| TERROR WITHIN ZOMBIE ISLAND:
Much has changed at this year's Zombie Island, but one thing's for
certain - the TERROR found WITHIN this ghastly trail remains. Victims
that have met their grisly deaths courtesy of enormous stakes piercing
their bodies still adorn the lakeside area, and serve as a warning to others
of the evil that's soon to follow. Dr.
Eastman greets your arrival at an old, wooden bridge, then welcomes
you into his operating room. There he devilishly introduces one of
the creatures he's CREATED! Still a work in progress, he cautions
that visitors need to avoid coming in contact with their blood, as it happens
to be infected with his deadly serum! His intense performance gives
way to the remainder of the trail, where many of
The Doctor's "patients"
are held captive. Some plead for help, while other insane souls have
gone mad as a result of the psychotic physician's wickedness. Trespassing
onto a local resident's property, we're mistakenly identified (funny, as
well as deadly, but I won't spoil the surprise by revealing anymore details).
Just trust me when I say that he doesn't take too kindly to members of
our misidentified profession paying him a visit! Michael Myers,
and Eastman's deranged assistants, suspicious of our presence, begin
stalking us. We cross paths with Dr. West eager to test out
his reanimation serum on a severed arm, which he restores to life, and
Lucifer, a deranged soul rantingly in search of a bride, who orders
his "children" to leave their graves and pursue us! Following his
command, undead zombies, no doubt former patients of The Doctor
who have long since passed the end stages of his heinous experiments, leave
their earthen tombs to come after us! Several more deranged characters
offer various interactions, and the immovable object takes the form of
Jason Voorhees, who's most unwilling to allow our passage, then
makes us live to regret it! A brief entrapment comes courtesy of
chainsaw packing Bubba, and another fiend armed with a large knife!
Deafening horns and a cornfield inhabited by loudly cawing crows, and a
glowing eyed scarecrow lead to realistic body bags blocking the path through
a maniacal operating room, where another surreal surgeon gives new meaning
to the slang term "sawbones," suddenly metamorphosing into Leatherface,
and coming after us with a vicious and relentless chainsaw chase-out, pausing
only to victimize the remains of those unfortunate enough to have preceded
our journey through
Terror Within's Zombie Island.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 9½, In excess of 20 minutes now that
Too
Dark Park has been incorporated into the original haunt.
ACTORS - 9½, Awesome make-up, and original, believable,
and intimidatingly INTENSE characters, serving up plenty of dialogue filled
interactions, as opposed to typical growling that's all too common elsewhere.
This crew can always be counted on for their theatrics - quite impressive
and professional, as we've come to expect from Terror Within.
Brand new characters have replaced some of our old favorites, and as is
often the case with change, it's difficult to give them up. It will
certainly be interesting to watch the personalities of the new cast evolve
over time. Can't use enough adjectives to describe their performance.
One of the most realistic Jason's we've seen. These guys are
good!
SCARINESS - 9, As usual, aggressiveness of the actors
is responsible for most of the scares, with the dark woods serving as their
intimidating stage. Characters are armed with real knives and weapons,
which they slam around making as much noise as possible resulting in numerous
threatening encounters.
DESIGN - 8, Completely redone this year, with a new theme
and brand new characters. Combining the two haunts into one lengthier
attraction is definitely a plus, but the new concept, although just as
wickedly sadistic, has resulted in the elimination of certain stand-out
scenes. Entrapment is new and quite frightening. Intensity
of chainsaw chase-out has been recaptured from a few years ago. Don't
be surprised if you end up running all the way back to the car, with this
lunatic on your heels! Something tells me his experience using this
power tool that's listed on his resume was the deciding factor, and reason
he got the job!!!
PROPS - 7, Once again, the weakest aspect of the trail,
except for the authentic weapons utilized by many of the monsters.
VALUE - 7½, The "main event" is longer now that
the secondary haunt has been annexed, but the $15, 2-haunt combo price
from a year ago has been retained, and is somewhat steep. The new
storyline is now taking shape, showing signs of development, and the quality
of acting compensates for some of the trail's shortcomings.
RATING: 8½, Zombie Island
annually presents the most demented, diabolical, bloodthirsty haunt in
the region. Acting is second to none, and serves as the critical
ingredient in creating their own twisted brand of horror, known as The
Terror Within. |
