Fright Nights 2014

[Matt 236]

Thorpe love their one train ops

[RubyRed95]

A lady on storm surge was telling me about that at the end of the night. She said that the reason they got evacuated was because an actor had been punched or something along those lines. However, she said that it was brilliant they got a 2nd run so I guess that's the flip side of the coin of getting evacuated.

We thought someone had been punched, but no actors or staff would tell us, I suppose it's mind of a sensitive issue haha xD Jealous of you getting another run through Cabin! Cabin Is my fave by far so great, seemed to be having electricity issues earlier, rooms that are usually light being pitch black- ie- a blank room, room with chains on the walls, bedroom was darker. And also way less smoke in the penultimate corridor, the one with the ramp

[JoshC.]

Okay, as promised, my review of Fright Nights from Friday evening (all my opinions on Reserve n Ride will be in that thread though).  As ever, there will be spoilers; you've been warned!  I'll review 'em as I did them during the night...

 

My Bloody Valentine

I dunno about this maze at all.  I loved Experiment 10 in 2011, and I know it wasn't a 'one tricky pony' for me.  It was awful in 2012 (indeed, I remember my first thoughts after doing it then were 'Thorpe have successfully ruined a great maze'. Last year, MBV was okay (at best) in its own right, and had potential, but needed a lot of work.  Unfortunately, that work hasn't happened.

 

The starting talk once again is a very nice touch.  However, they've moved away from the film's story a bit, which is a shame (especially since it makes the maze make less sense overall).  But something like that won't make a maze terrible.  The hospital scene is beautifully themed, but being at the front, I got no actor interaction at all, which is a shame.  After being directed right, we were occasionally pushed into some of the old isolation cupboards, and then told to get back out - definitely a nice touch.  

 

Crawled through the tunnel and an actor was banging on top at the exit of it.  That bit works well actually, so no complaints from me.  Carry on through the maze a bit more a reach an inflatable thing which means you have to duck under.  I can see what they've tried doing here, but it just doesn't work.  If you've crawled through the tunnel, if feels like a cheap knockoff of that, and it just doesn't alarm you.  Wandered round a bit more, through the forest, and then into darkness.  Made our way past some stuff and then encountered one or two actors shouting before leaving...

 

Lack of actors, no real ending and just no real major scaring happening.  I just don't get how it's rated 5/5 for scares; it's not long and it's not particularly scary.  Maybe I've become desensitised to the whole thing a bit, but I somehow doubt that when I've done other mazes in past more times and still been got by them.  This maze needs some SERIOUS rethinking.

 

4/10

 

Cabin in the Woods

My favourite maze at last year's Fright Nights.  Great theming, really clever idea and good actors.  The ending needed work, but hoped that would be rectified.  

 

This year, the maze lacked the clever idea which made it work oh so well.  The idea of choice was lost a bit, and whilst there were multiple routes still, it felt like a gimmick than part of the story,  Last year, you would choose a door, then close it behind you and see what happened.  This didn't happen this year, leaving us with loads of open doors, empty rooms and a very 'meh' first half.  I ended up finding the control room again (not difficult when the door was wide open and not particularly concealed anyway!), and it didn't work.  Oh.

 

However, the second half really picked up.  Tonnes of actors, clever tricks and lots of in your face scares.  It captures the chaotic feel from the facility in the film, which is great.  There were an awful lot of clowns on my go, so I do hope that they mix it up a bit on different days (just for the sake of it).  However, much like last year, the ending just sorta happened.  Okay, so there were loads of actors, but it still doesn't feel like the maze should end there; it just feels like it's been cut off.  

 

All in all, still a good maze that I do enjoy, and it's great to see that they've mixed things up a bit with it.  Needs a couple more actors in the first half of the maze and an actual ending to improve it though.

 

6.5/10

 

Studio 13:  The Motel

Finally, The Asylum has kicked the bucket.  It's no secret that I thought the maze was long overdue leaving, and I was glad that they decided to go with something that has potential for a great story.  I was worried this would become 'Asylum Version 1.3' (pun intended), and hearing that the chainsaw ending had returned made me a bit more worried about that.  But alas, I kept an open mind.

 

I'm glad they decided not to encourage hands on shoulders.  It makes things work a bit better, and suits the idea of 'touring' a movie studio (where you would naturally walk around in groups).  I love the opening scene; great nod to the previous 12 attractions and solidifies the idea of Fright Nights being a time when Thorpe Park produces horror films.  Plus, I'd love my own copies of all those posters, because they all look awesome..  The actual acting in there was great as well; made you realise the tour was going to be more sinister, adds some story and puts you on edge.

