Fear at Avon Valley Review 2025

We were kindly invited along to Fear at Avon Valley. Whilst we were given 2 free tickets we have full editorial control of what our review of the event says.

SLASHER REVIEW

Fear at Avon Valley in Keynsham returned for its 2025 season, marking our fifth consecutive visit. After feeling the event lost some sparkle last year, this year’s offering reignited the excitement with new shows, a new maze, and immersive experiences. The event remains divided into two themed areas — Stidham Village and The Republic of England — both featuring live shows, roaming characters, and a new opening performance, Beyond the Veil. Other shows include Titans of Terror, No Strings Attached, Curse of the Blood Moon, Cipher Sequence, and Sync Protocol, ending with a spectacular closing show, The Witching Hour. There are five scare mazes this year:

X4 kicked things off strong with its intense atmosphere and that infamous elevator moment that never gets old. The Core continued the intensity and had strong actor performances, with the added fear of the water. Vita Nova returned with new improvements to the queue line, as well as additional mannequins, and a chaotic new finale that heightens the disorientation this maze gives. Malefica was once again a dark, eerie, experience full of jump scares. The “Brave It Alone” solo version made it even more intense. Seeds of Evil, their new maze, was a standout. Inspired by 80s camp horror it featured striking sets, creative scares, and exceptional attention to detail.

Other attractions included The Exorcism (returning) and Lock N Load, a new upcharge interactive shooting experience that surprised us with its fun factor and Brave It Alone, a new £15 solo maze experience, offering a personal, high-intensity experience without physical contact, but good value based on our experience.

After last year’s dip, it honestly feels like Fear has found its magic again — and then some. 2025 was everything I love about this event: intense, creative, theatrical, and absolutely terrifying in all the right ways and delivered “a bloody good night.”

STALKER REVIEW

Fear at Avon Valley in Keynsham has always been a must visit scare event for us, especially as this is our 5th consecutive visit to the scare event. We’ve seen multiple changes over the years and it’s been great watching it rejuvenate itself yearly. Last year we said the event lacked the spark we had become used to experiencing at the event, but what would 2025 have in store for us.

Like with previous years, the event is split into two sections, Stidham Village and The Republic of England. Upon entering through the giant clown’s mouth we found ourselves in the ever familiar setting of Stidham village. To our surprise the area was roped off beyond the catering outlets and the big top bar area. A stage has been set up in the bar area and it’s where a new opening ceremony, Beyond The Veil, happens. This show perfectly encapsulates the essence of Fear bringing both the dark and chaotic energies the event is known for. It brings the roaming characters front and centre under the twisted eyes of Trixie and Chunk for a show that is worth watching. Once the ceremony finishes the attractions open. Throughout the night in both Stidham and Republic of England, various shows will happen. Stidham has its incredible fire show Titans of Terror, as well as two new shows in No Strings Attached and Curse of the Blood Moon whilst Republic of England has Cipher Sequence lazer show and Sync Protocol. At the end of the night their is also a spectacular closing ceremony in the big top bar area called The Witching Hour which is the perfect way to finish of a great night. As well as the shows there are plenty of roaming characters to interact with all night long and they really make each area their personal playgrounds. You will be terrorised!

Let’s talk mazes. This year the event has 5 scare mazes with X4, Vita Nova, Malefica and The Core returning and being joined by their new maze Seeds of Evil. We started our night in X4. We always enjoy this maze and after experiencing their Blackout version last year it was nice to see the lights back on so you can admire the details in the sets. Right from the get go X4 brought intensity and really built the tension. The now infamous elevator scene is always a  fun scene, especially watching people react when it happens. The rest of the maze delivered some great scares and they were pretty constant throughout. I didn’t notice any major changes to the attraction other than the lights being on, but it’s a maze that doesn’t really need to change as it just delivers great scares with a great storyline.

The Core was next for me and there is just something I love about this maze. The wader collection has changed ever so slightly along with the batching and this has definitely helped with the overall flow of getting into the maze. Inside has seen no changes but this mazes charm is its uniqueness to the UK. There is nothing quite like stepping foot into the water for the first. The actors were on top form and really used their space to their advantage providing some great, if slightly wet, scares.

Vita Nova was next and this maze has seen the most changes in the returning attractions with a whole new queue line. Inside the changes continue with new mannequins and a new last room. You will get split up but that is the best way for this maze. I had the perfect run. It was chaotic, disorientating and full of its usual charm and terror. Vita Nova is a different experience to the regular scare mazes we’ve come to know and it just works so well. The trippy tension, the confusing corridors and the in your face actors really work well together to bring a maze that is as much quirky as it is scary. The new last room is such a simple idea and one we’ve seen in many other places but it just works for that last whack of disorientation and the actors really use it to their advantage providing some great jump scares.

Malefica was next and I love this maze. It’s eerie, dark and full of scares from every angle. The maze has seen no changes for this year, but that doesn’t mean you know what’s coming. The scares are pretty constant and I was screaming my way through every room. The actors this year in Malefica are not scared to get close to you and they brought the scares at every opportunity. I do just have to give a special mention to that one high pitched air cannon that just makes me giggle everytime it goes off. It’s something I’ve come to listen out for and it just brings me pure joy when I hear it. I did also do a Brave It Alone in this maze which I will get into later.

Last up was their new maze Seeds of Evil. From the outside it’s really unassuming. There is a tractor outside the entrance but that’s its. It gives no inclination of what to expect inside and it really works for the maze. I am going to say potential spoilers ahead for this as I don’t think I can talk about it without giving some spoilers. Inside the maze it has a red glow to it as the blood moons light is what has given these pumpkins their lust for murder. The sets are stunning and there are two inside that just blew me away. The scares are great with some well timed moments and surprises including a woman in a washing machine. The attention to detail is insane. High above the maze is a giant moon but it can only be seen when you’re in the outdoor themed areas of the maze. It’s a campy homage to 80s horror films and I couldn’t get enough of it. Each run I saw something different or was scared in a different way. Fear have designed and created something really special with this maze.

As well as the mazes Fear has brought back The Exorcism for another year. You can find our reviews for that in our previous reviews and new for 2025 Lock N Load, an interactive shooting experience. I will admit, I was hesitant when they announced this as this is something that has never appealed to me at a scare event but I thought i would give it a go. There’s an awkward almost AI video presentation for health and safety reasons but once you’ve seen it the fun begins. I can not hold a gun to save my life but luckily I can shoot one quite well it would seem. Getting the chance to shoot people in the head with foam like bullets (I think) is weirdly fun and you will surprised how into it you will get. It is an upcharge but so worth doing if you get the chance. It’s a scary but fun break for the mayhem of the mazes.

Also new for 2025 is Brave It Alone. It’s your chance to experience one of their mazes solo. It is an upcharge of £15 per person. You can choose which maze to do so I  chose to do Malefica, as mentioned above and it did not disappoint for me. It feels more personal and the actors really went for me. They had me cornered multiple times and were screaming and scaring from multiple directions at the same time. Unlike other places that did this (thorpe park), the actors won’t make you crawl around or manhandle you and call you things, it purely is a fully solo experience through the attraction you choose but because it is just you, you are at the receiving end of every scare possible. I personally think it was worth the £15.

Fear have not only found their sparkle again this year, you’ve loaded it into a cannon and blasted it high into the air and set of a scare firework. Fear is intense, terrifying and not to be missed! A massive thank you for inviting us down to experience this years event and a huge thank you to the cast and crew for making it #abloodygoodnight!