Dr Frights Halloween Nights - 2021
We have mentioned many times before that we have visited Dr Frights every year since it opened, but what is it that keeps bringing us back year after year? The simple answer is that the whole event oozes imagination, and it is clear that everyone involved from the owners through to the staff in the mazes, are having the time of their lives presenting the show.
We started our World Tour with The Grindhouse Down in Mexico, which gave us a fresh take on the cannibal hillbillies that have been a mainstay at the event. The location change really refreshed this maze and gave it a new lease of life as the detailed sets invoked a run down Mexican village with the family drunk on tequila and looking for meat to put in their tacos. Of course Grindhouse would never be complete without an absolute beast of actor wielding a chainsaw in a finale that usually ends up with one of the group, singled out and separated from the rest of us. Its chaotic and fun and was just the start of our evening..
Another returning maze with a twist was Hollywood Horrors: The Final Chapter. We had a great time exploring the corridors of this attraction with horror icons attacking us from all sides. Somehow Dr Frights always design great hiding spaces for their actors, and the whole group experienced multiple scares throughout. We must give a shout out to the Scream "corridor" which was executed perfectly and left us all clinging to each other for security. We really hope this isn't the final chapter for this maze as we aren't quite ready for this film series to end!
A new maze for this year was Yokai Temple - which marks a return to the world of Japanese horror movies, and everything about this maze was spotless. We easily had the most intense scares of the night, and the use of mannequins and distraction tactics just meant that the actors were relentless. We loved the clever use of the CCTV footage of ourselves walking through a room, which revealed that we were being stalked by a creature behind us. One of the key things as well with this maze (and in fact all the Dr Frights mazes) is that everyone in our group was targeted for scares. These actors know how to work a group and all of us screamed relentlessly through this maze - especially with some of the scares from the ceiling!
Our final maze was Killer Clowns in Ibiza which was as mad and chaotic as the name would suggest. We loved the fact that the whole maze told a story from the airport check in through to the flight on the plane, and finally ending up in a club in Ibiza. As we entered each scene we were usually distracted by the theming and design, to then be confronted by a scare from a hidden clown. Of course by the time we got to the club, the actors were everywhere (again - there were some great ceiling scares), and we found ourselves dancing through the strobe finale, being terrorised at every turn. We all had massive smiles on our faces throughout this maze - it was scary, fun and as one of the songs that was blaring out said - it was totally "bonkers"
Outside of the four mazes, the atmosphere at Dr Frights is always loud and raucous, with rock music blasting out in the main arena and scare actors interacting with guests. In the bar area, live feeds from the attractions show other guests being scared which is always fun.
So we started this review by saying we have visited Dr Frights every year since it opened, and we think its pretty clear to see why we keep coming back. This year was just as good as always, and we cant wait to see what craziness they come up with next year!
We started our World Tour with The Grindhouse Down in Mexico, which gave us a fresh take on the cannibal hillbillies that have been a mainstay at the event. The location change really refreshed this maze and gave it a new lease of life as the detailed sets invoked a run down Mexican village with the family drunk on tequila and looking for meat to put in their tacos. Of course Grindhouse would never be complete without an absolute beast of actor wielding a chainsaw in a finale that usually ends up with one of the group, singled out and separated from the rest of us. Its chaotic and fun and was just the start of our evening..
Another returning maze with a twist was Hollywood Horrors: The Final Chapter. We had a great time exploring the corridors of this attraction with horror icons attacking us from all sides. Somehow Dr Frights always design great hiding spaces for their actors, and the whole group experienced multiple scares throughout. We must give a shout out to the Scream "corridor" which was executed perfectly and left us all clinging to each other for security. We really hope this isn't the final chapter for this maze as we aren't quite ready for this film series to end!
A new maze for this year was Yokai Temple - which marks a return to the world of Japanese horror movies, and everything about this maze was spotless. We easily had the most intense scares of the night, and the use of mannequins and distraction tactics just meant that the actors were relentless. We loved the clever use of the CCTV footage of ourselves walking through a room, which revealed that we were being stalked by a creature behind us. One of the key things as well with this maze (and in fact all the Dr Frights mazes) is that everyone in our group was targeted for scares. These actors know how to work a group and all of us screamed relentlessly through this maze - especially with some of the scares from the ceiling!
Our final maze was Killer Clowns in Ibiza which was as mad and chaotic as the name would suggest. We loved the fact that the whole maze told a story from the airport check in through to the flight on the plane, and finally ending up in a club in Ibiza. As we entered each scene we were usually distracted by the theming and design, to then be confronted by a scare from a hidden clown. Of course by the time we got to the club, the actors were everywhere (again - there were some great ceiling scares), and we found ourselves dancing through the strobe finale, being terrorised at every turn. We all had massive smiles on our faces throughout this maze - it was scary, fun and as one of the songs that was blaring out said - it was totally "bonkers"
Outside of the four mazes, the atmosphere at Dr Frights is always loud and raucous, with rock music blasting out in the main arena and scare actors interacting with guests. In the bar area, live feeds from the attractions show other guests being scared which is always fun.
So we started this review by saying we have visited Dr Frights every year since it opened, and we think its pretty clear to see why we keep coming back. This year was just as good as always, and we cant wait to see what craziness they come up with next year!
