Screamfest 2014 Review

This was my first ever visit to Screamfest, a scare event at the National Forest Adventure Park in Burton upon Trent. It featured 4 attractions this year, plus some spooky entertainment on the side, including zombie paintball! The order in which we could experience the attractions was up to us. This format is certainly more relaxed than scare events with a set running order, however I do prefer the latter, because of the sense that you’re working up to the ‘worst’ bit. It adds a lot of tension. In this case, we wandered around leisurely and took little breaks between attractions; probably a more suitable format for the newbies in our group!

Children of the Corn

The 'school' theme baffled me a bit with this one, being a corn maze and all, but I tried to keep an open mind. After a moderate queue time, we were taken on a little trailer ride to the main field. There were no scares on the ride but I still really enjoyed it, mainly because of the view; in the distance I could see the flashing lights and rising smoke effects of the other attractions, and I could hear people screaming. More of that Halloween magic I love so much!

An actor accompanied us for this segment, and there was also a recorded voiceover playing, but sadly I could hear neither due to the sound of the engine and the other guests chatting. I may have missed something at this stage. Upon arrival, we were divided into 2 groups, then into pairs, then into another 4 groups. Maybe this was intended to echo our days lining up in the schoolyard, but I did find it a bit tedious, mainly because we were several minutes in by this point and nothing had happened.

Once things got going, tension gave way to confusion as the attraction collapsed into a mad spiral of nonsensical, disconnected imagery and themes. We were a bit unsure as to what was going on. Aside from the school uniforms, there wasn't much to connect the separate features to the school theme. One of the actors could have fed us a story while we were waiting, maybe about how we were lured on false pretences and the school was just a cover.

That being said, the separate components were quite enjoyable (the spider made no sense, but we loved it!) and we got some good scares in there. It featured indoor environments which facilitated more impact scares, which mixed well with the open spaces. But as a whole this didn't work for me; there was just too much crammed in.

Slasher

I was really impressed by the exterior theming of this attraction. There was nice attention to detail with the posters and the blood splatters, and the sound was very effective. It all looked very promising, and as soon as we walked into the first scene, I knew we were in for something special.

The attraction kicked off with a superb execution scene. It was simple but so effective; the timing of the scare was spot on and the actor didn't hold back. I’d have to say that this scene alone gave me my best scare of 2014!

The rest of the attraction was a great mix of impact scares and general intimidation from the scareactors. It was quite short from beginning to end, but I find that preferable to becoming desensitised and having my adrenaline levels drop. It had a little bit of a story to it with the dangerous criminal on the loose, and this worked well as a basic, self-contained concept. Slasher was a great length, it looked fantastic, and was probably my favourite attraction of the evening.

Nocturnal

I’d heard great things about this one. I was already aware of the concept; Nocturnal is, from the outside, what appears to be an exclusive nightclub. Its impressive façade implies grandeur and revelry within, and I particularly liked that the entrance door was marked VIP. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of actors on the outside; I thought there might be a few to help liven things up, like a club bouncer or some dancers.

Once inside, it became clear that the nightclub was indeed fake and we had actually been lured into a nest of hungry vampires. The theming was superb; the whole thing looked like a giant meat processing plant. It had a bleak, cold, industrial feel to it, and was certainly very immersive.

The layout of this attraction would have facilitated some brilliant target and/or impact scares, but we didn’t get that many. There a few good jumps and some creepy lingering actors. The highlight for me was actually the chainsaw finish, and no, I’m not joking! I do grow weary of chainsaws but this one was perfect. It tied in well with the theming, we had a clear shot at the door so we weren't stumbling around to get out, and the sound of the chainsaw echoed around the exit corridor so it was super loud. Bravo.

Soul Seekers

Soul Seekers had a bit of a disappointing start. The initial dispatch into the attraction was a bit confusing as we couldn't work out whether the lady speaking to us was meant to be in character! This led into the first room, which had a really effective way of introducing some of the residents. As an intro/first scene was quite lengthy but still enjoyable.

This attraction had great theming inside; it was really elaborate, thorough, and fun to explore. I loved the individual setpieces, such as the bedroom and the bathtub. There were a few moments of total darkness which left us fumbling around, and at one point we seemed to get lost (not sure if that was part of it!) which threw us out of our comfort zones.

The actors interacted with us, which made this feel like more of a narrative driven attraction, but there wasn’t much of a story to explore so they tended to say the same things repeatedly. Scareactors do need to be able to improvise and interact with the guests (if the attraction calls for it), but a big part of that is being able to gauge what kind of interaction is appropriate for both their character and the environment they inhabit. One actor seemed to slip into some dialogue that seemed a bit out-of-place, but other than that they did a fantastic job.

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We were fortunate in that we only had to queue for one attraction (we visited the park quite late in the evening). However, as we weren’t given time slots on the booking, I can imagine that queues could easily get out of hand. I’d be interested to see how this is handled during busier periods.

Screamfest was a very strong addition to our Halloween line-up this year. It had all the excitement and tension of a scare event, but not without the sense of fun that makes Halloween events so enjoyable. We loved the relaxed atmosphere; it was nice to have to opportunity to sit down with some hot food and enjoy some of the additional entertainment on offer. Overall, Screamfest is was a fantastic evening out. We’ll definitely be back!