2012 The Hill Has Eyes Event Reviews

I came to this new attraction on Saturday night with a group of friends. Even though the wait time was long, we had a lot of fun hanging out in their waiting area as it was a fun, lively space. The waiting area is a large tent with a bar so you can grab a drink. There was also a dj who played great songs and two large bon fires that you could huddle around and chat with your friends.

There were three attractions total. You walk through two trails than go up a ski lift and at the top of the Hill is a maze. Overall was this new attraction very scary? No, it wasn't the scariest but there was still a really good fear factor. At one scene my friends and I were so taken off guard that we all fell over on the trail! It was hilarious than we got back up and out of nowhere we were blindsided again. We enjoyed the scenes and being taken off guard.

I recommend this attraction to anyone and everyone, especially if you are looking for a fun night out and looking to get into the halloween spirit. We also look forward to seeing what they do next year.

I have been hearing mixed reviews about this haunted attraction. I've read on here that it sucked or it was
the greatest thing ever! So I had to try this new attraction since it was only 10 mins away from my house.
I read that it was a Nuclear waste type thing so was excited, because more houses have just random things.

When we first got there, it was a group of 6 of us. None have ever been before because this is the first year that
these trails were open. There was somewhat of a long line which seemed not controlled. When we finally
made it down the hill to get tickets, which we couldn't find, we had to sign a wavier. I thought this
was going to be great! We got in line for the first one.

This first trail was wet, because it rained all day Friday, however they laid hay down, which was nice.
I didn't think the first trail was good. I thought the acting was par, but the costumes didn't relate
to the theme of the story. There was no interaction between the people and actors, just scenes. Also,
the girls screaming, not a fan of them yelling at you.

The second one was better than the first, but it still wasn't the greatest. There was one good scene that
had Pin head, but didn't even relate to the theme. This was just another trail with more scenes. There
was one good thing, the grave yard, but 1 out of 100 doesn't make it fun.

The scariest part to me was the lift hill. I'm just waiting for a drunk to go up that and fall. This haunted
attraction sells beer before and after the trails. I'm surprised that they do this because not many
haunted attractions will sell alcohol before their events because they risk the harm of their actors.

The final part was a small tent on the top of the hill, which can be seen from the streets. It was okay, but
still nothing was worth the $23. I heard that they were offering half off. Wish I would have known because
I rather have wasted my money on something else.

We've all heard the commercials for the Hill Has Eyes. A haunt is in it's first year located at The Rock in Franklin. The story of the haunt is an old landfill that became filled with toxic waste. This toxic sludge then turned the people living on the land nearby into a town of mutants. The Hill Has Eyes is home to 3 separate haunts, a beer tent and bon fires. It makes for a for a fun atmosphere.

The price for the entertainment is $23, $32 for a VIP pass, which I found pretty steep compared to other haunts. Though they pack a lot in for it. The beer tent available offers music and a few types of beer in the $4-$5 range. The tent has music playing for your enjoyment and an announcer that will let you know when it is your turn for the haunt. There's also a bon fire near the tent in a roped off area so you can warm up and enjoy a beer. There's also another bon fire going outside of the beer tent area to enjoy while you wait if you choose not to hang out by the beer tent. Word of caution: there are portable restrooms available by the entrance but there are are no restrooms available once you enter to the haunt. Plan ahead. Another word of advice - if it has rained recently you should wear old shoes. They do throw hay down on the trial which helps.

Once you're allowed to enter, you follow a path into a clearing in the woods. the area is littered with old cars, appliances and such giving you a feeling of entering an abandoned area. Each wait was around 10-15 minutes so it wasn't bad not having the VIP pass.

The first haunt Failed Escape sends you on a path into the woods. There's are a few structures and some of the villagers are out to torment you. Overall the majority of the scares are actors hiding and jumping out to startle you. There were a few scenes set up but nothing out of the ordinary that hasn't been done before. The haunt took about 15 minutes to get through and I was hoping to see more done with the toxic village story. It felt like an average outside haunt.

