Scarenation - Factory of Fear II
Scarenation is back for it's fourth, the second in the atmospheric Frogmore Mill. The Mill is the world’s oldest mechanised paper mill and is recognised as the birthplace of paper’s industrial revolution. Today it is still a working paper mill producing around 100 tonnes of specialist grade paper every year on historic paper machines. As such, the factory is the perfect setting for a scare event:
Last year the whole event had an industrial feel, but in 2014, the mill has become a temporary hospital for the infected. We checked our appointment time and headed in.....
Waiting room
The Waiting room was a slight introductory scene setter that told us about the infection in the hospital and a bit of back story to the event. It was a nice touch and beat the basic queue that greeted us in 2013, Unfortunately, on leaving the Waiting Room we went straight into a long queue for the event's first real maze.In fact - queues throughout could be one of the few complaints about Scarenation as after each maze we effectively had to get on the end of the line for the next one. It could just be that we arrived just as they were trying to batch most people through as by the time we got to ICU and Quarantine we walked straight into each maze.
Triage
Triage was the first real maze experience and was set in custom built hospital corridors filled with medical gas masks and other medical paraphernalia. Angry nurses and inpatients appeared around every corner and the actorws were able to get really up close and personal. As the true opener to the whole event, the maze had a number of good quality scares throughout.
Examination
Examination led us into a twisted maze of medical experimentation, vivisection and more. The maze was similar in style to Triage but utilised larger rooms and a more theatrical style of acting - with the actors trying to talk to and engage with us about their findings. Compared to the first maze and the mazes to come, Examination was probably the weakest of the five.
Surgery
Surgery was probably the loudest and most intense of the 5 mazes as we were attacked constantly by some demented doctors and nurses all looking to operate on us. Blood and gore was the order of the day, with surgical instruments ready to be dived into any flesh we had exposed. Built in a large open area, the maze was quite bright due to the strobe lighting and was a marked contrast to the darkness of Examination. It also felt like the longest of the mazes, as it just seemed to keep going and the medical staff kept attacking. Despite the rough round the edges feel created by the Heras fencing in places, this was actually our favourite maze of the night and provided some great scares throughout.
ICU
ICU is the new name for the event's popular "black maze" and the name is a great play on words - ICU as in Intensive Care Unit but also "I See You", which is an interesting twist in a maze that it pitch black throughout. As before , we were asked to follow a plastic pipe through the darkness and see where it would lead us. Unlike similar attractions - this pipe goes up and down the walls and even over our heads at time - making things quite confusing and hard to follow if you aren't tall (the group behind us "lost" their young children in this maze and exited on their own and had to go back in and get them!). Of course, the darkness would be bad enough if it wasn't for the actors inside with small torches that appear next to you or stand in your way in the darkness!. Of the many darkness/hoooded mazes we have experienced this is the scariest by far!
Quarantine
Quarantine is the final maze of the event and gave us a chance to really check out the residents of the hospital. It was like a trip through the day room of your local asylum, as some very unwell and crazy people could be found throughout this maze. With scares coming from every direction, it wasn't too long before we were heading down the final corridor. With safety looming, it looked like we would make it out alive. The problem was someone had given the inmates the keys to the power tools!
One of Scarenation's biggest assets is the factory itself and the machines, gears, dials and knobs all around really help to make a cohesive experience from beginning to end. Despite the short queues between attractions, it never actually feels like we have left the event and we kept expecting things to jump out even in the quieter sections. It does also mean that there are no comfort breaks along the way so make sure you've been to the toilet before entering!
All in, Scarenation is a great event that had a number of great scares throughout. We did feel that the maze style of Quarantine, Triage and Examination were very similar in execution despite having different sets - so it was nice to shake things up a bit with the strobes of Surgery and darkness of ICU. Going forward - it will be interesting to see if they continue the same theme through all 5 attractions or mix them up like they did in their first location in 2011. But overall - we had a blast at Factory of Fear II and look forward to seeing what the team come up with for 2015. Whatever it is - we will definitely be back.
