Hop Farm Freak Week- 2012 Review
Last year, Hop Farm's Freak Week managed to provide 2 of ScareTOUR's 3 favourite mazes of the year. Slaughterhouse for just sheer chaos and fun and Outbreak for daring to do something so different. Surely they couldn't surprise us in 2012? How wrong we were!
One of the things we mentioned in our 2011 review was how spaced out Hop Farm Freak Week appeared to be, with most of the attractions being a long way from the main park entrance. This year the park have brought everything in closer which makes a for a more intimate and controlled environment and with live bands on stage, roaming characters and good food and drink options as well as a number of big fairground rides it now feels more like a mini festival than a standard scream park. Even entering the park was interesting as a new sponsorship deal with Tesco Blinkbox has enabled them to create a well themed mini attraction for the main queue line.
Scattered around the venue are the 5 scare mazes, and there's not a marquee or packing container in sight. All the attractions have new themed entrances which set up a raw/industrial feel (which is already unsettling compared to the historical and beautiful oast houses that the farm is famous for). Looking to try out our favourites from last year, we headed to Quarantine:
Scattered around the venue are the 5 scare mazes, and there's not a marquee or packing container in sight. All the attractions have new themed entrances which set up a raw/industrial feel (which is already unsettling compared to the historical and beautiful oast houses that the farm is famous for). Looking to try out our favourites from last year, we headed to Quarantine:
Quarantine
In 2011, Quarantine was a brilliant mix of social satire, humorous storytelling and some moments of pure unadulterated terror that left us running at times to get out. Unfortunately all the clever references to last year's riots have been removed in this version and the attraction has become a more generic "zombie infection maze". Saying that though, the preshow is an ingenious example of a a good distraction scare and the run through the infected wards was as bright, white and chaotic as before. Along the way we encountered two different claustrophobia tunnels which actually added to the story and were used to create more scares, especially the bus scene where the inflatable walls were pushing us directly into arms reach of the blood thirsty monsters. It wasn't quite the same as the 2011 show, but Quarantine is still different and original compared to most zombie attractions.
The Slaughterhouse Maze
Slaughterhouse has lost none of its power over the year and is still a chaotic and gruesome tour through the meat factory of a very demented butcher. As we said last year - the plastic curtains allow subtle glimpses into the other rooms and the ingenious multiple escape routes mean that you never know what's coming next. We were also really impressed that the park insisted that people visit the show in small groups only - after all there is nothing worse than being at the end of a 10 person conga line when the front of the line is two rooms ahead of you!
The Fun House
On entering the Fun House we were worried that this was going to be another version of the popular clown curtain mazes. Although original at first - these mazes are starting to get too identical and so the first few minutes showed us nothing new (although the actor here was doing a really good job of scaring us!) We were also beginning to wonder why we had glasses on and then the maze opened out into larger rooms with intricate wall paintings that just popped out with 3D. At this point the maze really picked up and we had some brilliantly fun scares from the creepy clowns who were clearly being extremely mischievous. With unusual hiding places and a real sense of fun - the Fun House turned out to be a really thrilling attraction!
The Hatch
The Hatch is unique as you actually start and finish it on your hands and knees. Unlike a couple of attractions that have moments of crawling just to shock you, The Hatch has been designed so that all the scares and story are played out below waist height. The tunnel itself is pretty claustrophobic to start with and it didn't take long for some of the "dead" girls to make their appearance known. The whole maze is full of quality jump scares and sustained tension such that we were actually pleased to crawl out the other end. In a year full of gimmick mazes - we're pleased to say this gimmick really worked and The Hatch proved to be a scary and fun experience.
The Underground
As we said above, this year seems to be all about gimmicks and a number of attractions have experimented with the "bag on your head " concept. Fortunately Hop Farm realised that although a bag can completely block out the light, it also makes it very difficult for the guests to see anything at all and scares are sometimes just vague shadows or flickers of light. Therefore they decided to a dark maze with a difference. Utilising the now familiar technique of following a rope, the Underground got its scares from something as simple as a light switch! At certain points in the pitch darkness, the lights around us were turned on and someone or something was waiting to pounce. The fun of this is that we never knew when or where it would happen and the light was so shocking after the darkness that we probably would have screamed even without an actor in our face! Of course - this also meant our eyes were never able to adjust to the dark and as the lights went off we became blind again.