After the Failed Escape you exit back into the clearing and enter into the line for the Hunger Hollow haunt. The line moved quick and also had the VIP skip option. Once you enter through a small structure you begin a path through the woods. This haunt dealt with more of the after life. Just like the other haunt there were a few actors jumping out to scare you. There was a cool scene with pin head but it didn't fit the theme. The best part is you enter a clearing with a cemetery. This by far was the best part of the haunt with some awesome scares. This haunt seemed to go by pretty fast and was shorter than the first haunt.

The next event is the Scare Lift. Which takes you for a ride up the hill on the ski lift to the last haunt. The ride up the hill is a unique feature that is not offered at other haunts. Unfortunately there are no scenes to see or frights as you ride. The best thing we saw were bats flying around.

Once you reach the top, you're lead off into another line for the next haunt. This haunt is held in a large tent on the hill. This was different from the other two because you are in a confined space. You walk through narrow hallways, with different doors to chose from with various costumed actors jumping out to give you frights. This part lasted about 5 minutes. Once you exit you're finished with the experience and walk down the hill to the parking lot.

Overall, we all had a fun experience and it was different from other haunts we attended. Though people who are experienced with haunts will be disappointed. The Hill Has Eyes scares aren't very original and leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to see more with the mutant village story, some more scenes and some unique surprises. It's their first year, so I'd expect in the future they'll add more. My advice would be to find a deal for a half price ticket, go check out the Hill Has Eyes, but for the regular $23 price you'll be disappointed with your investment.

Just had to give this haunt a try considering how much advertisement they have. We got there and worked our way down the hill to where you get tickets and had to sign a waiver. Never had to do that before so I just knew it had to be the best haunt ever! A few scary looking guys on our way to get in line for the first haunt. Went thru the first haunt and it was ok-could have used some more actors, but overall nice effects. When we were done, we headed over to the second haunt, which was a little better then the first one. The hellraiser guy in the tree was AWESOME. We had a few people following us thru there and I loved the cemetary scene. Very well done. The Scare Lift was great! When we got to the 3rd haunt, I was disappointed. That one was a complete waste of time. Hardly any props or characters in this tent.

I went to this haunted Attraction on there first day of operation ever. Got there at 07:30pm on September 28th,2012. i went with 9 other people we all drove from Illinois. I plan a big Haunted House Trip Every year and this year since this was a new attraction wanted to check it out. when we got there it was hard to see the sign the only way i found it was my GPS and a big frankenstin on the side of the rode wsaying the hills have eyes open today. you have to drive on this creepy back road which is awsome, saw this i thought this was going to be a very creepy haunt, cause its set at a old Ski Hill, no lights in the parking lot very awsome atmosphere for a haunt.

To get your tickets and go to the attraction you had to go down this steep hill like a quarry, when you get closer to the tickt both, its get more of a creepy feeling atmosphere quiet cool creepy night. and they made you sign a waiver which i thought was interested thinking they could touch you the actors would be a more interested haunt but it was jus tin case you trip or hurt yourself on the trail you cant sure

alright we walked past a old set up of a junkyard heading into the first haunt, had to split us up 4 and 5, my group went in first went wth a bunch of people who get scared of haunted houses, when we finally got into the first attraction that when it went down hill. as soon as we walked in there was these two actresses in white dresses, played there parts well wasnt scary they were just fighting who is going to take this gorup then they went back into the spot, next scene was a semi truck, we didnt even reach the truck and this guys says "BOO" really not just tha tpopped out way to soon and had a masked got into one of the girl faces in my group saying boo and rawr, from from there i didnt see no other actors or actresses in rest of trail there were a few scenes but with no actors, u here them talking in the would regular voice, but it was more of a nature walk in the dark then a haunt, the trees were so close to the trail you could of planted so many actors i def would of got scared but no actors until a neaon light area but he just stood there and did nothing, first attraction 2 actors through out the whole trail.