Very scary - Having only just had the opportunity to finally visit Dr Frights for the first time back in 2019 and falling in love with the place, we made sure it would have a spot on our October calendar once it opened again. Killer Clowns on a Spaceship is one of my favourite mazes of all time, and while its next incarnation, Killer Clowns in Ibiza wasn't quite as mind-blowing as Spaceship, it was still packed with scares and smiles, in fact, we enjoyed ourselves at Dr Frights even more in 2021.
We headed to Hollywood Horror: The Final Chapter first, since Holywood Horror was the weakest attraction when we first visited in 2019. This time around, we encountered a lot more action, and I personally really loved the Purge scene.
Not being the biggest fan of cannibals and chainsaws (while lovable, it does feel a little overdone), we decided to go for The Grindhouse Down in Mexico next. We were taken aback at the new Day of the Dead style theming, which gave the attraction a whole new flavour compared to last time and provided not only some wonderful scenery to take in, but a fresh load of fun and terrifying scares throughout.
Wanting to save the clowns until last, we then went to Yokai Temple. This was one of our most anticipated attractions of the season from the moment we read about the concept online, being big fans of Japanese horror. There was so much about this maze that we loved, I'm not even sure I can put it all into words, and I can see it being a strong contender for attraction of the year.
Not only were the scares vast and varied, the theming, and clever use of technology really made this maze seem very clever and unique. It's not often that actors are actually able to make me jump, but they were so well hidden in Yokai Temple that I almost walked right into some of them, setting me up for some delightful jump scares.The costumes were different and some very detailed. I wish we could have gone through it again just to try and absorb more of the detail in everything!
There was excellent use of mannequin scare tactics in here, and we especially enjoyed the room where you could see the camera feed displayed on a TV at the end of the corridor, serving to heighten the unsettling atmosphere when we thought we spotted movement amongst the mannequins.
There's something very special about Dr Frights. It feels very different from other scream parks. The level of effort once again impressed the hell out of us and we left feeling as though it was well worth the journey to get there.
We headed to Hollywood Horror: The Final Chapter first, since Holywood Horror was the weakest attraction when we first visited in 2019. This time around, we encountered a lot more action, and I personally really loved the Purge scene.
Not being the biggest fan of cannibals and chainsaws (while lovable, it does feel a little overdone), we decided to go for The Grindhouse Down in Mexico next. We were taken aback at the new Day of the Dead style theming, which gave the attraction a whole new flavour compared to last time and provided not only some wonderful scenery to take in, but a fresh load of fun and terrifying scares throughout.
Wanting to save the clowns until last, we then went to Yokai Temple. This was one of our most anticipated attractions of the season from the moment we read about the concept online, being big fans of Japanese horror. There was so much about this maze that we loved, I'm not even sure I can put it all into words, and I can see it being a strong contender for attraction of the year.
Not only were the scares vast and varied, the theming, and clever use of technology really made this maze seem very clever and unique. It's not often that actors are actually able to make me jump, but they were so well hidden in Yokai Temple that I almost walked right into some of them, setting me up for some delightful jump scares.The costumes were different and some very detailed. I wish we could have gone through it again just to try and absorb more of the detail in everything!
There was excellent use of mannequin scare tactics in here, and we especially enjoyed the room where you could see the camera feed displayed on a TV at the end of the corridor, serving to heighten the unsettling atmosphere when we thought we spotted movement amongst the mannequins.
There's something very special about Dr Frights. It feels very different from other scream parks. The level of effort once again impressed the hell out of us and we left feeling as though it was well worth the journey to get there.
Very scary. Value for money, entertainment value etc Brilliant small venue. The killer clowns in Ibiza maze got my heart racing! The strobe effects and the music were outstanding a really scary but fun maze. The tokashi temple was frighting ! The actors and actresses are amazing and made our group jump out of our skin. This event is value for money and is scarier than some of the big events I’ve attended over the years. Now the downsides the grind house had very few actors in there which was a shame as the whole concept with the corn maze was a fantastic idea. In the square area there was only 2 actors entertaining people I’d have liked to have seen more with the amount of people that visited. All in all Dr frights is value for money and you will definitely leave thinking it was amazing. It may not have the props as some of the bigger events but sometimes just being plum free d into darkness strobe lights and good actors scaring you is all you need! Can’t wait for next year
Dr Frights Halloween Nights - 2019
Due to our rather busy Halloween itinerary, it has been a full week since we visited Dr Frights Halloween Nights. With some attractions or events, this would mean that our recollection of the event would get pushed back into the recesses of our mind, but not with Dr Frights. In fact we can clearly remember the scenes and scares we experienced, as if we had just walked out of the event a few minutes ago.
So why did this year's event have such a long lasting affect on us? Could it be the insane concepts and ideas? Could it be the sheer enthusiasm and passion that simply oozes from the creators and the actors? Or could it just be that the event ticked all the boxes for everything we would want in a scare event? Lets look at each maze in turn:
We started the night with our favourite Hillbilly family, who once again, had gotten themselves into some mischief. Why the hillbillies were in a cowboy town, we don't really know, but they seemed right at home in this wild west, and weren't too partial to intruders. In true Grindhouse style, this maze was full of actors, chainsaws and gore, and the screams were mixed with laughter throughout. The layout of the attraction as we passed through multiple "buildings" was just stunning, and the larger open spaces played as a great counterpoint to the tighter narrower sections inside the rooms. Of course the hillbilly actors were relentless, and we all got picked on and separated at different points.