For more details about Scarenation - check their website
ScareTOUR review 2013
ScareTOUR review 2011
Last year the whole event had an industrial feel, but in 2014, the mill has become a temporary hospital for the infected. We checked our appointment time and headed in.....
Waiting room
The Waiting room was a slight introductory scene setter that told us about the infection in the hospital and a bit of back story to the event. It was a nice touch and beat the basic queue that greeted us in 2013, Unfortunately, on leaving the Waiting Room we went straight into a long queue for the event's first real maze.In fact - queues throughout could be one of the few complaints about Scarenation as after each maze we effectively had to get on the end of the line for the next one. It could just be that we arrived just as they were trying to batch most people through as by the time we got to ICU and Quarantine we walked straight into each maze.
Triage
Triage was the first real maze experience and was set in custom built hospital corridors filled with medical gas masks and other medical paraphernalia. Angry nurses and inpatients appeared around every corner and the actorws were able to get really up close and personal. As the true opener to the whole event, the maze had a number of good quality scares throughout.
Examination
Examination led us into a twisted maze of medical experimentation, vivisection and more. The maze was similar in style to Triage but utilised larger rooms and a more theatrical style of acting - with the actors trying to talk to and engage with us about their findings. Compared to the first maze and the mazes to come, Examination was probably the weakest of the five.
Surgery
Surgery was probably the loudest and most intense of the 5 mazes as we were attacked constantly by some demented doctors and nurses all looking to operate on us. Blood and gore was the order of the day, with surgical instruments ready to be dived into any flesh we had exposed. Built in a large open area, the maze was quite bright due to the strobe lighting and was a marked contrast to the darkness of Examination. It also felt like the longest of the mazes, as it just seemed to keep going and the medical staff kept attacking. Despite the rough round the edges feel created by the Heras fencing in places, this was actually our favourite maze of the night and provided some great scares throughout.
ICU
ICU is the new name for the event's popular "black maze" and the name is a great play on words - ICU as in Intensive Care Unit but also "I See You", which is an interesting twist in a maze that it pitch black throughout. As before , we were asked to follow a plastic pipe through the darkness and see where it would lead us. Unlike similar attractions - this pipe goes up and down the walls and even over our heads at time - making things quite confusing and hard to follow if you aren't tall (the group behind us "lost" their young children in this maze and exited on their own and had to go back in and get them!). Of course, the darkness would be bad enough if it wasn't for the actors inside with small torches that appear next to you or stand in your way in the darkness!. Of the many darkness/hoooded mazes we have experienced this is the scariest by far!
Quarantine
Quarantine is the final maze of the event and gave us a chance to really check out the residents of the hospital. It was like a trip through the day room of your local asylum, as some very unwell and crazy people could be found throughout this maze. With scares coming from every direction, it wasn't too long before we were heading down the final corridor. With safety looming, it looked like we would make it out alive. The problem was someone had given the inmates the keys to the power tools!
One of Scarenation's biggest assets is the factory itself and the machines, gears, dials and knobs all around really help to make a cohesive experience from beginning to end. Despite the short queues between attractions, it never actually feels like we have left the event and we kept expecting things to jump out even in the quieter sections. It does also mean that there are no comfort breaks along the way so make sure you've been to the toilet before entering!
All in, Scarenation is a great event that had a number of great scares throughout. We did feel that the maze style of Quarantine, Triage and Examination were very similar in execution despite having different sets - so it was nice to shake things up a bit with the strobes of Surgery and darkness of ICU. Going forward - it will be interesting to see if they continue the same theme through all 5 attractions or mix them up like they did in their first location in 2011. But overall - we had a blast at Factory of Fear II and look forward to seeing what the team come up with for 2015. Whatever it is - we will definitely be back.
For more details about Scarenation - check their website
ScareTOUR review 2013
ScareTOUR review 2011
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