SAW: Alive

[BenC]

I went on SAW Alive on Sunday, and thought that although it was well presented, it ultimately failed to be an effective "horror maze" - it wasn't very scary! The theming is undeniably impressive, but the attraction as a whole isn't half as intense as, say, The Asylum. I've had scarier experiences with Hellgate, Se7en and The Curse too. That said, there were a few jumpy moments (the hanging girl in the freezer room, and the gunshot in the last scene). I'm hoping that Thorpe will continually evaluate the attraction and look for ways to improve it. There's a lot of potential there!Full review and photos @ http://www.totalthorpepark.co.uk

[stealth888]

If this was combined as part of the queue for Saw- the ride, it'd be a winner, but as part of a separate experience I feel it fails to deliver really.I'm kind of with Mark though, there's just no emotion of connection with the audience, I was constantly asking myself what role we were playing as the audience, not sure even the actors know

I kind of get what you're saying with the queueline thing, that'd be pretty cool but in a long queue it would get boring if you were hearing 'help me' or 'AAAAGGGHHHH' over and over.Although the 'AAAAAGGGGHHHH' thing would really amuse me And I'm totally with you on the connections with the actors

[MattyMoo]

Agree with BenC to be honest - just posted a review of today in Trip Reports - themeing on SAW Alive is top notch, but I rate Asylum and Hellgate as more of a head**** (for want of a better word!!) than SAW Alive... For me, the SWAT guys at the start were very good on both occasions, one girl told him to "eff off" and he bellowed in her face "DON'T YOU DARE SWEAR AT ME, JUST SHUTUP AND WATCH THE VIDEO" They also took the mickey out of a chap in front for tidying his hair, and also the guys behind for not wanting to touch each other's shoulders The final scene was the best for me on SAW Alive - prior to that, there were some good scares of people grabbing my legs, the pig mask chappy turning up in our queue line... but there was a lack of actors today as a whole. The electric fence part was particularly dead - what are they going to do there now they can't have it electrified?!I like the countdown clocks... but I'm sure they were wrong at one part and time went backwards in that we suddenly had 8 minutes left then 10 or something? Hmmm!So yes - all in all, good effort, I just hope it continues to improve and be tweaked. Those actors must be shattered though doing that all day, so credit to them. Must be hard work!

[jjh123horry]

Actually, they are right. The picture of the hanging body is from the Freezer room scene.

Really, the hanging body in the bag is from the freezer room, that really doesnt tie in with the freezer room in the film, but thorpe have tried their best

[jjh123horry]

I kind of get what you're saying with the queueline thing, that'd be pretty cool but in a long queue it would get boring if you were hearing 'help me' or 'AAAAGGGHHHH' over and over.Although the 'AAAAAGGGGHHHH' thing would really amuse me And I'm totally with you on the connections with the actors

Agree with BenC to be honest - just posted a review of today in Trip Reports - themeing on SAW Alive is top notch, but I rate Asylum and Hellgate as more of a head**** (for want of a better word!!) than SAW Alive... For me, the SWAT guys at the start were very good on both occasions, one girl told him to "eff off" and he bellowed in her face "DON'T YOU DARE SWEAR AT ME, JUST SHUTUP AND WATCH THE VIDEO" They also took the mickey out of a chap in front for tidying his hair, and also the guys behind for not wanting to touch each other's shoulders The final scene was the best for me on SAW Alive - prior to that, there were some good scares of people grabbing my legs, the pig mask chappy turning up in our queue line... but there was a lack of actors today as a whole. The electric fence part was particularly dead - what are they going to do there now they can't have it electrified?!I like the countdown clocks... but I'm sure they were wrong at one part and time went backwards in that we suddenly had 8 minutes left then 10 or something? Hmmm!So yes - all in all, good effort, I just hope it continues to improve and be tweaked. Those actors must be shattered though doing that all day, so credit to them. Must be hard work!

