Spring 2012 Fear Factory Review

Fear Factory Haunted House Review:

We were invited out to visit the Fear Factory Haunted House at their Media Event before the opening for their Spring season. I had been to the haunt a few times during the previous Halloween season so I was familiar with what to expect. My wife on the other hand had not gone yet so this was the first exposure she had to the old cement factory turned haunted attraction. Needless to say she was pretty nervous for what was to come.

Walking through the entrance has changed a bit from last season. Now they have added some entertainment to the venue to help entertain those who have to wait in line. They had LED Hula Hoop dancers and dancing zombies as well as some creeps to help keep the crowd busy. I have been told that the dancers were extremely short handed due to out of town auditions so this aspect should improve quite a bit when they are at full strength. Also, the hula hoop girls were supposed to be fire eaters/jugglers but Salt Lake City has once again successfully dashed the hopes of the Fear Factory management and have yet to issue a permit for the fire entertainment. Bummer.

One more thing I noticed as I was walking through the line to get in was a sign that got me really excited. Zombie Lazer Apocalypse 2012. That is all.

The first thing I noticed about the Spring opening of the Fear Factory was how different everything was. They did a great job of changing some things up to give a different feel to the haunt. There was a lot added to the middle section of the haunt where the maze is located. The section is at least 10 minutes longer than before and added a lot of twists and turns and opportunities for actors to surprise you. I was a little bummed to not see my favorite horror character absent from one of the best sections of the haunt, a Mr.  Freddy Krueger, but I am sure that was just a scheduling issue as they utilized him perfectly last year.

Overall the haunt began well and got better as it climbed and then peaked in the middle section. I would like to see the final section improve a little as it lost momentum from the buildup of the middle section, but I have it on good authority that the end section will be ramped up in time for the Fall season. Fear Factory provides an unconventional scare as the environment provides an eerie industrial fear that no other haunt can capture with such a unique location. This was and still is one of my personal favorites. And any haunt that can scare my wife voiceless gets a few bonus points!

Creativity: 8.5/10

Artistry: 9/10

Acting: 8.5/10

Realism: 8/10

Price Value: 8/10

Fear Factor: 9/10

Management: 10/10

Overall Rating: 8.7/10

Haunting Utah Interviews Fear Factory

Fear Factory: An Industrial Grade Fear

Fear Factory Review

Creativity: 9/10

The Fear Factory is completely based upon creativity. They found a derelict location with some history to it, and completely built a haunt from an old cement factory. There are sections of the haunt that I have never seen any other haunt be able to creat. It is the only haunted house I have seen be able to successfully produce the fear of heights.

Artistry: 9/10

Everything about the Fear Factory includes artistry. From the images of the haunt in their promotions to the entrance, the entire exterior and the great effects and environments inside the haunt itself are artistically put together. The designers of the Fear Factory have successfully converted an old derelict cement factory and revitalized it with a masterful composition of terror and imagination.

Acting: 7/10

The only issue the Fear Factory has with their actors, is the lack thereof. Due to their late start, they were not able to recruit as many actors as the other haunts were able to and are continuing their search into finding more quality actors for their attraction. While walking through the haunt you notice many great sections of haunt where someone could be hiding amongst the horrifying environment only to have your suspense dissipated as you walk by and no one is there to attempt throwing you into cardiac arrest. The actors that are there are great, especially the actor playing the Freddy Krueger character. He has chosen the perfect spot for his terror and many patrons wish he had been somewhere else as he approaches them.

Realism: 9/10

Much of the haunt is based upon reality. You will not find a whole lot of fake or cartoony terror in this haunted house. They use the environment to its full potential as you walk up steep staircases, through crumbled walls, across vertigo inducing catwalks and across bridges spanning murky waters with mysterious inhabitants.

Price Value: 8/10

The Fear Factory will cost you $25 or even $35 if you want to jump the line and use the VIP entrance. The cost is worth it because you quickly find out that they found a great way to spend $4 million and the steep price of $25 isn’t much as you walk through the haunt. But you cannot win any awards for best value when your haunt is the most expensive one in town.

Fear Factor: 8/10

If the Factory had 20% more actors, they would easily jump to 9 out of 10, but with the weakness in numbers they garner an 8. Everyone will feel the terror at least once in the factory. Whether dolls, vampires, zombies, heights or Hollywood Horror icons creep you out, they have a bit of it all for you.

Management: 9/10

The management has been extremely frustrated this year due to the limitations Salt Lake City has imposed upon them. The stringent safety precautions caused an extremely late debut into the Utah Haunting scene, but it is better late than never. The management has done a great job making a good haunt and they have been great to work with. I have never seen a haunted house with the safety precautions that Fear Factory has in place. Because the management of the factory has been so strong, I am very excited to see what they are able to do for not only the rest of the year while they remain open, but next year and each following.

