Spooky Entertainment Guide

Submit Event | My Account

2009 Elements of Fear Event Reviews


    Disclaimer: HauntedWisconsin.com does not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the accuracy, quality, truthfulness, or reliability of these reviews. The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions of HauntedWisconsin.com. You need to make your own judgement concerning what you read. HauntedWisconsin.com is not responsible for statements made in these reviews.

Expand Collapse

Show: Helpful All

2 total reviews. Showing 2 of 2 on this page.

Page 1

Please note: this review is for the 2009 season rather than the current season.

Elements of Fear

by HocusPocus (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at about 2 p.m.

Submitted: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fun Factor: High Fear Factor: High

Review

Bravo! A very nicely done haunt especially for younger visitors. While Elements of fear may not rock your world if you're a haunted house fanatic, those closer to the age of 12 (...the recommended minimum age for this event...) will definitely enjoy themselves. ....of course that's if they enjoy being scared.



The tour begins with a creepy video presentation that contains a little gore but nothing over the top...just enough to set the tone and make it nearly impossible to resist looking over your shoulder. The remainder of the tour features a fun interactive summoning of spirits, a very comfortable spook filled ride, one of the best vortex rooms I've seen this year and several rooms that very effectively leverage lighting and fog effects to maximize scare and creep opportunities. I really enjoyed how some of the actors seemed to appear out of nowhere and then suddenly vanish. There were others who I knew were there but still managed to make me jump...nicely done!



What I particularly enjoyed about this haunt was how some very simple household items (mirrors, cloth, curtains...etc.) were used to create some really creepy effects and scares.....it really captured my dreams of someday creating my own haunt. What I also was VERY pleasantly surprised to find was that group sizes were kept to a maximum size of 4-5. While this limitation was mostly likely set due to the logistics of some of the rooms it also helped maximize my immersion into the Elements of Fear found at this haunt.



This haunt was a challenging one for me to rate. My inner youth definitely would place this haunt at a 5 out of 5 for the fun and fear factors. The adult haunted connoisseur placed it at a 4 out of 5 for the following reasons: For the fun factor there were only a few rooms that allowed you to interact with the actors/scenes via a skit. Most of the haunt is more of a walk-thru style. For the scare factor while there are some parts that have the potential to make you jump most of the scares are geared more towards a younger crowd.

Signage / Visibility / Location


Located along a major street (27th St) with a lighted sign, a 12ft lighted pumpkin monster and rope light in the shape of an arrow. You really can't miss this location as long as you're looking on the west side of the street.

Wait Area / Line Entertainment


Arrived early during a non-peak night (Wednesday) so there really wasn't a wait. The volunteers were very social. A few concessions were available for purchase to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Actors' Performance


Most of the actors were young but did a great job making you jump and seemingly vanishing into thin air. The actors summoning the spirits from beyond were quite good as they succeeded in getting a spirit to appear!

Sets Scenes / Props / FX


One of the best vortex rooms I've been in this year. Some of the scenes were elementary in nature but were still very effective in achieving ghoulish results. This haunt probably did the best job of any haunt that I've been too this year with pulling off some great effects without the luxury of elaborate props. This isn't meant to imply that there weren't any elaborate props, just that the creative staff at Elements of Fear were very successful in getting the most out of what they had to work with. Bravo!

Length


It took our group approximately 10 minutes to complete the terrorizing tour.

Crowd Control


Arrived early during a non-peak night (Wednesday) so there really wasn't a crowd.

Most Memorable Moment


Being unable to resist the temptation to look over my shoulder even though I was instructed to "watch my back"! I found it to be a creepy and irresistible temptation!

Summary

As an adult touring this haunt I gave Elements of Fear a 4 on the scale of 1-5...but for those closer to the age of 12 (...the recommended minimum age for this event...) this one is definitely a 5.

View all Elements of Fear reviews

Comments: (0)

Was this review helpful? Yes (16) | No (14) |

Please note: this review is for the 2009 season rather than the current season.

Elements of Fear

by katie_kiesow13 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at about 2:30 p.m.

Submitted: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fun Factor: Medium Fear Factor: Low

Review

EleMents of Fear is a great haunt for a youmger generation. For those of us that enjoy a graduated haunt with lots of psychological thrills, this one probably won't be for you. I would have been THRILLED about this haunt if I was in middle or high school, though. So those with kids - send them here! They did have a few aspects in the haunt that I'd never experienced before that were pretty neat, so I enjoyed that. Overall, though, I spent most of the 15 minute walk-through wondering if the "scare" was over and if I should move on to the next room...

Signage / Visibility / Location


Very easy to find with directions from the site. Labeled clearly - shares the parking lot with the church.

Wait Area / Line Entertainment


You wait for the haunt in a church activity center basement - no entertainment or any sort of "mood enhancers" to get you ready for the haunt. It looks like a school room - not scary at all.

Actors' Performance


The majority of the actors in this house are youngsters (middle school, maybe some high school students). I saw maybe 3-4 adults in the house. With young actors come young performances. They rely a great deal on jumping out at you and hoping to scare you rather than interacting with you. One actress in a hallway who was crawling on the ground - great job!

Sets Scenes / Props / FX


Most of the sets and scenes were very simple, but they definitely accomplished what they needed. Not much in this house that I hadn't seen before. The one exception is the room with the couch - that was something I had never experienced before and it was very interesting! I liked that they played with their space in a different sort of way. Nicely done!

Length


It took my group of two approximately 15 minutes to get through the haunt (the wait time was maybe 10 minutes or so). It could take longer, or maybe be shorter, depending on how quickly you try to run.

Crowd Control


We went on a Wednesday night and there were very few people there, so there was really no crowd to control. All was well.

Most Memorable Moment


My favorite parts included the crawling actress, the couch, and also the polka dot room - very interesting. They play a LOT with optical illusions in this haunt and that's always fun.

Summary

If you scare incredibly easily or have youngsters who want a good haunt for their age, this is the one for you!

View all Elements of Fear reviews

Comments: (0)

Was this review helpful? Yes (14) | No (12) |

Page 1

Previous Reviews:

2012 | 2010 | 2009 | 2007 | 2006

April 23rd, 2024 2:23 p.m. CDT 24.04