Our next maze was the return of Hollywood Horror, with a new slate of horror movie icons joining some of the classic characters from 80's slasher movies. This maze is usually the scariest each year, and we think this is due to the fact that people are sometimes too busy spotting the movie references in the theming etc, to realise that there is an actor or two about to jump out. The scares and the movie gags are relentless throughout this maze, and genuinely left us hanging onto each other at times. This is one attraction that defies the rule about sequels being rubbish, and sits with the likes of The Godfather II and Terminator 2, as being better than the earlier entries in the franchise.
The Woods is this year's original maze and sent us on a terrifying journey through the grounds of a boarding school run by deranged nuns. One of our favourite scenes in 2018 was the Nun room in Hollywood Horror, so seeing a full maze dedicated to these crazed sisters and their victims, was just perfect . We aren't religious in any way - but anyone would be excused for turning to celestial help after the scares we experienced in this maze!
And then we have the last maze. Killer Clowns on a Spaceship. No that isn't a typo - this attraction is really based around killer clowns, on a spaceship! Nothing about this maze should work. We are used to bizarre concepts from Dr Frights, but surely this was one giant step too far? How wrong we were. Killer Clowns was the most fun we have had in a scare attraction for a very very long time. The sets were incredible, the scares were insane and the whole vibe was hilariously terrifying and fun. A few days after visiting the clowns, we heard Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal played on the radio, and it just took us straight back to the strobe and chainlink finale. If we ever had the chance to live in a scare maze, then we would set up home in this room. Genuinely hilarious, genuinely terrifying and genuinely the highlight of our night. We have no idea what is going on inside Dr Fright's head - but we loved it.
Outside the mazes, the main event arena once again rang with loud rock music, and roaming characters posed for selfies between scarring punters. The atmosphere at the event is always electric and the busy crowds all seemed to be enjoying the whole show.
So, you may have guessed that we loved the event this year? It's not easy to pinpoint just one element that worked best, as just everything combined makes Dr Frights into one of our most entertaining Halloween visits each year. It's actually an event we have visited every year (and they are celebrating their tenth anniversary in 2019!) and have seen it grow and evolve into the scary but fun behemoth that it is. We genuinely think that are two types of people in this world - those who love Dr Frights, and those who are wrong! Which one are you? If you haven't been then you really are missing something awesome.
So why did this year's event have such a long lasting affect on us? Could it be the insane concepts and ideas? Could it be the sheer enthusiasm and passion that simply oozes from the creators and the actors? Or could it just be that the event ticked all the boxes for everything we would want in a scare event? Lets look at each maze in turn:
We started the night with our favourite Hillbilly family, who once again, had gotten themselves into some mischief. Why the hillbillies were in a cowboy town, we don't really know, but they seemed right at home in this wild west, and weren't too partial to intruders. In true Grindhouse style, this maze was full of actors, chainsaws and gore, and the screams were mixed with laughter throughout. The layout of the attraction as we passed through multiple "buildings" was just stunning, and the larger open spaces played as a great counterpoint to the tighter narrower sections inside the rooms. Of course the hillbilly actors were relentless, and we all got picked on and separated at different points.
Our next maze was the return of Hollywood Horror, with a new slate of horror movie icons joining some of the classic characters from 80's slasher movies. This maze is usually the scariest each year, and we think this is due to the fact that people are sometimes too busy spotting the movie references in the theming etc, to realise that there is an actor or two about to jump out. The scares and the movie gags are relentless throughout this maze, and genuinely left us hanging onto each other at times. This is one attraction that defies the rule about sequels being rubbish, and sits with the likes of The Godfather II and Terminator 2, as being better than the earlier entries in the franchise.
The Woods is this year's original maze and sent us on a terrifying journey through the grounds of a boarding school run by deranged nuns. One of our favourite scenes in 2018 was the Nun room in Hollywood Horror, so seeing a full maze dedicated to these crazed sisters and their victims, was just perfect . We aren't religious in any way - but anyone would be excused for turning to celestial help after the scares we experienced in this maze!
And then we have the last maze. Killer Clowns on a Spaceship. No that isn't a typo - this attraction is really based around killer clowns, on a spaceship! Nothing about this maze should work. We are used to bizarre concepts from Dr Frights, but surely this was one giant step too far? How wrong we were. Killer Clowns was the most fun we have had in a scare attraction for a very very long time. The sets were incredible, the scares were insane and the whole vibe was hilariously terrifying and fun. A few days after visiting the clowns, we heard Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal played on the radio, and it just took us straight back to the strobe and chainlink finale. If we ever had the chance to live in a scare maze, then we would set up home in this room. Genuinely hilarious, genuinely terrifying and genuinely the highlight of our night. We have no idea what is going on inside Dr Fright's head - but we loved it.
