7 Horror IPs That'd Make Great Horror Mazes

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With THORPE PARK Resort finally announcing The Walking Dead for Fright Nights this year I've finally ticked over into full-blown Halloween mode. I've changed my Twitter header, switched over my phone background and bought a butt load of autumny scented candles to keep the sweet, sweet Halloween vibes flowing. And with the announcement of such a major IP for a UK Halloween event it got me thinking about all the possibilities that even Universal haven't got their mitts on yet. The horror genre is soooo rich with content ideas and different sub-genres that this list could just go on and on, but I've picked my favs to chat about in the meantime.

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For me, horror mazes are as much about the aesthetic and mise-en-scene as they are about the actual scares, as there's no horror movie set that hasn't already been brought to life that I'd love to see more than The Babadook. Much of the overwhelming sense of dread and despair from the film comes from the German Expressionist-inspired set design. The almost Burtonesque washed out colour palette, black corners and crooked angles. It'd make for a fun and creepy set to walk through without any actors at all!

Then add to that The Babadook itself - imagine that slithering down a hallway towards you! It'd be absolutely disgusting!

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There were strong rumours circulating this year that Universal was going to debut a Stranger Things attraction for Halloween Horror Nights this year. Considering the event starts in a few weeks I think it's safe to say that this isn't something we'll get to enjoy this year. But it's definitely something that lends itself well to the horror maze setup - imagine entering a worn-out old Indiana house, wandering past the flickering Christmas lights lighting up the alphabet and being forced to crawl through the ooze into the Upside Down.

There's so much potential for a great combination of visceral gross-out scares with the textures of the upside down, jump scares with the general tension of it all and great fan-service shout outs to the show. Somebody get on this immediately.

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The Pale Man is easily the most terrifying monster of all time, so weird to me that a Pans Labyrinth attraction has never happened. Again, such a rich library of sets, both fantasy and reality, to work from. The real-life horror of guerilla warfare vs. the macabre horror of a child's fantasy. The costumes would be unbelievable and I NEED a final chase out scene in that dining room.

Plus, it's literally called a labyrinth - it's basically written in the stars that this needs to happen.

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Not all horror mazes have to be pure blood and guts all the time. I think I'd actually die of a heart attack thinking of all the ridiculous jump scares a Gremlins attraction could pull off. It'd obviously be set post mogwai-rule-breaking and just imagining the chaos of it all whilst writing this is putting a huge grin on my face. You'd essentially wander your way through Billy's house (and maybe the house next door) as they're being terrorised by gremlins. You'd get absolutely bombarded with cupboard doors flying open, gremlins popping out from every angle and it'd all finish off with an electric stair-chair malfunctioning and 'flying' out of the window. Oh god that'd make me so damn happy...

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Bringing things back to a hard R rating - Scream Queens is the perfect example of an IP that is perfect for the silliness/terror balance that many of us enjoy from a horror attraction. The kitschy millenialness of it all as conveyed by the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house you wander through as a modern day soundtrack blares through your ears. You'd see the Chanels horribly mutilated one-by-one, jump out of your skin as the various bodies hidden around the house make themselves known and take on a final fright as you come face to face with the Red Devil himself - not before he trips and falls and cuts his own arms off of course!

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I know Rob Zombie has tried his hand at horror mazes before now, but I'd love to see a 31 maze brought to life. Whoever created Sub Species: The End Games at Alton Towers has definitely seen this movie - the premise is essentially survive the night as you're terrorised by killer clowns and machete wielding maniacs whilst rich people bet on who will survive. So yh, essentially it's the plot of every horror maze at your local scream park you've ever done - but this time with that special Rob Zombie flare that just gives it that extra level of nastiness. Plus, because of the style it could definitely be done justice on a super low budget.

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How dare the scare attraction industry not yet have paid homage to one of the greatest horror movie franchises of all time? Sure, Ghost Face has made appearances in horror attractions from time to time, but it's always so shoehorned in and cheap. It's offers the perfect premise for good old fashioned jump-out-and-scream style scares. I'm thinking Santa Rosa suburbs, making your way from house to house to try and evade the relentless Ghost Face. You'd come face to face with poor Casey as she hangs with her guts hanging out from a tree, wander through a house filled with smoke from the burning popcorn on the stove, through a parked TV vans as blood pours down the windshield and face a final showdown with Ghost Face as he chases you out wilding wielding a knife at you. It'd be perfect, I want it so much!

So yh, I get pretty excited about Halloween as you can tell! What horror IPs would you love to see brought to life?

Talk later xoxo,

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