10/29/2012
ANOTHER AWESOME REVIEW!
Submitted by: nctrembley0613
Date Attended: Friday 10/26/12
Scare Factor – 4.5/5
X-Treme Fear left me feeling like the rug had been pulled from underneath my feet. This Haunted House is totally an old school wooded trail, with an excellent beginning to “set” the mood and sufficiently work your nerves into a frenzy. The Hostess, plus the Hotel Staff encountered in the 1st two areas (pre-trail), ALL have such soft-spoken, polite, & calm personas…it’s a little unnerving because you’re automatically expecting to be scared, you’re just anticipating something. But these 1st few interactions have the opposite agenda. They’re trying to make you feel welcome & at home, in this dark & dreadful place, full of body parts & gore. It’s an awesome mind-warp! Then all of a sudden, “it” starts. The scares. And they just keep rolling…in waves of fear…until the end. The elevator has a surprise or 2 in store for you, 4D action, that’s where the Horror begins! The scares here come from dark places, from props that look like people-to people who look like props, from up high & down low & all sides. This Haunt is very much “in your face”, just like their website states. You’ll be going along, yes unguided, and then BAM you’re hit up close and personal with that wonderfully dreadful “gotcha” feeling. A total rush!! Yeah, X-Treme Fear is just that extreme!
Actors – 4.5/5
This Haunt has some well played characters, all I have to say is beware of the Cemetery, something legendary happens here & I hope you get to experience it. The trail is peppered with various monsters & maniacs who lurk until just that precise moment, then aaaHHHHHaa, you’ve been had. To make matters worse, after they nearly take your last breath, some will follow, close, and for a long time. Erie! I heard this comment more than once at X-Treme “it’s getting crowded over here” due to the macabre entourage we picked up. Their attacks are well executed & were adequately delivered to the front, middle, and back of our group (6 total). Passionate actors are playing their parts well, often succeeding in putting you on your knees in fright. Yes, there are clowns, chainsaws, sick demented demons, trees that move, all lying in wait to attack your senses. Expect the worst.
Set Design/Props/FX – 4.5/5
The walk, be prepared for a long dread-filling walk through deep, dark, dense woods. It’s so easy to forget you are “in town”, yes, it’s that quiet at times on this trail…sinister...especially when you can hear “them” coming, but can’t see. Wow, I have to take a deep breath just thinking of walking (running) those woods. It’s my favorite part. The woods here have lots of opportunities for surprise attacks, well utilized too, find out for yourselves. The use of strobe lights is killer, I almost lost control of myself twice, if you see strobes – be afraid, be very afraid! I love their low key, not so high tech, down and dirty, dark theme throughout. Put me in the dark (inside or out) and scare me with people any day, and I’ll be happy. I give high marks here because this Haunt allows your own imagination to feed the senses in a lot of ways. It’s dark and sometimes quiet. Your mind is not necessarily processing details of a “scene” all the time, but processing what your own imagination dredges up! Desolate areas sometimes make me the most apprehensive, and at X-Treme, with good reason! I also like that they change things up within the sets, I come each season and always see something different.
Length – 4.5/5
Long, you are in those woods so long, you think you are lost. If you are cold going in, you’ll be hot coming out! I think the length is right on time, left me out of breath and feeling edgy. Didn’t find myself bored. Didn’t feel rushed within the scenes. Near the end always think, more really?!? If the trail was cut back by 10 minutes it would still be worth every penny, so I think there is a lot of “bonus footage”, and I appreciate it. Expect to be in the “inside” for at least 45 minutes, unless you sprint through it at Olympic pace. At one point, 2 of our group members told us to slow down, but we were scared! When you feel the grip of fright, are you going to slow down?
Value – 5/5
Worth every penny! Admission is $20 & there are coupons floating out there for $5 off, bonus for you. You totally get your money’s worth of “in your face” scares. I screamed more at this Haunt than at any other Haunt so far this season. If you are not a “screamer”, you’ll still get plenty of “whoa” moments! I was still so excited/edgy as we were leaving X-Treme, I nearly got us lost trying to get home, now that was funny.
Other - The owners of X-Treme are extremely nice and willing to talk to any customer before or afterwards, if they are outside the main haunt. Easy conversationalists and just all around good people! If you really want to up the pre-haunt anticipation, then take “The Last Ride”, it’s $5 and absolutely worth the experience. They even have a viewing area for you to see the current victim. Peculiar & funny at the same time!
Overall Impression – 4.5/5
This Haunt is on my must-see list each year, hands down. Very often listed as my #1, always found on my top 5. I love them, I love their style, I love their scares, I love it all. I am glad NC can claim X-Treme fear on our list of Haunts. There is just something about this set up that gets into my soul. When the leaves rustle on the ground; when the tree branches shift & crack; when it’s dark & silent & someone’s coming; when you find yourself smack in the middle of it – you are at X-Treme Fear my friend…happy screaming!
