Nights of Fright - Sunway Lagoon - Review
For those who have been visiting scare attractions in the UK over the last 20+ plus years, the name Lynton V Harris should be legendary. In 2002 when the Merlin theme parks really kicked off the Halloween scare event trend over here, Lynton was invited to the UK to create brand new events at Thorpe Park, Chessington, and Alton Towers (with Warwick Castle coming a few years later.)
But as a history lesson - Lynton was the genius behind the Madison Scare Gardens in New York and brought many concepts to the UK that we still see today. In fact, most of the main scare actor training in the UK is based on principles that were first introduced by Lynton in 2002. His legacy remains embedded throughout the UK scare industry – but over several years we may have seen some divergence.
Since leaving the UK, Lynton, returned to his home country of Australia and started to focus on creating scare events in the Southern Hemisphere. First came the Lynton V Harris Scream Park in Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur. This attraction has seen a few big IP attractions including Ghostbusters and Sharknado, and after proving he could scare – he introduced a brand-new scare event – Nights of Fright.
Personally, we are proud to say that we have been good personal friends with Lynton, since we first met him when he was managing Warwick Ghosts Alive at Warwick Castle, and after many, many years of badgering – we finally succumbed and jumped on a 14-hour flight just to see what he was doing down there. It may well have been Halloween in Europe, and our travel plans would mean we would lose a few days of events over here, but we are glad we went down. Was it a crazy thing to do for three days? Absolutely! But was it worth it and would we do it again? Oh, hell yeah!
Despite the long overnight flight, the jet lag, and the heat (yes it was generally over 30 degrees at 11 pm!) we arrived in Malaysia, changed out of our winter clothes, and headed into the event for our first time.
First up – we couldn’t believe the atmosphere OUTSIDE the event. The entrance to Sunway Lagoon was standing room only as guests arrived for the scares. As part of a promotional deal, guests could buy a package that included colourful devils’ horns, and the sight of everyone glowing outside the park was amazing. Once the countdown to opening started, and the gates opened, guests were running to get to their first mazes. Which was pretty sensible, with eight mazes, a theatre, and multiple shows to experience.
At the back of the park, Bloodshed 2 was our first maze of the night, and was a great start to the scares. After the incredible laser swamp style entrance portal – actors came at us thick and fast, and there were some great moments throughout. The actors and their characterisations in this maze were perfect, and with one of the few chainsaw finales of the night – it gave guests a lot to run away from.
But to us, one of the weirdest things about this maze was that the group were asked to hold onto a length of rope with one hand. This was clearly designed to keep the group together but ended up uncomfortable for the person leading the group. Our arm was physically pulled backwards as we had to pull the rest of the group through the maze. It was distractingly unforgivable and dampened our experience.
Scarecrows are always scary, and The Harvest used them to significant effect through the next attraction which combined indoor and outdoor elements. Once again holding a rope to hold us together, this maze used great use of some outdoor areas and outhouses in the park. With the route double crossing on itself several times, the actors did an excellent job of keeping groups apart yet giving us the voyeuristic thrill of watching the groups behind us go and experience the scares we had just experienced!
The same rope effect from Bloodshed was used, and this time being at the back of the group we found the rope was snagging and pulling on the sets as we went round. Several times we were focussed on the scares around us, and our hand would be pulled against a set edge as the rest of the group had made their way round the corner and the rope had been pulled tight. Despite the remarkable story telling and scares we found this a bit distracting.
Hotel dEVILlel is the closest attraction at the park to a standard scare attraction. Set in a haunted hotel – the actors were able to scare us from all sides and there were some unique hiding places for the actors. Although asked to walk hands on shoulders – we generally stayed as a group and being at the back – we got a number of great scares as the actors chased us throughout the hotel.
Lycan was the signature maze of the event and was just full of werewolves! The first part of the attraction was fairly linear as we walked along a covered alley way to a back area of the park. There were several actors along the way and the scares came think and fast. Then, at the halfway point we passed upstairs and double backed on ourselves through one of the most detailed sets of the event. The hiding spaces, drop panels and hidden scare tactics throughout were amazing, and gave us some of the biggest scares of the night. Everything about this maze including the makeup and costumes was amazing.
