Todd - The Devil’s Attic continues to be an onslaught of homages, chronicling decades of horror movie classics and urban legends.
As always, we were greeted by the big man from below himself presenting his iconic speech, warning us of the collection of horrors that were to await us – evil souls which have terrorized us in movies, myths and lore for years.
The biggest factor to point out this year are unquestionably the actors. The sets and costuming always speak for themselves – they’re unparalleled with just about any haunt recreating iconic movies. I always cringe when I see a 5’4” guy wearing a brand new red and green sweater and a Freddy Krueger mask that’s too big for his head. You know what I’m talking about. Where there’s a half-inch void between the actor’s face and the mask? It just looks terrible. Well – you’ll never see something shoddy like that here. I can confidently say this was the most energetic year we have seen this show executed from the actors. Literally all of them seemed to be firing on all cylinders (or as much as the character should be…after all, it’s not Pinhead’s nature to break out in the Melbourne Shuffle). Victims screamed for help, Medusa writhed at our presence, Ash had lost all sanity, the witches aggressively hunted for blood, Franklin screamed for Sally in his pitiful Franklin way – it was all as intense as it was entertaining.
The pacing was on point too. I felt we were in each room just the right amount of time. There was no awkwardness of waiting in a scene just a little too long, making sure there was nothing else supposed to happen. The actors did a fine job of directing us out of there scene and into the next.
No noticeable actor shortages or malfunctions were observed. I do miss Regan being played by an actress rather than an animatronic, however I also recognize it would take a very capable person to play that role for hours on end each night. We’ve learned that big changes are in store for 2023 and it sounds like this will be the largest, most radical change the haunt has seen, possibly since it opened its doors. If there’s one thing The Devil’s Attic lacks, it’s square footage, sadly. Therefore, the spatial value of each scene needs to be heavily weighed and sadly you may see some of your favorites go to make way for the Devil’s next collectibles.
With so many good movies reaching new cult status in recent years, I’m VERY excited to see what surprises are in store for next year. As I’ve always said, if I had to put trust in any haunt to best recreate a movie scene or character, it’s most certainly The Devil’s Attic. Just imagine if we saw a 1980’s Blob scene, The Thing, Insidious or even the newer Malignant! Or dare I even ask for Hereditary? What if we go back in time more…Sleepaway Camp! Carrie? Susperia! The Legend of Hell House? Phantasm!
And before I sound too greedy (too late), I want to once again acknowledge the Human Centipede scene because I really didn’t think anyone would go there. Love it.
So many possibilities…
As always, we were greeted by the big man from below himself presenting his iconic speech, warning us of the collection of horrors that were to await us – evil souls which have terrorized us in movies, myths and lore for years.
The biggest factor to point out this year are unquestionably the actors. The sets and costuming always speak for themselves – they’re unparalleled with just about any haunt recreating iconic movies. I always cringe when I see a 5’4” guy wearing a brand new red and green sweater and a Freddy Krueger mask that’s too big for his head. You know what I’m talking about. Where there’s a half-inch void between the actor’s face and the mask? It just looks terrible. Well – you’ll never see something shoddy like that here. I can confidently say this was the most energetic year we have seen this show executed from the actors. Literally all of them seemed to be firing on all cylinders (or as much as the character should be…after all, it’s not Pinhead’s nature to break out in the Melbourne Shuffle). Victims screamed for help, Medusa writhed at our presence, Ash had lost all sanity, the witches aggressively hunted for blood, Franklin screamed for Sally in his pitiful Franklin way – it was all as intense as it was entertaining.
The pacing was on point too. I felt we were in each room just the right amount of time. There was no awkwardness of waiting in a scene just a little too long, making sure there was nothing else supposed to happen. The actors did a fine job of directing us out of there scene and into the next.
