Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2014
It's hard to believe that Thorpe Park have been holding Fright Nights for the last 13 years. We still remember the first year's event with Freakshow 3D and The Freezer and have seen the line up grow and change over since then (check out our Fright Nights retrospective here). This year, to celebrate thirteen years of fear, the park has created a brand new maze.
Studio 13
For 2014 - the park has continued its tie in with movie studio Lionsgate, with 4 of the main attractions linked to famous movies from the Hollywood studio. Unlike previous years where The Asylum stood out as not part of the whole park-wide theme, the new attraction fits perfectly with the Thorpe Studios concept. In fact - it is once you are inside the attraction that the cleverness of the concept works. This is the studio that created all the previous thirteen years' worth of attractions and in the opening corridor, there are "film" posters promoting lost classics such as The Asylum, Se7en, and Dead End: Terror Zone. It's a great opening scene and a clever reference back to past mazes, only marred by the slightly stilted receptionist scene which was quite slow moving compared to the rest of the maze. This scene seemed a poor use of such a large space but once we headed into the Studio itself - the fun really began.
From then on - despite an almost identical layout to The Asylum, Studio 13 is a brand new experience that is a completely different in tone and style than the previous maze. Left to walk through "free flow", the clinical white strobing has been replaced by a deadly palour of flashing red throughout which illuminates a mix of scenes (some more identifiable than others). Clearly we are supposed walking in and out of back stage and on set scenes, but it's not immediately clear what is happening. To be honest it was only on our second time through that we were able to take a closer look at the sets/signs and clues along the way as on our first trip we were so busy being terrorised that a lot of it went by unnoticed!
One of the interesting things about Studio 13 was the style of scares and acting throughout. It was definitely one of the more interactive mazes with actors talking and touching us specifically, as opposed to just shouting and yelling around us. Little movie touches such as the crazed make up artists or the actors reacting to the voice-over from the "director" were extremely clever and when 4 frozen actresses all pounced at the same time on the call of the words "action" this hardened reviewer almost hit the floor in fright!
Towards the end of the maze we are clearly now on the movie set and the film is an american hillbilly style massacre in a hotel. At this point the experience really drops any pretence of being in a studio and the final scares work as if we really were in that horror movie. By this point - we are the victims and the final corridor utilises a fairly predicable but reliable effect to leave most people running out the door.
On each run through of Studio 13 we managed to see and experience slightly different elements each time but on all occasions we experienced a powerful intense maze that, although not quite as "in your face" as the Asylum, is a worthy replacement and one that should stay for a while. Throughout the maze we were impressed with the level of detail and theming in some of the rooms, but the most impressive factor was the sheer number of actors that seemed to be inside. Never before at Thorpe have we been attacked by up to 5 actors in one room at a time and this really helped create a feeling of chaos and disorder throughout.
Cabin in the Woods
Cabin in the Woods has had a number of changes for this year including a couple of room re-designs. You remember that elusive "control room" that you think you know where it is? Well look again - It's moved - to somewhere even more devious to find!. Just a shame that the effects buttons STILL don't work, but its nice to stand watching other guests through the monitors!
On our visits, the first half of the show (ie the" cabin") was actually quite sedate and not overly populated. On first run this was slightly disappointing but on hindsight we can see why. The thing is - once "through" the lift (the lift doors seemed to disappear quite early in the season last year and haven't returned) the end of the maze in the facility was as crazy as ever. All kinds of monsters from the films were roaming those corridors and as groups got mixed up and split up it was as crazy and as chaotic as the finale of the film itself. Disappointingly, one thing that is still missing is the elusive merman - he's such a major plot point in the movie that his non appearance is glaringly obvious!
My Bloody Valentine
One of our issues last year with My Bloody Valentine was the lack of "Harry" charcaters. In early versions of the maze there was only one axe wielding maniac and if you missed him - that was it. Now the maze is crawling with boiler suited guys with pickaxes and it really brings the film to like. The rest of the maze is identical to before, but still manages some really good scares throughout and is still a highlight maze of the whole event.