The underground genuinely made the four of us (all hardened scare reviewers) scream out loud so many times that we were actually hoarse when we came out. For such a simple idea - it was the most terrifying thing we have experienced this year.
The underground genuinely made the four of us (all hardened scare reviewers) scream out loud so many times that we were actually hoarse when we came out. For such a simple idea - it was the most terrifying thing we have experienced this year.
So how come Hop Farm seems to keep churning out such incredible gut wrenching attractions? We think a lot of it has to do with the designer Tom Swift who clearly understands what scares people and what doesn't. His mazes are some of the strongest we've seen all year, and the whole event is a refreshing break from those that just churn out the same thing every year. We cant wait to see what they come up with in 2013! We are sure it's going to be amazing!
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You Review
General park and roaming actors - so much to do here it was incredible. From the small scare maze queue line for the payment desk, hot cider, the fantastic roaming clowns and the great snack cart offering grubs and rats, the place really was buzzing with entertainment. The live band was doing a good job entertaining, the actors doing a good job scaring and the many food outlets doing a good job satisfying there was a thick atmosphere and a lot to take in for such a small location.
Freak show- we went to see this show twice as the show was different throughout the whole event. The first show was a good diablo juggler, human block head and other freaks as well as a very entertaining character Dr Gore. The 2nd show was ruined by a few idiots in the back letting off a crow scarer firework while a very odd contortionist was on stage. Overall the show was your basic freak show but was very entertaining and had some very good stunts and some very funny parts in it.
The Fun House.- another carnival attraction that started with a curtain maze but this time we were wearing a pair of 3D glasses. The curtain maze was the best of this season allowing the clowns to direct you in any way they they may wanted to and jumping out at you from all directions. Once reaching the end you found yourself in the middle of mirrors and hall ways with a lot of jumps and the best mask hallway I have ever seen and one of the best hidden actors too. The strobe maze was very very blind and the clowns made fantastic use of this and the final scare room had a lot of hiding spots and the actors were somewhere different every time I went through. This was the best carnival themed maze of the year for me as it offered so many different scares and such a variety of scares too,
The Underground - very dark with a lot of fantastic scares and some great actors. It was a very long maze with a lot of very very dark and quiet spots. However there was very few actors about so it was very eerie, especially as you could hear the screams of other groups and props going off. There was one extremely fantastic scare half way through the maze that really made this attraction and if it wasn't for this scare it would of been just your average dark scare maze but this one scare really made it stand out!
The Hatch - the worlds first crawl through scare maze it was but it was very short. The very creepy girls seemed to be everywhere and around every corner to make you scream. A very claustrophobic feel and some very dark spots made this maze feel a lot smaller than it actually was. the girls were doing a very good job of making you scream and fall in every direction which they certainly liked making me do. Again this had a very chaotic ending and some excellent scares but it really needed to be at least double the length.
The Slaughterhouse.- yet again one of my highlights of the year for me. A real maze with the actors leading you any way they want you too and chasing you in every direction. The chainsaw was in a better place this year and the final room was a lot better than before. We had the final run of the night which meant all the actors followed us to the end of the maze and kept us there for quite a while. The maze is very simple but very much delivers on scare and confusion with great actors and good terror. This is a maze that isn't to be missed next year.
Quarantine - much different from its first year the opening has been changed a lot with you now being fed into the maze one by one after the opening scene. With the very very thick smoke and the bright white lights you cannot see what is in front of you at any time or what is around you. The actors did a good job at being everywhere at once, very in your face and especially making you jump from one scare spot into another. A small claustrophobia net pushes you into the zombies at the end keeping you as close to them as possible all the way to the end of the maze There was a lot of space in the final room and I would of liked to see it used to make it a little longer but the large space, bright lights and smoke it looked and felt like a real scene of a zombie apocalypse!.
