Attraction Review - Tulley's Shocktober Fest


I told myself I wouldn't revisit Tulley's Shocktober Fest this year but one thing lead to another and boom I found myself collecting press tickets to review the damn thing once more. It's a sickness really, an addiction! Shocktober Fest literally oozes Halloween vibes. The minute you drive through the flaming gates and find yourself under a giant smoking pumpkin headed scarecrow you know shit is going to be good.







The fab thing I've loved about visiting Shocktober Fest for four years in a row it's been being able to watch it grow as an event. Little bits of infrastructure popping up here and there and the increase in quality makes it worth coming back year after year on its own! That and it's a surefire win if you're looking for pure terrifying Halloween goodness to boot.





So whilst it was a lot of the same (excellent) stuff, there's always a little of something extra to make it worth the visit. This year's new maze Coven of 13 Witches sounded like it'd been designed for me so we headed there first.


Coven of 13****
Almost a maze of two parts. The first half you find yourself in a swamp, an innovative use of squeeze cushions and lasers made it feel like you really were struggling through a bog surrounded by drowning damned souls. The visuals really were so much fun to wander through, I was appreciative that it really went on for as long as it possibly could so we could really drink it all in.

The second half sees us wander into the witches lair. You get the sense that something evil lurks within however having recently seen The Witch and enjoyed some mazes that took a darker path when exploring similar themes I felt like this definitely didn't go as evil as it could have. That is until the final room - that felt like my soul had been damned to hell the minute I laid eyes upon what lay within and I loved it. Excellent finale, chilling without being predictable or cliched.


Hell-elements - The Ritual**
I feel like after doing this so many times the novelty has really worn off. That said, I do still really enjoy the use of the different elements and temperatures. Unfortunately there seemed to be a little too much light pouring in from certain areas and casting shadows, meaning I could see the actors about to scare me so the element of surprise was completely ruined. Also, the big fire finale didn't work for us. Luckily we'd seen it before so could just use our imaginations but I can't help but feeling that if this were my first time through this maze I'd be left wondering what the point of it all was.

PanDEMONium's 3D Carnival***
As I've said before on this blog, clown's don't scare me so for me to enjoy a creepy carnival type attraction you're really going to have to do something different. Whereas on previous visits this maze had been one of my least favourites the actors on our run through really made this enjoyable. OK, not totally terrifying but really entertaining and embodying their characters, selecting a victim and carrying on the scares until the very last opportunity. That and the 3D paint is trippy as shit.


The Colony**
OK, I get the premise of this and I kind of love it. Kind of Mad Max meets The Walking Dead. Thing is, the thing is so damn long that there's a ton of dead space and whilst some of the sets are interesting (BEES!) there's also a lot of repetition, you kind of forget you're even in a horror maze. I just feel like it always slightly falls short and whilst I do enjoy the ending I find that it jars with the rest of the theme too much for me to really appreciate it.




The Chop Shop Garage****
Last year for me The Chop Shop was the one to beat.We got absolutely hounded by chainsaws left right and centre and the layout was giving me Asylum vibes and everything about it was just perfect from beginning to end. This year whilst the theming is still on point the storyline felt lost (no yelling of 'FRESH MEAT' as we wandered through the garage) and I was a little underwhelmed that there was no a hint of an ominous chainsaw in the distance. Wandering around stark white blood spattered walls not being chased by a band of chainsaw wielding maniacs just isn't the same!

The Cellar****
I've loved this maze every year and this was no exception. Whilst there was no hint of the awesome Esmarelda at this year's event, wandering through her rank dusty house still had the creep factor down to a tee. The scares don't come hard and fast but the atmosphere is incredibly dank and gloomy and the actors' movements are incredibly unsettling. You literally end up bracing yourself and wincing around every corner as you never know what disturbing weirdness awaits you.



Horrorwood Haunted Hayride****
So I'm of the opinion that this one has grown progressively less scary every year I've visited. Last year the whole thing just felt kind of in limbo and didn't really know what to identify as. This year, with giant 10ft letters spelling out HORRORWOOD it was clear what direction we were heading down. The infamous tractor trailer ride drags you through weird and wonderful film sets of the horror variety. Whilst this year was tons better in execution than last year, I still can't help but feel a lot of opportunities for creepy atmospheric scares are missed, and sadly there wasn't a hint of the amazingly horrifying Woman in Black at the gallows scene. It seems a shame that what was once the most terrifying attraction has become a tongue in cheek version of itself, despite being an otherwise fun experience!










Overall,  whilst the horror mazes aren't as scary as maybe they once were, the event grows in size and increases in quality year in year out. If you're looking for good old fashioned autumnal Halloweeny spooky goodness with some kitschy spooky fun on top check out Tulleys Shocktober!

Talk later xoxo,

















1 comments

  1. Nice post, thanks for your review, it's useful to me!

    ReplyDelete