Saw Alive
Also completely unchanged from 2013, Saw Alive is really starting to show its age. Themed to such an iconic film series (one could arguably say - more popular than MBV or CITW) it's a shame that this attraction is just left to meander along. The scares are quite pedestrian and this is nothing to do with the hard-working bunch of actors throughout. It's just because the maze has been designed to be more of a "lets watch people getting tortured in elaborate sets from the films" as opposed to a dedicated scare maze. The swinging saw-blade room is a complete waste of space and the only jumps we got in some of the rooms were from the well hidden pig mask people.Who knows how long this franchise will be around for, but on its performance last night, Saw Alive needs a full redesign soon!
Blair Witch project
The Blair Witch scare zone has vastly improved with a number of very impressive jump scares along the route. More foliage has been planted making the whole experience feel more like we are walking through proper woodland and the extra foliage hides a large number of very lively scare actors. By the end of the path , the shed finale provided a couple of very impressive scares as things just appeared out of the fog to leave us all screaming. All in - a vast improvement over 2013
Roaming Actors
When the event was first announced the roaming actors were supposed to be based on characters from a series of books by a best selling novelist. Somewhere along the way - this was replaced with a horde boiler suited freaks who would attack anything in their way. We only experienced theme a couple of times through the night but their sudden and unprovoked attack on the Studio 13 queue line was perfectly timed and fun to experience!
All in, the theme of Fright Nights is much more coherent throughout the whole park with all the attractions based around the movie concept and small changes (such as the BBQ area being renamed the Backlot BBQ) helping to create a more immersive atmosphere. The new attraction is a great addition to the line up and it was nice to see the park recognising its heritage within the maze as well as making touches to existing attractions. We are sure that the public are going to love it!
Studio 13
For 2014 - the park has continued its tie in with movie studio Lionsgate, with 4 of the main attractions linked to famous movies from the Hollywood studio. Unlike previous years where The Asylum stood out as not part of the whole park-wide theme, the new attraction fits perfectly with the Thorpe Studios concept. In fact - it is once you are inside the attraction that the cleverness of the concept works. This is the studio that created all the previous thirteen years' worth of attractions and in the opening corridor, there are "film" posters promoting lost classics such as The Asylum, Se7en, and Dead End: Terror Zone. It's a great opening scene and a clever reference back to past mazes, only marred by the slightly stilted receptionist scene which was quite slow moving compared to the rest of the maze. This scene seemed a poor use of such a large space but once we headed into the Studio itself - the fun really began.
From then on - despite an almost identical layout to The Asylum, Studio 13 is a brand new experience that is a completely different in tone and style than the previous maze. Left to walk through "free flow", the clinical white strobing has been replaced by a deadly palour of flashing red throughout which illuminates a mix of scenes (some more identifiable than others). Clearly we are supposed walking in and out of back stage and on set scenes, but it's not immediately clear what is happening. To be honest it was only on our second time through that we were able to take a closer look at the sets/signs and clues along the way as on our first trip we were so busy being terrorised that a lot of it went by unnoticed!
One of the interesting things about Studio 13 was the style of scares and acting throughout. It was definitely one of the more interactive mazes with actors talking and touching us specifically, as opposed to just shouting and yelling around us. Little movie touches such as the crazed make up artists or the actors reacting to the voice-over from the "director" were extremely clever and when 4 frozen actresses all pounced at the same time on the call of the words "action" this hardened reviewer almost hit the floor in fright!
Towards the end of the maze we are clearly now on the movie set and the film is an american hillbilly style massacre in a hotel. At this point the experience really drops any pretence of being in a studio and the final scares work as if we really were in that horror movie. By this point - we are the victims and the final corridor utilises a fairly predicable but reliable effect to leave most people running out the door.