No noticeable actor shortages or malfunctions were observed. I do miss Regan being played by an actress rather than an animatronic, however I also recognize it would take a very capable person to play that role for hours on end each night. We’ve learned that big changes are in store for 2023 and it sounds like this will be the largest, most radical change the haunt has seen, possibly since it opened its doors. If there’s one thing The Devil’s Attic lacks, it’s square footage, sadly. Therefore, the spatial value of each scene needs to be heavily weighed and sadly you may see some of your favorites go to make way for the Devil’s next collectibles.
With so many good movies reaching new cult status in recent years, I’m VERY excited to see what surprises are in store for next year. As I’ve always said, if I had to put trust in any haunt to best recreate a movie scene or character, it’s most certainly The Devil’s Attic. Just imagine if we saw a 1980’s Blob scene, The Thing, Insidious or even the newer Malignant! Or dare I even ask for Hereditary? What if we go back in time more…Sleepaway Camp! Carrie? Susperia! The Legend of Hell House? Phantasm!
And before I sound too greedy (too late), I want to once again acknowledge the Human Centipede scene because I really didn’t think anyone would go there. Love it.
So many possibilities…
Paul - The more haunts I go through, the more I realize that the actors are what differentiate an excellent attraction from a good one. The actors at The Devil's Attic this year made an enormous difference in my impression of the place.
I always enjoy The Devil's Attic, but sometimes I walk out feeling like something was missing. The sets and theming are great, and everything works exactly as it's intended to, but I would walk out and just go "hm, that was good" and that was about it. The Devil is always awesome, and there would be some various areas throughout where I'd get a nice jump, but there would always be some dead areas where the immersion would ease up and I'd start feeling "safer".
This year? There was no letting up. Those actors were ON IT. From start to finish, every actor we came across was on you as quickly as they could be, and didn't let up until you were well past their area. As of this writing, I think my vote at the end of the year for "best actors" will come down to two or three haunts, and The Devil's Attic is one of them. They were energetic, intense, well-costumed, and seemed like they were having a blast trying to scare everyone who walked through. Great job!
As usual, the sets, lighting, and audio were great. A very large number of the builds here are obviously inspired by movies, but not in a cheesy or cliché way whatsoever. There's genuine surprise, plenty of suspense, and some very well-executed jump scaring happening the entire time.
So congratulations to The Devil's Attic for putting on such a great show. It's one of the better ones I've seen this year, and I can't wait to come back!
I always enjoy The Devil's Attic, but sometimes I walk out feeling like something was missing. The sets and theming are great, and everything works exactly as it's intended to, but I would walk out and just go "hm, that was good" and that was about it. The Devil is always awesome, and there would be some various areas throughout where I'd get a nice jump, but there would always be some dead areas where the immersion would ease up and I'd start feeling "safer".
This year? There was no letting up. Those actors were ON IT. From start to finish, every actor we came across was on you as quickly as they could be, and didn't let up until you were well past their area. As of this writing, I think my vote at the end of the year for "best actors" will come down to two or three haunts, and The Devil's Attic is one of them. They were energetic, intense, well-costumed, and seemed like they were having a blast trying to scare everyone who walked through. Great job!
As usual, the sets, lighting, and audio were great. A very large number of the builds here are obviously inspired by movies, but not in a cheesy or cliché way whatsoever. There's genuine surprise, plenty of suspense, and some very well-executed jump scaring happening the entire time.
So congratulations to The Devil's Attic for putting on such a great show. It's one of the better ones I've seen this year, and I can't wait to come back!
Emily - Devil’s Attic was spectacular. All of the actors have improved this year and are going all out. There were so many amazing performances worth mentioning. The devil himself is energetic and has really embraced the character. Their placement was well thought out, hiding in places that were totally unexpected and unseen. The lighting was perfect and the actors really worked with it well in each set. The Medusa set was much better this year. I am not sure if much changed, but it felt more powerful than before. Almost every set had lines and were very interactive with the guests. There was so much energy in the place. Devil’s Attic has definitely been my favorite haunt of the season so far.
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