The Thrill Nation team was invited down to Tulleys Shocktober Fest Scream Park in Crawley to experience the haunts for 2016! Below you can find some exclusive images of inside the mazes & a non spoiler review of each of the mazes!
The Creepy Cottage
"Dare you venture into the old cottage down the dark winding corridors and uneven floorboards, and let the past inhabitants show you around in their own spooky way?"
This maze is one of the originals, and we headed here first after hearing it was one of the least scariest to get ourselves back into horror mazes after a long break! Quite a lot of the themeing inside was of a high standard along with the uneven floors, this made you feel like you were in an old cottage. It was unfortunately inconsistent throughout, which also didn't help with a definite lack of actors, though the ones we did meet inside the maze, done generally a good job of making some of us jump. Although, the back half of the group seemed to be left out a bit. While it has it's flaws it's a reasonably good attraction with Tulleys rating it their lowest scare, so it doesn't try to be anything it isn't.
Themeing & Storyline: 5/10 | Actors: 3/10 | Scare: 4/10 | Overall: 4/10
PanDEMONium's 3D Carnival
(New for 2016)
"Roll up, roll up, there's a circus in town dubbed 'The greatest show not of this earth'... Mr PanDEMONium and his band of travelling showmen are unlike the usual clowns and freaks you may expect, step into the big top and find out for yourself, and if you make it through far enough you may just be permitted to see the evil in 3D!"
We were really interested in this maze and to find out what the 3D elements was all about. For people expecting some big scares based on the official scare rating of 8, we feel you'd be left disappointed as none of our group were left feeling terrified at any point. Although, it definitely made up and was a nice change with how much fun it was, and how well the actors interacted with us in the different scenes. Half way through we put on our 3D glasses and we were transported to a trippy neon world with some more actors which we were really impressed with. If you are not a fan of clowns and the whole circus theme, this may be the one to scare you!
Themeing & Storyline: 8/10 | Actors: 7/10 | Scare: 4/10 | Overall: 6/10
Hell-ements... The Ritual
"Enter a world of darkness where you rely on your other senses (and a rope) to guide you through the hellish Netherworld... will you complete the ritual and make it out alive?"
This maze was the weakest out of the bunch on premiere night. Having a bag over your head just didn't work at trying to scare us, especially when you could hear background noise from outside the maze, and actors weren't allowed to touch you. We were also made aware that unfortunately we didn't get to experience the finale how it was intended to work due to technical faults on the night. You may find this maze scary if you do not like the unknown, as the maze is long and you have no sense of direction except from the rope which guides you! It's a truly unique maze and is one that does scare many!
Themeing & Storyline: 3/10 | Actors: 2/10 | Scare: 3/10 | Overall: 3/10
Coven of 13
"Step into the forests, and dare you meet the dozen witches avenging the death of their dear cousin... if you make it to the end, you may just come face to face with the darkest witch of them all, number 13."
This maze really surprised us, while it wasn't the scariest, it implemented some really unique ideas and effects that we haven't experienced before, and with a decent length, the actors we met along the way went for a more creepy approach rather than jump scares which made a nice change. The best feature of this maze was the lighting and the scene changes. Potentially one of the best new mazes of 2016!
Themeing & Storyline: 7/10 | Actors: 8/10 | Scare: 6/10 | Overall: 7/10
The Cellar Haunted House
"In an abandoned old farm house, lies the cellar and its inhabitants which you may or may not want to meet, entering into their lair, do you expect them to welcome you with open arms, what's the worst that could happen..."
We were really impressed with this maze, and found the themeing throughout to be of a high quality and thought out really well to provide great scare opportunities for the actors to take advantage of. The actors felt really consistent throughout and almost seemed to follow you through the maze at times, so really effective at creating an intense maze experience.
Themeing & Storyline: 9/10 | Actors: 8/10 | Scare: 7/10 | Overall: 8/10
Horrorwood Haunted Hayride
"Board your tractor pulled trailer, and prepare for a back lot tour like no other. Explore the abandoned sets of the once famous Horrorwood studios... some believe that the actors from all those years ago, unable to move on in life, are still here acting out the scenes of their glory days, are you ready to meet them?"
Another original attraction which has seen changes over the years. This has to be the most unique and one of the most enjoyable attractions we have experienced, while still providing some great scares. Sat in an open trailer, the tractor takes you through the woods where you come across many film scenes, some you may even recognise, and we found the effects and actors to be incredible at playing out their individual scenes over a short period of time... You might well be sat on a moving trailer, but the actors certainly aren't shy to meet you!
Themeing & Storyline: 8/10 | Actors: 9/10 | Scare: 6/10 | Overall: 8/10
The Chop Shop
"Visit the chop shop to check out Billy-Bob's garage where they've got all the best wrecks for you, but if that's not of interest, then his brothers will be happy to help with their special... renovations, but watch out, you could be part of their next cutting edge project!"
If you're looking for intensity and scares, then this is the maze for you, just probably not advisable if you have a fear of chainsaw(s)! The story itself felt a bit mismatched as one minute we were in a garage, and the next a freezer, but that was the least of our worries, as the actors done a great job of scaring us already and preparing us for what was to come. The second half of the maze could probably be classed as a finale for the whole time, not just your usual being chased out of a long straight corridor.
Themeing & Storyline: 8/10 | Actors: 9/10 | Scare: 9/10 | Overall: 9/10
The Colony
"Step into a world after the Apocalypse, where disaster has won, and survival of the most violent has remained. They've worked hard to fit in to the Colony, you don't... watch out for the sacrifice!"
This was quite possibly the longest maze we had ever experienced, and went in with expectations of it not being too scary, especially after doing Chop Shop shortly before... how wrong were we! Whilst a large part of it was just a walk through, you can forgive it, as it added to the suspense, and other parts of the maze really utilised the actors who were amazing and the positioning of them. The maze made the most of indoor and outdoor sections, and it just went on and on, we genuinely didn't know if we were ever going to make it out, especially when something as effective as a simple effect had the whole group terrified, and that was even before the finale ending!
Themeing & Storyline: 10/10 | Actors: 10/10 | Scare: 9/10 | Overall: 10/10