Outside the mazes, the main event arena once again rang with loud rock music, and roaming characters posed for selfies between scarring punters. The atmosphere at the event is always electric and the busy crowds all seemed to be enjoying the whole show.
So, you may have guessed that we loved the event this year? It's not easy to pinpoint just one element that worked best, as just everything combined makes Dr Frights into one of our most entertaining Halloween visits each year. It's actually an event we have visited every year (and they are celebrating their tenth anniversary in 2019!) and have seen it grow and evolve into the scary but fun behemoth that it is. We genuinely think that are two types of people in this world - those who love Dr Frights, and those who are wrong! Which one are you? If you haven't been then you really are missing something awesome.
Dr Frights Halloween Nights - 2018
We’re in year nine of Dr Fright’s Halloween Nights and this event is still going strong. Over the years, we’ve seen the attraction grow and there is always something different to see and experience each time we visit.
The white marquees are back again meaning that this event can withstand any weather. The mazes, central hub with roaming characters (who also entertain the queue lines) and Horror Bar are all undercover and this year, there’s also an open air courtyard area with several benches where you can recover after running laughing or screaming out of any of the four mazes.
We started with Shock Therapy which takes place at the Heavensgate Hospital. The hospital name doesn’t quite fit with the experience as we avoided the psychopathic doctor and deranged nurses that were hiding around every corner, ready to give us a whole host of scares! The strobes used in this maze successfully disorientated us and the actors really worked this to their advantage, appearing to statically move around us and catch us off guard.
We then headed to What The Hell? With a nightclub facade and music pumping out into the queue line, we knew we were about to go into something a little different than your standard satanic themed maze. The wow factor in here was the interior of the 5 Point Temple nightclub, a previously abandoned chapel that is now full of upside down crosses, creepy candles placed on red cloth draped tables, cult members luring you in… The use of masks in this maze really added to the uneasiness of witnessing human sacrifices and blood rituals where everything takes place under the cover of darkness.
Hollywood Horror 3 was up next and as the third version of this maze, we knew what to expect to some extent. As classic horror film lovers ourselves, we recognised all the characters throughout such as Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers (who also makes an eerie appearance as part of the facade), and screamed our way through a terrifying scene starring The Nun. With new additions and changes to previous scenes such as Karloff’s Movie Theatre, we were kept on edge just as much as before.
The last maze we experienced was Killer Clowns vs. Cannibal Hillbillies. Maybe these two elements on their own are not particularly innovative, but putting them together certainly creates a fun walkthrough! This maze is completely chaotic with music such as The Prodigy and Dizzee Rascal blasting throughout. It’s certainly an assault on the senses with so much going on and we laughed all the way to the end.
Dr Fright’s is a firm favourite for our group and an attraction that we would be sad to ever have to miss. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s crazy, it’s different and sums up everything we love about our favourite season.
The white marquees are back again meaning that this event can withstand any weather. The mazes, central hub with roaming characters (who also entertain the queue lines) and Horror Bar are all undercover and this year, there’s also an open air courtyard area with several benches where you can recover after running laughing or screaming out of any of the four mazes.
We started with Shock Therapy which takes place at the Heavensgate Hospital. The hospital name doesn’t quite fit with the experience as we avoided the psychopathic doctor and deranged nurses that were hiding around every corner, ready to give us a whole host of scares! The strobes used in this maze successfully disorientated us and the actors really worked this to their advantage, appearing to statically move around us and catch us off guard.
We then headed to What The Hell? With a nightclub facade and music pumping out into the queue line, we knew we were about to go into something a little different than your standard satanic themed maze. The wow factor in here was the interior of the 5 Point Temple nightclub, a previously abandoned chapel that is now full of upside down crosses, creepy candles placed on red cloth draped tables, cult members luring you in… The use of masks in this maze really added to the uneasiness of witnessing human sacrifices and blood rituals where everything takes place under the cover of darkness.
Hollywood Horror 3 was up next and as the third version of this maze, we knew what to expect to some extent. As classic horror film lovers ourselves, we recognised all the characters throughout such as Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers (who also makes an eerie appearance as part of the facade), and screamed our way through a terrifying scene starring The Nun. With new additions and changes to previous scenes such as Karloff’s Movie Theatre, we were kept on edge just as much as before.
The last maze we experienced was Killer Clowns vs. Cannibal Hillbillies. Maybe these two elements on their own are not particularly innovative, but putting them together certainly creates a fun walkthrough! This maze is completely chaotic with music such as The Prodigy and Dizzee Rascal blasting throughout. It’s certainly an assault on the senses with so much going on and we laughed all the way to the end.
Dr Fright’s is a firm favourite for our group and an attraction that we would be sad to ever have to miss. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s crazy, it’s different and sums up everything we love about our favourite season.
Terrifying
Our yearly trip to Dr Frights has been a tradition for many years now, and has always been one of our favourite attractions to visit and also the most scariest.
WHAT THE HELL
The first maze we entered was like stepping into the set of from dusk til dawn, lots going on, lots of detail and you actually felt you were in a demonic chapel. The large room with the cross was almost breath taking. The trademark Dr Frights jump scares were present throughout and all in all made for an awesome maze.