when we got out of the attraction was approached by a staff memeber asking our gorup if we liked it i said there were absolutly no actors anywhere in the attraction just the two when you eneter and one behind the truck that it, he said they were a dozen or more actors in there but mus tof not been in there spot very disappointing.Hoping the next set of attraction was better.

next scene hungery hollow i think it was names, this was alittle better, few good scares and more actors in ther espot, a guy dressed up as hell raiser in the tree awsoem effect, and one acotr got me he was hiding between a to tree stumps in the dark and jump that got me,.

next scare lift, nice 10 min lif up a ski hill great view, when you ge tto the top, there one more attraction underneath a white tent and seriouse the acotrs in there where horrible talkign to each other saying ill scare them over here, and when them come avfte ryou they said rawr and boo and chased you with a battery chainsaw you buy at Sprit halloween,

Lets start off with the very beginning. Parking! So, when you first some in, there is no lights. Which is fine, but there is no signs either. Very confusing where to get tickets from and where to park/go. Just to mention, I went with a group of 9. So, after we finally find someone to talk to, he directs us behind a house and down a hill. We finally find the ticket booth! As some may know, it costs $23 to get in. As we purchase our tickets, we find out we have to sign a wavier in case of heart attack/tripping in the woods. I thought to myself, this should be great! We have to sign a waiver to get in, should be scary!

So, we go to the first Haunted Trial, "Failed Escape". If you like Haunted Attractions, you usually read up on them and read their back story. Well, this is suppose to be about an abandoned area that held nuclear waste. When we get to the front of the line, the lady asks how many. We say 9. She says, "Okay, groups of 4". We asks if a group of 4 and a group of 5 go through, and shes says that's fine. So my group goes first, and we instantly meet up with the group that was in front of us. Nothing better than seeing the freight before your turn! So we stop and wait. Finally we get to walking, and what the people were saying was humorous. "Boo", "Ahhh", and "Rawr". Last time I checked, those weren't scary. Also, there was no make up, just store bought masks. The theme of the haunt, nuclear waste site, and the theme of the masks didn't match. All of a sudden Pin Face was there... huh? Anyways, walking through the first trail, there was some good things, but mostly bad. It took us about 10 minutes to get through the first trail.

Anyways, onto the second trail! This one is called, "Hunger Hollow". We wait in line about 5-10 min, and the lady asks, "How many people". We say 9. Shes says, "groups of 4". We asks if we can do 4 and 5, like we did the last house. She says, "I don't know, I'm not really sure". So we decide to just do 3/3/3 in this trail. My group was first. This one was okay. Random noises in the woods. However I felt like I was walking through a museum. Instead of people scaring you, it was just scenes. A scene of a butcher, a scene of someone dying, a scene of someone getting their arm cut off. All the same. There were some characters in the woods. One particular laying dressed as shrubs did get us. By the end of the trail, my group of 9 were only 5 seconds apart. This trail took about 10 mins. to walk through. It leads you us to the final attraction...

Scare Lift. This is where you go up the ski hills lift hill. I felt this was the scariest thing for my so far! The sounds as it raddled and creaked, and plus no bar to strap you in. I'm just waiting for someone to fall, because this attraction offers a beer tent, before and after you go through the haunts. Anyways, we get to the top of the hill, its about a 4 min ride on the ski lift. And we see a tent on the top, this could be seen from Rawson Ave if you live in Franklin. As we wait in line, you hear the chain saw stop, its out of gas. It starts again, 5 min go by, and it is out of gas. Finally its our turn and we go in groups of 3 again. This was a fully enclosed tent, so when you walked inside, it was just gas fumes from the chainsaws and it was bad to walk through. There was some good scare moments, but it was just gas smoke and strobe lights with a few monsters behind the walls. This attraction took less than 3 min to go through. As we exited the attraction, they finally opened one end of the tent because it was so smokey in there.

