It’s been 3 whole years since we last visited this scream park. For a fact, this isn’t the same place we left all those years ago. The growth really does shine and this event is ageing like fine wine.
We’ve loved working alongside the team at Twinlakes this season and we can’t thank them enough for inviting us to check out Xtreme Scream Park. As with any blog of this style, all views are our own.
Scare Mazes:
Circus vs Circursed – 3/5
I feel clown themes are not necessarily the scariest however if you put energy and enough time into a maze devoted to them they can be a real fun experience. This is precisely what Xtreme Scream has done. They’ve not attempted to be menacing but the thought behind the layout, scenes, animatronics & the characters themselves are powerfully done. By all means, not the longest of the bunch but definitely a real fun beginner for those who are new to this event. It certainly feels more scare zone than a maze and the batching of groups definitely needs to be spaced a little further apart. But as I said above this absolutely is the ideal beginner maze.
The Village – 5/5
Ever since 2019 this maze has lived rent-free in my mind and the thought of the finale gives me shivers. Safe to say this definitely will not change anytime soon. It’s effortlessly one of my favourite mazes to ever exist. There’s something so wrong about how lengthy this maze is, once you think it’s approaching the end you enter another building with another disgusting scene. Something this maze does beautifully is the mind games of dummies to actors and no matter where you are in the group you will be terrified. The scenes & how thorough they are yet with scares where you least expect them are traumatising. I’m not sure how the actors are so out of this world during each experience we’ve had in this maze over the years they never fail to petrify. But I cannot remember the crows looking THAT vile last time. The moment I dread is always the finale. The church, wow, it’s nightmare-fuelling. Again using the scare tactic of dummies to real characters is utter madness and the fact that I got grabbed by a crow genuinely practically finished it all for me (not even being dramatic). The preacher leaning above you and the lightning of this whole section. It’s so wrong yet so right. I pray we never see this maze ever leave the line-up because it is something so exceptional.
The Witches of Hard Luck Wood – 3.5/5
Hoodless but unique element of a glowstick to guide your way. I never knew a glow stick could provide quite that much light in all honesty, it’s impressive. The weaker for us out of the mazes but still real fun. Oddly enough, a witch theme isn’t something you find all that often but it was beautifully illustrated. This maze is quite heavy on the eerie ambience with the creepy sets especially the dolls & hanging dolls throughout. Quite honestly, that stuff really does give me the creeps. It definitely has lots of potential and maybe with it being the first year without hoods, it wasn’t as strong as it has the potential to be.
The Pie Factory – 5/5
Entering a building knowing these characters want you for meat for their pies… just sounds like the invitation you’d want right? A true classic maze amongst all scare mazes up & down the country & a very popular maze. It’s absolutely revolting with the odours let alone the characters’ costumes! Being at the back of this maze definitely gave me some of the heftiest jumps of the evening. The actors tend to come from the least expected places and the uneasy following and touching is something else. As ferocious as this maze was it had some real fun pops of humour too. It had an excellent balance of terrifying, uneasy and silly too. It’s another maze that just keeps going and delivering. The physical set pieces are just tremendously grim. It’s the traditional ending with a lovely chainsaw scare just popping the cherry on top for a truly remarkable scare maze.
Blutlurst- 5/5
The minute you set foot into this maze you can already sense why this is an award-winner! The initial pre-show if you will is revolting on so many levels. The actor’s performance is excellent, the fragrances and the effects all just give the immaculate footprint heading further into the maze. There are some really impressive moments throughout this maze including an extraordinarily unique scare of a woman having a C-section it’s quite the moment. It’s by all means not the jumpiest scare maze but it’s the most standout so far this season. The distinguishable characters, rooms you pass through and the smells just linger in your nose for ages! Vampires aren’t something you see all that much of yet this just worked. The different layers of storytelling are tremendous you go through so many distinct factors of this maze and end with the nightclub-like theme. Not to forget the separation aspect which alone just disorients you and even though within this section scares are far and few the darkness and sense of being alone is intense in itself. This is a maze that is visually spectacular & gets you lost in the instant.
Spores – 4.5/5
A brand new maze for this year and one of which is truly amazing. When we last visited this was Uncle Enso’s and this is absolutely THE replacement needed for this spot. It was sensational. There are so many peculiar effects and it really does have you on tender hooks. Some of the effects used just make you tense so hard not knowing where an actor is or what scare is coming next. There are a lot of moments of intense apprehension of what’s next or what’s real. It’s by far the best maze we’ve done that’s been located on this site. The characters just knew how to play with you especially the chainsaw dude. The finale definitely had a lot more to give than what was given. But it’s the first year I truly suspect that if it returns next season it’ll be stronger. However, it absolutely is so tremendously great.
Ash Hell Penitentiary – 4.5/5
Back to the Ash Hell Penitentiary. I’m convinced this is the longest maze in history & you are genuinely within a prison. I mean surely the design of this maze has you well & truly lost in the moment. You are crouching from cell to cell the inmates are quite honestly losing their minds. There were even weapons sparking off the metal bars. The lightning and fierce strobe elements have you fearing for each corner or each light flicker. The actors in here are exceedingly terrifying and touchy. The dark gloomy scenes and characters’ makeup/mask just all add to this wild prison experience. It’s another staple amongst the line-up and I do hope it has many more years to give.
Street Theatre:
Oh, the roaming team they are something else. A drunken Santa is what every scream park needs. This man was HILARIOUS. The team have such an unbelievable energy and some of the costumes you see are so impressive. They interact so beautifully with guests without being too in your face and without making anyone feel awkward. The access they have across the scream park is brilliant too just see the Santa roaming the platform above the Ash Hell queue line is amusing. But as quite introverted people this has to be our favourite street theatre team.
The Circus:
We managed to catch some of the shows in here but definitely wish we spent a little more time watching the performances. This is the kind of circus we enjoy where it’s free flow you enter and exit with such a wide variety of timings and shows to be watched. It’s a nice chilled environment and less formal than other circuses we’ve seen. The lady we caught with the hoops was fab too.
Merchandise:
I’ve always had a soft spot for Xtreme Screams merchandise. It’s always well priced and just looks fabulous!
Overall Event:
This is absolutely THE scream park to visit this October. No matter how many scary events we do or have done nowhere quite does it like Xtreme Scream Park. The mazes all thrive so beautifully by not relying solely on jump scares to be scary there are so many additional factors that go into them all to deliver such intense moments through smells, lightning, audio, theming, effects, animatronics and actors. It’s a whole package of horror. There’s so much to appreciate and take in about this event. Besides all that’s spoken of, there are a few select rides open for guests to enjoy too. Xtreme Scream Park very obviously has some of the most talented and imaginative team to create and evolve the mazes and events they have There’s some very special team behind it all. Of course, the main bit of improvement we’d love to see is just the batching improvements. You tend to catch the group in front or behind a little too quickly but the actors are still fabulous at giving the scares. But definitely love to see the batching improvement and limitless entry to the mazes too (they are TOO GOOD for solo runs of each). This is THE best scream park in the UK.
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Thank you for reading & make sure you book your visit HERE….