At this moment in time I feel that thorpe have let us down once again , I havent been in the maze yet, but by the looking at quite a few posts, quite a few people are a bit annoyed with it, which is a real let down for the maze as it has a lot of potentional.I cant give my own opinion on the maze so far, as I havent been in it, but telling from pictures the themeing looks quite good, but if feel if the actors arent scary enough, or if there arent enough of them, I will be annoyed, which may end up with me saying something to them (advice on how to make it better, not an arguement), but hopefully, it will have improved by the time I go

[Marc]

Your probably better giving suggestions officially to the park via guest services instead of to the actors..

[Marc]

Thats all well and good, but what experience in running a scare attraction do you have? They are not going to change the way its done on one persons say so..

[Deleted Users]

I'd rather talk to the person in charge of the quality of the maze, or the manager, or the person who helped to teach the actors how to scare people, because if I'm not impressed, it wont be good.

Thorpe Park have a thread for reviews of Saw Alive on their Facebook page. That's probably the best option as I think they are checking it.

[Jackstar]

Just seen a SAW Alive Advert on the TV but missed half of it, is it on youtube by any chance?

[Marc]

Dude, you shouldn't even be watching the saw films =pBut in all seriousness, yes there is room for improvement and the park will be well aware of its reception both by fan peoples, and more importantly the general public. All mazes take time to mature, just like the fright nights one and I'm sure over time Saw Alive will do the same.

[jjh123horry]

Dude, you shouldn't even be watching the saw films =p

I know, but theres nothing good on telly, so horror films entertain me

But in all seriousness, yes there is room for improvement and the park will be well aware of its reception both by fan peoples, and more importantly the general public. All mazes take time to mature, just like the fright nights one and I'm sure over time Saw Alive will do the same.

Hopefully

[MikeyT]

No I dont, but I do have experience in horror acting, and I know everything there is to know about the saw films, which makes me a great person to either be in the maze or teach the actors how to act properly if needs be. I know I sound like I know too much, but thorpe park and saw are my life

I actually thought some of the acting was quite good on my two goes through last Thursday, with a couple of exceptions. I've got the impression that the maze isn't supposed to be "boo" scary, but more based on the Saw experience (which I still feel they've the mark on).You're best bet is to contact Laura Sinclair who is the head of Entertainments at Thorpe, probably via guest services, if you're really that passionate about it.

[jjh123horry]

I actually thought some of the acting was quite good on my two goes through last Thursday, with a couple of exceptions. I've got the impression that the maze isn't supposed to be "boo" scary, but more based on the Saw experience (which I still feel they've the mark on).You're best bet is to contact Laura Sinclair who is the head of Entertainments at Thorpe, probably via guest services, if you're really that passionate about it.

Well if I dont find it good enough when I go, I will contact her

[Marc]

Anyone heard the Saw Alive radio add? Sounds pretty good , includes the Plaza theme!Ill try get a recording today

[Welsh Boy]

Is it worth me going on when I next go to Thorpe Park? From what Ive seen, the attention to detail is amazing. But from what I've read, there has been mixed reception.

[Cjw]

I wouldn't personally go on it if the queue is longer than 10 minutes, maybe 15 at a push.The theming is the best part, it's everything else that's lacking.

[Jackstar]

Surely it's worth a go, just so you can experience it for yourself and make your own judgement on it And has anyone got a link to the SAW Alive TV or Radio advert ?

[azzap96]

No I don't but it includes SAW The Ride ad bits and a man 'trapped' in SAW Alive

[Jackstar]

In my search for the SAW alive Advert I came across this Video on youtube, not sure if any of you guys have seen it but it has EXTREME SPOILERS Throughout and now I'm sort of thinking to myself that I should not of watched it due to me now knowing practically everything that happens inside ! None the less it's a fairly good video for anyone who is interested in what goes on inside the maze ! WARNING SPOILERS !

