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Sinister Point Haunted Attractions
| Location: 453 S. Associated Brea, CA Hours of Operation: 7:-00pm-Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays,and from 7:00pm-10pm on weeknights Tickets: Single Maze $13 Multi-Maze $20 Creator: Jeff Schiefelbein Website: www.sinisterpointe.com |
| Let me first preface this review by saying I am a huge Silent Hill fan. The first 3 games are on my top 10 list and the movie was amazing. As you can imagine my expectations for this maze were high. Perhaps a little to high. That being said here is my review. The line to enter this maze is in a very dark area and ends at small nondescript door. There is no hint to what’s inside. I like this, it create a good bit of suspense. They divide the groups up by party once you reach the door. This gives the maze a nice personal feel. Once inside you get to pose for a photo with one of the miners. An interesting idea. After collecting your pick-up stub it’s in to the maze. Right near the beginning you get to travel through a hospital room dressed in grime. Then it’s into a recreation of a restroom straight out of the game. Complete with a stall that is knocking from the inside. Fans should get a kick out of this. From here on out the maze mainly consists of standard maze hallways. Nothing overly Silent Hill about it. One very distracting feature is the lack of roof. If you look up you are instantly reminded that you are just in a maze. This is a pet peeve of mine because it shatters the suspension of belief. There were a few spots that had the Silent Hill feel. One room I did find interesting had a hole in it where you could look down and see the scene from the film that pans down to Dark Alessa. Speaking of Alessa, her hospital room is here with her eyeless nurse in attendance. There is a recreation of the film sequence where Pyramid Head uses his blade to cut through an iron door. It is rather frightening to see that blade full size and swinging toward you. My favorite room by far stars the Bubble headed nurses. The whole room is full of them. Which ones are real? You wont know tell she moves. The actresses here were spot on. Both disturbing and alluring. The maze was based more on the movie but there were a few nods to the game. Can you spot Robbie the Rabbit? The costumes were exactly like the film. The white children, the twisted faces monsters, the miners, and the nurses are all here. Pyramid head is here in figure form but I would have really like to have seen him as a monster. Also Colin the janitor makes an appearance in well crafted figure form. With the costumes being so good it’s a shame the actors were not better. As a standard haunt maze this was well done. As a Silent Hill maze it missed the boat. Where were the wheel chairs and gurneys? Where was the school, the church, the fog? Silent Hill is so much about atmosphere and sadly it was completely missing here. There are so many great locations from the games and film they could have done so much. The other thing that makes the SH universe is it’s music. Only two tracks were noticeable here. Using more of the music could have helped with the atmosphere a lot. For fans of the SH universe I fear you will be disappointed. For those who know nothing about it, this maze should be a fun. |
| The second maze located at Sinister Point and the better of the two. Fear takes an original approach to the maze experience. the two. Fear takes an original approach to the maze experience. atmosphere for me. Not to worry though, this maze only let’s in small groups at a time so even on a busy day it should still have the same feel. Now I don’t want to give to much away because one of the things that makes this work so well is the fear of the unknown. The first room has a test that makes you grab two live electric cables. I wont say what happens but I must admit I hesitated before I did it. There were a few times in this maze that got my heart rate up and made me a little apprehensive. As you go from test to test the halls are black with black curtains. This is disorienting and got me turned around a few times. Begin disoriented only add to tension and makes you feel uneasy. These tests pray on common fears so at lest one will make your heart jump. One, for example, forces you to almost crawl to get out, which is very disconcerting. This all builds up to a fear I think most of us share and caused me to quicken my pace some to reach the exit. There is not much in the way of theming here but it doesn’t need it. They are doing something new and it works. Fear creates just that, Fear. It is well thought out and fully emerges you in it’s world. I am not sure what else I can say with out giving to much away. This is a haunt you must experience for yourself. Defiantly one to hit this Halloween season. |