Overall Rating: 9/10

The Fear Factory is a great haunted attraction. If you have not been to a haunted house this year, or have been to every one except the factory, you need to check it out. Experience something new and exciting when you walk where many have been injured or even perished in terrible factory accidents. Embrace your deepest fear as you climb the tower, squeeze through tight hallways, navigate mazes, conquer darkness, escape evil, and maneuver shaky catwalks. The Fear Factory is a one of a kind haunt in an extremely competitive area and they are up to the challenge.

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Strangling Bros Haunted Circus Review

Strangling Bros Haunted Circus

Creativity: 9/10

The Haunted Circus has been the most creative haunt I have seen in a long time. The setup was very surprising, the tent is the queue for the line and they do a great job of entertaining while you are waiting. They have set up a carnival to complete the circus theme and add extra value for the customers. The real haunt is in the maze of trailers they put together. Each one is a different theme and there are some rooms that were so unique I was shocked at the creativity and effort put into them.

Artistry: 8/10

Many of the rooms were very artistic and the creative. Visually there were a lot of great features throughout the entire haunt.

Acting: 8.5/10

The actors had great timing with the interaction of the environment. Many rooms were surprising and confusing and that added to the ability of the actors to capture the horror needed to provide a great haunting experience.

Realism: 7/10

Although the haunt was very good as far as creativity and imagination, the realism was somewhat lacking. There weren’t very many situations where you feel you are in a real situation. There are moments you leave one trailer and move on to the next and are outdoors, at these moments you experience more realism than at any other section.

Price Value: 8/10

The basic haunt is $20, which is about standard these days for haunts. It is a decent length, around a half hour at your own pace. You never feel like you waste your money at any part of the night. The entire carnival experience is $35 and that allows you to go through the haunt, play the games and ride the rides they have. If you have smaller children with you this is probably more worth it, but for the group we went with, we didn’t find the value was worth the price.

Fear Factor: 8/10

The Haunted Circus has moments of excellence when it comes to the fear factor. The females in our group were terrified and literally dancing around with the faces covered to get away from some of the actors. There are other parts that are definitely tamer but have a lot of potential to be great.

Management: 7/10

The owners of the Haunted Circus have plenty of industry experience. One is a former co-owner of the Haunted Forest, and the other owns a special effects type company that does a lot of digital work for movies and other projects. They are great people, but a bit forgetful. We have tried to contact them many times about their haunt, and received little to no contact.

Overall Rating: 8/10

This is the first year of the Strangling Bros Haunted Circus and so far it impresses. I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. It is not easy to surprise me with something I have never seen in a Utah haunt before, but they succeeded. There are rooms that stick out in my head more than any other haunt. There is room to improve, but so far we give them 8 out of 10 as a solid haunt we think will be around for years to come.

Castle of Chaos Review

Haunted House: Castle of Chaos (Redwood Rd Location – formerly Nightmare Mansion)

Fear Factor: 8/10

There are parts of this haunt where you are not allowed to go if you have pacemakers, metal plates or other surgical enhancements in your body. This creates a feeling of uneasy concern that elevates the fear factor of the haunt. They have 4 levels of fear inside the haunted house, but didn’t identify them in a great way. You could go from level 1 to 3 and not even notice you had done so. The women we were with had sore throats by the end of the haunt from screaming so much. It is scary enough to be fun, but not too much to take the young ones.

Acting: 7/10

The actors never broke character and most were believable. Some were over the top and odd so it didn’t give you the terrifying feeling you should inside a haunt. There were young children in the haunt that did an excellent job with their roles. Any time you see a child with a quality role in a haunted house it sends chills down your spine.

Creativity: 6/10

The artwork inside the haunt was great. It was very creative and excellent color combinations. The haunt itself didn’t bring anything new to the table and felt traditional the entire way through.

Artistry: 8/10

It was very artistic the entire time. I found myself staring at the artwork on the walls and in the décor more than anything else. The use of low level lighting instead of darkness helped to support the artistry of the haunt.

Realism: 7/10

You always know you are in a haunted house at this Castle of Chaos. It is fun and entertaining, but you never quite get that feeling that what you are experiencing is real.

Wait Time: 9/10

This haunt does a great job in mitigating crowding throughout the entire haunt. The worst thing a haunted can do is shove as many people in as fast as possible. Castle of Chaos never had an issue with that. There are many choke points they use to split people up so you are not bumping into other groups. We went through the whole haunt at our own pace and never ran into another group or had one run into us, even though we got stuck in some mazes for a little bit.

Price Value: 9/10

At most you pay $18 to do the haunted house. But there is also a special where you can pay $25 to get in all three locations of the Castle of Chaos. This is the best deal I have seen in town, 3 for $25. Even two at that price would be great. The haunted house is of good enough quality that paying full price of $18 is not a hard pill to swallow.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Overall the Castle of Chaos on Redwood Rd (formerly Nightmare Mansion) is a good quality haunt. It may not be first on your list, but it shouldn’t be missed either. It is fun and a great value. It isn’t a typical dark haunted house but instead tries to get you with great artistry and environment. The management of the haunted house is doing a great job in taking feedback and making it into a reality. This young haunt will evolve into a powerhouse of peril in the future. I recommend hitting this haunt due to it’s central location, great staff and excellent artwork.