What 'The Passing' Needs to do to Make Everybody's Grade.
Entry posted by JoshC.
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The introduction of Thorpe's new maze to Fright Nights this year has been quite a hot topic. Since 'The Passing' was announced, many were left fearing (or, depending on your views, hoping!) that their underwear would be stained brown after going through a maze which puts a bag over your head and simulates your death.
However, reviews have been mixed, with some feeling as though it is not worth the additional charge, feeling as though there's many wasted opportunities, whilst some - like myself - like the attraction, but do appreciate that there's room for improvement. This entry is all about what exactly I think these improvements need to be, and how Thorpe could go about, realistically, doing this.
Firstly, the maze's story isn't conveyed well at all I found. There's a brilliant section on the park's site (here: http://www.thorpepark.com/frightnights/?horror=the-passing) which outlines what 'The Passing' is all about, but I want to focus mainly on this section:
As one of the darkest and twisted criminals to wreak havoc upon society, you are being tried, tested and sentenced to death. And that's just the beginning of your suffering as the after-life will demand you brave the unknown horrors of 'The Passing' in order to reach your final resting place.
We then couple this in with the maze's tagline, 'It begins with death', and it very well seems as though we are executed and die very early on in the maze.
The first scene I do like, as you are pretty much read your rights and told that you will be executed. However, a couple of tweaks are needed I think. Firstly, we start the maze off already as guilty - there is no trying of us for our crimes. Perhaps a mention outside the maze during the safety talk could be given, such as "When you enter the maze, you'll be treated as a convicted criminal and have a bag put on your head." This way, it helps tie it all together a little better, and helps make the safety talks, which can sometimes be a bit boring, a bit more interesting (à la Experiment 10). Next off, get rid of the photo bit. Whilst they've tied it in with the maze story a bit, it's just not necessary, is silly penny-pinching in my eyes and just doesn't work. Also, it ruins the feel a bit at the end; after I die, I really hope I don't come across a photo booth selling a photo of my last moments... At a push, I would settle for a compromise in that the photo bit is done in smaller groups (2-3) and serves as a 'prison shot', in a way that would make it act as documentation for official purposes or something. This would not be ideal in my opinion, but if the park really wants it that bad, I think it would just work a bit better.
Another gripe of mine is the walls in the first couple of scenes. They look very cheap, very quick and very rushed. In honesty, the morgue ones don't even look that realistic (something which I perhaps at first wasn't too concerned by, when the first picture was released, but hated it when I was in there. Moreover, there were others I heard commenting / laughing at it). The thing is, this can be quite easily remedied with a little bit of work. Considering what they're working with in that tunnel, the fake-ness of it really isn't that bad - there's no other alternatives really. However, they can add to it. Body parts stuck onto the wall to make it look like some bodies are 'sticking out' of their drawers, or perhaps even a bigger prop which is meant to represent a body, perhaps of a small child, on a table (meant to represent, in essence, a fully pulled out drawer). It would work well in setting the scene and just be a bit darker then it currently is. Perhaps the latter of these two is a bit unrealistic due to the logistics of the tunnel, but I just feel as though a fake body / body parts will work well there, and can be done quite easily.
Now then, the actual bags. When I first found out about the maze, my thoughts were that it was going to be a bag that you could not see through at all, but it would only be on for a short period of time. However, I'm glad that this is not the case as I think what we have is more effective. With the darkness around, it is hard to see through the bags; restricting vision I found - for me - to a mere foot or two in front of me. For the entirety of the maze, this becomes disorientating and worrying. I think that the only thing which needs sorting with the bags is the speakers - I think I had troubles with mine in the sense that they moved out of place. I guess this is more just something which needs a bit of a think, so that they always stay in place when they are used. No doubt this is something being sorted out as they go along due to the whole idea being a new concept to the park.