 

The next scene, the Reception, is a bit of a waste.  The surprise of the receptionist appearing works, but then nothing other than a flash of light happens during the time.  I just think more could have been done with the space really, but hey, at least it keeps in line with the story.

 

We then move onto some sort of editing room I guess, which shows just how well themed this attraction is..  Turning round and seeing some fences and boxes, I was beginning to wonder whether the rest of the maze would end up being 'Asylum 1.3', but I was pleasantly surprised.  Reached the blood stained dressing room, and the actor particularly enjoyed playing with 'Lucy', the dead doll in front of the mirror.  This actor also picked on us all, which was great.  

 

Moved into the actual film set now, and was greeted by some hillbilly family who threatened us, ganged up on everyone and so forth.  The next few scenes seemed to just be meandering around some bits which feel lifted from Asylum, whilst seeing the occasional plaque saying which scene we were entering.  I didn't mind too much though, as with very little strobes and a different story line for the actors, it didn't feel like Asylum at all.  I was at the back, and there were times during this bit I was blocked by actors and left it catch up with the rest of the group.

 

Eventually, we came across 'Scene 13' (which I think was called the bedroom scene or something?), and I somehow knew this was nearly the end.  Couple of actors, plus a blooded doll tied onto a bed.  There was lots of screaming and shouting and blame going around the place.  Being in the room felt chaotic (indeed, I'd say this scene felt more chaotic than Asylum ever did, somewhat ironically!).  We then made it down the final corridor and I enjoy seeing all the posters plastered over the walls, for like two seconds...

 

I expected there to be the Director at the end of this corridor, revving his chainsaw to make us run out, showing that this was his Studio, and we were at his mercy.  But nope, the horror film spilled out into real life, as behind me, I hear the revving of a chainsaw.  Turning around, I see some crazed hillbilly laughing manically, running towards us with a chainsaw in hand.  Definitely the encouragement I need to get a move on out!  Might not be as effective for people nearer the front, but hopefully (due to the free flow nature), this isn't too much a problem.  Definitely think it's a good ending, which feels fresh compared to Asylum's one, despite the fact it's a very old and clichéd way to finish.

 

Great maze overall, and definitely up there as one of my favourites.  There's a couple of dead scenes with the theming, but for the most part, it's exquisitely themed.  Add a bit more to the Reception scene and I think Thorpe have an absolute winner of a maze on their hands.

 

8/10

 

(NB:  After reading some reviews from last weekend, it sounded like there were strobes for the majority of the maze on some nights.  This wasn't the case on Friday.  There was the odd strobe here and there, but for the most part, it was lit in such a way that makes each scene work beautifully).

 

Saw Alive

Feels weird to be saying that this is the park's oldest maze now.  Even weirder to think that it's now in it's 5th operational season.

 

I don't actually have much to say about this.  The maze is consistent and fun.  But it needs some story and some fresh ideas.  It makes good use of loud noises, smoke and lighting.  It has good theming.  It has an okay ending.  But it needs something to tie this all together.  Story, a trick, interactivity, something.  Or failing that, just a ton of actors and a full out intense experience.  It's a fun maze, but it needs something new to keep up with the rest.

 

6/10

 

Blair Witch Project

Last year was a bit of a miss, if we're being honest.  Great idea, just poorly executed.  The news of a new ambient track, along with the fact that the park decided to keep with this, meant that there was chance to make the idea work.

 

Simply put, I liked BWP this year.  Plenty of actors, and they all kept with the idea of the film.  There's loads of suspense.  There's really dark points.  Places where you feel truly isolated.  The actors keep you on edge, and their scares leave you feel nervous.  One thing which I liked was one actor creeping up behind me during the safety talking and just whispering in my ear and give me a nudge, before running into the darkness of the maze.  That worked so well.  It was also great to see loads of actors simply darting between the trees, but not revealing themselves to the front of the group.  Clever, keeps people nervous, but also interacts with the whole group.  Kudos also to the actor who was shouting 'WHERE'S JOSH!?'.  I said 'I'm Josh', before quickly realising that Josh was a character from the film.  The actor remained in character well, and shouted at me 'Where's the map!?!' (again, keeping in line with them film, where the character Josh loses the map) before running around and targeting other members of the group.

 

The finale was fun.  Lots of smoke and three actors in the shed.  Works well and better than last year.  One actor accidentally poked me in the eye whilst trying to scare me.  After the entire group had exited the shed, she came out and walked towards me specifically (possibly to check I was alright).  After seeing I was smiling and fine, she remained in character brilliantly, made lots of noise and screaming before going back towards the shed..