After the last attraction, you walk down the hill, passing the beer tent, and to your car. Your done! As we were saying yesterday, $23 for 23 min of scares. Eh...

The hills has eyes was an enjoyable haunt, but not scary. The woods scenery was nice, the trails were awesome, junkyard props A+, but there was absolutely no scare factor. They try to scare you the same way everytime-the jumping out, and its always by a scene never between scenes, and by the 2nd or 3rd time its just not scary anymore. Most of the scenes were people yelling "help me" it was like i was watching the same scene over and over again. The ski lift was fun-would have been nicer if there were zombies runnine around under us or if we went over the haunt itself, and the lights were a different color and not so bright

This is a truly awesome haunt, highly recommended. The trail through the woods was fantastic and winding enough where it'll be hard for separate groups to bump into each other. There was some really innovative scenes in the woods and the actors did mostly a great job with coming up with characters that didn't rely on the stereotypical "get out" trappings. The old trucks and plow equipment really added to a uniquely creepy environment. I was also glad not to have to smell gas or exhaust fumes which seems to be prevalent in these kinds of outdoor haunts. Who would have thought that the ski lift machinery could be so spooky? Great stuff!

*SPOILERS*

Here is some constructive criticism I have to offer. The haunt could use some better signage. As a skier, my first instinct was to walk into the chalet, but the actual trail to the haunt was off to the side with no lights and some really small signs. Also as a skier I'm used to signing the release form, but I can see where this might take some non-skiers by surprise. It might slow the line down if folks want to take the time to read every line. I would recommend perhaps putting up some large posters of the release form inside the ticket tent so folks can read it while they're waiting in line. This could help move the line better when it gets busier.

Some of the ushering staff and ski lift operators could use some haunting make up to help not break the illusion while standing in line or between haunts. Even the manager who seems to have been present giving directions could have used some make up to that end. While in the first trail there were a few empty spots on the trail that I thought could have benefited from having some miscellaneous zombies milling about, I do think that the 2nd trail suffered a bit from an overabundance of them. The boo! tactic of jumping out and getting that classic cheap scare works good the first time around, but it looses its impact by the 5th time. Also many of the actors doing this boo! routine were screaming at the top of their lungs. While I do appreciate the enthusiasm, I would warn that keeping up that kind of high energy all night will be challenging, and could ruin a person's voice box by the end of the night. Some simple soft groaning or even silence when someone jumps out or walks across the trail can be equally as effective if not more so, and a bit easier on the actor as well.

I was disappointed that there weren't any roaming zombies or burial grounds blow the scare lift. But we were one of the first people through so they may not have had that part ironed out yet. I think the scare lift could benefit from a few things. First, the lights on the lift itself would be awesome if they were changed to a red or blue light, either by changing the color of the light bulbs or by placing colored gels over the existing lights. Also, especially if the burial grounds and zombies are established below, it would be great to bathe the hill in some kind of fog, if such a thing is possible with some kind of large scale fog machine. You could also have occasional zombies taking the lift down and passing haunt goers on their way up. A bit of instruction on how to use the lift might be helpful at the bottom as I suspect this haunt will attract a lot of non-skiers.

These are mostly nitpicks. The only really area that could use a haunt make over would be the tent at the top of the hill after the scare lift. There's not much really going on here. One chainsaw in a haunt is always enough, more than that and they lose their impact particularly when they're all in a row. There were no scary decorations in this area either. The walls of the small maze under the tent just looked like they were sprayed with graffiti as the result of teenage mischief. These things can be easily rectified though.

I was also a bit disappointed that the chalet wasn't open, as I was a bit hungry and would definitely have bought a hot dog or a burger and a soda or a hot chocolate or cider. This could be an easy way for the haunt to squeak out a few more bucks, maybe even sell souvenir T-Shirts for the haunt.

Overall though a really great experience, can't wait to see how they improve over the years to come. Thanks for a great experience!