Screamland Margate - 2019
We were left slightly underwhelmed on our visit to Screamland last year. The mazes all felt quite samey and there was no real atmosphere in the park. But with news of a new creative team, and a lucrative tie up with the Hammer Horror movie studio, we ventured back down to Margate to see if things had improved. Fortunately - for all involved - this year has seen a giant step change in quality, and provided a fun and thrilling night out.
The 5 mazes themselves have been spread around the park with two built internally in the ballroom and roller rink, and the remaining three in a new undercover area in the park's adjoining multi storey car park. In between, the rides are open, there is music playing and the park is lit in a suitably eerie colour. Already, the event had a better feel than previous years and we hadn't even been inside one of the mazes!
Submerged: Full Scream Ahead has clearly used some of the sets and props from last years HMS Deceased, but all gelled together to make a more cohesive experience as we explored the sunken ship. The lighting gave an eerie watery effect to the proceedings as the actors provided some ghostly but spirited scares. As our first maze of the night - we enjoyed it, but it hardly blew us away
Our next maze was then a complete change as we entered the Sleep Experiment, and as we worked our way through the corridors of this facility, we were attacked multiple times by the staff and the victims of their cruel experiments. We loved some of the effects used in here and the whole maze was so much more fast paced and chaotic than Submerged, with totally different scare styles. This was easily the most intense of all the attractions.
When we first heard that the Brotherhood would be another hooded maze, we couldn't help but admit we died a little bit inside. Hooded mazes have become so samey over recent years and unless they are given the right attention and story then they are prone to end up as dull as Vulcan Peak. Fortunately the hooded section was just part of a much longer themed maze, which made it more believable when the characters started coughing and spluttering around us. And for this we have to commend them on the timing of the sounds with the tactile events. It was all so believable, that we genuinely came out of the attraction wanting to wash our hands with antibacterial soap. Easily the best hooded maze of this year!
Carnival: the Fall of Festino was an efficient and fun clown maze that had a number of fun house elements along the way. The mix of run down and decrepit, was a counterpoint to the bright colourful characters, and we had several good jumps throughout. Clown mazes are very popular with attractions and although this didn't bring anything new to the party - it was a great maze that had us laughing and screaming in equal measures.
The headline maze for this year is Hammer House of Horror, which has been created under license from Hammer Horror Studios - the home of the Woman in Black. Of course this film is very iconic and immediately recognisable, but before her section, we had to pass through multiple different old horror movies. An individual's knowledge of the original movies, could have an impact on their enjoyment of the maze, as for every Woman in Black there is a rarely heard of classic such as The Abominable Snowman of The Himalayas! (no - us neither!)
But even for those who don't know the IPs, there were some very good scares throughout the attraction, but our highlight had to be the scare that heralded the arrival of the Woman in Black. Classic distraction and lighting effects meant that one minute the room was empty and the next she was there and screaming in our faces!
Across all 5 mazes we saw a real quality in presentation, including detailed sets and props, great costume and make up, and some very lively and believable acting. We really great time at Screamland and appreciate the changes that have been made across the whole paek. With a new line up, a new layout and some great scares, this is Screamland Margate's best event in years.
The 5 mazes themselves have been spread around the park with two built internally in the ballroom and roller rink, and the remaining three in a new undercover area in the park's adjoining multi storey car park. In between, the rides are open, there is music playing and the park is lit in a suitably eerie colour. Already, the event had a better feel than previous years and we hadn't even been inside one of the mazes!
Submerged: Full Scream Ahead has clearly used some of the sets and props from last years HMS Deceased, but all gelled together to make a more cohesive experience as we explored the sunken ship. The lighting gave an eerie watery effect to the proceedings as the actors provided some ghostly but spirited scares. As our first maze of the night - we enjoyed it, but it hardly blew us away
Our next maze was then a complete change as we entered the Sleep Experiment, and as we worked our way through the corridors of this facility, we were attacked multiple times by the staff and the victims of their cruel experiments. We loved some of the effects used in here and the whole maze was so much more fast paced and chaotic than Submerged, with totally different scare styles. This was easily the most intense of all the attractions.
