Church Farm Scare Show - Review
After hours stuck in traffic and tired from an extremely busy day, we arrived at Church Farm Scareshow in a bit of a negative mood. Driving into the overflow parking in a dark field we heard the familiar sounds of screams and caught a glimpse of a crazed clown, tearing across a field towards a group of terrified teens, cackling with a vitriolic laugh that sent shivers down our spines. At this point we realised that this might not be the safe family event we were expecting.....
The Nightmare Circus
The Nightmare Circus, is built in a wooden maze and from the outside, it just looks very dark and minimalistic. Which did leave us wondering why so many people run screaming from the exit in shock? However we soon discovered that it features the acting talent of a brilliant team of veterans who clearly know how to push the buttons of their unsuspecting victims. We had the misfortune of experiencing the sheer terror that the Circus had to offer in a tiny group of two. We were picked on heavily from start to finish with the actors exploiting the labyrinth's design to their advantage. The maze also featured some fantastic dark humour which had us laughing hysterically in between our terrified screams as we were chased into several dead ends. The interaction between actor and guest (at one point an actor climbed up onto a fence singing 'Paparazzi' when we were told not to take pictures of the frontage) are where this maze really came up trumps and although fairly small, it still packs one hell of a punch.
The Creepy Cottage
The Creepy Cottage is a fantastic example of a multi media based maze which really tests the nerves of anyone daring to enter. The mix of video footage, sound cues and triggered animatronics were extremely natural with high production values and you felt as if you were experiencing it immersively, rather than just setting off a bunch of sensors. It was impossible to second guess where the next scare would come from as we made our way through tight tunnels and dark spaces. With 2 possible 'chicken' exits, the whole maze really felt like a test of nerves, and we definitely were well and truly tested! Our only criticism of this attraction is the name itself. 'Creepy Cottage' conjures up images of family fun and lightness as opposed to something so dark and adult in content.
The Haunted Hayride
Having experienced two strong mazes we were left with the Haunted Hayride, which completely blew us away. Rather than using the usual format, Church Farm have devised a very clever and unique experience. The tractor ride is used simply as a mode of transportation for your evacuation to the safety of the woods, where a safe zone has been set up for 'survivors' of the Fury Virus. As usual nothing ever quite goes according to plan and very quickly its evident that you're surrounded by the infected. Very early into the maze a technique was used that we've been dying to see utilised in a UK attraction and it definately didn't disappoint. It left us feeling very vunerable and feeling that literally anything could happen from there on in. The scares gradually built up, with actors choosing to split us up to explore certain aspects alone before returning us the the group in fear of what we had seen. This lead to an incredibly intense section which had a big group of complete strangers literally huddling together in sheer panic as we were assaulted from every angle. We genuinely believed that this might be the finale, as we began to make our way to the 'Safe Zone' however this was not at all the case! After the shock departure of one of our guides, and the atmosphere getting more tense by the second, we were begging for a way out, which came in the guise of a simple pathway and ended in a finale well worthy of the screaming, crying scramble of a group we had become! In the sheer panic of this ending, we all ran in every direction, causing complete chaos! Some guests even managing to hit a very large shrub and become lodged for a minute or so choosing to fight their way though rather than go back and face what they had run from! We left physically shaking and in shock after what truly is a very special attraction that we're very grateful to have experienced.
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Church Farm Scareshow quite simply allows their mazes do the talking. They're effective and intense, and a real treat for a hardened thrill seekers looking for something that little bit different. The whole farm is a hidden gem, it oozes originality and tries not to follow many of the usual cliches that are associated with our industry. The enthusiasm of such a strong team really shines through throughout the attraction. We can't wait to return again soon.
You Review
I enjoyed this so much i have been twice this year it is an amazing place and not two nights are exactly the same ! Very enjoyable can't wait for next year ! thank you to the whole team including actors and security !
You Review 2
Had an amazing night last night - the 3 attractions we had were all extremely scary and great value for money. We went this year with children and so visited the fright ride but am definitely up for the fear ride next year with the adults only. Thanks to all the actors/actresses who were all amazing - job very well done.
You Review 3 (please note these are the opinions of the reviewer and not ScareTOUR itself)
To be quite frank I found the fifteen pounds entrance fee incredibly expensive for what you are treated to. Packed into a tractor's trailer with about 25 others meant there were literally no surprises for 85% of the group as we snaked through the woods in a line - with people jumping out and only 'scaring' the people at the front. Tip for next time: limit the groups to 5 at the most.
Although I found it a rip off I think the woods part was decent, but I just can't stop thinking about how they raked in hundreds of pounds from our one group of people and most of us didn't get to enjoy it as we should have done. The cottage thing was ok, some nice effects, while the clown circus thing was very poor in my opinion. Maybe the staff were tired as it was the final night, but again, for the price you're paying, you ought to be treated to a good show.
