| THE HAUNTED HOTEL:
No
vacancies as usual, and they certainly will NOT leave the light on for
you! The action-packed adventure begins in a rickety, old elevator,
where a devious looking attendant, his head wrapped in barbed wire, selects
your floor, and you're on your way. There's no escape, as the run-down
hoist begins violently shaking and thrashing about, and its panel board
lights begin to flicker off and on. A sudden power failure leaves
you stranded in total darkness before bringing your ride to a screeching
halt. A few terrorizing surprises later, and you've reached your
destination. Exiting the elevator, the intense experience continues,
as you stumble upon a caged girl being held captive by a wickedly laughing,
spark emitting fiend. Blood-spattered rooms, and vicious maniacs
give rise to terrifying attacks. A barbaric beheading takes place
at the bottom of a staircase, where some unfortunate soul has his head
ripped from his body by some sort of torturous contraption. Bloody
handprints belonging to previous Hotel guests adorn the walls, as
you ascend upstairs. Subtle music gives way to all-out assault, as
"Rock-a-bye baby" succumbs to heavy metal! Floors move, mist sprays,
and air guns blast as the onslaught of strobes, sparks, shock walls, and
unimaginable persecution continues. Meet up with
Chuckles
the clown armed with a baseball bat, and the signature bathroom scene of
a "naked" girl behind a shower curtain that delivers yet another startling
surprise, while unforeseen mechanical bombshells take dead aim on the unsuspecting.
Pursuit by more relentlessly deranged savages, each equipped with their
own murderous weapon of choice, eventually leads outdoors to a spinning
vortex, double MAJOR surprise containing blackened maze, convict electrocution,
and multiple chainsaw, surprise including chase-out of The Haunted Hotel.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9, slightly more than 15 minutes.
ACTORS - 10, As is customary, all characters are aggressively
intense and covered with blood! The most threatening crew in the
business is most convincing in making you believe they're really going
to kill you! Few haunts even begin to compete with the Haunted
Network brand
SCARINESS - 9½, Numerous surprises and intimidating,
"in your face" acting sends chills up your spine.
DESIGN - 9+, Several alterations are on tap for '07.
Change is good, but occasionally results in the loss of favorite "trademark"
scenes, which is the case this year, with elimination of the multiple surprise
bedroom incident. Continued attention to the outdoor maze is evident,
with the introduction of the "double MAJOR surprise" that you'll have to
see for yourself. Blinding fog adds to the maze entrapment, and increases
the fear induced by the chainsaw madmen. Excellent complimentary
sounds, although a few areas seem a little quieter than usual (deafening
alarm accompanying maze electrocution present one year ago was a conspicuous
absence).
PROPS - 9½, Numerous animatronics delivering the
best timed scares in the business, perfectly setting up the cast of overzealous
killers. However, they did seem slightly fewer in number with the
loss of the bedroom scene, and blood squirting corpse, as well as opening
and closing kitchen cabinet doors had also been removed, or were malfunctioning.
VALUE - 9, $15 ($2 coupon valid on Thursdays and Sundays).
Up a dollar from '06, but some of the most intense scares around!
RATING: 9½, Never a dull moment at
The
Hotel! Additions to the outdoor maze are outstanding, and group
size is kept to a minimum in order to insure that everyone gets to experience
all the surprises equally. This perennial HAUNT OF THE YEAR contender
once again stamps its patented brand of intensity and excellence on the
haunted house industry for all to see. Plan a visit to Louisville
and check into The Haunted Hotel. |