On each run through of Studio 13 we managed to see and experience slightly different elements each time but on all occasions we experienced a powerful intense maze that, although not quite as "in your face" as the Asylum, is a worthy replacement and one that should stay for a while. Throughout the maze we were impressed with the level of detail and theming in some of the rooms, but the most impressive factor was the sheer number of actors that seemed to be inside. Never before at Thorpe have we been attacked by up to 5 actors in one room at a time and this really helped create a feeling of chaos and disorder throughout.
Cabin in the Woods
Cabin in the Woods has had a number of changes for this year including a couple of room re-designs. You remember that elusive "control room" that you think you know where it is? Well look again - It's moved - to somewhere even more devious to find!. Just a shame that the effects buttons STILL don't work, but its nice to stand watching other guests through the monitors!
On our visits, the first half of the show (ie the" cabin") was actually quite sedate and not overly populated. On first run this was slightly disappointing but on hindsight we can see why. The thing is - once "through" the lift (the lift doors seemed to disappear quite early in the season last year and haven't returned) the end of the maze in the facility was as crazy as ever. All kinds of monsters from the films were roaming those corridors and as groups got mixed up and split up it was as crazy and as chaotic as the finale of the film itself. Disappointingly, one thing that is still missing is the elusive merman - he's such a major plot point in the movie that his non appearance is glaringly obvious!
My Bloody Valentine
One of our issues last year with My Bloody Valentine was the lack of "Harry" charcaters. In early versions of the maze there was only one axe wielding maniac and if you missed him - that was it. Now the maze is crawling with boiler suited guys with pickaxes and it really brings the film to like. The rest of the maze is identical to before, but still manages some really good scares throughout and is still a highlight maze of the whole event.
Saw Alive
Also completely unchanged from 2013, Saw Alive is really starting to show its age. Themed to such an iconic film series (one could arguably say - more popular than MBV or CITW) it's a shame that this attraction is just left to meander along. The scares are quite pedestrian and this is nothing to do with the hard-working bunch of actors throughout. It's just because the maze has been designed to be more of a "lets watch people getting tortured in elaborate sets from the films" as opposed to a dedicated scare maze. The swinging saw-blade room is a complete waste of space and the only jumps we got in some of the rooms were from the well hidden pig mask people.Who knows how long this franchise will be around for, but on its performance last night, Saw Alive needs a full redesign soon!
Blair Witch project
The Blair Witch scare zone has vastly improved with a number of very impressive jump scares along the route. More foliage has been planted making the whole experience feel more like we are walking through proper woodland and the extra foliage hides a large number of very lively scare actors. By the end of the path , the shed finale provided a couple of very impressive scares as things just appeared out of the fog to leave us all screaming. All in - a vast improvement over 2013
Roaming Actors
When the event was first announced the roaming actors were supposed to be based on characters from a series of books by a best selling novelist. Somewhere along the way - this was replaced with a horde boiler suited freaks who would attack anything in their way. We only experienced theme a couple of times through the night but their sudden and unprovoked attack on the Studio 13 queue line was perfectly timed and fun to experience!
All in, the theme of Fright Nights is much more coherent throughout the whole park with all the attractions based around the movie concept and small changes (such as the BBQ area being renamed the Backlot BBQ) helping to create a more immersive atmosphere. The new attraction is a great addition to the line up and it was nice to see the park recognising its heritage within the maze as well as making touches to existing attractions. We are sure that the public are going to love it!
Links
For more details - check out their website - www.thorpepark.com
ScareTOUR review of Fright Nights 2013
ScareTOUR review of Fright Nights 2013
You Review
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There was a 2 and a half hr queue so my family of 5 bought
fast track tickets which we had to wait 4 and a half hours before our slot. We were rushed through and i didnt even have time to take anything in. It was like a race to see who could get out first. I feel really sorry for everyone whi queued so long. I wanted to complain and get my money back.
fast track tickets which we had to wait 4 and a half hours before our slot. We were rushed through and i didnt even have time to take anything in. It was like a race to see who could get out first. I feel really sorry for everyone whi queued so long. I wanted to complain and get my money back.
