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Monday, April 26, 2010

Zombieland and Netherworld

Those who are truly into the horror genre and enjoy haunted houses and other haunt themed attractions have certainly heard of the movie Zombieland and the haunted house complex known as Netherworld.  Locals to the Atlanta, Georgia area can easily put these two things together and find an enjoyable experience.  I remember seeing Zombieland in the theater and almost jumping out of my seat when I saw places that I knew, but the best part was recognizing our own local legend within the facade of a haunted house within the movie. 

Netherworld Haunted House was used as the set for the interior of the haunted house that was filmed for Zombieland.  There is a section where a set of what appear to be long jaws come from the side and try to either trap or bite the person walking by.  Boy am I familiar with that!  One year the person operating them managed to get me trapped within the jaws to the point where I had to stand there and call ahead for my group to wait for me since I was stuck.  Seeing that in the movie was incredible.

Netherworld is made up of two haunted attractions each year.  The themes vary yearly, usually, but are always remarkably well thought out and pervasive.  Every direction that you look is layer in with details that make the average haunt attendee forget that they are inside of an attraction rather than a location where the scares have the true threat of danger attached.  Most people know that "if you don't touch the monsters, they won't touch you,"  but that's not always the same when it comes to props.  You are almost guaranteed to get wet, crawl on the ground, have items dropped on you, be surprised by scented bursts of air, and be forced through places where you have no choice but to rub up against the set pieces when you are at Netherworld.  These experiences are a small piece of what makes this haunt so appealing.

The staff at Netherworld, in Norcross, are amazing!  The artists and actors have skills that they have worked carefully to turn into a true craft over time.  There are the ones that you see, in the parking lot before the haunt and within the haunt itself, and there are those that you will never see who work tirelessly to give you the experience of a lifetime.  Many of the people that you see throughout the haunt didn't "quit their day job" to do this activity, but rather do this in addition to their day job.  The hours can be lengthy, but all of the ones that we have spoken to find their jobs highly enjoyable and rewarding.

To sum it up:  See Zombieland if you haven't, and look for the haunted house scene.  Go to Netherworld, if you think you can handle it, and experience the best haunted attraction in the state of Georgia (and possibly in the entire United States).  You'll either be glad that you did, or scared so badly that you regret it...either one's definitely a worthy response.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Where Have We Been?

Over the past 2-3 years we have stayed focused in the southeastern US.  We've visited many haunted houses and trails in the metro Atlanta area, since that is local for us.  A local favorite, as well as a nationally ranked favorite, is Netherworld Haunted House.  It sets a standard that is hard for others to live up to!  When we have had the opportunity to travel to other areas for haunted attractions we have gone to Chattanooga, Tennessee and the surrounding areas as well as Charlotte, North Carolina and the suburbs surrounding it.  As we develope this blog out goal is to provide you with the specific names of haunted attractions, reviews of those attractions, photographs, and video reviews when possible.  Even though our reviews are what we see as accurate at the time that we were at the location, please don't mistake us for saying that places can't change over time.  Whenever we are able to we will record the month and year that we were at the haunted attraction so that you have a reference point.  We would never suggest that you base your attendance to an event based on a review that is more than a few years old.  Actors, props, and plans change!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Starting the Reviews

In 2009 we started videotaping reviews of the haunted attractions we attend.  Our hope is that we can help others to discover new haunts, analyze their own haunts, and help us to continue finding attractions to review.  Choosing to blog has been a new decision, and may take some time to organize.  We will be posting written reviews, photographs, and videos from our experiences at haunted attractions.  Though we only started videotaping reviews after attending attractions in 2009 we have been attending haunts for several years.