Kent Scare Ground Review 2023
When the Madhouse Margate team first ventured into scream park territory, we were genuinely concerned that they had bitten off more than they could chew. But over the years, they have found their feet, and the 2023 Kent ScareGround was easily their best yet, with live entertainment on the stage, roaming characters and four scare attractions.
We started our night with Scare B&B, a supposedly idyllic manor house nestled by some woodland. Of course this house was occupied by a ravenous hillbilly family and it was pretty obvious that there was only one thing on the menu - us! The attraction started out with a number of theatrical style scenes where we were able to interact with different members of the clan. Along the way, the bloody remains (and what looked like real animal bones) were thrust at us as we were "welcomed" to the feast by the deranged family. These performance led scenes are something that Kent Scareground do really well, and each new family member seemed more and more deranged than the last. By the time we were left to explore the grounds, it was clear that there was no turning back and the woodland rang with the sounds of chainsaws as we were hunted down!
Our next maze was Renegade, which was set in a large junkyard environment with crashed cars and old trailers, leaving the lively actors lots of places to jump out from. Compared to the theatrics of Scare B&B, this was all about quick and sudden scares and the actors really worked the space well. All in - this was a genuinely lively and chaotically noisy maze.
The more character driven style of performance returned for our next maze - The Screamworks Studios. Like Scare B&B - this started with a number of actor led scenes which over the duration, morphed into more sudden scares and frights. Obviously being movie themed there were some obvious homages to classic movies and a couple of noticeable cameos from characters such as Ghostface and Norman Bates.
Our last maze was the returning Fortitude, which saw a trick that we had loved back in the Madhouse days. If you have read our previous reviews and know about the confessional booths, then this was pretty similar (just a bit more cramped.) It is a very disorienting trick especially as you exit through the same portal you entered but are in a completely different room. The rest of the maze was a sheer crazy mix of scenes and scares that seemed to come at us from all sides. Clearly that "pill" we were given at the start was having an effect and the trippy nature of these scenes just added to the scares and fun along the way.
One of the things we have always been impressed with is the commitment this family group bring to their events. We have seen many of these actors turn from children into adults over the years, and they always bring a unique style and humour to all their attractions. Actors are allowed the breathing space to actually inhabit their characters and there are certainly some mad creations. We're not sure why there was a drunk woman riding an inflatable chicken in the Studios but she was memorable. As was the incredible Australian bush wrangler who managed to sneak in so much innuendo into her scene, that we wanted to stay for longer!
One final thing to say - is that Kent Scareground clearly don't have the budget that big theme park events do but they make up for that with crazy ideas and passion that just makes us want to keep coming back. With a new location promised for 2024 - we cant wait to see what crazy ideas they come up with next.
We started our night with Scare B&B, a supposedly idyllic manor house nestled by some woodland. Of course this house was occupied by a ravenous hillbilly family and it was pretty obvious that there was only one thing on the menu - us! The attraction started out with a number of theatrical style scenes where we were able to interact with different members of the clan. Along the way, the bloody remains (and what looked like real animal bones) were thrust at us as we were "welcomed" to the feast by the deranged family. These performance led scenes are something that Kent Scareground do really well, and each new family member seemed more and more deranged than the last. By the time we were left to explore the grounds, it was clear that there was no turning back and the woodland rang with the sounds of chainsaws as we were hunted down!
Our next maze was Renegade, which was set in a large junkyard environment with crashed cars and old trailers, leaving the lively actors lots of places to jump out from. Compared to the theatrics of Scare B&B, this was all about quick and sudden scares and the actors really worked the space well. All in - this was a genuinely lively and chaotically noisy maze.
The more character driven style of performance returned for our next maze - The Screamworks Studios. Like Scare B&B - this started with a number of actor led scenes which over the duration, morphed into more sudden scares and frights. Obviously being movie themed there were some obvious homages to classic movies and a couple of noticeable cameos from characters such as Ghostface and Norman Bates.
Our last maze was the returning Fortitude, which saw a trick that we had loved back in the Madhouse days. If you have read our previous reviews and know about the confessional booths, then this was pretty similar (just a bit more cramped.) It is a very disorienting trick especially as you exit through the same portal you entered but are in a completely different room. The rest of the maze was a sheer crazy mix of scenes and scares that seemed to come at us from all sides. Clearly that "pill" we were given at the start was having an effect and the trippy nature of these scenes just added to the scares and fun along the way.
One of the things we have always been impressed with is the commitment this family group bring to their events. We have seen many of these actors turn from children into adults over the years, and they always bring a unique style and humour to all their attractions. Actors are allowed the breathing space to actually inhabit their characters and there are certainly some mad creations. We're not sure why there was a drunk woman riding an inflatable chicken in the Studios but she was memorable. As was the incredible Australian bush wrangler who managed to sneak in so much innuendo into her scene, that we wanted to stay for longer!
One final thing to say - is that Kent Scareground clearly don't have the budget that big theme park events do but they make up for that with crazy ideas and passion that just makes us want to keep coming back. With a new location promised for 2024 - we cant wait to see what crazy ideas they come up with next.
Kent Scare Ground Review 2022
Kent Scareground was back this Halloween with 4 main attractions:
Having loved it last year, we experienced Synders first which was a walk through of like a mafia family pub, gangster wives, house and locale. There were several scenes such as a shootout, domestic violence and a pub landlord scene. Once again - it focussed on the storytelling and really does thing different to other scare mazes. The actors were completely in character which looked effortless as they they kept the gangster tones. Towards the end of the maze we were once again forced into the back of a pitch black minivan, which drives off into the dark and ends with some harsh braking!