Lucha Libre maze was perhaps the most unique maze of the whole event. We have seen a Mexican style wrestler as a single scene in other events but have never walked through a maze that contained three full scale wrestling rings. As we passed round the sides of each – ring, there were masked wrestlers grappling away in what looked like real wrestling moves. And this was a perfect distraction for the scare actors, as while we were focussed on the wrestlers, masked characters would appear from drop panels and hiding holes. Even the main actors in the ring were using their power moves and body slams to aim themselves at us and we experienced multiple jump scares throughout. It didn’t help that the whole experience was in 3D which just added a surrealistic effect to the whole experience.
Based on the cult sci-fi movies – Sharknado Alive was intended to be an hilarious backstage tour of the studio that makes the cheesy shark-based movies. As anyone who has enjoyed these movies will know – they are completely bonkers at times, and Sharknado Alive certainly lived up to that promise. Sharks, chainsaws, deranged tour guides and more made us this completely unique experience that left us laughing more than screaming but pleased to have experienced it before it leaves the venue for good.
Horrorwood Studios is another of the standard attractions that make up the Lynton V Harris Scream Park attraction year-round, which then becomes a part of Nights of Fright. The maze was effectively like a tour through a classic horror movie wax museum – but of course not all the exhibits were fake! We jumped throughout the whole maze but had a particularly impressive jump scare from a Ghostface ghoul from Scream that made us hit the floor in surprise!
Zombie Hunter then followed directly on from Horrorwood Studios (in fact you experience the two attractions in one go – which means guests only have to queue once.) This is a standard zombie experience with detailed sets and more. The zombies were particularly lively, and we had some great scares throughout before emerging back out into the main event arena.
All in –the eight mazes provided great scares and incredible atmosphere, but the insistence on staying as a group either via a rope or with hands on shoulders feel a bit restrictive seeing as in the UK we have long since moved away from hands on shoulders and the like. We would love to see the event address this going forwards as it is the only negative things, we can really say about any of it.
Beside the mazes there was another scare experience called the Scary Tales Theatre. This was a unique experience that invited a large group of guests into an intimate cinema screening to listen to a ghost story specifically written for the event. Throughout the experience, there were a series of live effects including live actors, sudden appearances, doors slamming and quick startle scares. At times it was so chaotic in there with screams that we forgot what the ninety-nine doors story was about! All in in was a masterpiece of misdirection and scares.
Between all the mazes – nowhere is realty safe as there are scare props (and more importantly scare actors) around every corner. We loved the Chinese characters around the Terracotta warriors and the main stage area/central hub was just filled with different actors and scares.
In fact – after a few days at the park, we were invited to join the roaming actors at the event and had an amazing time scaring the audience. The Malaysian crowds were simply there to be scared and have fun. Everyone we saw was having an incredible time and even after changing back into normal clothes several guests recognised us as the mad butcher from outside Bloodshed (let’s face it – there can’t be many six foot three white haired Englishmen roaming the streets of Malaysia!)
Across the site there are several shows on various stages, including some meet the characters segments, some amazing dance routines and a massive fire show which had more fire performers in one space than we have seen before.
At the end of the night, the final show turned into a massive dance party with a DJ whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. The roaming actors all joined in, and the whole thing turns into a sweaty festival vibe. The atmosphere here was electric and really left guests leaving on a high. (On the final night – the crowds were still singing as they exited through the turnstiles) Check the video below to see just how lively these finale shows became.)
Having wanted to visit Nights of Fright for an awfully long time, we are so glad we got to see an event so unique and filled with fun. To then be asked to be an actor for one night was like a dream come true. Over the 3 nights we visited, we generally spent the end of the evening jus just stood in the central hub watching people have fun. Apart from Horrorland in Spain, we have never seen such a communal buzz of excitement at the END of a Halloween event.
