Fright Manor 2014 Review

Ratings Legend

(1 skull) – Poor
(2 skulls) – Average
(3 skulls) – Good
(4 skulls) – Excellent
(5 skulls) – Best of the best!

Fright Manor: Indianapolis, IN

Zombie Alley

Todd
Equipped with a battery powered rifle, one fearless leader of your party will lead you through a zombie infested maze. The rifle itself appears to be nothing but a noisemaker (I didn’t see any sort of sensors on the actors), but there’s a crude satisfaction in “shooting” the zombies. No true accuracy is required and the actors respect your efforts by feigning death after a shot or two.

Unfortunately you do not get to keep the gun throughout the entire haunt, but it’s fun and different while it lasts.

Tammy
Great creative feature of letting someone actually shoot at the zombies – one person is handed a backpack and shot gun and leads the group while shooting the zombies – interaction was awesome!! The sound was good but the lighting could have been a little more in order to highlight some of the sets.

Andy
The use of the gun was awesome! Very original. This was by far one of my favorite features of Fright Manor.

Frightmaster
This is a new addition to the Fright Manor haunt that was both fun and scary at the same time. A person in the group has what appears to be a sawed off shotgun that has a laser beam that “pops” when you shoot it. You walk through a dark maze with zombies jumping out at you from above, below and in between. The scare factor is heightened because you can’t kill the zombies with just one shot! What a thrill to be in your own actual walking dead show! The actors are enthusiastic and believable. The maze is intimidating and scary. You really forget sometimes that it’s just actors in a haunted house. Well done!

Southside Sanitarium

Todd
Since this haunt is a string of themed areas back to back, it’s hard to recollect and distinguish one from the other. However, the actors are not only top notch, but spry as well. Unlike most haunts, actors may come from above, not just the sides.

Tammy
The medical aspect/theme was creepy and provided good scares – lighting was better in this section

Andy
One of the things that caught my eye was how fright manor was keeping up in current events. The Ebola sign fit the seen great!

Frightmaster
This haunt was pretty normal sanatorium gone wild except for the actors which put it up a notch. They were very believable and really went out of their way to get those scares and screams out of you. I would have liked just a couple of unexpected surprises in here to make it an unforgettable haunt.

13 Nightmares

Todd
There was an interesting concept behind this one – taking common fears and turning it into a theme. One of the more effective rooms included a large number of glowing hockey masks (a la Jason) on either wall, that is otherwise dark. Naturally, not all of them are stationary. At least one is attached to a face hidden in the darkness.

Tammy
Great section – good set design; liked leather face in the kitchen.

Frightmaster
This was one of my favorite haunts at Fright Manor this year because it really played to your “worst fears”. Everything from a visit to the demented dentist to a real nightmare, clowns, cemeteries, walking dead, spiders, everything that makes you go “AHHHHHHHHH” is in this haunt. Excellent creativity!

Purgatory Prison

Todd
Again, since these haunts are stringed together without any obvious stop and start I am assuming this is the last section which is primarily an outdoor maze.

There isn’t much going on in this last part. It was pretty much just a narrow (yet somewhat open) maze where you’ll find yourself more focused on finding the exit than being scared by the few actors that occupied it. This was definitely the lull of the haunt.

Tammy
Best part here was the man in the electric chair that completely looked fake – we stopped to watch when all of the sudden the man jumped up after us – great scare – great prop and actor!

Andy
The guy in the electric chair got me! I totally thought he was fake, then he jumped up! Awesome!!!! Hands down my favorite part of this haunt.

Frightmaster
This was a fun maze to go through although I really didn’t feel “lost” at any moment, the actors were believable and intimidating and I was happy at times that there were bars separating us!

Psychomanthium

Tammy
Lighting and sound were very good through here.

Frightmaster
Psychomanthium is one of the original haunts at Fright Manor but has changed over the years. I felt a sense of disorientation mixed with not knowing what to expect next. The scenes are not themed at all which was a fresh change from other haunts that have just one theme running throughout the whole haunt. We never knew what was waiting around the corner or in the next room. The haunt itself felt really long but was only around 15 min. Great actors, maybe could use a few more here but the overall effect was a good scare and a lot of fun.

Overall

Todd
Overall, the haunt is good! I was really impressed by the number of props. They fill the space well – not cluttered, but not too sparse. The actors were fantastic – very into what they were doing. There was a high level of energy throughout the entire haunt.

There are a few surprises that caught be off guard that I have not experience in other haunts this year.

The exterior can be misleading. I honestly did not expect as good of a haunt as I experienced, judging the book from the cover. Do not let it dissuade you!

My only criticisms are:
1) Again, the haunts are strung back to back with nothing more than some text on the walls to let you know you’re leaving one haunt and entering the other. Trying to rate each area separately was especially challenging because for the most part, I can’t recall which rooms were in which areas. This is of course mostly inconsequential for the average attendee.

2) At one point you’ll have to crawl through a small space on your hands and knees. The surface is very hard. Anyone with even a minor handicap may have trouble with this. I’m not sure if there’s an alternate route to get around this or not, but it would be advisable to provide one if not.

Tammy
All in all, Fright Manor is a great Haunt; the owner was very hospitable and provides a great haunt. I liked while waiting in line there were DJs providing music. Overall worth the trip!

Andy
Great haunt! Lots of creativity, lots of surprises. All the actors did great and stayed in character. The location was good. The DJ’s sounded good as well. Great time!

Kelly
Great idea with shooting the zombies – I have never seen that before. The rooms were a little too dark to see everything. Great idea to have a live DJ outside for entertainment while you waited. This was a really fun haunted house.

Frightmaster
Our good friend Tom has been hosting Fright Manor for longer than any other haunt in the tri-state. It’s grown from operating in a high school auditorium to five spine-chilling haunts taking up an entire building and then some. The actors are trained for months ahead of time and are some of the best we’ve seen anywhere! The creativity and value is excellent – where some haunts are charging up to $20 for just one haunt – Tom only charges $20 for all five! That’s $4 a haunt, people! This place is a must see if you live anywhere near Indianapolis. I won’t spoil the surprises for anyone so my suggestion is just go! You won’t regret it! IF you live through it…..

Overall score: 3.75 Skulls (Good)

Visit their web site at www.frightmanor.com