Thorpe Park Fright Nights - 2011 review.
When we reviewed Fright Nights in 2010 we finished our article with the lines “2011 will see the park celebrate 10 years of fear . Let's hope they recognise this fact and go out with a bang!”. Little did we know that this was exactly what they planned!
Opening with less attractions than previous years and losing a whole maze and scarezone along the way, expectation levels for this year's event and the new attraction were set exceedingly high. With a new creative team in place, and a birthday to celebrate, something shocking needed to be delivered . Fortunately for us, Thorpe Park stepped up to the challenge and Experiment 10 has clearly taken fear levels to a new all time high, and raised the game for all other attractions to match:
The Fright Nights event has been running 10 years and we have been fortunate to attend every year since opening. The quality and effectiveness of the attractions rises and falls each year and it’s always interesting how a quiet maze one year can be manic the next. This is inherently a problem with reviewing scare attractions as experiences can differ so quickly due to timings, effects, the group you are with and the mood of the cast at the time you stumble into their room. Also – what works for one person may not scare another. This is why we always try to experience everything at least twice when considering our reviews. Saying that, there are some inherent problems with the Thorpe mazes. The two marquee attractions appear just randomly placed in the middle of nowhere. They are fun once inside but there is very little theme, story or anticipation while waiting outside. Also, the dark mazes (by which we mean, Se7en, Curse, Hellgate and Saw) all work on the same basic prinicple and type of scare. You could even be mean and say they are just rethemed versions of each other. In the past only Asylum (or the colourful Freakshow 3D) offered something different in style.
So, on the announcement that Hellgate was leaving, to be replaced by Experiment 10 we started to worry this would be a simple makeover using an existing building. As it was , nobody could have expected what was finally delivered……
Opening with less attractions than previous years and losing a whole maze and scarezone along the way, expectation levels for this year's event and the new attraction were set exceedingly high. With a new creative team in place, and a birthday to celebrate, something shocking needed to be delivered . Fortunately for us, Thorpe Park stepped up to the challenge and Experiment 10 has clearly taken fear levels to a new all time high, and raised the game for all other attractions to match:
The Fright Nights event has been running 10 years and we have been fortunate to attend every year since opening. The quality and effectiveness of the attractions rises and falls each year and it’s always interesting how a quiet maze one year can be manic the next. This is inherently a problem with reviewing scare attractions as experiences can differ so quickly due to timings, effects, the group you are with and the mood of the cast at the time you stumble into their room. Also – what works for one person may not scare another. This is why we always try to experience everything at least twice when considering our reviews. Saying that, there are some inherent problems with the Thorpe mazes. The two marquee attractions appear just randomly placed in the middle of nowhere. They are fun once inside but there is very little theme, story or anticipation while waiting outside. Also, the dark mazes (by which we mean, Se7en, Curse, Hellgate and Saw) all work on the same basic prinicple and type of scare. You could even be mean and say they are just rethemed versions of each other. In the past only Asylum (or the colourful Freakshow 3D) offered something different in style.
So, on the announcement that Hellgate was leaving, to be replaced by Experiment 10 we started to worry this would be a simple makeover using an existing building. As it was , nobody could have expected what was finally delivered……
Experiment 10
When a new attraction is surrounded by as much hype and secrecy as Experiment 10 there is always a fear that it will under-deliver compared to what people have built up in their heads. There's no fear of that with this Experiment 10, it truly is one of the most terrifying things we have ever experienced. The attraction crosses some boundaries that no UK attraction has ever crossed before. It is shocking, daring and most of the time - down right scary!
But of course this all depends on what you know before you go in. The less you know - the better shocked you will be. Do yourself a favour and just enjoy it for what it is. Remove any pre-conceptions of Thorpe Park style conga lines and be prepared for just about anything. The acting talent were some of the liveliest we’ve ever seen at Thorpe and added to the whole chaotic element of the show. Respect should be paid to both them, and the technical crew, for the way they monitor and remain in control of people inside something which would seem to be an uncontrollable situation. Seeing and listening to the reactions of terrified visitors, it is clear that Thorpe have come up with something both unique and very very scary. For a park that over the last few years relied on "black box" style scare scenarios, it is great to see something so different! Saw Alive
Saw Alive used to have a reputation for being a bit hit and miss. Fortunately it seems to have been revived after the short period of downtime following the fire in the summer. The scenery was as impressive as always and the acting talent were really throwing themselves into it although only seemed to focus on the front of any group.
