Thrill Nation attended the 15th Birthday Party of Fright Nights at Thorpe Park Resort, as well as the opening weekend, here is our non spoiler review of the event.
Containment
"This is the paid extra attraction returning for this year. Come face to face with your fears while finding and solving the clues to make it through the rooms to find the antidote... will you break out of containment!"
After finding this a little disappointing last year, this year made up for it, so much that it was the best attraction of the night for us! If you've experienced this already, don't go expecting it to be a completely different attraction. Do expect to see some minor changes throughout. The inhabitants trapped inside really have seemed to step it up a notch this year to create a great thrilling and intense escape maze attraction, be careful they don't distract or scare you too much, they're great at spotting fear from the weaker members.
Themeing & Story: 9/10 | Actors: 9/10 | Scare: 7/10 | Overall: 8/10
The Big Top
"The new for 2015 maze... re-imagined for 2016. Find yourself entering an abandoned carnival where the clowns have all gone mad... will you make it out alive!"
Overall we were impressed with the new and improved Big Top. Expect it to be a big change from last year and almost unrecognisable inside as well as outside, though you may spot some familiar characters from last year. We found it really enjoyable with impressive lighting, soundtrack and the variety of scenes. Some actors really used their space well and done a great job at scaring us. The Big Top is a solid attraction for 2016 and overall has made improvements based on feedback from 2015.
Themeing & Story: 8/10 | Actors: 8/10 | Scare: 7/10 | Overall 8/10
Saw: Alive
"Jigsaw returns once again testing your nerves through scenes from the SAW films. Escape the sadistic puppets games if you can."
Saw: Alive returned for another year of frights with it having a mixture of opinions ever since the attraction opened. For 2016, you could see they have listened to feedback and you can see a lot more actors inside the attraction on most nights which really ramps up the intensity. Sadly, no changes have been made inside cosmetically and is the same as previous years. Overall, still brings the screams out of your group!
Themeing & Story: 7/10 | Actors: 6/10 | Scare: 6/10 | Overall: 6/10
Cabin In The Woods
"Enter the Cabin and choose your fate, and find all is not what it seems. Disorientated and desperate to escape, you'll find the route to safety is never easy."
Cabin In The Woods is known to be a strong favourite from all the Lionsgate attractions. With multiple different routes, this attraction is always full of surprises and is very unique to other mazes in the park. The attraction does remain unchanged from previous years but is still a maze which is funny and scary. Cabin highly relies on actors to make the attraction what it is and they won't let you down when you visit!
Themeing & Story: 6/10 | Actors: 7/10 | Scare: 7/10 | Overall: 7/10
Blair Witch
"Updated for 2016, this Lionsgate maze takes you on a journey into the black hills woods, to discover the truth about the legendary witch."
This one does play on the fear of the dark, so prepared to be scared if you don't like the dark and with actors seemingly appearing out of nowhere. This year sees a bit more themeing added, and what felt like a lot more bushes and trees having to duck and wind along the path on our way. The ending was quite intense though short lived, and too dark to actually see anything. The attraction is still one of the weaker out of the bunch but seems to improve each year!
Themeing & Story: 6/10 | Actors: 6/10 | Scare: 5/10 | Overall: 6/10
Platform 15
"The new for 2016 maze, takes you on a journey down Thorpe's abandoned railroad on the last known route of the notorious Sleeper Express."
We entered this attraction on our first go with high expectations based on the top scare rating and it being the new attraction. It started off really well being led by an actor and had some great effects, though felt we were a little too far away from them. The middle section of the attraction utilised the actors well and they followed the story line as they led you up to what was to come. The last section of the maze though went on for a considerable length with not much happening and then to top it off with an anti climatic finale. We tried the attraction a couple more times over the weekend and felt like it had improved a bit, but does seem quite hit or miss with the overall experience. Hopefully this attraction sees some attention over the duration of Fright Nights as it does have the potential to be better, especially with some great actors and how effective their makeup is. Especially the eyes...
Themeing & Story: 5/10 | Actors: 5/10 | Scare: 5/10 | Overall 5/10