Heading just over 50 minutes away from home to a little place in the middle of nowhere that provides some trauma through the form of scare mazes… of course, we’re speaking about Dr Frights. Returning after 3 years away we were tense given how different the event had become since. This is a constant experience with the first half being 4 mazes, halfway point then the final 3 mazes. Let’s have a chat about all that’s on offer!
Thank you so much to Dr Fright’s team for hosting the evening & gifting us tickets. Of course, all opinions are our own. Also, apologies for the lack of photos throughout this blog
Death Metal Manor – 4/5:
Beginning the trail of mazes into quite frankly one of the jumpiest mazes we’ve probably done this season. The drop-down windows are ripe in here and that’s one scare tactic that truly petrifies me every single time without fail. It’s loud, unusual and intense alone due to the music. The actors just pop out of places you’d least anticipate. It was a respectable duration not too short nor too long.
Rave from the Grave – 2/5:
This is probably one of the weaker mazes of the evening but that could be a blessing after the initial fierce start. The lighting is so beautifully done to produce some disorienting scares you’ll get. It’s more lighthearted than the rest. We had one actor have a little boogie with a knife quite the experience in all honesty. I found the intense lighting a little too much in this maze it felt a bit uncomfortable on the eyes. But the more easy-going take on a maze was the fun break.
El Sangriento – 3.5/5
The facade for this maze is really well themed. It’s a little trail to the pub. Really well themed and a few respectable scares!
The Grind House – 3/5
Human meat pie is often a theme I truly dread as I usually get bullied! Really well-themed and revolting sets throughout. The actors were on it in this maze and some of the jumps came from very surprising places. The combination of indoor to outdoor sections is really fun too. Especially with the finale being a chainsaw amongst the hay ales easy to jump scare spots. Yet one of the most confusing moments of hearing a bit of Dolly Parton whilst a chainsaw is hurling towards you… quite the bizarre experience.
Halfway Point:
After 4 mazes this is precisely what you want to see is a halfway point. You can grab a drink or snack. There are plenty of photo opportunities and there were a couple of roaming actors at this point too.
Summer Camp Massacre – 5/5
Starting again for part 2 and once I spotted the Jason mask in the door on the facade it was evident this is going to be a horrendous maze. I was right. This is by far the standout of the evening for everything from scares, props, and intensity. Instantly Ghost Face jumps scares through the drop-down windows. The point of this maze which nearly had me tapping out was when Freddie Crougar popped out of a drop-down window anyone who knows me that’s one of my all-time scariest characters always has been. The mirror maze section with the ghost face dummies was absolutely horrid. There was so much wrong but right about this maze and I truly believe I’ll be having nightmares for weeks. Hats off to everyone who made this maze so horrendous.
Play Me or Die – 3/5
I never quite spotted the point of crossing over mazes into this one. Nonetheless, it was what you’d anticipate from a hillbilly theme and it did feel like an extension of the last maze. It is definitely quite short in comparison but it still had a few decent jumps too.
Killer Clowns Greatest Hits – 3.5/5
The finale of the evening and one which was really good & jumpy too. Clowns are often hit or miss in terms of what you get but this was one of the better of this essence. The music being so upbeat dancy and nostalgic kept the atmosphere light which was amusing given there were some real harsh scares. There are a lot of clowns holding you put in this maze too. The finale was revolting using a tactic that never fails to get me which is dummies to actors. One of the wow scare moments was definitely the one from above in here! Just didn’t see it coming! A truly excellent finish to the evening and a set of tremendous mazes.
Overall:
The shift in how the event operates from our last visit is brilliant. It works so much better. Of course, there’s a prolonged queue to get going but that’s only due to you being batched within your group size. I would rather have that queue and go through in our party than one big long line throughout. The mazes truly never fail to astound me and the actors were INSANE. The majority of the scares throughout were from the least anticipated areas & were drastic. We barely had any scares that were mid. The set pieces and the music throughout always make the event too. It’s so exceptionally thorough in all the storytelling through physical sets and the themes are more often than not distinctive and very a stray from your ordinary occurrences. This is truly one of the best events there is in the UK. It feels so distinguishable from anywhere else & we love that!
——
Thank you again to the team for having us & thank you to you guys for supporting us this Halloween!
