882 Anita AVENUE, ANTIOCH, IL
Year: 2015
One of the rules that we often follow as Horror Tourers is to always give a haunt another chance. Over the years we've seen haunts that have been excellent for years turn awful out of the blue, and conversely we've seen haunts that did not impress us at all make a complete change the following year and turn into a fantastic haunt. Thus, we never stop going to a haunt unless it's consistently bad for a number of years or simply not worth the time and expense.
When we first visited Antioch Asylum in 2013 (back when it was known as Haunted House of Macabre), we absolutely loved it. It was simply designed, nothing fancy, but provided some classic scares without the need for elaborate sets, costumes, or props. Thus, we were very excited to see it in 2014. However, that year the haunt changed to an asylum theme, and that sent up some red flags. While we've been to some good asylum themed haunts, many that focus solely on this theme tend to be one note and samey, with lots of angry, loud, shouty "crazy" people yelling at visitors to "get out!" Alas, Antioch Asylum in 2014 was, in our view, much like this. The sets were decent, but the acting tended to be a lot of the same old thing, regardless of what room we were in. As such, our five chainsaw rating for 2013 went down to two and a half chainsaws in our 2014 review. We were disappointed, but we figured that, with some tweaking, the haunt could be great again, or it could wind up being the same old, same old in 2015. So when we were invited to check out the new iteration, we approached it with some hesitation, but also with a desire to give Antioch another chance as we knew it had greatness in it. We're happy to say that all of the items that we found lacking last year have been improved upon. Specifically, the minimal sets of last year have been extensively revamped, with the majority of hallways and corridors having textured walls, wall decorations, varied designs, and other graphic elements that mark them out and make them interesting to walk through. The rooms, too, have become more varied, with completely new areas added, older ones made more detailed, and some of the better rooms from last year (the morgue, the operating room, and others) remaining and getting some new tweaks as well. The upgrading of the sets gives the visitor something new to look at in each area and also something visual to follow when traveling from one scene to another. Even the scribblings on the walls are entertaining to read, so pay close attention to them. In short, the new set and corridor designs create a cohesive whole that adds to the idea that visitors are actually in an asylum, rather than the random hodepodge of set pieces, blank walls, dark spaces, and hanging cloth "doorways" of last year's version. The acting, too, has improved, with the each actor in the haunt varying his or her performance to make it unique. It's about as far away from the shouty, screaming monotony of 2014 as it can get, and we're very happy out that. Actors now are quiet, creepy, hyper, menacing, odd, funny, and just plain crazy in a way that makes you feel that they are like this all the time and not just when visitors pass through. Even the shouty, screaming actors (and there are a few) are shouty and screaming for a reason, and some (particularly the "birthday girls") are quite amusing in their shoutiness. The variations make it interesting to move from one room to another just to see what new craziness awaits. In addition to the above, our least favorite portion of last year's haunt, the maze of hanging cloth that we wound up going around and around in, has been cleverly modified to make it much more interesting (and much less annoying). While we were dying to find the way out last year, simply to have the maze overwith, the new design makes it interesting and keeps it to just the right length to prevent it from getting boring and monotonous. |
CommentaryMAP
|
On the night of our visit, we were told that the haunt was not fully up and running, and indeed there were some missing actors and also a few missing tricks inside the various rooms. However, as this was a preview event that's to be expected, and had we not been told that things were missing we really wouldn't have known, as the experience was excellent as it was. We assume it will only be better when fully staffed and set up, and we'd be happy to pay a return visit, which we can tell you was definitely NOT a thought we had last year. The length was decent, too, clocking in at about 17 minutes, which is about a dollar a minute if you purchase your tickets online.
Our collective Horror Tourer hats are off to the entire Antioch Asylum crew for bringing the haunt back up to the level of the first year (and in fact surpassing it). It's clever and fun, and full of old school scares. So congratulations to all of the asylum inmates, from the pit girl, to the lady in white, to the bunny, to the guy who was quite intent on repeatedly asking us how we were doing, to all the other crazies: it's your world and you populate it well. We loved our visit and we're happy to move Antioch Asylum back into our five chainsaw rating for 2015!
Our collective Horror Tourer hats are off to the entire Antioch Asylum crew for bringing the haunt back up to the level of the first year (and in fact surpassing it). It's clever and fun, and full of old school scares. So congratulations to all of the asylum inmates, from the pit girl, to the lady in white, to the bunny, to the guy who was quite intent on repeatedly asking us how we were doing, to all the other crazies: it's your world and you populate it well. We loved our visit and we're happy to move Antioch Asylum back into our five chainsaw rating for 2015!