Freak show- we went to see this show twice as the show was different throughout the whole event. The first show was a good diablo juggler, human block head and other freaks as well as a very entertaining character Dr Gore. The 2nd show was ruined by a few idiots in the back letting off a crow scarer firework while a very odd contortionist was on stage. Overall the show was your basic freak show but was very entertaining and had some very good stunts and some very funny parts in it.
The Fun House.- another carnival attraction that started with a curtain maze but this time we were wearing a pair of 3D glasses. The curtain maze was the best of this season allowing the clowns to direct you in any way they they may wanted to and jumping out at you from all directions. Once reaching the end you found yourself in the middle of mirrors and hall ways with a lot of jumps and the best mask hallway I have ever seen and one of the best hidden actors too. The strobe maze was very very blind and the clowns made fantastic use of this and the final scare room had a lot of hiding spots and the actors were somewhere different every time I went through. This was the best carnival themed maze of the year for me as it offered so many different scares and such a variety of scares too,
The Underground - very dark with a lot of fantastic scares and some great actors. It was a very long maze with a lot of very very dark and quiet spots. However there was very few actors about so it was very eerie, especially as you could hear the screams of other groups and props going off. There was one extremely fantastic scare half way through the maze that really made this attraction and if it wasn't for this scare it would of been just your average dark scare maze but this one scare really made it stand out!
The Hatch - the worlds first crawl through scare maze it was but it was very short. The very creepy girls seemed to be everywhere and around every corner to make you scream. A very claustrophobic feel and some very dark spots made this maze feel a lot smaller than it actually was. the girls were doing a very good job of making you scream and fall in every direction which they certainly liked making me do. Again this had a very chaotic ending and some excellent scares but it really needed to be at least double the length.
The Slaughterhouse.- yet again one of my highlights of the year for me. A real maze with the actors leading you any way they want you too and chasing you in every direction. The chainsaw was in a better place this year and the final room was a lot better than before. We had the final run of the night which meant all the actors followed us to the end of the maze and kept us there for quite a while. The maze is very simple but very much delivers on scare and confusion with great actors and good terror. This is a maze that isn't to be missed next year.
Quarantine - much different from its first year the opening has been changed a lot with you now being fed into the maze one by one after the opening scene. With the very very thick smoke and the bright white lights you cannot see what is in front of you at any time or what is around you. The actors did a good job at being everywhere at once, very in your face and especially making you jump from one scare spot into another. A small claustrophobia net pushes you into the zombies at the end keeping you as close to them as possible all the way to the end of the maze There was a lot of space in the final room and I would of liked to see it used to make it a little longer but the large space, bright lights and smoke it looked and felt like a real scene of a zombie apocalypse!.
You Review 2
Went to hop farm on friday night the 26th october with my partner and family members. Had a fantastic evening,worth the journey from Frinton Essex.and worth every penny. The actors in all the attractions were great,made it so real, I was scared out of my life,screamed so much I lost my voice, well done to all the staff and actors at Hop Farm and thanks a million for a night I will never forget
You Review 3
Was fantastically done! Very scary even more terrifying then Thorpe parks saw the maze! All rides were great! Would recommend! WARNING the show which is not run by the freak week team is an embarrassment and a waste of money! 20 minute show of complete rubbish. I wanted money back but got refused. Otherwise go hop farm just don't pay extra for the stupid show!
You Review 4
Scare mazes were completely horrifying! The Fun House was definitely my favorite but I couldn't stomach that taxidermy man!
Freak show was AMAZING! Whoever said it was a waste of money obviously had no appreciation for a TRUE freak show! Whoever organised it definitely did their research and the team were lovely! Contortionism, sword swallowing, dwarves, fire, pierced weight lifting and some crazy bloke who decided to use a chainsaw whilst blind folded, WE WANT THEM BACK NEXT YEAR!
The live music could do with some work on it but other than that TOP MARKS HOP FARM!
Freak show was AMAZING! Whoever said it was a waste of money obviously had no appreciation for a TRUE freak show! Whoever organised it definitely did their research and the team were lovely! Contortionism, sword swallowing, dwarves, fire, pierced weight lifting and some crazy bloke who decided to use a chainsaw whilst blind folded, WE WANT THEM BACK NEXT YEAR!
The live music could do with some work on it but other than that TOP MARKS HOP FARM!
You Review
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