When we first heard that the Brotherhood would be another hooded maze, we couldn't help but admit we died a little bit inside. Hooded mazes have become so samey over recent years and unless they are given the right attention and story then they are prone to end up as dull as Vulcan Peak. Fortunately the hooded section was just part of a much longer themed maze, which made it more believable when the characters started coughing and spluttering around us. And for this we have to commend them on the timing of the sounds with the tactile events. It was all so believable, that we genuinely came out of the attraction wanting to wash our hands with antibacterial soap. Easily the best hooded maze of this year!
Carnival: the Fall of Festino was an efficient and fun clown maze that had a number of fun house elements along the way. The mix of run down and decrepit, was a counterpoint to the bright colourful characters, and we had several good jumps throughout. Clown mazes are very popular with attractions and although this didn't bring anything new to the party - it was a great maze that had us laughing and screaming in equal measures.
The headline maze for this year is Hammer House of Horror, which has been created under license from Hammer Horror Studios - the home of the Woman in Black. Of course this film is very iconic and immediately recognisable, but before her section, we had to pass through multiple different old horror movies. An individual's knowledge of the original movies, could have an impact on their enjoyment of the maze, as for every Woman in Black there is a rarely heard of classic such as The Abominable Snowman of The Himalayas! (no - us neither!)
But even for those who don't know the IPs, there were some very good scares throughout the attraction, but our highlight had to be the scare that heralded the arrival of the Woman in Black. Classic distraction and lighting effects meant that one minute the room was empty and the next she was there and screaming in our faces!
Across all 5 mazes we saw a real quality in presentation, including detailed sets and props, great costume and make up, and some very lively and believable acting. We really great time at Screamland and appreciate the changes that have been made across the whole paek. With a new line up, a new layout and some great scares, this is Screamland Margate's best event in years.
Screamland Margate - 2018
Screamland has returned to Dreamland Margate with the tagline of "Seven scare mazes - seven nights of fear", which unfortunately is lie from the outset. Yes the park is open for seven nights, but we can categorically state that it only has six mazes and not seven.
So what is causing the confusion? Well, in a strange move the park have decided to split one regular size maze into two separate mazes in one marquee. Now - this used to be confusing when they had The Final Cut leading into Dead and Breakfast, but at least these mazes were so contrastingly different you could tell you were going from one to another. The problem here is that the Tunnels of Terror are just an extension of the story and theming from Dead and Breakfast - even down to using the gas masks and the blitz style setting. To all intents and purposes, this was just one maze and it would seem the general public agreed. We overheard many people asking the hosts where the seventh maze was - only to be told they had already done it. We're not sure whether this was done intentionally, just to be able to market seven mazes, but it was misleading. So we will continue to review this as just one maze.
Dead and Breakfast has always been one of the stronger mazes at the park, with strong characters throughout. Fag Ash Lil was easily the most profane she has ever been and the scares throughout were plentiful. Despite moving from the previous location of the maze, the theming had mostly been recreated and was all suitably run down and aged. Combining the two sections as a whole, we felt it was a strong maze populated by some fun scares.
Festino's Funhouse seemed to have lost some of the more elaborate scenes and props from earlier versions (such as the giant skeleton hand) and played out more like a generic clown maze. The actors were clearly having fun throughout and with crawl sections and a big ball pond to wade through, it was a fun maze, although nothing outstanding.
The Punch and Judy Horror Show was an interesting concept that could have done with upping the scare levels a bit. The oversized puppets with large bulbous heads were a great idea but could have been scarier if they moved faster. Most of the time they just seemed to lurk around the room not being particularly menacing or vocal.
Dreamland Sleep Experiment was one of the stronger mazes of the night. Clearly riffing off of the Paradise Foundation, this was a sinister medical maze with a number of good scares along the route. The maze was occupied by some lively actors including the snarky receptionist who set the tone perfectly.
Our other favourite was RMS Mary Decompsosed, a well themed journey through a haunted ship. Again the mood was set well by the actor in the opening scene, and then what followed were some solid scares with some interesting hiding places. The sets and props seemed to be the strongest of all the mazes and really invoked a feeling of being on a deserted passenger liner.
The final (and 6th) attraction was the Upside Down which was built in the park's mirror maze. Despite only being a makeover of an existing attraction, the lighting and music created a great atmosphere and there were more actors inside than we were expecting. So we had several good jump scares.
