SLASHER REVIEW
We recently visited Psycho Path near Consett in the North East. It's a very strong event with multiple attractions. I - Scream was my favourite of the night. The mazes are all strong in different ways and they have some brilliant sets and fantastic scares that keep you on edge in every attraction. The actors really go for it in every attraction and really make the experiences. The event has a big array of food and drink offerings so there is something for everyone to eat too. Their is also roaming actors and a stage show.
Top Tips - Buy the VIP as it can be busy.
Things that bite - Just the entrance procedure
Value for money - Yes
Scare Rating - 5/5
Do we recommend - Yes!
STALKER REVIEW
We’ve been visiting Psycho Path for a few years now and it’s always one event we look forward to every year and this year was no exception. After they revealed their massive line up earlier in the year we immediately booked our tickets. We didn’t want to miss it. The weather was not on anyone’s side but the event was going ahead so the boots and the coats were on. We got to the event an hour before it started. The thing I hate the most about this event is getting in. Because you get the tickets from inside the building and they handle many groups at the same time it’s very loud and chaotic. It’s hard to hear what the staff are saying to you. You then have to push your way through all the other groups to get to the area to get in. This definitely needs to be looked at next year to provide a smoother check in.
The event is essentially split into two hub areas with one inside and one outside. The entrances for I-Scream and Psycho City are indoors and the rest are outdoors. Inside you also have Psycho Cinema (which we didn’t do as we were having way too much fun in the mazes) as well as 2 bars, food and drinks stalls, games stalls, the shop and the stage which has different performers throughout the night including their night long show Dollhouse. Because of the way this show runs you probably aren’t going to be able to sit and watch all of it, but instead catch the odd bit. We saw part of the finale and it looked good. The outdoor area has fair ground rides, The Blood Bath bar, food and beverage outlets and photo opportunities. Around the scream park you will meet many wandering characters. From cheerleaders, to clowns to pirates and even stilt walkers. The team are so good at interacting with guests. There’s a real mix of scaring and comedy with comedy being the main focus. We had some great interactions with a cheerleader character who then told me to fuck off. We decided to head to one of our favourite mazes, I-Scream.
This clown maze is always a highlight of the scare season. It takes a generic clown attraction and gives it a Psycho Path makeover and it just works. It’s just chaos from start to finish. The scares came thick and fast with every space being used to scare guests. They timed the scares from behind the flaps perfectly, they used the darker (or lighter, depending on area) spots to their advantage and there was just this perfect balance between terror and laughter. This year you’re also given a lanyard before you go in that tracks you and films your scares and you then can watch on screens at the end. Because of this it takes a little while longer to actually get back into the hub area once you’re out as there is always a queue. It’s nothing that really affects the actual event, it’s just annoying.
Next we headed to Psycho City. It’s a post apocalyptic outdoor maze. It started off really strong with some great scares and great actor interactions. We walked through and admired the sets but about half way through we encountered a massive traffic jam of groups. Instead of the actors moving groups along, they just kept scaring the same group over and over causing the jam of groups to get bigger. By the time the actors let them pass there just have been at least 40 people that needed to be moved on. This therefore made the second half the maze just fall completely flat.
It was now time for Crawl Space. We waited as our two at the bottom of the stairs to be called up. This attraction is very tight. You will feel claustrophobic but this tight space really added the effectiveness of the attraction. Even though you’re in there as a two, you’re not, as you essentially do parts of the attraction alone which really makes things tense and unnerving. The scares that are there are a lot of fun as they are used in the right way, I just know that it could be even more terrifying with the right lighting and timing from the actors.
Next up for us was Cutthroat Island, the outdoor pirate attraction. Due to the weather, all the outdoor attractions were very muddy, so we took our time walking through as this attraction has lots of little small slopes. The sets for Cutthroat are absolutely stunning. It’s an absolutely gorgeous attraction. The scares started really well with some really intense actors but as the attraction went on they became a bit lacklustre. We saw an actor fall over in the mud and credit where credit is due he stayed in character the entire time, but I did feel sorry for the actors working in the mud.
Cornered was next and again this is an outdoor maze. It’s a giant corn field but it’s dark and the scares come from every direction. It’s a very open attraction but it feels very closed in. The actors were on top form providing some well timed scares from the corn. The actors even used a giant, deep puddle to their advantage. They warned people not to step in it but everyone still did and they took the piss.
I’m going to talk about The Hunt next as I want to leave Isolation last. If you’ve experienced Scream Aloud or Horrorland you will have seen this style of attraction before. You are given a glow stick and told to not get caught, that’s essentially what it is in its simplest form. It’s about 10 minutes of fun. It’s more anticipation building than actually scary as you don’t know what is going to happen inside. It’s just a silly fun attraction.
Last and certainly not least is Isolation. This is a solo experience. You get placed in front of a door (with 4 doors to do) and you have to experience what’s inside alone. The host of this maze was brilliant and I wanted to give her a mention as she is responsible for really making this attraction great. I will explain why shortly. I’ve now down all four doors over a couple of years but this year I finally got to do door 4, the last door I needed to complete the collection. It was a fun pig themed route that had me singing Old Mcdonalds. The second time I went through the host tied my hood shut and sent me in to door 2, a dark sewer themed route. I couldn’t see where I was going well and the scares were unexpected because of this. My friend did door 3 and this infamous door this time was a doctor and she came out face painted as a horse.
Psycho Path has some amazing attractions that need to be experienced to be believed and their line up is very different to other events in the country. It’s got a great team of talented actors and staff and it all just comes together to create a really awesome scare event.
For more information about this years event you can visit the Psycho Path website.