Guest Review: Camp Blood, Carrolton, GA 2013

Camp blood in Carrolton, Georgia was one of the best experiences I've had. This was my first redneck themed haunt, and I have to say, they did a horrifyingly good job. To start off, when we went to play some carnival games then got our palms read by a fortune teller who was sweet, and gave a lot of advice. Her little shack was creatively decorated, and gave a creepy atmosphere. I thought that they were smart for even considering in decorating her little shack also instead of just focused on their haunts. From there, we head over to the hay ride first where we got to shoot zombies with paint balls. This was an interesting experience for me because I have never used a paint ball gun nor shoot people, and better yet was told that I can shoot the zombies where ever I wanted to (yes..ladies, you know what I mean). From there we relaxed, got some hot chocolate, allowed ourselves to calm down, then head over to the main haunt. One thing that I have to throw out there is that, their main haunt gave me more panic attacks than Netherworld did. The whole "redneck" aspect was still evident in their construction, and their theme was obvious. They did an awesome job! Another thing that I want to comment on, is that every room did not have a scare which is something that I look at in every haunt. I don't care for haunts that have a consistent scare in every single room because then it makes the customers expect it, and if they're expecting it, it doesn't work. Every haunt should have a room in between to allow customers get a little confused. So I guess the real question is "is it worth the money?" It depends honestly. If you're expecting it to be just as great as netherworld, then no, but if you're open minded and want to experience something completely new then yes!! I sure enjoyed it.

D.Z.M.

Guest Review: Paranoia, Roswell, GA 2013

My reviews do not always rely on the scare factor but also the thicket price.  Do you get Bang for your Buck?

Back for their third year is Paranoia Haunted House in Roswell, Georgia.  Ticket price is $25 for two haunts:  The Underground and the Body Farm.  Your big one is The Underground.  Your opening is off to a great start as you are loaded onto a subway car that moves.  Yes, you will be transported about 50 yards if i had to guess. The area is crumbling and you must walk from there into the station.

 

The clerk makes everyone hold out their hand as she places a wet sponge on it.  I quickly held it under blacklight to see if it would glow but it did not so I have no idea why she does this.  There are some rooms that are decorated great, then some just not that well at all.  The finale, there is not one, three years in a row and still no true finale.  One thing Paranoia has done better is that there are a lot less long dark hallways, that i stand and applaud.  You finally got it.

 

The Body Farm is very dark lighting wise.  There is not a lot to see in here and is very quick.  You cannot see the actors that well to see what mask or makeup they have on or the costumes they may be wearing.  There is one room with three girls you do see that keep screaming to get out.  Take their advice because after them there wasn't much to see and yet again not even a sense of a finale.

 

Their advertising shows a guys face being tortured, there isn't anything close to this being represented, their actors also are very easy to come out of character.  The Underground started out with great theming and does seem to have slightly better actors than the Body Farm but is it worth $50 on a date night.  Sorry guys, third time is not the charm for that price- Paranoia gets a C.  This is being generous because i did like the subway car or this may have been a little lower.

 

 Keep Haunting- "Rock"

Guest Review: Bloodwood Trail, Rome, GA 2013

If you have not read a haunt review of mine before, I base my score on two things- Level of scare and price, do you get Bang for your Buck?

Can a haunt in the middle of no where, far off the highway be a success?  If you build a haunt without high price animatronics, would people come?  In today's computer age of you cannot buy tickets online, should you go?

Friday night I was on my way to a different haunt.  I was recommended by people on Main Street in Rome, Georgia to check out Bloodwood Trail instead.  This was not an easy find.  The signs are small and hand painted with a lot of wooden arrows but you do arrive in an open field to park.  There was a lot of cars out here tonight.  Warning: if you go, bring cash.  You can use plastic for the food vendor or to get a t-shirt but it is cash only right at the entrance to the trail.

Ticket price is $13 or $18 for VIP express lane.  This is a 35 minute walk. This is an outdoor trail.

You cannot even get a hint of what is to come as you stand at the entrance, a big clown mouth. Immediately they unsettle you because to enter into the clown mouth you have to get on your hands and knees. The actors are pretty well timed.  Their is not a lot of screaming, "Get Out" over and over again that bigger haunts use.

You will walk through many scenes on this trail including having to walk through an abandoned camper, not a fake, a real camper.  Their is a holding zone in the middle of this walk.  Females in the group are armed with pool noodles cut in half.  Your mission: to protect the men and fight your way out as zombies come at you through the next phase.