One noticeable thing about this year's Screamland event was that all the mazes were in a line next to each other, in themed marquees at the back of the park. This was great if all you wanted to do was bounce from maze to maze, but we found that the park felt quite quiet and empty, as the guests were all focused in the one area. This did mean though that the very energetic roaming actors could reach more people, as they actively hunted up and down the queue lines looking for victims. We had great fun watching and interacting with them during the night.
Following the disappointment of the 2017 event, and the recent changes in park ownership and creative talent' we found this year's line up of six mazes (not seven) to be much better in execution than last year, but not as strong as the first few years of the event. Although nothing left us with a "wow" feeling we enjoyed our visit and look forward to seeing how the event evolves in the future. Lets just hope that someone learns how to count!
So what is causing the confusion? Well, in a strange move the park have decided to split one regular size maze into two separate mazes in one marquee. Now - this used to be confusing when they had The Final Cut leading into Dead and Breakfast, but at least these mazes were so contrastingly different you could tell you were going from one to another. The problem here is that the Tunnels of Terror are just an extension of the story and theming from Dead and Breakfast - even down to using the gas masks and the blitz style setting. To all intents and purposes, this was just one maze and it would seem the general public agreed. We overheard many people asking the hosts where the seventh maze was - only to be told they had already done it. We're not sure whether this was done intentionally, just to be able to market seven mazes, but it was misleading. So we will continue to review this as just one maze.
Dead and Breakfast has always been one of the stronger mazes at the park, with strong characters throughout. Fag Ash Lil was easily the most profane she has ever been and the scares throughout were plentiful. Despite moving from the previous location of the maze, the theming had mostly been recreated and was all suitably run down and aged. Combining the two sections as a whole, we felt it was a strong maze populated by some fun scares.
Festino's Funhouse seemed to have lost some of the more elaborate scenes and props from earlier versions (such as the giant skeleton hand) and played out more like a generic clown maze. The actors were clearly having fun throughout and with crawl sections and a big ball pond to wade through, it was a fun maze, although nothing outstanding.
The Punch and Judy Horror Show was an interesting concept that could have done with upping the scare levels a bit. The oversized puppets with large bulbous heads were a great idea but could have been scarier if they moved faster. Most of the time they just seemed to lurk around the room not being particularly menacing or vocal.
Dreamland Sleep Experiment was one of the stronger mazes of the night. Clearly riffing off of the Paradise Foundation, this was a sinister medical maze with a number of good scares along the route. The maze was occupied by some lively actors including the snarky receptionist who set the tone perfectly.
Our other favourite was RMS Mary Decompsosed, a well themed journey through a haunted ship. Again the mood was set well by the actor in the opening scene, and then what followed were some solid scares with some interesting hiding places. The sets and props seemed to be the strongest of all the mazes and really invoked a feeling of being on a deserted passenger liner.
The final (and 6th) attraction was the Upside Down which was built in the park's mirror maze. Despite only being a makeover of an existing attraction, the lighting and music created a great atmosphere and there were more actors inside than we were expecting. So we had several good jump scares.
One noticeable thing about this year's Screamland event was that all the mazes were in a line next to each other, in themed marquees at the back of the park. This was great if all you wanted to do was bounce from maze to maze, but we found that the park felt quite quiet and empty, as the guests were all focused in the one area. This did mean though that the very energetic roaming actors could reach more people, as they actively hunted up and down the queue lines looking for victims. We had great fun watching and interacting with them during the night.
Following the disappointment of the 2017 event, and the recent changes in park ownership and creative talent' we found this year's line up of six mazes (not seven) to be much better in execution than last year, but not as strong as the first few years of the event. Although nothing left us with a "wow" feeling we enjoyed our visit and look forward to seeing how the event evolves in the future. Lets just hope that someone learns how to count!
Terrifying
Very scary and definitely value for money!
I would recommend telling everyone to go to it this year. So many new mazes and the rides are great too. The queues are short which is e en better! Screamland is so intense and the people in sleep experiment are so terrifying. So many people I think it's the worst best ever. The people around the park are also scary and are great for chasing you around or selfies too.
Very scary and definitely value for money!
I would recommend telling everyone to go to it this year. So many new mazes and the rides are great too. The queues are short which is e en better! Screamland is so intense and the people in sleep experiment are so terrifying. So many people I think it's the worst best ever. The people around the park are also scary and are great for chasing you around or selfies too.