Renegade was a clown maze and all the actors were particularly lively. We loved some of the effects such as the cars with clowns actually getting out of them to our surprise. The sets and rooms were all pretty chaotic with JCB diggers, tyres and debris everywhere. We thought this was a good maze with some jump scares throughout. The clowns all had great makeup on, and were using the swings and never broke character as they taunted us!
Fortitude was a maze about what scares people with some scientists experimenting with something clearly hallucinogenic! Trusting the mad scientist who fed us a Tic Tac, we entered into what could only be described as like something from Alice in Wonderland. The maze was confusing with dead ends, and paths looping back to bring us back to a room we had already visited. The characters throughout were lively and certainly left us dazed and confused, and we especially loved the birthday scene. But remember - if you're ever asked to pick a number in a scare attraction - go high!
The final maze is Case Search which invited us to be detectives looking for missing persons. Little touches such as the police car with its lights on really set the scene. The maze itself was an outdoor trail through a hillbilly encampment and the bearby woodland. We liked that the actors were quite hands on at times, touching or pulling at our clothes as we walked through. There were also some really good scares with well disguised actors hiding in the dark!
Also at the event there was also a Rage Room setup to let people smash items with any TVs, laptops, glasses, mugs etc with a baseball bat. Although we didn't participate, we did watch a few people doing it, and they appeared to be loving it! There generally was a buzz around this experience!
Overall Kent Scareground was a great night out with some unique and mind bending things going on. We actually rated this higher than some of the bigger events we visited this year!
Pictures coming soon
Having loved it last year, we experienced Synders first which was a walk through of like a mafia family pub, gangster wives, house and locale. There were several scenes such as a shootout, domestic violence and a pub landlord scene. Once again - it focussed on the storytelling and really does thing different to other scare mazes. The actors were completely in character which looked effortless as they they kept the gangster tones. Towards the end of the maze we were once again forced into the back of a pitch black minivan, which drives off into the dark and ends with some harsh braking!
Renegade was a clown maze and all the actors were particularly lively. We loved some of the effects such as the cars with clowns actually getting out of them to our surprise. The sets and rooms were all pretty chaotic with JCB diggers, tyres and debris everywhere. We thought this was a good maze with some jump scares throughout. The clowns all had great makeup on, and were using the swings and never broke character as they taunted us!
Fortitude was a maze about what scares people with some scientists experimenting with something clearly hallucinogenic! Trusting the mad scientist who fed us a Tic Tac, we entered into what could only be described as like something from Alice in Wonderland. The maze was confusing with dead ends, and paths looping back to bring us back to a room we had already visited. The characters throughout were lively and certainly left us dazed and confused, and we especially loved the birthday scene. But remember - if you're ever asked to pick a number in a scare attraction - go high!
The final maze is Case Search which invited us to be detectives looking for missing persons. Little touches such as the police car with its lights on really set the scene. The maze itself was an outdoor trail through a hillbilly encampment and the bearby woodland. We liked that the actors were quite hands on at times, touching or pulling at our clothes as we walked through. There were also some really good scares with well disguised actors hiding in the dark!
Also at the event there was also a Rage Room setup to let people smash items with any TVs, laptops, glasses, mugs etc with a baseball bat. Although we didn't participate, we did watch a few people doing it, and they appeared to be loving it! There generally was a buzz around this experience!
Overall Kent Scareground was a great night out with some unique and mind bending things going on. We actually rated this higher than some of the bigger events we visited this year!
Pictures coming soon
Kent Scare Ground- Review 2021
We have always been big fans of the team from Madhouse Margate - regularly praising them for their ingenuity. Sadly on the opening night when we visited - they were having serious power issues which meant most of the attractions had to be run in an emergency state.
We said at the time that we wouldn't do a detailed review as it just wouldn't have been fair to judge them on something that was outside of their control. Their power source failed them on the night and they ended up having to piggy back off the fairgrounds power but had to limit how much light and power they could use.
Saying that - what we saw was great - a strong favorite was the theatricality of Snyder's. This truly was something very different to most other scare attractions and we loved the characterisations throughout and the madcap escape in the back of the van!
Scream World, the clown maze gave us a very twisted trip into a young girls mind as she was haunted by visions of terrible murderous clowns. Despite the bright child like facade, the maze contained some terrifying scares and some great actors.
Finally in Camp Slaughter we experienced a deranged bunch of hillbillies who were doing their very best to scare us (and succeeding in the darkness!)
All in - it looks like Kent Scareground will be amazing once its open fully and we look forward to hopefully returning soon.
We said at the time that we wouldn't do a detailed review as it just wouldn't have been fair to judge them on something that was outside of their control. Their power source failed them on the night and they ended up having to piggy back off the fairgrounds power but had to limit how much light and power they could use.
Saying that - what we saw was great - a strong favorite was the theatricality of Snyder's. This truly was something very different to most other scare attractions and we loved the characterisations throughout and the madcap escape in the back of the van!
Scream World, the clown maze gave us a very twisted trip into a young girls mind as she was haunted by visions of terrible murderous clowns. Despite the bright child like facade, the maze contained some terrifying scares and some great actors.
Finally in Camp Slaughter we experienced a deranged bunch of hillbillies who were doing their very best to scare us (and succeeding in the darkness!)
All in - it looks like Kent Scareground will be amazing once its open fully and we look forward to hopefully returning soon.
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