Signage / Visibility / Location
Signage was fine, its next to the Automotive Museum/VFW (?) in Hartford, which is a very visible landmark. Plenty of parking in front.
Wait Area / Line Entertainment
We went on opening night, and close to closing time, so there was basically no wait for us. They had, as usual, a large covered waiting area with a "Spooky Snack Stand" staffed by eager volunteers. They organize the eventual entry into the house effectively, and it looks impressive. No entertainment provided the night we were there, though I'm guessing this will change as they get busier; there were TV's in the waiting area which I'm assuming will provide horror movies, etc.
Most Unique
Companions and I were all freaked by the juxtaposition of creepy laughing clowns and a school bus; Someone (Houdini?) once said that seeing a clown in a circus in the daytime is no big deal, but seeing one in the middle of the road at midnight is something else, and I would have to say I agree with that...
Actors' Performance
Good -- again, this was the opening night, so storylines/schticks were somewhat tentative; some of the actors seemed quite game, however, ("You're not revenuers are you? I hates revenuers...") and I'm guessing characters/scenes will develop better with more practice over the coming weeks. They seemed eager to interact, too. Good use of wigs (!)
Appropriate For
Usual gore and chopped up body parts, blah blah blah; there's a particularly good scenario which might freak out kids who ride the school bus...heh heh heh
Good misdirection in many scenes, particularly the checkerboard game. Clearly put a lot of time into it again this year; also fairly long haunt, took about 15-20 minutes to get through, I think. Felt like we got our money's worth. Does use some of the same special effects one has come to expect from Terror on Rural Street; I know they're probably very proud of their previous technical accomplishments, but maybe they should give the half-man-speaking-into-a-headphone-set a rest. Although we're still not sure how that works...Also, there is no central theme or storyline holding things together, so some of the rooms seem quite disparate from each other.
Comments: (0)
Was this review helpful? Yes (12) | No (6) |