Clearly Lynton knows how to scare people and he has created a unique experience that really has to be seen to be believed. Everything across the event worked so well and we are so glad we made the effort to visit. Now, if it wasn’t so far away ……
But as a history lesson - Lynton was the genius behind the Madison Scare Gardens in New York and brought many concepts to the UK that we still see today. In fact, most of the main scare actor training in the UK is based on principles that were first introduced by Lynton in 2002. His legacy remains embedded throughout the UK scare industry – but over several years we may have seen some divergence.
Since leaving the UK, Lynton, returned to his home country of Australia and started to focus on creating scare events in the Southern Hemisphere. First came the Lynton V Harris Scream Park in Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur. This attraction has seen a few big IP attractions including Ghostbusters and Sharknado, and after proving he could scare – he introduced a brand-new scare event – Nights of Fright.
Personally, we are proud to say that we have been good personal friends with Lynton, since we first met him when he was managing Warwick Ghosts Alive at Warwick Castle, and after many, many years of badgering – we finally succumbed and jumped on a 14-hour flight just to see what he was doing down there. It may well have been Halloween in Europe, and our travel plans would mean we would lose a few days of events over here, but we are glad we went down. Was it a crazy thing to do for three days? Absolutely! But was it worth it and would we do it again? Oh, hell yeah!
Despite the long overnight flight, the jet lag, and the heat (yes it was generally over 30 degrees at 11 pm!) we arrived in Malaysia, changed out of our winter clothes, and headed into the event for our first time.
First up – we couldn’t believe the atmosphere OUTSIDE the event. The entrance to Sunway Lagoon was standing room only as guests arrived for the scares. As part of a promotional deal, guests could buy a package that included colourful devils’ horns, and the sight of everyone glowing outside the park was amazing. Once the countdown to opening started, and the gates opened, guests were running to get to their first mazes. Which was pretty sensible, with eight mazes, a theatre, and multiple shows to experience.
At the back of the park, Bloodshed 2 was our first maze of the night, and was a great start to the scares. After the incredible laser swamp style entrance portal – actors came at us thick and fast, and there were some great moments throughout. The actors and their characterisations in this maze were perfect, and with one of the few chainsaw finales of the night – it gave guests a lot to run away from.
But to us, one of the weirdest things about this maze was that the group were asked to hold onto a length of rope with one hand. This was clearly designed to keep the group together but ended up uncomfortable for the person leading the group. Our arm was physically pulled backwards as we had to pull the rest of the group through the maze. It was distractingly unforgivable and dampened our experience.
Scarecrows are always scary, and The Harvest used them to significant effect through the next attraction which combined indoor and outdoor elements. Once again holding a rope to hold us together, this maze used great use of some outdoor areas and outhouses in the park. With the route double crossing on itself several times, the actors did an excellent job of keeping groups apart yet giving us the voyeuristic thrill of watching the groups behind us go and experience the scares we had just experienced!
The same rope effect from Bloodshed was used, and this time being at the back of the group we found the rope was snagging and pulling on the sets as we went round. Several times we were focussed on the scares around us, and our hand would be pulled against a set edge as the rest of the group had made their way round the corner and the rope had been pulled tight. Despite the remarkable story telling and scares we found this a bit distracting.
Hotel dEVILlel is the closest attraction at the park to a standard scare attraction. Set in a haunted hotel – the actors were able to scare us from all sides and there were some unique hiding places for the actors. Although asked to walk hands on shoulders – we generally stayed as a group and being at the back – we got a number of great scares as the actors chased us throughout the hotel.
Lycan was the signature maze of the event and was just full of werewolves! The first part of the attraction was fairly linear as we walked along a covered alley way to a back area of the park. There were several actors along the way and the scares came think and fast. Then, at the halfway point we passed upstairs and double backed on ourselves through one of the most detailed sets of the event. The hiding spaces, drop panels and hidden scare tactics throughout were amazing, and gave us some of the biggest scares of the night. Everything about this maze including the makeup and costumes was amazing.