HOLLYWOOD HORROR 3
The Hollywood horror mazes 1 and 2 were some of the best scare mazes I've seen and this 3rd rendition didn't disappoint. Everything was extremely well done, from Pennywise to saw, you felt you were in the movies. The swamp effect used in the Jason area particularly impressed my group.
SHOCK THERAPY
The looming mesh gates in the queue line set the scene for this intense scare maze. I was really impressed at this maze, and some of the best use of strobe lighting I've ever seen.
KILLER CLOWNS VS CANNIBAL HILLBILLIES
Only Dr Frights could pull off something as whacky as this, and they definitely pulled it off! The actors were great and lots of interaction, we particularly liked the girl with the big mallet, very funny. This maze had so much detail and things going on it really is impossible to remember everything.
SUMMARY
All in all Dr Frights have pulled it off again and delivered the best Scare attraction we visited in 2018. The love and attention to detail is evident in this attraction and it shows. Well done all involved.
Our yearly trip to Dr Frights has been a tradition for many years now, and has always been one of our favourite attractions to visit and also the most scariest.
WHAT THE HELL
The first maze we entered was like stepping into the set of from dusk til dawn, lots going on, lots of detail and you actually felt you were in a demonic chapel. The large room with the cross was almost breath taking. The trademark Dr Frights jump scares were present throughout and all in all made for an awesome maze.
HOLLYWOOD HORROR 3
The Hollywood horror mazes 1 and 2 were some of the best scare mazes I've seen and this 3rd rendition didn't disappoint. Everything was extremely well done, from Pennywise to saw, you felt you were in the movies. The swamp effect used in the Jason area particularly impressed my group.
SHOCK THERAPY
The looming mesh gates in the queue line set the scene for this intense scare maze. I was really impressed at this maze, and some of the best use of strobe lighting I've ever seen.
KILLER CLOWNS VS CANNIBAL HILLBILLIES
Only Dr Frights could pull off something as whacky as this, and they definitely pulled it off! The actors were great and lots of interaction, we particularly liked the girl with the big mallet, very funny. This maze had so much detail and things going on it really is impossible to remember everything.
SUMMARY
All in all Dr Frights have pulled it off again and delivered the best Scare attraction we visited in 2018. The love and attention to detail is evident in this attraction and it shows. Well done all involved.
Very scary
Having never managed to squeeze Dr Frights in before, we decided that we really ought to make an effort to this year, especially considering it was their tenth anniversary! After hearing a lot of positive things over the years we entered with high hopes and were not disappointed.
My dad and I were instantly delighted as we walked into the main area to the sound of Rammstein's Du Hast, looking around we were already impressed with how things looked. Despite being small, the theming both in the main hub area and outside each maze was just wonderful to see. You could tell that a lot of love and effort had gone into making everything seem more immersive.
We decided to head into The Woods first, wrongly presuming it was an outdoor maze (as traditionally our little group has had lots of rubbish outdoor maze runs, we're looking at you Thorpe Park.) This is where we first encountered the traffic light entry system, which all of us thought was brilliant and wondered how come more places don't use something like this to control guest pacing. Not a whole lot happened in the beginning but as we got further into the attraction we encountered some fantastic set pieces. We all thought that the maze was over a good few rooms before it was just because one of the earlier scenes seemed like a finale! We didn't manage to hear the whole backstory before entering but as we progressed we were able to piece together the parts we missed. The actual finale in the dorm room blew all of us away, the fog effects worked perfectly to hide the actors and made for a very unsettling end.
Having spent a lot of time with creepy hillbillies over the years, we decided to head to Redneck Redemption next, expecting it to be more of what we'd already seen elsewhere, again, we were proved wrong! Entering the attraction we instantly found it a little odd how wide open the space was but that confusion was replaced by being impressed as to how long this maze was along with how well hidden all the passages are. We had some of the funniest actor interactions in here of all time, with one of the lovely ladies asking my dad if he wanted a bum scrub. None of us are particularly jumpy, but a few of the actors in here really caught my partner and dad off guard as they were looking behind them only to practically walk into some pretty big and terrifying hillbillies. Chainsaws often make us sigh rather than scream, but here the actor did a great job of chasing us out of the maze as we giggled away.
With our rule of leaving clowns until last this year, we thought we'd check out Hollywood Horror next. Of all the attractions at Dr Frights, this is the one we had the highest expectations for. Unfortunately, I think we got a bit of a dud run in here as a lot of the rooms were devoid of life, though this did give us more time to appreciate the theming and try to name all of the references! This attraction had the biggest queue of the night and we quickly caught up to the group in front of us. Towards the end we did see more actors popping in and out all over the place, but it felt more like a game of whack-a-mole than anything because we only got a mere glimpse of the actors before they were gone again.
With Killer Clowns on a Spaceship, we thought we were saving the best until last and we were one hundred percent correct. Just standing outside in the queue for this maze was entertaining due to the fascinating entrance theming and choice of high energy space-related songs, all of us felt pumped before we even entered. I can't tell you enough how much all of us loved this maze and when discussing our favourite attractions of the year, Killer Clowns on a Spaceship always came up. It was like nothing we've ever experienced before with club music blasting as the soundtrack throughout, it seems as though it shouldn't work as a scare attraction and yet somehow it just does!