 

All in all, good fun.  Thorpe really hit the nail on the head with this one and I really enjoyed it.

6.5/10

 

Couple of other words:

-Didn't see any of the roaming actors.  Seemingly just was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is a shame, as they look pretty cool.  

-Disappointed by lack of theming.  This is a must to create an overall feel to the place.  However, the audio this year was fantastic, so at least there was some sorta Fright Night feel about.

-No actors in queue lines this year?  Can't say I'm not disappointed.  However, I can understand there could be restraints on this.

 

Face it Alone

As usual, can't say much on this (especially since I signed a waiver saying I wouldn't, and I fear what The Director would do if I did...).  I did Studio 13 this year and it was incredible.  Intense, extreme and just incredible.  Very different to my experience last year, but I did prefer it this year.  Also great that they ensured the experience tied in with the maze itself (which I think happened in all the mazes).  Very much recommend it to anyone who likes scare attractions!

 

Thanks for reading.  I'll leave you with a photo of me with the famous Thorpe Park Movie Studios Director...

 

[Olistjj]

We were in the Blair Witch when it was evacuated too!'! You must've been just infront because we were just a little way back from the shed when the actors cAme out and told us to go back to the start and they'd send us through again! Glad they did because we had a fantastic run through once everything had been reset, actually the hi light of the night! And the shed is pretty scary if you don't know what to expect, fab jumps scares

You're lucky getting to go again! We were so far at the end that they just went, keep going, we did get a lot of actor banter though in the shed

[alexander]

Gonna keep this brief:

Saw Alive was absolutely shocking, thank god we didn't queue longer than 2 minutes for it. No effects working, actors just generally being bad. It was absolutely dire.

Studio 13 was decent for the first run through, I do think Asylum was better, however, I did quite enjoy it.

MBV was pretty good but the problem was it was so dark we couldn't see where we were going! Phil, toby and I got stuck 3 times and we had actors come up to us and shine torches where we had to go.

Cabin was alright, the actors were pretty decent and it was pretty fun. Not improved or worse from last year.

this is gonna sound a bit crazy, but Blair witch was the highlight of the evening for me! Being overally cynical after last year, it has improved so much. The actors placement, the mist/fog, the louder soundtrack and generally feel was so much better. It was very eerie and it was my favourite of the 5!

Regarding roaming actors, there were some around but I still feel like they needed more tbh

[FrightNight]

My review of Fright Nights from Saturday. Bare in mind there will be very few spoilers in this review so ill be based on my experience with no mention of story, maze format etc.

 

Fright Nights remains absolutely incredible and I think it is the best time at Thorpe Park, with allowed contact (unlike most other horror attractions) making the mazes a lot scarier and more interactive. 

 

My Bloody Valentine- We started with MBV. Last year was decent, but needed more actors to be effective and a more significant use of Harry Warden. This year, despite no noticeable changes to the maze which is a real shame and will run very dry if nothing is done next year, Harry Warden was seen a lot more and I enjoyed the maze. It was scary, with very effective use of darkness along with the flickering on and off of helmet lights to create a lot of suspense, especially when leading (like me!). I enjoyed the format of the maze with the use of a crawling section and an 'emergency' tone to it, and the maze was overall very fun. However, needs to be replaced or changed next year before this rating goes down, as another year will begin to get boring and they REALLY need to use the isolation rooms again... REALLY. Needs a better ending, even something as simple as Harry Warden appearing and chasing you out, smashing his pickaxe against the wall or something. Overall, I thought the maze was very underrated and although not the best maze, it was great fun and used effective methods to create scares... but it is still not a worthy replacement for the best maze; Experiment 10 in 2011.

 

 

Cabin in the Woods- Better the first time than the second (due to the increased speed to get the next lot in on the second run through). Once again, I enjoyed the maze and the new crawling addition with some interesting sets and very lively actors on both runs. One of the stand out mazes again, a lot scarier this year with better actors and effective costumes, had great fun going in a pair and do not suggest bigger groups. Definitely better than Hellgate, but I did not like how the 'choose your route' idea ended up with an area where you all met anyway so it didn't matter where you went and they refused to let us go through one of the doors the second time again due to wanting to get the next group through. Also, the revolving tunnel wasn't working which is a shame and the maze again definitely needs to be changed next year as it just isn't the same a second time, but they did make some changes so I am happy for it to last a bit longer than the others. Needs a better ending, definitely, as the ending is just poor.

