Haunted Review - 7th Street Haunt: The Experiment (By Ash)

HA! I beat the other reviewers to getting up the first Haunted Review of the season! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!

Okay, so the very first stop of the season was 7th Street Haunt. Now, if you've been following the blog religiously (like you SHOULD be!) you'd know we started reviewing this haunt the year they first opened their doors in 2012. Since then, we've watched this haunt grow and expand to the point that this year, they have not just one but TWO haunts. So suffice it to say we are going to keep going every year until they kick us out and tell us not to come back while waving restraining orders in our faces.


First up, they had us go through The Experiment. Now, this section was new, and as with all new things, I was a confusing mix of excitement and skepticism. Wait, let me back up. First we got to go get our picture taken, and that'll be coming soon. I think I genuinely enjoyed stabbing Jennifer with needles entirely too much...

So after our picture we went to The Experiment. Imagine zombies and mad scientists and weird experiments (hence the name), and then everything went so unimaginably wrong. Yeah. That's kinda it.

Now you know me, I'm a sucker for good decorations and props, and I live for things that are realistic. 7th Street Haunt never fails to deliver the intricate and detailed props and scenery that can get you lost and distracted enough for The Experiment to suck you in and make you part of the tour. You can see the time, love, sweat, tears, and blood that undoubtedly went into setting the scenes and creating a world in which you can really lose yourself. Oh, and those animitronics? Anamatronics? I don't care how it's spelled, those devilish mechanisms springing out at you nailed it on timing and had a reach that made me think my soul was in imminent danger. Incredibly realistic and I loved every detail.

Apart from the scenery and props, I also want to take a moment to comment on the makeup and the costumes. This is no Dollar Store makeup, and these costumes are phenomenal. I know every haunt will have actors in makeup and in costumes, but there is a certain level of finesse and expertise to the way these characters look, and it doesn't involve the words cheap or lazy.

The actors were great. There was a happy balance between screaming and laughing. They were genuine entertainers. One of my favorite quotes of the night: "I wanna lick your butt." Omg, really? What the hell kind of experiment made you the way you are, dude? That's messed up, and I love it! The actors have a high level of energy and refused to break character. I'll admit, I try to mess with them from time to time. It's my coping mechanism. But they didn't deviate an ounce. Very professional and very intense, full of energy and kept you on your toes. Very well done!

The level of scare was pretty high this year, and I'm basing that off the building tension, the scenery, and the acting. A lot of the screams are still the "BOO" factor, but impressively the haunt didn't rely solely on it. I like that.

I really don't have a lot of negatives to say about The Experiment. It was really well executed and I'm impressed at this new branch of the haunt! Let's cut to the chase, 10/10 for me for The Experiment. Way to bring it, guys!!

~Ash