The attraction is interesting as it is available all day during Fright Nights and could do with something “special” in the evening to differentiate it from the normal attration. Even so – there were some good scares again which had our group screaming. |
The Asylum
The Asylum is effectively the oldest attraction in the whole event. Ok, so it's had a name change and extra scenes added, but the general nature of the attraction has remained the same. It works on the basic concept of noise and confusion and usually promises to be the most intense of the Fright Night mazes.
This year’s version seemed longer due to some new additions along the way and the usual cast of freaks and misfits were happily bouncing around the set as expected. Little touches such as all the cast dressed as inmates (with no doctors) or the clearly missing chainsaw from the tool room felt more true to the underlying story of lunatics taking over the asylum. All the acting talent was on top form and exuded a feral energy throughout. For an attraction that's now effectively 10 years old - this maze has delivered again! Here's to another 10 years of chaos! The Curse Snapped very quickly from outside!
Over the last few years, The Curse has really stood out as the best of the “dark” mazes. The design gives the actors multiple places to attack from and this active bunch really use them to their advantage. The Curse also has the distinction of being one of the darkest mazes at Thorpe and with the copious amount of smoke inside and the winding route it all adds up to a very confusing maze that is easy to feel lost in. The only real criticism I have is that we experienced a number of long spaces with no actors.
Se7en
Over the last few years Seven has grown in confidence but is continually hampered by its linear nature. The simple structure of room/corridor/room is quite uneventful which is a shame as it then relies on the actors to make each scene work Fortunately this year’s crew seemed particularly lively and we received a number of good scares throughout.
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A common complaint about Fright Nights has been the lack of theming or atmosphere around the park. Naturally there are touches here and there – moody lighting, updated soundtracks and this year has seen a few extra items such as nooses just about everywhere! Although it would be nice to have more theming such as this, it really doesn’t detract from the whole feel of the event. The addition of a roaming band of live actors was a great touch and we saw many people running from them before they had even done anything!
It's clear to see that the focus for 2011 Fright Nights has been all about the new attraction. It's easily the scariest thing Thorpe have ever done and for that they have to be applauded. Now we have one amazing attraction it would be good to see some changes and updates with the other mazes. Experiment 10 has included new styles of scares and feels refreshing after the staleness of the multiple “black box” attractions . Maybe this progression will be continued in the future and we can start a new decade of darkness with more exciting and thought provoking attractions across the park. Of course, 2012 should be an interesting year, as the addition of Swarm, an apocalyptic themed rollercoaster, could create some exciting new theme opportunities for next Halloween. One thing that can be guaranteed - ScareTOUR will be back for more!
It's clear to see that the focus for 2011 Fright Nights has been all about the new attraction. It's easily the scariest thing Thorpe have ever done and for that they have to be applauded. Now we have one amazing attraction it would be good to see some changes and updates with the other mazes. Experiment 10 has included new styles of scares and feels refreshing after the staleness of the multiple “black box” attractions . Maybe this progression will be continued in the future and we can start a new decade of darkness with more exciting and thought provoking attractions across the park. Of course, 2012 should be an interesting year, as the addition of Swarm, an apocalyptic themed rollercoaster, could create some exciting new theme opportunities for next Halloween. One thing that can be guaranteed - ScareTOUR will be back for more!
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You Review - tell us what you thought
Experiment 10 - althought very popular and stressful I didnt find this maze particually
frightening. The idea and concept behind the maze was fantastic, the end scare
was unexpected and there was some great use of space but masks (in any form)
dont scare me at all. nothing much happened after the main surprise element and there
just didnt seem to be that many scares for me, just the feeling of being along
and being abit stressful but not scary. Although definitely worth another
visit 2-3 times more to see if I get a better experience but this maze just
wasent as great as I expected it to be which is why i didnt find it very scarey
or fear inducing. However for a 1st year generation maze it was pretty
good
The Asylum - my favorite maze at Thorpe Park this year. its a very simple maze with one hell of a lot of actors and a lot of interaction. the whole scene is set from the opening of the front door, a big thick steel door where an actor sometime peers out for a little peek. the first hall starts you off befor you head inside. alot of strobes and mesh fencing await with alot of actors round every corner from jumping out at you to disturbing things in your ear. this was a very very vairied maze with alot of diffrent paths, mirror and many many diffrent types of scares and the final scare was by far the best finarly in the park causing everyone to run out through the doors. much much better than the previous year this is a maze not to be missed.