 

 

Studio 13- All I can say is, although not a bad maze, I am slightly disappointed with this one. When a maze goes from your favourite to being in the middle, that's when you're disappointed. I had been excited all day for this, had high hopes and all I can say is Asylum was better and it is not a worthy replacement. Yeah, it starts well, with great theming throughout and I like the first corridor with all previous mazes scattered on the walls and the reception area, but it just went downhill. I prefer strobes to the lighting used within, which just wasn't the same, and (although theming was good), I prefer the concept of the Asylum and find the hospital set and costumes much scarier with none of the actors being able to climb around or use their specific problem to their advantage. Nice try Thorpe, and it is a good maze, but I just can't stop feeling like it isn't good enough to replace one of Thorpe's best. Also, we went in a second time to give it another chance, and BOTH TIMES we did not encounter the chainsaw ending because of the the slow-moving nature of the maze, which was a key factor of the Asylum's success and walking out because of awful timings within the maze, hearing only the rev of the chainsaw, is a real let down. Sort out the timings Thorpe. The way in which we kept seeing other groups due to how you have a short break at the start of the maze for something (I will not spoil) ruined the maze and prevented the brilliant ending that the Asylum had. The Asylum is better, and I have to say I am not displeased that this is the only year for Studio 13; this year is the 'audition' phase to what is coming next year, according to what I overheard two employees talking about outside of the maze (as well as a poster saying THE MOTEL, coming Fall 2015). So again, the maze was good, but not Asylum good and the poor timings meant both times there was no chainsaw which just isn;t the same experience; the ending is a key aspect of the maze.

 

 

SAW Alive- Okay. Just okay. No different to last year, no promised 'new evil', it was just okay. Lack of actors, sets which are just too familiar and just one pig made it the most mediocre maze. IT isn't bad, but it is the worst out of what is available. IT's annoying that Thorpe will be adamant to keep it because of its permanent place on the park, because it is just not good enough any more and after 5 seasons, it has become very repetitive.

 

 

Blair Witch Project- This review is definitely based on my personal experienceThe maze stopped temporarily and we were asked to go back through the maze to the start and got a second go, which is a cool. This maze has been so vastly improved since last year, I loved it. As the group was asked to wait ad was left unattended for 10 minutes, I wanted to see what was going along so guess what?; I did the whole walkthrough on my own in the end. It was fantastic. The personal interation when going on your own is awesome, and I had every actors scaring me, touching me, crowding around me and hiding in very effective spots which just couldn't be seen at the time we did it (9pm). I cannot express how good the maze was for me, but I have to take into account that as a group it would be significantly different so I can't give it a 9/10. I had someone force me to give them my name, and then used that to their advantage as they held on to me, kept saying 'DON'T GO INTO THE SHED, SHE IS IN THERE, DON'T GO INTO THE SHED' for the majority of the maze and I also had many actors just staring at me, and then jumping up at the last second. Effective theming, great build up of suspense with the sounds, and it was so so good compared to last year (which I rated 3/10). If you went last year, don't be put off; DO THIS MAZE, but escape your group and do it on your own as a little Face It Alone teaser (the most I will get, I am under 18 :'( ).

 

 

Reserve and Ride- Fantastic for us as we were very quick in reserving the mazes, shambolic in general. Although, as I said, it was brilliant for us and we managed to do every maze twice, the idea will never, EVER work and I am mystified as to why they tried it on Fright Nights. Every single reservation was gone by 5, meaning to do a single maze others were forced to queue 3 hours, and they were trying to make it seem good by letting every single reservation in before the main queue. How unfair, and even being one who was greatly helped by the system, it is just unfair on others. No word of a lie, on our second run of My Bloody Valentine, I counted 44 fasttracks and reserve and rides being let in before a single main queuer- absolutely disgusting. This system still meant queueing and led to three queues, making the mazes just inaccessible past 7pm unless it was all you were willing to do (3 hours +). Reserve and Ride will never work on a mass scale, and Thorpe have to give up on it I am afraid to say.

 

One thing I will say is that next year, things need to be changed; new mazes based on new films, or completely new formats for the five current mazes (*ISOLATION ROOMS*) . Also, the actors this year were often caught off guard, chatting, not aware of the frequency of groups, and this really had an impact on how scared you could be. Often (around 4 times in just one night) we walked into two actors just chatting and it is just silly; do your job.

