H311 Review

H311, produced by GNG Entertainment, was scare maze which ran for 4 nights in Barnsley. The central concept was that we were test subjects in a drug trial; H311 is drug which can eradicate fear, however, it has a terrible side effect- wild hallucinations occur if the subject hears dance music.

At the start of the maze, we were promptly shown into the dispatch area, where the laboratory assistant explained what we were there for and what was going to happen. I really enjoyed this segment; the laboratory assistant was excellent and set the scene perfectly. We drank a small amount of H311, and stepped inside the maze…

The beauty of this maze concept was that it allowed total freedom with characters and content. Think about it; a hallucination can consist of anything and everything. The possibilities are endless. Therefore, we would have accepted what was going on regardless of what we saw. The only thing we were meant to believe is that none of it was real. This was a great opportunity to throw loads of random stuff together, and believe me they did! We encountered all sorts of madness. Scary clowns, dancers, a creepy old lady with a zimmer frame who really wanted us to try some of her rancid food (it looked and smelt VILE- really effective). She wouldn’t let us leave! Oh, and there was a coconut shy. Obviously.

One thing that really gelled the insanity together was the dance music, which simultaneously reinforced the concept and reminded us that we were ‘hallucinating’. It merged seamlessly with the bonkers visuals, the darkened walkways and the strobe lights, adding to the sense of fun and generally enhancing the experience.

Scare wise, we got a few good impact scares. One scene towards the end of the maze worked perfectly because it was impossible to predict where the scare was going to come from; our attention was drawn to the spinning vortex tunnel ahead of us, making the scare from the side even more effective. The random mix of characters and scenes worked well, not only as a way to reinforce the trippy vibe of the maze, but also to create a sense of unease because there was no way to predict what we might encounter next.

A little imagination with the concept went a long way with this attraction. The H311 drug trial was a brilliantly unpredictable, disorienting and unique experience. I’m so disappointed that the side effect has now worn off.