Wouldn't go again, and wouldn't recommend it to anybody payin more than a few quid.
You Review 4 (may contain spoilers)
The first scare attraction of the season I visited was the Fear version of Scareshow at Church Farm over in Wirral. In a short summary, Scareshow was quite good overall; however could use a few tweaks here and there to make the general experience more frightening overall. Scareshow consisted of two mazes & a forest walk (Haunted Hayride, Creepy Cottage & Nightmare Circus), with a theme of an infectious ‘virus’ running through each part. Of the whole attraction, my favourite part was the Creepy Cottage (which my group agreed with) due to the more intimate nature & sense of panic which that created. Scareshow utilised what seemed to be the inside of a barn for this attraction and incorporated some very interesting features (I shan’t spoil too much for anyone who hasn’t yet visited, but, for example the caged low ceiling was brilliant).
Scares, I feel, were missed in the Haunted Hayride mostly due to the slightly larger than average group size. Also I do believe the naming for this ride is quite misleading, as this part of Scareshow was not a generic ‘haunted hay ride’ at all – more of a ‘tractor return ride to a scary forest walk and back’. There were no scares on the journey to or from the forest. When we reached the forest destination and departed into the woods before us. The setting could not have been more immersive once we left the truck driven carriage; extremely atmospheric - dark, woody, and disguised actors very well. The forest walk itself was beautiful & it was clearly well thought out. Actors frequently shone bright lights in everyone’s faces - which was quite disorientating to say the least, since apart from the lights, all there was to see was complete darkness. We went through as a group of around 30 people, if I remember correctly, and it really removed any consistent sense of danger – which could be a good feature if you are taking someone who is new to scare attractions.
After leaving the Haunted Hayride we immediately began queuing for the Creepy Cottage. Our group consisted of four people and we were instantly ushered through the entrance to venture on alone. The interior had a gritty feel to it, with debris scattered around the floor, as our group navigated our way around what seemed to be a research facility gone wrong. This was the most effective of the three mazes due to the more controlled group size, and despite the few actors that were inside, they really knew how to work their corners & it still proved to be very scary indeed. Our group ran out laughing hysterically, anyway.
Nightmare Circus looked promising – I thought the costumes looked much better than I expected & the actors at the entrance were quite unusual, especially the Ringmaster who looked on first glance like a woman. The maze itself however, could have done with being much darker (maybe by being roofed?) mainly because actors were visible even before they had chance to scare us, & there wasn’t much setting to see aside from the bare wooden panels separating the different parts of the maze. Despite all that it was still quite good & the actors did manage to give us a few scares.
In comparison to some of the other scare attractions I have visited, it was a little tame, but it was a good transition back into the scare attraction season and is perhaps more suitable for people who have never visited scare attractions before.
Scares, I feel, were missed in the Haunted Hayride mostly due to the slightly larger than average group size. Also I do believe the naming for this ride is quite misleading, as this part of Scareshow was not a generic ‘haunted hay ride’ at all – more of a ‘tractor return ride to a scary forest walk and back’. There were no scares on the journey to or from the forest. When we reached the forest destination and departed into the woods before us. The setting could not have been more immersive once we left the truck driven carriage; extremely atmospheric - dark, woody, and disguised actors very well. The forest walk itself was beautiful & it was clearly well thought out. Actors frequently shone bright lights in everyone’s faces - which was quite disorientating to say the least, since apart from the lights, all there was to see was complete darkness. We went through as a group of around 30 people, if I remember correctly, and it really removed any consistent sense of danger – which could be a good feature if you are taking someone who is new to scare attractions.
After leaving the Haunted Hayride we immediately began queuing for the Creepy Cottage. Our group consisted of four people and we were instantly ushered through the entrance to venture on alone. The interior had a gritty feel to it, with debris scattered around the floor, as our group navigated our way around what seemed to be a research facility gone wrong. This was the most effective of the three mazes due to the more controlled group size, and despite the few actors that were inside, they really knew how to work their corners & it still proved to be very scary indeed. Our group ran out laughing hysterically, anyway.
Nightmare Circus looked promising – I thought the costumes looked much better than I expected & the actors at the entrance were quite unusual, especially the Ringmaster who looked on first glance like a woman. The maze itself however, could have done with being much darker (maybe by being roofed?) mainly because actors were visible even before they had chance to scare us, & there wasn’t much setting to see aside from the bare wooden panels separating the different parts of the maze. Despite all that it was still quite good & the actors did manage to give us a few scares.
In comparison to some of the other scare attractions I have visited, it was a little tame, but it was a good transition back into the scare attraction season and is perhaps more suitable for people who have never visited scare attractions before.
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