Frightmare at Over Farm 2014W
As we approached the farm, we could see the beaming lights from the ferris wheel and such rides, so there is clearly a lot of effort that goes into the daytime fun for the family as much as the evening. Our ticket got us one entry to each of the three mazes and one ride on the Haunted Hayride. We were wrist-banded and let into the central location that links all of the attractions, to the Halloween shop and also a nice café area. We were impressed with the general layout; keeping everything close together and centralised.
Haunted Hayride - A very nice ride around the farm, we stopped at three points where the actors would clamber on board. The ride itself was very dark, and so quite a lot we felt was missed, and the actors had a very hard job as trying to keep a story going on a tractor ride with a group of about thirty people, hearing details was hard. The story was lost on us unfortunately, but at the third point we were told we had to get out and test the decontamination process; which was a a short maze in one of the barns on the farm. We liked the way they incorporated actual points of the farm into the experience.
Fright House - the house before the gates of hell. We weren't really sure what the story behind it was. There was a lovely gathering point with a good actor before we entered, but due to the volume level of the rest of the area, we couldn’t quite hear the back story. We were offered the option to pick between one of three doors, we picked three and we entered at the same time as another group who picked door one. This was a nice way of separating groups for a better experience as we got to enter in just our friendship group. The maze itself seemed to be just that; whereas most are very linear, it did seem very disorientating which was good. The actors all seemed to be directed in the same way, all had one set scare and returned to position. One actor was brilliant inside this maze, our favourite of the night. She was dressed as a doll and stood in the corner and half of our group actually were convinced she was a doll; her movement and gestures were truly scary.
Séance - this was not a maze, but an actual séance experience. This had the potential to be fantastic. We entered in our group of about 10 and stood around a large table with one actor who was obviously holding the séance and the one who became possessed with a demon. The effects in this experience were just brilliant, faces and bodies literally coming through walls, lights were flashing and mini air cannons firing at us. It was really brilliant to be a part of but unfortunately after the possession that was it. We felt that would have been the perfect set up for a maze, as we were all completely on edge, but we were ushered out of the room and we were in the Halloween shop. This has the potential to be one of the best experiences but they should lead it into a maze.
Panic - was the last one we did and it was back to the formulaic maze layout, which of course works. This one was really interesting for us, because the maze itself was really well themed, but the first section was very flat in atmosphere and we were wondering around thinking we have entered when maybe the actors were on a break. The sound levels were very low, which would improve the atmosphere if turned up and there was no smoke or effects which obviously would have made us more alert. As we walked through it did pick up towards the end as we were jumped by two actors, but this was the one we left until last simply because of the name we were hoping it would help us leave on a high. It did fall a little flat, and one we would definitely have liked to have done again to get another experience, but due to the 'one time only through each maze' ticket, we couldn't.
For us the Frightmare event is a really lovely addition to the South West area for the Halloween season, and it is obviously very popular and growing year on year. We did find it slightly pricey but we understand the costs that go into these types of events. It is very well organised, really well laid out and a fun evening for all.
Haunted Hayride - A very nice ride around the farm, we stopped at three points where the actors would clamber on board. The ride itself was very dark, and so quite a lot we felt was missed, and the actors had a very hard job as trying to keep a story going on a tractor ride with a group of about thirty people, hearing details was hard. The story was lost on us unfortunately, but at the third point we were told we had to get out and test the decontamination process; which was a a short maze in one of the barns on the farm. We liked the way they incorporated actual points of the farm into the experience.
Fright House - the house before the gates of hell. We weren't really sure what the story behind it was. There was a lovely gathering point with a good actor before we entered, but due to the volume level of the rest of the area, we couldn’t quite hear the back story. We were offered the option to pick between one of three doors, we picked three and we entered at the same time as another group who picked door one. This was a nice way of separating groups for a better experience as we got to enter in just our friendship group. The maze itself seemed to be just that; whereas most are very linear, it did seem very disorientating which was good. The actors all seemed to be directed in the same way, all had one set scare and returned to position. One actor was brilliant inside this maze, our favourite of the night. She was dressed as a doll and stood in the corner and half of our group actually were convinced she was a doll; her movement and gestures were truly scary.
Séance - this was not a maze, but an actual séance experience. This had the potential to be fantastic. We entered in our group of about 10 and stood around a large table with one actor who was obviously holding the séance and the one who became possessed with a demon. The effects in this experience were just brilliant, faces and bodies literally coming through walls, lights were flashing and mini air cannons firing at us. It was really brilliant to be a part of but unfortunately after the possession that was it. We felt that would have been the perfect set up for a maze, as we were all completely on edge, but we were ushered out of the room and we were in the Halloween shop. This has the potential to be one of the best experiences but they should lead it into a maze.
Panic - was the last one we did and it was back to the formulaic maze layout, which of course works. This one was really interesting for us, because the maze itself was really well themed, but the first section was very flat in atmosphere and we were wondering around thinking we have entered when maybe the actors were on a break. The sound levels were very low, which would improve the atmosphere if turned up and there was no smoke or effects which obviously would have made us more alert. As we walked through it did pick up towards the end as we were jumped by two actors, but this was the one we left until last simply because of the name we were hoping it would help us leave on a high. It did fall a little flat, and one we would definitely have liked to have done again to get another experience, but due to the 'one time only through each maze' ticket, we couldn't.
For us the Frightmare event is a really lovely addition to the South West area for the Halloween season, and it is obviously very popular and growing year on year. We did find it slightly pricey but we understand the costs that go into these types of events. It is very well organised, really well laid out and a fun evening for all.
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