 

Overall, I think this year was better than last year with better actors and improved mazes (especially Blair Witch!) but 2011 was still the best Fright Nights to date. And what a disappointment Studio 13 was. I will be going again so will update for Studio 13 as well as the others to see whether they get better as the actors gain experience, but I had a fantastic day with the rides and the mazes and once again Thorpe have not let me down.. except with that awful system that they just have to give up on for the sake of the park's reputation. Experiment 10 remains the best.

[Kerfuffle]

Hmm...

I think Cabin in the Woods is the best maze...

Well after the events of last night, that's one thing I immediately take back...

 

Studio 13:

Definitely not my favourite maze

Make that two!

[JoshC.]

Some photos from inside Saw Alive and Studio 13 from Scruffy Dog's Facebook page (spoilered for obvious reasons)...

 

 

 

Scruffy Dog refurbished Saw Alive (the bathroom scene certainly looks fresher!), as well as designed and produced Studio 13.  Those sets in particularly are exquisitely themed! 

 

Also, a couple of photos from Thorpe's Twitter about the 'Extra Cut' overnight experience...

 

Letter from The Director

 

A welcome scene from The Director, which looks like it takes place in the 4D theatre?

 

There was also a tweet mentioning a 'midnight tour' of Studio 13'..

[Whatever]

Wow, that letter has bad grammar!

 

....by Maichael Grant who an award winning author....

Who is, maybe?

[Ryan]

Those in-maze photos look amazing, just a shame the lighting in the mazes isn't good enough for you to actually see the detailed sets.

[holtjammy16]

I knew Saw Alive was detailed but I never realised it was THAT detailed 

[Glitch]

I don't remeber the pendulum room in saw alive. Someone help me out here!

[JoshC.]

I don't remeber the pendulum room in saw alive. Someone help me out here!

 

It's from Saw 5, so comes just after the Mausoleum room (the smoky room with heavy chains and a metal thing in the middle) and before the corridor which leads to the Carousel room.  

 

It's usually very dark and only lights up the table, meaning you miss most of the theming.  Sometimes you'll hear a swinging pendulum in it though. 

[Glitch]

It's from Saw 5, so comes just after the Mausoleum room (the smoky room with heavy chains and a metal thing in the middle) and before the corridor which leads to the Carousel room.  

 

It's usually very dark and only lights up the table, meaning you miss most of the theming.  Sometimes you'll hear a swinging pendulum in it though. 

The one where they swing in there chains from the table? It's a shame it's so dark in there lol.

[JoshC.]

The one where they swing in there chains from the table? It's a shame it's so dark in there lol.

 

Yeah, they sometimes do that as well.  My experiences have more been an actor simply hiding in the darkness and banging on the fencing.  But yeah, is a shame it's so dark!

[Dodge2002]

I could be playing devils advocate here, but after visiting the Towers yesterday, and witnessing how smoothly their whole Scarefest was in comparison to Fright Nights, perhaps its time they should experiment with making their mazes an up charge attraction. I would happily pay £15 or so for the whole bunch of them, if it helped with their atrocious queuing problems.

[Graw]

Some photos from inside Saw Alive and Studio 13 from Scruffy Dog's Facebook page (spoilered for obvious reasons)...

 

 

 

Where on earth is that billy the puppet ever in Saw: Alive? I've never noticed that, unless it's the one in the photo op.. (it doesn't look like it tho.)

[Kerfuffle]

It's in the very first room. You get your photo taken with him before you enter the maze itself!

[Graw]

It's in the very first room. You get your photo taken with him before you enter the maze itself!

 

 

Ah, so that is the one in the photo op room! I thought it was, but it looked different and was in a corner rather than the middle haha.

[Whatever]

I think there is Also another smaller billy in the carousel room.

[Kerfuffle]

I think there is Also another smaller billy in the carousel room.

No, it isn't in there, but it's in the Electrified Corridor.

[Merry-go-girl]

I knew Saw Alive was detailed but I never realised it was THAT detailed 

Indeed, that bathroom recreation looks so good I could have been fooled into believing they actually relocated the original set pieces. 

[holtjammy16]

I don't remeber the pendulum room in saw alive. Someone help me out here!

 

Yeah it's the room that's usually too dark to even find your way through

 

 

although I remember it's meant to have someone on the table with the lights on when you first go in, then the lights flicker off and when they turn back on the person's gone from the table and comes running at you from a different direction 

[kingbling11]

How do you get to the control room in cabin?

[TPJames]

How do you get to the control room in cabin?

Will PM you shortly, don't worry! Been away at alton towers so didn't have time but seeing as fright nights doesn't restart till Friday I thought it wouldn't matter! So bear with