Slasher Review(Our Short Review)
On the 9th of December, we headed back to Walsall Scare Maze for the annual Christmasacre event. The attraction uses nearly the same layout as the Halloween Scarehouse incarnation with a few changes here and there. As always the attraction starts slow building up the atmosphere with a few well-timed scares in between before throwing you into a world of chaos by its finale. Christmasacre uses the meticulously detailed sets that Walsall Scare Maze has been known for and combines them with a powerhouse cast that brings the nightmare to life. One thing Walsall Scare Maze doesn't do Is rest on its laurels with each year seeming to outdo the last. We exited laughing and applauding another fantastic show by this dedicated team.
Top Tips - Don't make assumptions based on the location, Walsall Scare Maze is one of the best
Things that bite - Honestly there is nothing to report here other than waiting can get very cold but we can't behold them to the weather.
Value for money - Time and time again a resounding yes
Scare Rating - 4 Start to middle raising to a 5 by the finale.
Do we recommend - Wholeheartedly YES.
Stalker Review(Our Long Review)
(May contain some light spoilers)
Coming to Walsall Scare Maze is a staple of our scare calendar and is an event we endeavour to visit without fail each year. The reason is simple, these people never seem to fail to put on an amazing show, the sets are beautiful and the scares come thick and fast, three things we always look forward to seeing. This time we were back to experience the 1st night of the 12 days of Hell, the annual Christmasacre event. We arrived on a very cold -2 degree night and by our own admission not dressed for the occasion, big coats left at home we entered a relatively quiet queue line. If this is your first time beware although undercover you are technically kind of outside so honestly do wrap up warm. After around 15 minutes of listening to an atmospheric mix of scores from Beetlejuice to Alien, it was time to enter the "closed down" Scarehouse of Halloweens maze to see just what changes the festive period had added to the mix and what we can say now is it didn't disappoint.
After a quick photo opportunity, it was time to head down into the batching room where the energy of the event feels much more ominous than the previous outside waiting area. But that is as far as the main spoilers go. Right from the get-go, you are taken into the immersive world of the Scarehouse or rather this time should we say the workshop. The narrative quickly shifts to tell the guests of the festive inhabitants within and your role of feeding them or being fed to them rather should we say. The further your dark adventure takes you into the maze the more beautiful sets come forward with an array of smells and lighting added for your pleasure. In some areas, you will find yourself second-guessing where to go leading you straight into the oncoming paths of the yuletide tormentors in a deep fog.
As we ventured further and deeper into the attraction the residents of the workshop turn darker and more twisted than before. The H'elves shall we call them start to become less playful and more malicious whilst a warped Santa asks if you want a feel of his sack. One scene was a great double act between a clown and an elf that played off each other to perfection. She delivered some great scares on entry to the scene then switched to a more melancholic and unhinged creature alongside an equally disturbing clown with a head on a stick. The attraction also likes to even play on texture, brushing through a room of Christmas trees was both hilarious and uncomfortable in equal measure. The attraction also features some classics such as claustrophobia tunnels, uneven floors and powerful strobe rooms to disorient the senses. About halfway through the attraction takes a more hands-on approach which we live for, Special mention to the intimidating "mannequin" who had no fear of getting in people's faces and served as a great warmup to the "chair scene". This section was very hands-on for all the group, Dan was exiled to the corner whilst Dane was sent to the chair, the actor in this area has to be praised for their high energy and attention to literally mixing the group up. This leads us to a tense and almost pitch-black finale scene that left us wandering around with scares coming from unexpected angles, just as we think the attraction has given its all the music shifts and chaos ensues, in this case leaving Dan literally white in the face and the arms and legs, well all over really. We all left applauding and cheering. Walsall Scare Maze had done it again!
When it comes to the sets and scenes within there really is no area that has been used badly or lazily with every area being thought out to a T to add to make this one fantastic attraction from a visual point of view. The highlight of the attraction is of course as we stated before, the powerhouse cast that has no weak link in the chain. Every actor was on top form, all acting on their total A-game. To mention the few seems unfair as all the performances on the night were just exemplary and you would never tell it was opening night where slip-ups can be common. Every actor we came into contact with gave 110% being if they had to make us jump, laugh or deliver sustained scares. Once again Walsall Scare Maze had pulled it out of the bag and created a show that we can only wish we had to time to visit again and again.
We want to say a huge thank you and congratulations to the entire cast and crew behind Walsall Scare Maze for creating such a fun, intense and chaotic event. We say this time and time again but it bares repeating but we shall do so anyways. The location is unassuming, the sets are stunning and the actors and actresses are a top-level family of scarers that put their all into every show and with information now starting to be released about Enola, the attractions upcoming 18+ attraction, we can't wait to return in 2023 for more stellar scares from Walsall Scare Maze.
If you want to see this event for yourselves Christmasacre is running on the 10th,16th,17th and 23rd of December and you can buy tickets from the link below.
Written by Dan and Dane