Screamland Margate - 2017
The SCAR award winner Screamland is back for its third iteration. Set at Dreamland in Margate it has become one of the South East’s biggest and must visit Halloween attractions, but can it live up to expectations again? A ticket will get you access to the park, its rides, live music & entertainment each night, but what we are here for is the three new mazes which join three tweaked storylines in existing mazes.
We visited on the first night, which was open to press, VIPs and park membership holders. As the doors opened over 20 live actors ran out chasing guests, setting the scene nicely for the evening ahead. We jumped straight into the action with The Final Cut & Dead and Breakfast.
The Final Cut Presents: They Came from Outer Space – The Last Screening. Sticking with the previous years, we entered via the Horror wood Picture House where the scene is set by two brilliantly acted ushers who lulled us into a false sense of security with their wit and conversational improv. We instantly become part of the story as we were given tubes of ‘uranium’ that we must keep from the prying hands of Aliens inside the maze. Sadly, once inside, nothing within the set has changed, traipsing through corridors which remain themed as a cornfield with some predictable scare points. The tilting table, gross dissection and a cleverly placed plant scare are the redeeming features of this reworked storyline. Whilst we’re not looking for realism, the final scene was a little sloppy, an armed guard trying to contain an alien ended up shooting his rifle at us. Thankfully it’s just make believe, otherwise it really would’ve been our last screening.
The Final Cut leads straight into… Dead and Breakfast: Under New Management. Last years ‘Murder Hotel’ sequel morphs into a trilogy for 2017. A younger hotelier (Fag Ash Lil has gone from reception) swiftly set us on our way through a largely unchanged set. New holographic projections on the walls were a nice touch although not a good replacement for a live scare. The storyline was a continuation of last year and the set pieces remain largely unchanged except for a very clever moment in the bedroom. It was great to finally meet up with Fag Ash Lil who has been banished by the new management and she set up the big "chainsaw-wielding psycho" ending. Sadly, it felt like it was over all too quickly. Whilst the set remains as detailed as ever, it is time for an overhaul of these two linked mazes. Maybe next year Final Cut and Dead & Breakfast could be turned into one long maze?
Festino’s Festival of Freaks. Alonzo Festino is back and has a plethora of freaks eager to welcome and frighten you. After a BAFTA worthy intro, we were led into the darkness where countless live actors were roaming. The dark rooms were filled with random scenes complete with creepy props and even more disturbing characters taunting us. Some well-placed actors in here got us with perfectly timed screams, our favourite being a shortish bald guy in some pyjamas who very cleverly separated us from the group without being intrusive or threatening in anyway. Bravo to all the actors in here who even on their first ‘live’ night packed this maze with the right level of scare and creepiness.
The Legend of Crank Jack. This new purpose-built part crawl maze is a barrel of laughs and scares from the off. We got things going with a brilliantly voiced intro “Please do enter my Jack in the Box, we all have fun in here… just crawl on through”. With that we were on our knees and crawling into a blinding light which filled the entrance of Jack’s box. As we crawled through the winding tunnels trying to figure out what was a curtain and what was a dead end, we were subjected to a looping rendition of ‘Pop goes the Weasel’. The music masked the steps of the actors as they waited in hiding to inflict scares through all kinds of perfectly placed nooks and crannies. For the second half of the maze we could stand up, the set design was basic but cleverly constructed to skew your sense of direction. As we roamed the dark corridors Jack and a raft of other characters jumped out of the shadows with lights and air horns taunting us ‘la la la, you got lost’. A thoroughly enjoyable and jumpy maze that will be different for every visitor.
The Brotherhood. Tucked away at the back of the park lies The Brotherhood. We were issued with hoods and upon entering we were told about the ancient order of monks who reside there and that we were about to be initiated into the Brotherhood. Rope in hand; we edged through a winding maze being subjected to eerie noises eventually coming to our knees before a monk who whipped off the hood. We were denounced and sent into another darkened corridor where we had to navigate the pitch black, with just a rope to guide us. How the actors saw us well enough to judge their perfectly placed jumps is amazing – it really was that dark! This maze was well constructed and was a great addition to the line-up.