The energy of the clown actors in here was insane, they were everywhere. My partner had one of the biggest jump scares of his life due to an actor who was performing scares through the ceiling above us. The nods to the sci-fi horror genre put big smiles on our faces as the clowns continued to stalk us throughout this beautiful attraction. By the time we reached the strobe finale my cheeks were actually hurting from laughing and grinning so much! This was the first time we ran into people from the group in front of us as many became lost and disorientated by the strobes. I never thought I would hear the song Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal in a scare maze but it worked so perfectly with the utter chaos and hilarity of strobes and chain fences. The clowns here were even more hyper and genuinely seemed to be having the time of their lives terrifying the guests. I couldn't help but remember how much I love and miss The Big Top at Thorpe Park seeing a similar finale.
We left on such a high after experiencing everything on offer at Dr Frights and stayed a little longer just to soak up the atmosphere because we didn't really want to leave. In the following days as we went to other scream parks and queued for other mazes, all of us had the same thought, that we wished we were queuing for Killer Clowns on a Spaceship again, which I think speaks volumes!
Having never managed to squeeze Dr Frights in before, we decided that we really ought to make an effort to this year, especially considering it was their tenth anniversary! After hearing a lot of positive things over the years we entered with high hopes and were not disappointed.
My dad and I were instantly delighted as we walked into the main area to the sound of Rammstein's Du Hast, looking around we were already impressed with how things looked. Despite being small, the theming both in the main hub area and outside each maze was just wonderful to see. You could tell that a lot of love and effort had gone into making everything seem more immersive.
We decided to head into The Woods first, wrongly presuming it was an outdoor maze (as traditionally our little group has had lots of rubbish outdoor maze runs, we're looking at you Thorpe Park.) This is where we first encountered the traffic light entry system, which all of us thought was brilliant and wondered how come more places don't use something like this to control guest pacing. Not a whole lot happened in the beginning but as we got further into the attraction we encountered some fantastic set pieces. We all thought that the maze was over a good few rooms before it was just because one of the earlier scenes seemed like a finale! We didn't manage to hear the whole backstory before entering but as we progressed we were able to piece together the parts we missed. The actual finale in the dorm room blew all of us away, the fog effects worked perfectly to hide the actors and made for a very unsettling end.
Having spent a lot of time with creepy hillbillies over the years, we decided to head to Redneck Redemption next, expecting it to be more of what we'd already seen elsewhere, again, we were proved wrong! Entering the attraction we instantly found it a little odd how wide open the space was but that confusion was replaced by being impressed as to how long this maze was along with how well hidden all the passages are. We had some of the funniest actor interactions in here of all time, with one of the lovely ladies asking my dad if he wanted a bum scrub. None of us are particularly jumpy, but a few of the actors in here really caught my partner and dad off guard as they were looking behind them only to practically walk into some pretty big and terrifying hillbillies. Chainsaws often make us sigh rather than scream, but here the actor did a great job of chasing us out of the maze as we giggled away.
With our rule of leaving clowns until last this year, we thought we'd check out Hollywood Horror next. Of all the attractions at Dr Frights, this is the one we had the highest expectations for. Unfortunately, I think we got a bit of a dud run in here as a lot of the rooms were devoid of life, though this did give us more time to appreciate the theming and try to name all of the references! This attraction had the biggest queue of the night and we quickly caught up to the group in front of us. Towards the end we did see more actors popping in and out all over the place, but it felt more like a game of whack-a-mole than anything because we only got a mere glimpse of the actors before they were gone again.
With Killer Clowns on a Spaceship, we thought we were saving the best until last and we were one hundred percent correct. Just standing outside in the queue for this maze was entertaining due to the fascinating entrance theming and choice of high energy space-related songs, all of us felt pumped before we even entered. I can't tell you enough how much all of us loved this maze and when discussing our favourite attractions of the year, Killer Clowns on a Spaceship always came up. It was like nothing we've ever experienced before with club music blasting as the soundtrack throughout, it seems as though it shouldn't work as a scare attraction and yet somehow it just does!
The energy of the clown actors in here was insane, they were everywhere. My partner had one of the biggest jump scares of his life due to an actor who was performing scares through the ceiling above us. The nods to the sci-fi horror genre put big smiles on our faces as the clowns continued to stalk us throughout this beautiful attraction. By the time we reached the strobe finale my cheeks were actually hurting from laughing and grinning so much! This was the first time we ran into people from the group in front of us as many became lost and disorientated by the strobes. I never thought I would hear the song Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal in a scare maze but it worked so perfectly with the utter chaos and hilarity of strobes and chain fences. The clowns here were even more hyper and genuinely seemed to be having the time of their lives terrifying the guests. I couldn't help but remember how much I love and miss The Big Top at Thorpe Park seeing a similar finale.
We left on such a high after experiencing everything on offer at Dr Frights and stayed a little longer just to soak up the atmosphere because we didn't really want to leave. In the following days as we went to other scream parks and queued for other mazes, all of us had the same thought, that we wished we were queuing for Killer Clowns on a Spaceship again, which I think speaks volumes!
