier, ’06 installment.
SCARIENSS - 9, Spooky music is simply fantastic.
Crawl through the body vault is most intimidating, as is the “big surprise.”
Darkness and other loud sound effects set the stage for a multitude of
startles delivered by vast array of mechanical props. Decline in
the acting department impacts the scare factor.
DESIGN - 8, The Manor is stocked full of scenes
one on top of the other, many of which are at first obscured by the dark
surroundings, then suddenly illuminate right before your eyes. Cemetery
scene is a bit weaker without the earth moving, buried alive scene, and
decreasing the overall course length hurts the score.
PROPS - 9, Good detailing of rooms, including many well-timed
animatronical surprises that produce abundant startles, and ample opportunities
for the crew to capitalize upon.
VALUE - 8½, Price remains constant, and delivers
two haunts for the price of one, although basically it’s Fright Manor
split up into both attractions.
RATING: 8½, Still a great haunt,
but much better under a single roof. Future diversification will
hopefully take the form of uniquely themed, stand alone events, and the
restoration of Fright Manor into the powerhouse feature attraction it’s
always been. As stated below, this is unquestionably the best haunt
in Indy. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here! |
 PSYCHOMANTHIUM:
Scary music welcomes you into the new, secondary attraction
at Fright Manor known as Psychomanthium. Sights of
headless bodies, clowns, animated skeletons, and witches stirring their
brew await your entrance. Thunder, lightning, and a piercing alarm
accompanies the journey to Elm Street, and an intimidating
encounter with a spark-emitting Freddy. Decrepit scenes of
surgeries and funerals give rise to attacks by ghouls armed with power
saws. Confrontations with a variety of characters ranging from scarecrows
to Jason Voorhees deliver you to a fork in the road where you're
forced to "pick your poison" by choosing the Jason path, or the
Vampire
route. Different surprises emerge depending on which course you select.
A visit to the Butcher Shop concludes with an assault by a bloody,
apron wearing, chainsaw wielding Pig, who's roasting the heads of
humans, and dicing others up. Emerging from that crisis lands you
in The Fright Manor Cemetery, which leads to a bubbling, toxic waste
scenario that introduces an all out Leatherface and Jason maze
chase-out of Psychomanthium.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 6½, Only 7 to 8 minutes long.
ACTORS - 8, Could stand some additions to the cast, but
those present are quite an overactive bunch. Not much dialogue, except
for Freddy. Leatherface, and Chainsaw Jason
are the most aggressive. Pig Butcher is a classic!
SCARINESS - 7, Fantastic soundtrack, and good scares
while it lasts, but limited by its short duration.
DESIGN - 6, Again, the haunt is somewhat on the short
side. Originating as an attempt to host multiple haunts at the Fright
Manor location, the introduction of this similarly themed attraction
takes away from the main event. Encountering Jason PRIOR to
selecting HIS path at the fork in the road doesn’t make sense. Psychomanthium,
by definition implies the use of mirrors to set up communication with the
spiritual realm, and that’s simply not present. This adventure would
be best suited annexed back onto Fright Manor, with additional,
future haunts acquiring their own unique identities. Given its unique
name, a combination of a dark, fence, cage, and MIRROR maze would work
well here.
PROPS - 8, Some nice animatronics, décor, and
well timed scares, but not as numerous as in the Manor itself.
VALUE - 8, Only $7.50 when considered as part of a two
haunt combo ticket, but not lengthy enough to rank higher.
RATING: 7, Although Psychomanthium
is a nice compliment to the main attraction, it just doesn’t have the potential
to compete with Fright Manor, nor would you want it to. Their
combined effort as a single haunt annually achieved a score in the 9 to
9+ range, but separating them does damage to both. It’s understandable
that the owners wish to branch out into a multi-haunt facility, given the
success of other, less frightening venues in the area, but uniquely themed
haunts is the way to go. Fright Manor is by far the scariest,
and most elaborate haunted house in the Indianapolis area! If you
can't handle the fear, don't enter here! |
