| MAYHEM MANSION:
A
fountain of blood welcomes you into the “haunted” Mayhem Mansion.
Intimidating sounds and blood-curdling screams lure you into a dark maze,
containing frequent dead ends and startling surprises. Brief subtle
touches lead to assaulting attacks with power tools, while an axe-wielding
fiend insists what he did to his sister was an “accident.” The sibling’s
throat’s been slit, and she’s covered with blood, but still able to scream
bloody murder, and order you out of their house! An encounter with
Grandma results in a brief entrapment, until a secret escape route
is finally discovered that returns you to the continuation of the dark
maze, more dead ends, misdirection, group separation, and eventually, a
chainsaw chase into a surprising secret panel escape from Mayhem Mansion.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 6, 8 minutes
ACTORS - 7½, Good use of make-up. Axe-wielding
brute offers best dialogue, and his sister delivers the overall best performance.
Increasing the number of adult characters as well as their aggressiveness,
while reassigning child actors to non-primary scare roles would raise the
score.
SCARINESS - 7½, Darkness, screams, and entrapments
provide the majority of the scares. Lengthening the experience and
raising the confrontational capacity of the actors would be most beneficial.
DESIGN - 7, As mentioned, a bit on the short side.
Dead ends and secret doors are a nice touch, and a solid foundation to
build upon, but it’s mostly a maze and needs to take more advantage of
the spooky old house by expanding décor, adding scenes, and detailing
rooms. Arming Grandma with some sort of weapon, and introducing changes
in sounds and lighting might be a nice touch, and the fountain could be
better utilized.
PROPS - 5, The weakest area of the attraction.
Plenty of opportunities exist for future improvement upon expansion into
the upstairs floor, and currently unused rooms.
VALUE - 8, Reasonably priced and includes the trail as
an added bonus.
RATING: 7, The house really looks “haunted!”
(Check the upstairs window!) The authentic structure could become home
to one of the area’s scariest attractions if utilized to its maximum potential,
as opposed to just playing host to a maze. Decorating themed rooms,
introducing more entrapments, and expanding on the positives that already
exist are on the horizon for 2008, as Mayhem Mansion prepares to
make its presence known around the local haunt scene. |
| TERROR ON THE LAKES:
The secondary attraction at Mayhem Mansion consists
of a dark woods adventure along a gravel path, highlighted by a cemetery,
where ghosts roam the gravesites, and hover above tombstones. Whispers
and other unseen voices warn you to get out, or threaten bodily harm.
Multiple chainsaw pursuits, and apparent gunshots, lead to one final chase
that culminates in an alarming, up close and personal surprise finish to
Terror
on the Lakes.
Analysis:
LENGTH – 6½, a little under 10 minutes long.
ACTORS – 7, Could benefit from a larger cast, and some
face to face, threatening encounters to compliment the pursuits.
Good dialogue, and loud screams throughout.
SCARINESS – 7, The journey through the dark, isolated
woods is the primary scare, supported by screams, shots, several chainsaws,
and the big surprise finish.
DESIGN – 6, The trail isn’t that long, and consists of
many unadorned areas. While such isolation provides ample opportunity
for one’s nerves to get the better of them, there simply isn’t near enough
scenery along the way, other than the graveyard. Also, the entrance
to the trail is a little out of the way.
PROPS – 4, Even fewer than in the house itself, with
the big finish being best and most memorable. Need to expand the
décor along the trail, with additional detailed scenes like the
cemetery, and maybe some more surprises in order to eliminate dead spots.
VALUE – 7, A nice compliment to Mayhem Mansion,
but weaker on its own.
RATING: 6, The trail scores higher as an
added bonus with paid admission to Mayhem Mansion, than it would
as a stand alone attraction. Serving to support the main event as
an alternately themed haunt, Terror on the Lakes needs more in the
way of scenery, decoration, and monsters in order to take the next step
necessary to compete with more established trails. Expect continued
improvement through the upcoming years, as the hosts intend to provide
some of the best scares in the area. |