In all the years I've been to Thorpe Park's 'Fright Nights' event I have only ever been in a horror maze twice, these both being 'The Asylum', both times through I can't remember most of it (probably due to the hypnotic event of the strobes) and 2014 saw the year that the only maze I had been in was gone...so I decided for once in my life to man up and go inside all the mazes.
Studio 13:
As The Asylum had gone and this was the closest I was going to get to being in a maze I had been in before (and also toured with ScareTOUR) I felt it fitting to try out the newest maze first.
I love the setting of the maze, wanting to be an actor myself (and hopefully at Thorpe Parks Mazes next year) I loved the feeling of being on the worlds scariest movie set, all the actors inside were so lively and made you feel as if you were going for the bloodiest audition of your life. The soundtrack inside also was very tense and for some reason I actually got scared purely be the music as it went into a childish tune, and anticipating when an actor would jump out, although this maze wasn't the scariest I absolutely loved the concept and would definitely do the maze again should it return to Fright Nights again in 2015, it was a great laugh and I found the maze was a balance between funny and scary (but more scary) and the finale of the maze still scares me even if I know it's coming.
I also love the fact that they have turned this into a free flowing maze, being able to walk by yourself or with a friend gives a chance for the actors to be more in your face, along with the fact you can go through at your own pace.
Rating: 8/10
The Blaire Witch Project:
This was rated the least scariest by the park so therefore I was wasn't expecting much out of it, for what it's worth I really found the near pitch black atmosphere to be foreboding and had to let someone else walk in front because I get truly terrified as to what is in the dark and knowing how lively the actors can be I didn't want to risk stained trousers. I found this attraction to be the weakest but this is mainly because on our run through we only saw around 3 actors (but full marks to the girl standing in the middle of the pathway with the red flashlight who was so terrifying to walk past as really creepy child music played), the finale is good but I honestly expected more, I never experienced it in 2013 so I can't be too harsh with this but overall I found it enjoyable to walk through.
But definitely not the highlight of my evening.
Rating: 5/10
SAW Alive:
I have only been through this maze once before when it first opened in 2010, I was 13 and remember running to the middle after they tried to make me go first (no way), however I feel something changed as this maze seemed very weak in comparison to the first time I went through it, the actors may have been part of the problem because they weren't lively at all, and worst of all NO PIG MAN, the concept of the maze is truly lost however it was funny when the SWAT team member at the beginning told a girl in our group to 'SHUT THE HELL UP!' after she wouldn't comply.
Definitely the poorest maze out of the 4 on offer and just ever so slightly better than The Blaire Witch Project.
Rating: 5.5/10
My Bloody Valentine:
Saving the best two mazes until last I honestly feel this made me jump the most and I nearly screamed at one point. It's one thing to be told you may be split up from your group but actually having it happen was terrifying. I got sent down one pathway ON MY OWN while the rest went the other way, and being followed by 3 actors throughout the section was truly terrifying added to by the claustrophobic spaces I had to navigate in near darkness also added to the scare factor, but the actor who took the cake for the biggest scare with in one of the final rooms, in pitch black along with silence in the room we all became terrified of what may happen, the reaction that came when an actor came out of no where with a flashlight screaming in my face as Harry came up to him from behind to 'kill him' almost made me scream and it stayed in memory to write this review. Masterclass scaring from the actors in this maze.
Rating 10/10
The Cabin in the Woods:
Having toured this maze with ScareTOUR before gave me a good idea of what to expect when stepping inside, again I was completely wrong in my thinking, once through the cabin door and into a very dim lit room I couldn't tell which way to go, stumbling through doors at random our group was completely lost and the worst part is wondering straight into the path of someone who literally blended into the wall, the maze saw me and my girlfriend chased through corridors, crawl spaces and the manic transition between Cabin and Facility was definitely visible and the atmosphere changed to a very hard to see ending which saw a corridor pumped full of smoke.
Rating: 9.5/10
Overall I don't see why I didn't do the mazes that came before this and I love the concept of using black comedy / horror movies to created scare mazes as they are extremely effective.
