Please note: this review is for the 2012 season rather than the current season.

Abandoned Haunted House Complex

by Dave to the Grind (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 5, 2012 at about 3 p.m.

Fun Factor: Very High Fear Factor: Medium

Review

2 years in the making. Their first year. Opening night. We were excited and expectations were high even before we arrived. Luckily we weren't disappointed with one of Wisconsin's newest haunts. Spotlights and neon lights make the Complex easy to see from a distance, like a haunted house in Vegas. 

The Abandoned Haunted Complex is created from a large structure and is home to two haunts, Ambush and Hysteria.  The haunts are connected and you leave one and head straight into the other. So it feels like one long seamless haunt, with two different experiences.  The haunt as a whole moves at a good pace as you enter  different rooms, themes and frights.  Using amazing detail with the building of the sets, props, lights and sound. I found myself swiveling my head looking at the props and settings of every room we entered in awe. Leaving myself open for surprises.

The Hysteria  proved to be part of the haunt that focused more on playing with your senses. Which  pretty much tried to assault every sense except the sense of smell. Including touch as something as simple as  little ropes hanging from the ceiling that gave you a feeling of walking through cobwebs. They did a beautiful job of not only having detailed settings, but the use of lights and sounds. The room that affected me the most had walls covered with black and white squares with the lights flashing. Actors and dummies stood in the room and you couldn't tell which was a real person as even the dummies felt like they were moving. The lights caused such optical movement that I couldn't walk straight. It was an awesome affect.  The Hysteria was an excitingly different from your usual haunts, with new tricks.

The Ambush portion brought you into more creepy situations in excellent detail. This haunt enjoyed to startle you along the way. The props and the detail they put into creating the sets was amazing. It worked against you as you were busy checking out a tomb, a morgue or a butcher shop and actor was hiding somewhere to startle you. Hence the name Ambush. Even as you wandered into a battle field, a gun nailed you with a blast of air to keep you on your toes as if the battle sounds weren't enough. The most memorable part was the walking around a hospital. Where you walk around the outside before heading inside. It was just amazing to see a creepy building exterior while you are inside a complex.  I heard constant comments of "oh wow" from members of our group throughout this haunt. It was quite an experience.

Signage / Visibility / Location


Very easy to find since you can see it from the freeway, just look for the spotlight. 

Wait Area / Line Entertainment


Waiting area had refreshments for sale and was outdoor. Line entertainment had two actors ready to interact and creep you out. The clown (who I've seen at the Mars haunt) made sure to talk to and disturb you. The other actor was great at disappearing, then popping out to make you jump.

Actors' Performance


The make up, professionalism and effort given was great. They all fit the setting they were in. The ones with speaking and interactive rolls did a solid job. If there was one area I felt needed work was more speaking or active rolls. Many were there to scare you from a hidden spot when you entered a room.

Sets Scenes / Props / FX


Not much to say but top notch. Best I've seen yet. No detail was spared, what ever setting you walked into, you felt like you were in that world.  Members of my group  were constantly pointing out stuff that impressed he or she as they walked into a new area.

Length


It took us about 35-40 minutes to walk through the whole complex.

Crowd Control


 Very professional parking arrangement with people giving you direction, the exit was as separate drive so traffic could flow.  It wasn't crowded when we got there. Though they had ropes set up to help with lines to buy tickets and to wait to get in the haunt.

Most Memorable Moment


The man who kept trying to sell me a casket. Just when you thought you were getting away from him you somehow ended back in his sales room.  I still didn't want a casket!

Summary

This was an impressive haunt that lives up to the billing. A lot of effort went into the complex and it shows. Excellent props,  terrific settings, awesome effects and characters with scares around every corner. It's basically two haunted houses in one and I was able to get in for $18 a person with an online discount. Making it a great deal for the length. If you're looking for one haunt this year, or a haunt veteran looking for something different, give this haunt a shot. 

View all Abandoned Haunted House Complex reviews

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March 19th, 2024 1:04 a.m. CDT 24.01