Dr Frights Halloween Nights - 2017
Dr Frights was on form this year with 4 incredible mazes that mixed horror and humour in equal measures. In fact, we would really struggle to differentiate the mazes, as all were so powerful and entertaining (and very different)
Dead Inside is the non-official Walking Dead maze, that some more official Walking Dead mazes should aspire to. Without directly referencing the popular AMC TV show, the sights and sounds of this maze conjured up scenes from all seasons including Herschel’s Barn, Terminus. The thing that differentiated this maze from others? It was bloody terrifying! These zombies were everywhere and in some scenes, we had to push past and through them to get to safety. Everything about Dead Inside was fun and we had so many scares that we lost count. The attraction also had a simple but effective ending that left us running out the attraction in fright.
When Dr Frights first announced Killer Clowns in A Supermarket we just laughed. It’s typical of this event to come up with a concept SO bonkers and so bizarre and we were worried that they would struggle to live up to the hype the name created. As it was we had nothing to worry about. This attraction was just insane. One minute hysterically funny, the next - bloody terrifying. These killer clowns were certainly having fun and that fun was infectious. All through the attraction there was a pounding soundtrack of cheesy muzak accompanied by the hilarious pastiches of the sort of “bing bong” announcements you get in supermarkets! Easily the best clown maze we have ever done.
The Grindhouse has always been one of the biggest mazes at Dr Frights and this year saw the celebration of a Redneck Wedding. We thought we knew what to expect with Grindhouse – chainsaw, hillbillies and a few upturned cars, but we weren’t expecting a full wedding dancefloor scene. Many of the rooms at the start of the maze, looked out onto a large open area that was buzzing with cheesy wedding classics and mirror balls. It was great to see what was ahead of us and so by the time we finally hit the dance floor, we didn’t know whether to dance or runaway. Everything about this maze was bonkers and we don’t think we can ever hear Come on Eileen again without looking around to see if someone is chasing us with a chainsaw!
The last maze Hollywood Horror 2, celebrated all our favourite characters from horror movies. Characters such as Ghost face from scream, Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees stalked us through iconic scenes – many that looked like they had been lifted directly from the movies inspiring them. The scares throughout this maze came thick and fast and seemed to just be relentless.
Outside the mazes there were many different characters roaming around the event and in the bar. With the constant onslaught of loud music and occasional flashes of lightning, the atmosphere in the main marquee was electric – especially as one minute you can be dancing to killer tunes one minute, to then be chased by a killer clown the next!
We have been visiting Dr Frights for 8 years since they first began and always have an amazing time. This year was no different and was probably the strongest to date – we just loved the perfect balance between fun and frights. If you have never been to the event, then you need to correct that now – we guarantee you will have a blast!
Dead Inside is the non-official Walking Dead maze, that some more official Walking Dead mazes should aspire to. Without directly referencing the popular AMC TV show, the sights and sounds of this maze conjured up scenes from all seasons including Herschel’s Barn, Terminus. The thing that differentiated this maze from others? It was bloody terrifying! These zombies were everywhere and in some scenes, we had to push past and through them to get to safety. Everything about Dead Inside was fun and we had so many scares that we lost count. The attraction also had a simple but effective ending that left us running out the attraction in fright.
When Dr Frights first announced Killer Clowns in A Supermarket we just laughed. It’s typical of this event to come up with a concept SO bonkers and so bizarre and we were worried that they would struggle to live up to the hype the name created. As it was we had nothing to worry about. This attraction was just insane. One minute hysterically funny, the next - bloody terrifying. These killer clowns were certainly having fun and that fun was infectious. All through the attraction there was a pounding soundtrack of cheesy muzak accompanied by the hilarious pastiches of the sort of “bing bong” announcements you get in supermarkets! Easily the best clown maze we have ever done.
The Grindhouse has always been one of the biggest mazes at Dr Frights and this year saw the celebration of a Redneck Wedding. We thought we knew what to expect with Grindhouse – chainsaw, hillbillies and a few upturned cars, but we weren’t expecting a full wedding dancefloor scene. Many of the rooms at the start of the maze, looked out onto a large open area that was buzzing with cheesy wedding classics and mirror balls. It was great to see what was ahead of us and so by the time we finally hit the dance floor, we didn’t know whether to dance or runaway. Everything about this maze was bonkers and we don’t think we can ever hear Come on Eileen again without looking around to see if someone is chasing us with a chainsaw!
The last maze Hollywood Horror 2, celebrated all our favourite characters from horror movies. Characters such as Ghost face from scream, Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees stalked us through iconic scenes – many that looked like they had been lifted directly from the movies inspiring them. The scares throughout this maze came thick and fast and seemed to just be relentless.
Outside the mazes there were many different characters roaming around the event and in the bar. With the constant onslaught of loud music and occasional flashes of lightning, the atmosphere in the main marquee was electric – especially as one minute you can be dancing to killer tunes one minute, to then be chased by a killer clown the next!
We have been visiting Dr Frights for 8 years since they first began and always have an amazing time. This year was no different and was probably the strongest to date – we just loved the perfect balance between fun and frights. If you have never been to the event, then you need to correct that now – we guarantee you will have a blast!