Overall experience: 10/10
I am hoping to return to this next year to experience the attractions again and will definitely take any opportunity to visit one
Studio 13:
As The Asylum had gone and this was the closest I was going to get to being in a maze I had been in before (and also toured with ScareTOUR) I felt it fitting to try out the newest maze first.
I love the setting of the maze, wanting to be an actor myself (and hopefully at Thorpe Parks Mazes next year) I loved the feeling of being on the worlds scariest movie set, all the actors inside were so lively and made you feel as if you were going for the bloodiest audition of your life. The soundtrack inside also was very tense and for some reason I actually got scared purely be the music as it went into a childish tune, and anticipating when an actor would jump out, although this maze wasn't the scariest I absolutely loved the concept and would definitely do the maze again should it return to Fright Nights again in 2015, it was a great laugh and I found the maze was a balance between funny and scary (but more scary) and the finale of the maze still scares me even if I know it's coming.
I also love the fact that they have turned this into a free flowing maze, being able to walk by yourself or with a friend gives a chance for the actors to be more in your face, along with the fact you can go through at your own pace.
Rating: 8/10
The Blaire Witch Project:
This was rated the least scariest by the park so therefore I was wasn't expecting much out of it, for what it's worth I really found the near pitch black atmosphere to be foreboding and had to let someone else walk in front because I get truly terrified as to what is in the dark and knowing how lively the actors can be I didn't want to risk stained trousers. I found this attraction to be the weakest but this is mainly because on our run through we only saw around 3 actors (but full marks to the girl standing in the middle of the pathway with the red flashlight who was so terrifying to walk past as really creepy child music played), the finale is good but I honestly expected more, I never experienced it in 2013 so I can't be too harsh with this but overall I found it enjoyable to walk through.
But definitely not the highlight of my evening.
Rating: 5/10
SAW Alive:
I have only been through this maze once before when it first opened in 2010, I was 13 and remember running to the middle after they tried to make me go first (no way), however I feel something changed as this maze seemed very weak in comparison to the first time I went through it, the actors may have been part of the problem because they weren't lively at all, and worst of all NO PIG MAN, the concept of the maze is truly lost however it was funny when the SWAT team member at the beginning told a girl in our group to 'SHUT THE HELL UP!' after she wouldn't comply.
Definitely the poorest maze out of the 4 on offer and just ever so slightly better than The Blaire Witch Project.
Rating: 5.5/10
My Bloody Valentine:
Saving the best two mazes until last I honestly feel this made me jump the most and I nearly screamed at one point. It's one thing to be told you may be split up from your group but actually having it happen was terrifying. I got sent down one pathway ON MY OWN while the rest went the other way, and being followed by 3 actors throughout the section was truly terrifying added to by the claustrophobic spaces I had to navigate in near darkness also added to the scare factor, but the actor who took the cake for the biggest scare with in one of the final rooms, in pitch black along with silence in the room we all became terrified of what may happen, the reaction that came when an actor came out of no where with a flashlight screaming in my face as Harry came up to him from behind to 'kill him' almost made me scream and it stayed in memory to write this review. Masterclass scaring from the actors in this maze.
Rating 10/10
The Cabin in the Woods:
Having toured this maze with ScareTOUR before gave me a good idea of what to expect when stepping inside, again I was completely wrong in my thinking, once through the cabin door and into a very dim lit room I couldn't tell which way to go, stumbling through doors at random our group was completely lost and the worst part is wondering straight into the path of someone who literally blended into the wall, the maze saw me and my girlfriend chased through corridors, crawl spaces and the manic transition between Cabin and Facility was definitely visible and the atmosphere changed to a very hard to see ending which saw a corridor pumped full of smoke.
Rating: 9.5/10
Overall I don't see why I didn't do the mazes that came before this and I love the concept of using black comedy / horror movies to created scare mazes as they are extremely effective.
Overall experience: 10/10
I am hoping to return to this next year to experience the attractions again and will definitely take any opportunity to visit one
Very scary - it was crazy!
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