The final attraction was Punchinello’s Revenge which was basically just a small retheme of the existing mirror maze attraction. The scares and effects were identical to previous year – short and fun
Other additions included a very quick walk through ‘Prop Store’ with a nice photo opportunity at the end and ‘Séance’ which is not included in the ticket price and must be booked separately when you arrive at the park. Spaces are limited. We also had the opportunity to do the live Séance, which takes place in the eerie and dilapidated ‘Folly’ building at the edge of the park. Led by a spiritual investigator called Thomas, we went into the small building and watched closely as Thomas conducted various attempts to communicate with any spirits. It was a great addition to the scare mazes for those looking to extend their night and try something a little different. All in all, Screamland is a fun night out and is definitely one to visit if you’re in the area.
We visited on the first night, which was open to press, VIPs and park membership holders. As the doors opened over 20 live actors ran out chasing guests, setting the scene nicely for the evening ahead. We jumped straight into the action with The Final Cut & Dead and Breakfast.
The Final Cut Presents: They Came from Outer Space – The Last Screening. Sticking with the previous years, we entered via the Horror wood Picture House where the scene is set by two brilliantly acted ushers who lulled us into a false sense of security with their wit and conversational improv. We instantly become part of the story as we were given tubes of ‘uranium’ that we must keep from the prying hands of Aliens inside the maze. Sadly, once inside, nothing within the set has changed, traipsing through corridors which remain themed as a cornfield with some predictable scare points. The tilting table, gross dissection and a cleverly placed plant scare are the redeeming features of this reworked storyline. Whilst we’re not looking for realism, the final scene was a little sloppy, an armed guard trying to contain an alien ended up shooting his rifle at us. Thankfully it’s just make believe, otherwise it really would’ve been our last screening.
The Final Cut leads straight into… Dead and Breakfast: Under New Management. Last years ‘Murder Hotel’ sequel morphs into a trilogy for 2017. A younger hotelier (Fag Ash Lil has gone from reception) swiftly set us on our way through a largely unchanged set. New holographic projections on the walls were a nice touch although not a good replacement for a live scare. The storyline was a continuation of last year and the set pieces remain largely unchanged except for a very clever moment in the bedroom. It was great to finally meet up with Fag Ash Lil who has been banished by the new management and she set up the big "chainsaw-wielding psycho" ending. Sadly, it felt like it was over all too quickly. Whilst the set remains as detailed as ever, it is time for an overhaul of these two linked mazes. Maybe next year Final Cut and Dead & Breakfast could be turned into one long maze?
Festino’s Festival of Freaks. Alonzo Festino is back and has a plethora of freaks eager to welcome and frighten you. After a BAFTA worthy intro, we were led into the darkness where countless live actors were roaming. The dark rooms were filled with random scenes complete with creepy props and even more disturbing characters taunting us. Some well-placed actors in here got us with perfectly timed screams, our favourite being a shortish bald guy in some pyjamas who very cleverly separated us from the group without being intrusive or threatening in anyway. Bravo to all the actors in here who even on their first ‘live’ night packed this maze with the right level of scare and creepiness.
The Legend of Crank Jack. This new purpose-built part crawl maze is a barrel of laughs and scares from the off. We got things going with a brilliantly voiced intro “Please do enter my Jack in the Box, we all have fun in here… just crawl on through”. With that we were on our knees and crawling into a blinding light which filled the entrance of Jack’s box. As we crawled through the winding tunnels trying to figure out what was a curtain and what was a dead end, we were subjected to a looping rendition of ‘Pop goes the Weasel’. The music masked the steps of the actors as they waited in hiding to inflict scares through all kinds of perfectly placed nooks and crannies. For the second half of the maze we could stand up, the set design was basic but cleverly constructed to skew your sense of direction. As we roamed the dark corridors Jack and a raft of other characters jumped out of the shadows with lights and air horns taunting us ‘la la la, you got lost’. A thoroughly enjoyable and jumpy maze that will be different for every visitor.
The Brotherhood. Tucked away at the back of the park lies The Brotherhood. We were issued with hoods and upon entering we were told about the ancient order of monks who reside there and that we were about to be initiated into the Brotherhood. Rope in hand; we edged through a winding maze being subjected to eerie noises eventually coming to our knees before a monk who whipped off the hood. We were denounced and sent into another darkened corridor where we had to navigate the pitch black, with just a rope to guide us. How the actors saw us well enough to judge their perfectly placed jumps is amazing – it really was that dark! This maze was well constructed and was a great addition to the line-up.