Now then, the actual simulating of death. First things first, here, I will work on the assumption that the tunnels in the maze signify your burial, the actual 'maze section' is the afterlife where we are tormented for our crimes whilst trying to signify redemption, and the scene post collection the certificate of death shows that no matter what, we will not rest in peace and be tormented for eternity. This seems to be what they are going for, so I'll stick with it. I quite like Maxy's idea that he blogged about, with a firing squad, though I had something much different in mind. I've always thought of being hung as the most gruesome way to be executed, and think there's a chance it could be played with here. As far as I remember, the bags on your head are quite large, and in one way or another, cover your throat to some degree. Personally, I think this could be taken advantage of to 'hang' each person. Unfortunately, my idea would quite probably have to cut the video scene which follows the bag being put on your head. As, for whatever reason, I missed that scene, I don't know significant that scene is, though people do speak about it as a form of highlight I guess, so at the moment, it's a case of leaving it down to those who have experienced it as to whether it would make the overall experience better, or whether the video scene could still be incorporated. Anyway, enough rambling on about that bit, here's my idea:
The bags are put on our heads in the morgue section, and once everyone has had this done, they are ushered out. Actors then stop you and, put some rope around the bottom of your bag, where you throat is, putting pressure on it so that you know it's there. This would only have to be done for a couple of seconds and, if executed properly (pun not intended!) would not cause any injury and create a real shock.
Assuming that there are ten people (maximum) in a group, two actors could quite easily do this, with one of them being the one who puts the bag on your head. Hopefully I've explained that the way I'm imagining it, but even if I have, no doubt there'll definitely be concerns about safety / H&S passing it. Whilst I have no knowledge on what H&S would or would not pass it, I would say that there would have to be a mention about it on the safety announcement about it (ie you will have a bag put on your head and be subject to a hanging simulation, but you will not be hurt). Also, the bags would have to cover the person's throat and have sufficient padding, which may require some form of modification to the bags. Whilst I may be dreaming in la-la land here, I do think it is possible to achieve this to some degree, but even if there's not, there needs to be a better way of simulating death, and as previously said, I do like Maxy's idea and that would work well (and be logistically easier, more realistic and quicker than my idea).
Now then, the tunnels. These are an absolutely brilliant idea and executed very well. As they are, they a brilliant. My only small grumble would be that they perhaps go on for a little too long, which has meant the time in the actual maze section can feel a little short. As I say, only a small grumble, but that can easily be remedied in the maze section itself, and length doesn't have to be everything. Also, are there any smells in the tunnels? I had a cold at the time, which restricted my sense of smell, but I do think a smell in there would be very effective, whether it was of dirt (to signify being buried) or of sweat or something (sweat equating to fear, which is mentioned in the description, and not really being a pleasant smell in itself).
As for the maze section, many have grumbled about the lack of theming / similarities to Hellgate. However, I don't think it's that bad. Though, I don't think the main maze reaches its full potential. With restricted vision, there's plenty of opportunity for a different type of scare, be it a bit more psychological or utilise your senses of touch / feel. I found myself regularly putting my hands in front of me / on the walls to help guide myself along the way. Now then, if they could in some way make so of the walls unpleasant to touch, or just make it feel 'un-wall-like', it could help create a sense of unease. Then the actors themselves need to take advantage of the fact people's peripheral vision is pretty much cut off. Hiding to the side, tapping people on the shoulder, only to disappear again - there's real opportunity to make people question their senses and make them feel really uneasy, which is when most people will be vulnerable to scares. Again, it's the idea of a psychological scare, making people fear what could happen, as opposed to what is happening - I find that to be the scariest thing. It would also stop scares being too samey, which was one problem I had; it was all too much of a similar scare with each actor. Varying it up a bit will help so much. Another thing which I think could work well in the maze is some an air effect or something similar. It would likely be completely unexpected due to the lack of sight and something which can target the body to make people feel vulnerable all over; after all, when you have a bag over your head, that's what you are most concerned about, as opposed to the rest of your body.
Now then, the fake ending is great, and should be kept just as it is. As for the bit after it, I'm really not sure what is best for that bit. Personally, I think it needs to be a bit longer actually, in that you go past the UV lights, then go through a bit which is quite dark, then a corridor which gets darker and darker, before reaching a 'dead end'. This would be a great chance for an actor to create a scare, and perhaps even a lighting effect or something could be utilised. Personally, I think if the photos were scrapped, the maze / post-certificate section could be made slightly longer, which can only be a good thing.
So, that's pretty much it. I did like 'The Passing' on my visit, though naturally, being a new venture for Thorpe, it was always going to need some work. Hopefully the maze continues to improve this Fright Nights, as by the sounds of it, it had improved from the first weekend to the second weekend, when I went, and that it becomes a regular addition to Fright Nights which improves and becomes a solid addition.
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