[coaster_monkey]

I was amazed at the fact that myself and my girlfriend were told to not abuse the actors. We've come to a point in society were people have to be reminded of this? Truely amazing.Overall yes, it isn't the best attraction, but I did jump a few times and was sucked into the maze. I'll admit I did get bored after the 4th room but still managed to enjoy myself. Other half was scared, but that's due to the fact she can't stand being in the dark and people jumping out from no-where. (understandable...)Theming was top notch for me, but I've NOTHING to compare it too really. But it's impressive for what Thorpe has at the park.I doubt it'll be an attraction that'll be around for long, so I'm glad I got on it. I think?

[Harry.D.C]

Not sure if they have made it more scary or you guys have thick skin, but I went in it today and found it absolutely terrifying! The whole group of people left after the bathroom scene through the entrance and while we were waiting to go in we saw loads of people coming out of it.

[Paul]

Missed out the maze on my trip today. Although I'd love to check out the theming, 60 minutes is just too long to wait for a maze. I'll check it out somepoint soon, hopefully on my trip next week. Then again, if the queues are anything like they were today, I can wait longer.

[Millie27]

The queue got down to 10 minutes today and then it was actually physically empty for about 10 minutes which was shocking haha. Would be very grateful if somebody could send me a detailed review of the maze including what happens in all the rooms. Tried to go in there today but the swat guys scared me so I left . So yeah that would be really helpful . Thank you in advance.

[electricBlll]

Well I had already heard that Saw Alive was average at best, so I went on not expecting much. The intense, scary atmosphere built up when I first went on Saw: The Ride was totally absent from this queueline, mostly because I had seen it all before. Barbed wire, rusty objects, warning posters... They didn't do it. Apart from that there was not any attempt to make the place frightening. So, soon we were lead in groups into the Thorpe Belle already feeling a bit let down.The entrance to the boat had the usual CCTV camera and some words written in red paint, but nothing frightening about going into the attraction. We were sent to line up against a wall where we were briefed about what to do and what not to do, before walking into a dark room to have our photo taken with a figure of Billy. In an attempt to make us jump, somebody then burst through the doorway next to us and lead us into the first room. There were many screens showing CCTV footage with night vision, which was a nice touch to set the scene. The actress shouted a few things in our faces before telling us to head off into the horror maze.

The first scene was the bathroom. As we saw in the photo, it is very well themed. It uses sensory effects very well with subtle urine smells and a slow-pulsing strobe light. I saw a foot on the floor where the man cutting his leg off was meant to be, but he was not there. Instead, a woman dressed normally in a pink dress said "boo" and we moved on. After that was the electrified room. It was basically a pathway with high metal fences and a gate in the middle. The gate had a sign warning us of the electric shock, which put off the people at the front of our group because they thought we were going the wrong way. I went ahead and kicked the gate open so the group went the right way. Just for fun, I touched the fence and it turned out the 'electric shock' was a vibration. We were only two scenes in and already it was disappointing.After that was the freezer, another let down. There was an actor in there (I think), but he was pretending to be dead so we just walked past him. Then a strange room where somebody lying on a table with their intestines showing got up and fell asleep again. Moving on, we entered a room with the biggest scares. It was not that scary, but two actresses grabbing your ankles and shouting at you does make you jump a bit. They were chained to a trap, yet they were shouting things like: "Let's take this one!" and grabbed people's legs. I think it should have been the people doing the killings being the scary ones rather than the people being killed.In the final scene we walked past a cage with the spinning 'Carousel'-gun-trap-thing in it. It was wildly spinning around, which was a good effect, and at one point it stopped and fired air at somebody. There were two actresses in here, who did the standard "boo" stuff. Some member of the group I went in called one of them fat and she completely broke character. She stopped and said: "Now, that is not appropriate, is it?" She could have at least tried!

After that I saw the photo booth ahead and realised it was the end. It was very anti-climatic. Throughout the maze there was not a single clever effect or scare moment. Not worth queueing too much for.

[rollerross11]

I went in the attraction again yesterday and from being in it 3 times perviously I didn't expect anything different but the actors where so much better this time, we had 3 pig people and I was picked on as I was in the back. They even said to me at the beginning that I wouldn't make it through, Lol. I have honestly changed my mind on the attraction, way better than earlier.