12 out of 29 people thought this review was helpful.
Event Reviewed: Realm of Terror (Round Lake Beach, Illinois) Reviewed by: vrpendragon   (Event Visited: 10/09/10 @ 9:00 pm) Review Posted: 10/13/10	Overall Score:

Scare Factor: Low | Atmosphere: Poor

Wait Entertainment: The fact that you could buy beer in line was the only entertainment that I saw.

Length of Event: About 10 minutes.

Actor Performance: the timing was good but there were very few actors, therefore few scares. All they seemed to do was ineffectively jump out at you or crawl along the floor.

Patron Flow Inside Attraction: The bunch of drunks ahead of us kept us slowed down.

Appropriate Ages: Over 14

Props / Special FX: Medical scenes were believable.

Costumes / Make-up: Scars and gore were believeable. There was a lot of blood in the "hospital" scene.

Summary: I walked right through the maze. The walls were white and the ambient light from the tops of the tents made it all too easy to see the dead ends. The transition from the main haunt and the maze was confusing.

14 out of 39 people thought this review was helpful.
Event Reviewed: Dungeon of Doom Haunted Factory (Zion, Illinois) Reviewed by: vrpendragon   (Event Visited: Before Oct. 1st @ 9:30 pm) Review Posted: 10/04/10	Overall Score:

Scare Factor: Very High | Atmosphere: Very Good

Wait Entertainment: Very much a crowd mentality going on, the excitement built as the actors got in your face - from behind and you didn't know they there until someone screamed and jumped back. Realistic, almost too realistic was the actor that smelled and seemed to take great pleasure in getting in your face and nose!

Length of Event: the event was longer than I expected.

Actor Performance: Sometimes out of sync with the room they were in, expect that will improve as the season goes on.

Patron Flow Inside Attraction: No other group caught up with us, but the group ahead of us was slow, it looked like they were too scared to go forward.

Appropriate Ages: Over 12.

Props / Special FX: The props were so realistic that it looked at times that the blood was going to drip on me. The timing of the bodies back and forth made it easy enough to get around without too much trouble. The props in each room were very detailed and made each room look very real. The suicide room was almost too real with the sound of the gun going off and the splatter that came with it.

Costumes / Make-up: Makeup was gross (meaning good) especially the actors who had worms or flesh hanging from their faces, bullet holes and general gore. Had they added hair or hats to the masks would have made them look more realistic. Some costumes were a little hokey but in general very scary.

Summary: I plan to go again later in the season to see if the timing improves and I will definately take a more friends so they can be as creeped out as I was. The place was very dark, darker than last year upping the scare factor.