Hop Farm Freak Week 2014
After the Halloween break last year, it was good to hear that Hop farm were bringing Freak Week back. Having visited previous years and knowing what a success this event was we could not wait to pay the event a visit.
On entry to the night it seemed really quiet (no entry queues - but then it was a Monday night) and that was reflected once inside ,due to a lack of street actors. After about half an hour the street walkers started to emerge and the onsite fun fair opened up and at this point the night really started to improve.It was just a a shame it wasn't there from the start.
The street walkers as previous years really worked hard (especially the clowns) and chased the group we were with all over the park, it was a good experience with good availability of food and drinks and fun fair stall to keep us occupied while not in the mazes. In total the night promised 5 different scare mazes and these vary in quality quite a lot.
The Asylum
The Asylum was a very different experience with a lot of strobe lights and female actors screaming and jumping up from what looked like fairly subtle sets (there was one girl who almost looked like she was being pulled up from a hospital bed by the stomach, which was a great bit of acting/contortion). This maze was loud and lively with small metal corridors and very well put together. The exit was into a marquee which looked very empty (I think previous years it was used as the all-weather queue cover but did not seem to serve a purpose this year. In fact, it could have made the maze bigger or added something there).
Mississippi Madness
This maze was without a doubt one of the best mazes of our season. From the off, we had a person in a full morph suit dive across our path and into the wall to the left, that really made all of us jump. From there on the set was made of blood stained transparent curtains and wooden walls, which allowed the actors to have full control and approach your and your group at least three actors at a time. The team in this maze where certainly a cut above the standard horror event actors as all the guys were of a larger muscular build and several times we were frozen in shock as these hulking creatures came at. We went back through this maze three times over the night and each time it was just as impressive with terrifting scares throughout!
The Creep
From the outside this looked like a great maze as it was clear that we would be expected to crawl through a maze of tunnels in the very dim light. This maze had some younger actors inside and on occasion they jumped out from behind screens and the effect was good. The second time we entered this maze the actors were nowhere to be found and the group had to be called together by the marshals as they all seemed to be in one part of the maze. This maze had potential but we felt it could be improved next year.
Fun House
Fun house had the clowns from the street performers as part of the event and they were very effective. Red and white stripped curtains and a very confusing maze to navigate (which made it more fun). This maze was a scare for the girls in the group (who did not like clowns) and the actors were also very good in character. The only criticism of this maze was that it was staged in a 3d painted area and that could have been used with the glasses normally work for that room.
Infection
This maze ran round what appeared to be an old mill. The maze to me was not intense enough and the width of the maze track was far too large. The maze itself appeared to be lacking in actors and was not at all scary, which was a shame. This maze hopefully next year will be reviewed and either changed or have far more staff within it’s course.
Overall the night was very enjoyable mainly due to the Asylum and that Mississippi madness experience, the clowns made the night more fun and between those three mazes I would certainly recommend the event to friends. If next year the hop farm focuses on the creep (not much required to make that great) and rethinks infection the Freak Week may well become one of the stronger events in the south.
On entry to the night it seemed really quiet (no entry queues - but then it was a Monday night) and that was reflected once inside ,due to a lack of street actors. After about half an hour the street walkers started to emerge and the onsite fun fair opened up and at this point the night really started to improve.It was just a a shame it wasn't there from the start.
The street walkers as previous years really worked hard (especially the clowns) and chased the group we were with all over the park, it was a good experience with good availability of food and drinks and fun fair stall to keep us occupied while not in the mazes. In total the night promised 5 different scare mazes and these vary in quality quite a lot.
The Asylum
The Asylum was a very different experience with a lot of strobe lights and female actors screaming and jumping up from what looked like fairly subtle sets (there was one girl who almost looked like she was being pulled up from a hospital bed by the stomach, which was a great bit of acting/contortion). This maze was loud and lively with small metal corridors and very well put together. The exit was into a marquee which looked very empty (I think previous years it was used as the all-weather queue cover but did not seem to serve a purpose this year. In fact, it could have made the maze bigger or added something there).
Mississippi Madness
This maze was without a doubt one of the best mazes of our season. From the off, we had a person in a full morph suit dive across our path and into the wall to the left, that really made all of us jump. From there on the set was made of blood stained transparent curtains and wooden walls, which allowed the actors to have full control and approach your and your group at least three actors at a time. The team in this maze where certainly a cut above the standard horror event actors as all the guys were of a larger muscular build and several times we were frozen in shock as these hulking creatures came at. We went back through this maze three times over the night and each time it was just as impressive with terrifting scares throughout!
The Creep
From the outside this looked like a great maze as it was clear that we would be expected to crawl through a maze of tunnels in the very dim light. This maze had some younger actors inside and on occasion they jumped out from behind screens and the effect was good. The second time we entered this maze the actors were nowhere to be found and the group had to be called together by the marshals as they all seemed to be in one part of the maze. This maze had potential but we felt it could be improved next year.
Fun House
Fun house had the clowns from the street performers as part of the event and they were very effective. Red and white stripped curtains and a very confusing maze to navigate (which made it more fun). This maze was a scare for the girls in the group (who did not like clowns) and the actors were also very good in character. The only criticism of this maze was that it was staged in a 3d painted area and that could have been used with the glasses normally work for that room.
Infection
This maze ran round what appeared to be an old mill. The maze to me was not intense enough and the width of the maze track was far too large. The maze itself appeared to be lacking in actors and was not at all scary, which was a shame. This maze hopefully next year will be reviewed and either changed or have far more staff within it’s course.
Overall the night was very enjoyable mainly due to the Asylum and that Mississippi madness experience, the clowns made the night more fun and between those three mazes I would certainly recommend the event to friends. If next year the hop farm focuses on the creep (not much required to make that great) and rethinks infection the Freak Week may well become one of the stronger events in the south.
Links
For dates and prices check the Hop Farm Freak Week festival website
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