This is a classic haunt that I would definitely attend again.  It may not have scared me but I applaud any haunt that  can entertain me and well worth the price of admission.  If you are in Rome, Georgia this stop is a must.  I give Bloodwood Trail a 'B' and my favorite haunt thus far this year.

   Happy Haunting- "Rock"

Guest Review: Containment, Atlanta, GA 2013

As the story goes...

An assortment of demonic artifacts collected by the mysterious Frightmares Inc., was to be safely transported by train through Atlanta as part of a convoy of secured cargo containers.  The train derailed, causing the containers to crash onto the Atlantic Station property, followed by a series of unexplained incidents, disturbing behavior and mysterious disappearances.  

 

This was from the Containment website.

 

As always I base my reviews not only on the scare factor but also for value.  Do you get bang for your buck?  Ticket price is $25 per person.  They do not have a separate parking area so you will be required to pay to park.  I did attend on media night and went through twice.  

 

I had been curious on this one for a month with a question in my head on how to create a haunt using shipping containers.  You learn right away that you are not going through actual shipping containers. This haunt has a lot of animatronics, a lot.  Three are great, great placement and great timing.

 

Through this haunt you will be going in and out of buildings, there is stuff to see outside as well to keep victims entertained.  Your first room sets the scene up well for the theme of this haunt, plenty of artifacts to see then it goes a little all over the place.  The second room was very plain with just empty picture frames and no actor.  This trend repeats through this haunt, either filled with stuff to see or not really anything to see.  You will walk through a long padded room, I guess the guy in there had already escaped- not there on both trips.  Some rooms have a lot of space with not much to see and an actor that cannot carry a room.  There are rooms however that do work very well.  The finale is good with an animatronic that really rocked. Containment has potential, this is their first year.  I, and others did speak to some of the execs there and have invited us back to see how some changes were implemented.

 

This trip down the tracks gone horribly wrong gets a solid C.

 

"Rock"

Guest Thoughts: Camp Blood, Paranoia, and Containment

I went to Camp Blood last night.  I enjoyed the Maze of Misery, I got the skull on the table but didn't find the exit.  The zombie paintball I thought was a huge disappointment.  The haunt- I have mixed thoughts.  This was my first time out there.  I could see a few years ago that this haunt may have been amazing but now showing age. 

 

Went through Containment again Saturday night and it sucked worse than the first time I went through it.  Just went through Paranoia with ****** tonight and she thought I was generous with rating them a C-, it was terrible.

 

From guest reviewer: Rock

 

So, I consider this proof that we will post your reviews even when we disagree.  We both love Camp Blood and I am addicted to the Maze of Misery.  I just know that I can solve this money back maze within the five minute time limit.  I felt as though I got really close to success when I tried, but just didn't make it out (even though I had a plan).  Sure, we would have loved for the zombie shoot to be longer, but it was our first one and we are not the best judges of that.  The age of the haunt makes sense when you consider their storyline.  Most of it really should be weathered, though I can see where there is always room for improvement in every haunt.

 

We didn't get to go to Containment and only one of us got to Paranoia this year.  We have to take your word for it on Containment, but as for Paranoia it felt fairly familiar.  We would have loved to have seen more changes, though we also understand their limitations.  We still have fun when we go, so as long as we are jumping, screaming, or laughing we seem to be happy (especially when we are tired and barely finding time to go at all).

Workin' and Reviewin'

     To say that it is hard to work in a haunt, have regular jobs, and still review is putting it lightly.  We have really enjoyed our season working in a fundraiser haunt for a local nonprofit, however it severely cut down our time for reviewing (or even getting to the laptop where we can cut and paste reviews from guests into posts).  It may be late, but they are coming....somehow.  Thanks for sticking with us for this.  It has been a great haunt season and we are already helping to plan for the next season.

Missing In Action

Hi everyone!  We have been MIA since last season and we are sorry.  It has been crazy busy in other areas of our lives, so getting entries posted has been difficult.  We are also helping out with a charity/fundraiser haunt this year and won't be able to get to nearly as many haunts as we have in the past.  Since we are going to be unable to write as many reviews as we normally would we want your reviews more than ever.  Please connect with us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/haunt.review
If you send us a message through there that includes a review we will get it posted onto the blog as soon as we are able.

Have fun!!