After Dark Scream Park - Review 2025
After hearing plenty of mixed opinions online, we headed to After Dark Scream Park at Trago Mills to see what Wales’ newest Halloween attraction had to offer. It’s always exciting to see a new event enter the scene, especially one with so much local buzz, but it quickly became clear that this was very much an opening-year effort still finding its feet.
From the moment you arrive, the scale of the event is evident, small and intimate, but unfortunately under-lit and lacking the visual punch you’d expect from a headline scream park. The entrance area didn’t create much anticipation, with only a few lights scattered around and no directional signage to guide guests. Staff were polite and efficient during wristband checks and bag searches, but there was no atmosphere or build-up to set the mood.
Once inside, it was obvious the team had ambition, but also limitations. The site layout was open and easy to navigate, with a bar, three food trucks and space between mazes, but it lacked the kind of immersive set dressing that transports you into another world. Still, we went in with an open mind and started our journey through the three advertised mazes.
The night began with Ghost Track, a hooded rope maze that relied heavily on darkness and a single performer. While the concept could have created real tension, the constant bleed of music from the nearby DJ completely broke the illusion. The actor worked hard to interact with each group, but repetitive “boo” moments quickly lost their impact, and any potential suspense was drowned out by bass from the main arena.
Next up was Dr Malice, set inside a marquee and lit only by guests’ phone torches. It’s an interesting idea on paper, but in practice it left little room for atmosphere. With no real scenery apart from scattered IV stands and the occasional nurse or doctor popping from behind a curtain, the experience felt unfinished. There was one decent jump scare, but the rest of the maze lacked flow and creative direction.
Thankfully, the final maze Backwoods Abattoir turned things around. The setting, a twisted hillbilly slaughterhouse, was packed with props, gore, and character. Here, the team truly delivered on their promise. The soundtrack fit perfectly, and the cast were relentless, cornering guests, locking them into cages, and keeping the tension high from start to finish. This maze had a proper story, energy, and identity, everything the others were missing.
If there’s one thing this event gets absolutely right, it’s the people. Every actor, from start to finish, gave it their all. Their energy was infectious, and they managed to elevate even the weakest sets. A few stand-out performers deserve credit, one particularly intense encounter in Backwoods Abattoir saw an actor hold eye contact nose-to-nose without breaking character, while another used his chainsaw timing to perfection for the night’s biggest scare.
Sadly, the wider event atmosphere just didn’t match that level of dedication. The music from the DJ was overpowering, echoing across the site and completely drowning out the natural suspense the mazes could have built. Lighting around the park was functional but uninspired, and with such few guests in attendance (we counted around 20), it often felt eerily quiet in the wrong way.
For a debut event, ticket prices felt steep compared to what was delivered. However, speaking to the team afterward revealed just how much passion they have for what they’re trying to build. It’s clear they were let down by circumstances beyond their control, including site restrictions and limited resources. That said, the passion is there, and with the right support, more guidance, and a better creative structure, After Dark Scream Park could absolutely grow into something special. The foundations are in place, but they’ll need stronger theming, improved sound management, and more consistent scare design to live up to their own ambitions.
Leaving the event, it felt like we’d experienced one strong maze surrounded by two that were still in early testing. Backwoods Abattoir alone showed what this creative team is capable of - packed with energy, characters, and well-timed scares. If every maze matched that quality, After Dark could easily become a name to watch in the Welsh scare scene. For now, though, it’s more a work in progress than a finished scream park.
Links:
Official website
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