Se7en - seven was i felt a very very poor maze with not alot of variety or scare factor. from the off you can tell the genral poor layout of the maze when you enter at the bottom right of the rooms and leave in the top left, this is just contantly repeted. the actors were very good however for what they had surounding them. the props and scenery around was ok and the meat room stank like it should do but over all this maze just felt very open and empty. even the final scare didnt do much for me. i was even speaking to actors on the way out of rooms. this maze just didnt do anything for me and has been alot better in previous years.with a better maze layout and some variety this could be a fantastic maze but at the moment i just feel like its very lazy and poor. worth a visit but not somthing i would que for more than 15 minuits for
The Curse - The Curse was very scary this year, some excellent scares using very simple props, lighting (or lack of) and the actors were stunning. the setting of the whole maze was brilliant and tied in with the park, the use of light with some places being utterly pitch black and others just enough light to see ahead worked very very well. the use of space in the small tent made this maze feel very very long indeed and really set the scene for what was or wasn't coming. though the Asylum was my favorite of all the thorpe park mazes this year this came a very close 2nd and i would of been very happy to do this maze quite a few times during the night.
Saw Alive - short but sweet but offers some good scares. the maze follows some great scenes from the movies and i do love the finarly with the shotguns. the only criticism i have over this maze is that its full of victims. Victims aren't scary. its very rare to see the pig masks or any of jigsaws "minions" in there. I would love to see more being offered by this maze.
The Asylum - my favorite maze at Thorpe Park this year. its a very simple maze with one hell of a lot of actors and a lot of interaction. the whole scene is set from the opening of the front door, a big thick steel door where an actor sometime peers out for a little peek. the first hall starts you off befor you head inside. alot of strobes and mesh fencing await with alot of actors round every corner from jumping out at you to disturbing things in your ear. this was a very very vairied maze with alot of diffrent paths, mirror and many many diffrent types of scares and the final scare was by far the best finarly in the park causing everyone to run out through the doors. much much better than the previous year this is a maze not to be missed.
Se7en - seven was i felt a very very poor maze with not alot of variety or scare factor. from the off you can tell the genral poor layout of the maze when you enter at the bottom right of the rooms and leave in the top left, this is just contantly repeted. the actors were very good however for what they had surounding them. the props and scenery around was ok and the meat room stank like it should do but over all this maze just felt very open and empty. even the final scare didnt do much for me. i was even speaking to actors on the way out of rooms. this maze just didnt do anything for me and has been alot better in previous years.with a better maze layout and some variety this could be a fantastic maze but at the moment i just feel like its very lazy and poor. worth a visit but not somthing i would que for more than 15 minuits for
The Curse - The Curse was very scary this year, some excellent scares using very simple props, lighting (or lack of) and the actors were stunning. the setting of the whole maze was brilliant and tied in with the park, the use of light with some places being utterly pitch black and others just enough light to see ahead worked very very well. the use of space in the small tent made this maze feel very very long indeed and really set the scene for what was or wasn't coming. though the Asylum was my favorite of all the thorpe park mazes this year this came a very close 2nd and i would of been very happy to do this maze quite a few times during the night.
Saw Alive - short but sweet but offers some good scares. the maze follows some great scenes from the movies and i do love the finarly with the shotguns. the only criticism i have over this maze is that its full of victims. Victims aren't scary. its very rare to see the pig masks or any of jigsaws "minions" in there. I would love to see more being offered by this maze.
You Review 2
It was a very fun day/night overall but I think the actors could have "acted" better. Experiment 10, you are rushed around so quickly I still don't know what it was really all about.
You Review 3
Actors inside all mazes lacked scare training which was clear through their style of scaring
You Review 4
I had such a great night. Tthe day was great and I got so scared during Saw Alive!
You Review
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