ScaryPlace Home

Scary Reviews

---

Scuttles and his favorite ghoul, Nurse Spasm, visited The Fright Factory, located at Swanson and Oregon Ave., next to Forman Mills in Philadelphia.

Overall Impression:

We were pleasantly surprised at just how good this event was. We showed up on a rainy Thursday night and were happy not to have to wait in long lines, but it appeared that they had planned well for large groups and had even stationed some ghouls along the way to help entertain and keep the anticipated crowds occupied and happy.

The directions on the website could have been much better - seeing how they neglected to provide guidance for anyone coming from the Western suburbs via the expressway, Rt 76. Parking on that rainy Thursday was not a problem. However, with a dry evening, anticipate walking a distance from your car. At least parking is free.

One fact of life these days, especially in the cities, is that security is high. We were frisked quite thoroughly at the door, where they confiscated anything that could be considered a weapon or a hazard, such as a cigarette lighter. But actually, I didn't mind that... it made us feel a bit safer knowing they were taking things so seriously. (And Nurse Spasm retrieved her lighter after we came through.)

In general, the event relied a bit too much on "jump out and go boo", so that by the end, we were numb to people popping up and screaming at us. On the other hand, it was obvious that there were a few key people who truly know how to scare... with stillness, subtle motion, whispers and suggestion. It was these few actors, as well as the excellent artwork, audio, and special effects, that managed to elevate this event into a superior status.

Fright Factory also seemed to adhere to the "No Touch" policy, although it was not stated in the introductions and rules. All the actors seemed to avoid actually grabbing the clients, which is a sign of a well run operation. Extra brownie points for the No Touch Policy.

The Fright Factory is actually three events: "Pitch Black", a dark maze. "CarnEvil 3-D", a blacklight, 3-D maze. And the" Forgotten Insane Asylum", a haunted house-type maze with an asylum theme. You can buy tickets individually or as a combo, and we have reviewed the events separately below:

---

PITCH BLACK

 

Pitch Black, as the name suggests, includes some sections that are, well, pitch black. Long-time minions know that Scuttles feels dark mazes are dangerous and a bit of a cop-out, usually relying on darkness to scare the clients rather than anything truly clever. But I have to admit that as dark mazes go, this one was above average. (Dark mazes are problematic because of people's tendency to panic in herds, so there is a danger of getting trampled and injured in the dark if you fall. Also, a lighter is what started the fire that killed all those people in Great Adventure's haunted house dark maze in 1981. Good thing they took away the lighters here...)

First, I have to say that not the whole thing was dark... there are enough lit sections to keep it interesting. The actors in here generally know how to scare with quiet menace, whispering along behind or above you, rarely resorting to jolting you for reaction. I can't give away all of the secrets, but I will say that there is at least one part in Pitch Black that makes it worth enduring the dark stuff... Suffice to say that there is a starry tunnel that will really, really mess with your head. Don't go stoned... you might not make it out the other side!

Three hands out of five for Chills. Four skulls out of five for Messing with your Head. Four eyeballs out of five for Worth Seeing.

---

CarnEvil 3-D

 

CarnEvil 3-D gives you a pair of 3-D glasses before you go in... and wow! The effect is quite unexpectedly impressive. The paintings on the walls, floor and ceiling seem to come alive and reach out for you. Someone with very good artistic skills painted the majority of the scenes, but it is obvious that several talented people were involved. It took a lot of work for someone to figure out what color scheme to use to get the 3-D effect they wanted.

To add to the atmosphere, there is perverted calliope music playing, sounding for all the world like a carnival in hell... complete with maniacal laughter. And watch out for the killer clowns... Very cool.

Two hands out of five for Chills. Four skulls out of five for Messing with your Head. Five eyeballs out of five for Worth Seeing.

---

Forgotten Insane Asylum

 

OK, now we come to the real deal here. Whoever designed, painted and decorated this place really knew their stuff... like maybe they spent some time in such an institution perhaps...? There is so much attention to detail and cleverness in the design that Nurse Spasm felt entirely at home there. (She spent ten years in such institutions... as a Nurse, that is...) She says the sounds and smells were authentic. And the scene where dead patients are strapped into chairs in the day room, watching snow on a TV, is all too reminiscent of a real situation she once experienced.

The only down side is that after the first five or six ghouls jumping out from secret panels to scream in our ears, we got a little sick of it. However, there were more then enough creepy elements and real scares to make up for it. The lightening through the windows, the sound effects, the animatronics, the faces on the walls... The acid room smelled rancid, which was entirely appropriate, and there was some effective use of special effects and set design throughout the event. My favorite was the Graveyard... The good doctor who ushered us in did a nice job too, but we were hoping his script would explain the full story, as was hinted at in the website. That might have added some spice as well.

Three hands out of five for Chills. Four skulls out of five for Messing with your Head. Five eyeballs out of five for Worth Seeing. And since Nurse Spasm is our resident expert on all things medical and mental, she has added a new category for authenticity... Five Thorazine Capsules out of five for medical/institutional accuracy.

---

BOTTOM LINE

Go see it. At $15 per person for all three events in one, it is a bargain, especially compared to some others we have visited.

Scuttles and Nurse Spasm