The final attraction was Punchinello’s Revenge which was basically just a small retheme of the existing mirror maze attraction. The scares and effects were identical to previous year – short and fun
Other additions included a very quick walk through ‘Prop Store’ with a nice photo opportunity at the end and ‘Séance’ which is not included in the ticket price and must be booked separately when you arrive at the park. Spaces are limited. We also had the opportunity to do the live Séance, which takes place in the eerie and dilapidated ‘Folly’ building at the edge of the park. Led by a spiritual investigator called Thomas, we went into the small building and watched closely as Thomas conducted various attempts to communicate with any spirits. It was a great addition to the scare mazes for those looking to extend their night and try something a little different. All in all, Screamland is a fun night out and is definitely one to visit if you’re in the area.
After a short queue, we entered the park. There seemed to be fewer roaming actors than at other haunt attractions. We also found that despite saying they opened at 6pm, many were not ready until 6.30pm onwards.
We went into Punchinello's Revenge. Our group of four was made to wait until another group of seven joined us. This haunt consisted of mirrored twists and turns. Thanks to the large number of people flowing through, only the first six got any scares. We could hear screams, but by the time we got there, the scare was dead.This ruined it for us.
Festinos Freaks began well, but we got stuck by a dead end, and then a second group came through and you had twelve people jammed into one area. We moved to another dead end, and a third group got shoved through. People were getting annoyed, and I think that it was badly organised. When we eventually got out, a number of people said that they were sure that we had missed a portion of the haunt.The large groups ruined another haunt.
Crank Jacks started well, and it was quite spooky. We were made to crawl the first half of the haunt, but once we stood up, it seemed similar to punchinello's. Again we were joined by another group, and the scares were ruined.
The Brotherhood followed the usual 'hooded' haunts. Halfway however, we got to remove the hood, then continue in the dark. I found the second half more intense, as instead of noises, you had actors shining torches in your face and screaming at you!
The Final Cut has amazing decor, and you are fully immersed from the beginning. The actors were amazing, and despite the scenes being different, the was something for everyone.
Dead and breakfast was disappointing, I was expecting scares that never came.
There were not many people there when we went, so I have no idea why smaller groups were not permitted. I really felt for the actors as their hard work was ruined by conga lines of people streaming through. Startle scares on a line of a dozen people are hard to pull off!
I doubt I will go back as I was not impressed by the way the patrons were organised. The actors were good, but I reckon smaller groups could have allowed them to really go for it.
Screamland Margate - 2016
Screamland Margate was new in 2015 and won best new event at the 2016 SCAR Awards for its incredibly themed scare attractions and spookily fun entertainment. This year has seen some new story lines for the returning attractions along with some brand new experiences taking the scare maze count up to five.
The Paradise Foundation is brand new, and is probably one of the most elaborately themed attractions we have seen this year. Built in a new section of the park that wasn’t open last year, the maze utilises a number of quite large rooms such as the opening bliss room and/or the medical theatre room and all of these are stunningly themed. Everything from the posh futuristic clinic through to the cells and the homes of the rejected, were completely immersive. The story of the Paradise Foundation itself was suitably creepy, with the idea of people bidding for our body parts and this combined with the great sets meant we were really expecting to get some great scares. As it was – we only screamed once! It wasn’t that the actors weren’t trying, but most of the scares were theatrical led ones instead of jump scares and it was only one incredibly quick scare with a bathroom mirror that we actually jumped at.
Dead and Breakfast: Murder Hotel is a sequel to the the original Dead and Breakfast and unfortunately follows the general rule that sequels are never as good as the original. Whereas Dead and Breakfast told a stunningly original story of a Margate B&B haunted by the ghost of wartime child refugees, Murder Hotel seems to have taken a weak cop out and slapped a “serial killer” Jack into the equation. Although there were a number of good scares and the maze remained as beautifully themed as before, the story felt very unoriginal and turgid. Bring back the dead kids in gas masks!
The Final Cut: It Came From Outer Space. We really enjoyed the B&W homage to old horror movies in the first year of Screamland so was slightly dubious as too what this makeover would do. We need not have worried as the maze included so many references to old alien monsters movies including such classics as Mars attacks, Alien and more. Throughout the whole maze, the different environments kelp the experience fresh as we travelled from deserted cornfields through to pitch black corridors with strange alien robots. The use of lighting to reflect War of the Worlds Tripods and the floating robot in the blackout tunnel, was really impressive and we enjoyed every aspect of this revamped maze.