Dr Frights Halloween Nights - 2016
Dr Frights is back for 2016 with a new horror movie theme - Cinemassacre. Each attraction represented different periods of horror movie history, ranging from the old B&W movies of the 50s, through to modern Hollywood blockbusters. Due to the way the queues fell, we actually worked the mazes backwards, ending up stepping back in time with each maze. Which worked perfectly for us as the mazes got better the further we went back!
The Further is clearly inspired by the current trend for supernatural horror such as the Conjuring and Insidious, and the maze included a twisted route through a haunted house with malicious spirits awaiting around every corner. As we've come to expect from Dr Frights, the attraction was filled with lively and aggressive actors throughout and we had a number of really well thought out scares.
Cabin Of Evil harks back to the video nasties of the 80's when films such as The Evil Dead were banned, and as such we were invited to step inside a cabin that has been taken over by demons. Again - the maze was fast and frantic with an unusual twist halfway through as the "video" we were experiencing, was rewound and we got to revisit part of the maze again. It was a fun twist, but probably a bit confusing to anyone not brought up in the era of VHS.
In an unusual but fun move, the next two mazes were brought together into one Cannibal Double Bill with the The Tribe leading directly into Slaughter House Rock! The great thing about this was that there was only one queue, and with the two attractions back to back it created a long experience from beginning to end. The Tribe was a particularity claustrophobic maze, as the team had created a densely packed rain forest, with trees and branches hanging from the ceiling and covering the walls. It was therefore interesting to lead directly into Slaughter House Rocks which was far more open and well lit - especially as the marquee housed caravans, upturned cars and massive hay bales. The acting through both mazes was as intense as we would expect but the Slaughterhouse guys (and girls) were REALLY getting up close with guests and separating us at will. At the end, half of our group exited a good minute or 2 behind the rest of the group, as the hillbillies had taken a shine to them.
Its Alive was our final maze of the event and actually turned out to be our favourite. Obviously films of the 50's were all filmed in black and white , therefore everything throughout this attraction was either black or white. It was such a simple effect, but worked surprisingly well in the lightning style strobe that seemed to burst across the sets at uneven intervals. It was within these periods of darkness, that the actors were able to use to their advantage and we lost count of how many times the light flashed and we had an actor right in our face!
After the scares we headed into the Bates Motel bar where we had fun watching other guests being scared in the mazes we had just been through. It's great fun to see everyone else jumping and also is a great way to round out the evening.
We've been visiting Dr Frights Halloween Nights for every year since it first opened, and it's always one of our favourite events. It clearly doesn't have the budget and resources of some of the biggest attractions out there, but it makes up for that in terms of ingenuity and fun. The mazes are well designed with excitingly different concepts and the actors are always some of the liveliest around. We always know we are going to have a great night when we visit and this year was no different. We cant wait to see what ideas they come up with next.
The Further is clearly inspired by the current trend for supernatural horror such as the Conjuring and Insidious, and the maze included a twisted route through a haunted house with malicious spirits awaiting around every corner. As we've come to expect from Dr Frights, the attraction was filled with lively and aggressive actors throughout and we had a number of really well thought out scares.
Cabin Of Evil harks back to the video nasties of the 80's when films such as The Evil Dead were banned, and as such we were invited to step inside a cabin that has been taken over by demons. Again - the maze was fast and frantic with an unusual twist halfway through as the "video" we were experiencing, was rewound and we got to revisit part of the maze again. It was a fun twist, but probably a bit confusing to anyone not brought up in the era of VHS.
In an unusual but fun move, the next two mazes were brought together into one Cannibal Double Bill with the The Tribe leading directly into Slaughter House Rock! The great thing about this was that there was only one queue, and with the two attractions back to back it created a long experience from beginning to end. The Tribe was a particularity claustrophobic maze, as the team had created a densely packed rain forest, with trees and branches hanging from the ceiling and covering the walls. It was therefore interesting to lead directly into Slaughter House Rocks which was far more open and well lit - especially as the marquee housed caravans, upturned cars and massive hay bales. The acting through both mazes was as intense as we would expect but the Slaughterhouse guys (and girls) were REALLY getting up close with guests and separating us at will. At the end, half of our group exited a good minute or 2 behind the rest of the group, as the hillbillies had taken a shine to them.
Its Alive was our final maze of the event and actually turned out to be our favourite. Obviously films of the 50's were all filmed in black and white , therefore everything throughout this attraction was either black or white. It was such a simple effect, but worked surprisingly well in the lightning style strobe that seemed to burst across the sets at uneven intervals. It was within these periods of darkness, that the actors were able to use to their advantage and we lost count of how many times the light flashed and we had an actor right in our face!
After the scares we headed into the Bates Motel bar where we had fun watching other guests being scared in the mazes we had just been through. It's great fun to see everyone else jumping and also is a great way to round out the evening.
We've been visiting Dr Frights Halloween Nights for every year since it first opened, and it's always one of our favourite events. It clearly doesn't have the budget and resources of some of the biggest attractions out there, but it makes up for that in terms of ingenuity and fun. The mazes are well designed with excitingly different concepts and the actors are always some of the liveliest around. We always know we are going to have a great night when we visit and this year was no different. We cant wait to see what ideas they come up with next.
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Terrifying - Very good value for money
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