Lucha Libre maze was perhaps the most unique maze of the whole event. We have seen a Mexican style wrestler as a single scene in other events but have never walked through a maze that contained three full scale wrestling rings. As we passed round the sides of each – ring, there were masked wrestlers grappling away in what looked like real wrestling moves. And this was a perfect distraction for the scare actors, as while we were focussed on the wrestlers, masked characters would appear from drop panels and hiding holes. Even the main actors in the ring were using their power moves and body slams to aim themselves at us and we experienced multiple jump scares throughout. It didn’t help that the whole experience was in 3D which just added a surrealistic effect to the whole experience.
Based on the cult sci-fi movies – Sharknado Alive was intended to be an hilarious backstage tour of the studio that makes the cheesy shark-based movies. As anyone who has enjoyed these movies will know – they are completely bonkers at times, and Sharknado Alive certainly lived up to that promise. Sharks, chainsaws, deranged tour guides and more made us this completely unique experience that left us laughing more than screaming but pleased to have experienced it before it leaves the venue for good.
Horrorwood Studios is another of the standard attractions that make up the Lynton V Harris Scream Park attraction year-round, which then becomes a part of Nights of Fright. The maze was effectively like a tour through a classic horror movie wax museum – but of course not all the exhibits were fake! We jumped throughout the whole maze but had a particularly impressive jump scare from a Ghostface ghoul from Scream that made us hit the floor in surprise!
Zombie Hunter then followed directly on from Horrorwood Studios (in fact you experience the two attractions in one go – which means guests only have to queue once.) This is a standard zombie experience with detailed sets and more. The zombies were particularly lively, and we had some great scares throughout before emerging back out into the main event arena.
All in –the eight mazes provided great scares and incredible atmosphere, but the insistence on staying as a group either via a rope or with hands on shoulders feel a bit restrictive seeing as in the UK we have long since moved away from hands on shoulders and the like. We would love to see the event address this going forwards as it is the only negative things, we can really say about any of it.
Beside the mazes there was another scare experience called the Scary Tales Theatre. This was a unique experience that invited a large group of guests into an intimate cinema screening to listen to a ghost story specifically written for the event. Throughout the experience, there were a series of live effects including live actors, sudden appearances, doors slamming and quick startle scares. At times it was so chaotic in there with screams that we forgot what the ninety-nine doors story was about! All in in was a masterpiece of misdirection and scares.
Between all the mazes – nowhere is realty safe as there are scare props (and more importantly scare actors) around every corner. We loved the Chinese characters around the Terracotta warriors and the main stage area/central hub was just filled with different actors and scares.
In fact – after a few days at the park, we were invited to join the roaming actors at the event and had an amazing time scaring the audience. The Malaysian crowds were simply there to be scared and have fun. Everyone we saw was having an incredible time and even after changing back into normal clothes several guests recognised us as the mad butcher from outside Bloodshed (let’s face it – there can’t be many six foot three white haired Englishmen roaming the streets of Malaysia!)
Across the site there are several shows on various stages, including some meet the characters segments, some amazing dance routines and a massive fire show which had more fire performers in one space than we have seen before.
At the end of the night, the final show turned into a massive dance party with a DJ whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. The roaming actors all joined in, and the whole thing turns into a sweaty festival vibe. The atmosphere here was electric and really left guests leaving on a high. (On the final night – the crowds were still singing as they exited through the turnstiles) Check the video below to see just how lively these finale shows became.)
Having wanted to visit Nights of Fright for an awfully long time, we are so glad we got to see an event so unique and filled with fun. To then be asked to be an actor for one night was like a dream come true. Over the 3 nights we visited, we generally spent the end of the evening jus just stood in the central hub watching people have fun. Apart from Horrorland in Spain, we have never seen such a communal buzz of excitement at the END of a Halloween event.
Clearly Lynton knows how to scare people and he has created a unique experience that really has to be seen to be believed. Everything across the event worked so well and we are so glad we made the effort to visit. Now, if it wasn’t so far away ……
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