Festino’s Forgotten Funhouse has moved from the large circus tent that was used in 2015, but the team have found a worthy replacement in the large echoey halls of the newly built Hall by the Sea, especially as the main entrance face/mouth to this maze is easily 20 foot high – it’s an imposing start to a fun maze. Once inside there was, once again,
a crazy mix of circus characters with some very impressive over-sized effects that had the whole team running from the room to escape (with a large skeletal hand reaching round to grab us!) Some of the scenes were slightly missed due to the fact that we ended up sandwiched between a slow group at the front and a fast group behind, but we still had a really good laugh in the funhouse with a number of great screams.
The Bloody Mirror is a makeover of the park’s mirror maze and provides a fifth headline attraction to the event. The maze has been decorated with hanging cloth which helped to confuse us as we tried to find a way out and the sudden appearance of Bloody Mary at the end was a good surprise. Not the most terrifying maze - but a lot of fun.
Having loved Screamland last year, we had mixed feelings about the event in 2016. Certainly some of the changes worked for the better but some (especially Dead and Breakfast) weakened an already perfect maze. It’s a shame that the new maze wasn’t as scary as we had hoped, but the whole line up of the mazes, live entertainment and the theme park rides all work together to make a truly fun night out!
The Paradise Foundation is brand new, and is probably one of the most elaborately themed attractions we have seen this year. Built in a new section of the park that wasn’t open last year, the maze utilises a number of quite large rooms such as the opening bliss room and/or the medical theatre room and all of these are stunningly themed. Everything from the posh futuristic clinic through to the cells and the homes of the rejected, were completely immersive. The story of the Paradise Foundation itself was suitably creepy, with the idea of people bidding for our body parts and this combined with the great sets meant we were really expecting to get some great scares. As it was – we only screamed once! It wasn’t that the actors weren’t trying, but most of the scares were theatrical led ones instead of jump scares and it was only one incredibly quick scare with a bathroom mirror that we actually jumped at.
Dead and Breakfast: Murder Hotel is a sequel to the the original Dead and Breakfast and unfortunately follows the general rule that sequels are never as good as the original. Whereas Dead and Breakfast told a stunningly original story of a Margate B&B haunted by the ghost of wartime child refugees, Murder Hotel seems to have taken a weak cop out and slapped a “serial killer” Jack into the equation. Although there were a number of good scares and the maze remained as beautifully themed as before, the story felt very unoriginal and turgid. Bring back the dead kids in gas masks!
The Final Cut: It Came From Outer Space. We really enjoyed the B&W homage to old horror movies in the first year of Screamland so was slightly dubious as too what this makeover would do. We need not have worried as the maze included so many references to old alien monsters movies including such classics as Mars attacks, Alien and more. Throughout the whole maze, the different environments kelp the experience fresh as we travelled from deserted cornfields through to pitch black corridors with strange alien robots. The use of lighting to reflect War of the Worlds Tripods and the floating robot in the blackout tunnel, was really impressive and we enjoyed every aspect of this revamped maze.
Festino’s Forgotten Funhouse has moved from the large circus tent that was used in 2015, but the team have found a worthy replacement in the large echoey halls of the newly built Hall by the Sea, especially as the main entrance face/mouth to this maze is easily 20 foot high – it’s an imposing start to a fun maze. Once inside there was, once again,
a crazy mix of circus characters with some very impressive over-sized effects that had the whole team running from the room to escape (with a large skeletal hand reaching round to grab us!) Some of the scenes were slightly missed due to the fact that we ended up sandwiched between a slow group at the front and a fast group behind, but we still had a really good laugh in the funhouse with a number of great screams.
The Bloody Mirror is a makeover of the park’s mirror maze and provides a fifth headline attraction to the event. The maze has been decorated with hanging cloth which helped to confuse us as we tried to find a way out and the sudden appearance of Bloody Mary at the end was a good surprise. Not the most terrifying maze - but a lot of fun.
Having loved Screamland last year, we had mixed feelings about the event in 2016. Certainly some of the changes worked for the better but some (especially Dead and Breakfast) weakened an already perfect maze. It’s a shame that the new maze wasn’t as scary as we had hoped, but the whole line up of the mazes, live entertainment and the theme park rides all work together to make a truly fun night out!
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