OVERALL RATING:

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RANK #1 out of 21

RAW SCORE : 9.719

RATING

REVIEW

I have been waiting for a haunted house this good all year. From the drive in we were not sure what to expect. The haunt is in a parking lot and looks like a bunch of black tents. The entrance was changed this year and appeared to look more like an asylum.

The doctor at the front was one of the best actors I've ever seen in a haunted house. He stayed in character and rocked! The set throughout the whole haunt followed the same theme. All the actors and sets looked like they belonged. They put a lot of work into everything.

I have not been this scared in a haunted house in a long time. The strobe lights tripped me out. We weren't sure what we were seeing. Every time I blinked, things were moving, or I felt like they were. The actors here were the best of any haunted house that we went to. They got into their roles and scared the hell out of us. One girl was twitching, another was walking upside down at us with her head all crazy.

This is by far my favorite haunt for 2006. I would recommend this haunt to anyone who wants to get the **** scared out of them. Nice job, Asylum!

PROS

Set is awesome, best actors, super scary

CONS

None

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt keeps growing on me, and I have to say that I enjoyed myself from start to finish in this one this year! I attribute that to two main factors: the continuation of the theme throughout the haunt and the energy level from the actors in every room. I gave The Asylum a perfect 10 for scare factor because it kept my heart racing from the first crazy that lunged at me through the cell bars to the twitchy inmate wandering loose to the inmates being experimented on in the operating room. I really liked the mix of crazy inmates running around to things that aren't quite based in fact, which gave me the feeling of losing my mind a little from being in such a place!

The acting was excellent, even from actors who might only have a line or two. The thing that sticks in my mind most is the constant noise and chaos in this haunt. They seemed to push the groups through pretty quickly, but there aren't a lot of props to be reset, so the turnover in each room can be done quickly and not lose any impact. The screaming (from the actors and the hauntgoers) continued throughout the haunt, which I imagine a real asylum might sound like.

The props and sets were really very good. I know a lot of people have reservations because it's in a "tent" with black walls, but I think it works...I mean, it's supposed to be a building with lots of long hallways and doors, right? When I'm inside a haunt, I'm not thinking about the reality of it...I just want to feel like I'm somewhere else and with The Asylum, I really did! The length was excellent and they really used the space well. Even though there were hallways with not much in them, there were no long hallways, and each turn around the corner promised to have another inmate on the loose, ready to pounce. If you haven't been to this one in a while, or not at all, give The Asylum a try this season.

PROS

Good use of space, acting, energy, consistent with theme

CONS

None...I really enjoyed this haunt and have been back already

RATING

REVIEW

What can I say? They really stepped up the acting this year! The actors were extremely into their roles and did things that I have never seen before. The girl with the white eyes who walked exactly like the girl from The Ring - wow! There was an actor who walked upside down like a spider - that almost sent me crawling the walls.

This haunt had the best-used strobes in the business. It was the most disorienting experience I've encountered - and frightful. There were white sheets and fog and these long, drawn-out pulses of light that gave my pupils just enough time to start to adjust to the dark again before barraging me with another pulse. Meanwhile, there were creatures groping for you. They definitely capitalized on their use of the darkness and it became very effective.

Don't be surprised if you get separated from your group. The meat locker was fun and the long, dark corridor with 8-foot gangly creatures was just terrifying. A few of the animatronics looked expensive but didn't do the trick. My only complaint is that we were running into the people ahead of us a lot - mainly because they were too scared to continue walking through - our group eventually passed them, but not without scaring the living hell out of the people behind us. I got down on the floor near the meat locker door and grabbed somebody's ankle - I highly recommend it if you find yourself getting held back.

PROS

Acting is superb, dark and creepy, strobes!

CONS

Shorter than I like - one more tent would make perfect length

RATING

REVIEW

Without a doubt, this is the best and scariest haunt of 2006 in my humble opinion! Using great actors, good props, and powerful special effects, The Asylum scares the living daylights out of their visitors as they wander their way through the dimly-lit attraction. They had a full crew of talented actors, one whom even walked around bent over backwards. There were many scary rooms with good and original themes, with plenty of monsters lurking in the background.

At one point, a particular person in our group kindly asked me to take the lead of our group because they were too freaked out to be in the front any longer. I can't blame them as we wandered down pitch-black hallways knowing that there was a freak show around every corner. Using bright flashing lights, dark rooms, and a disorienting trail the Asylum exploits the visitor's instinctive fears as they make their way through the haunt fighting the urge to run for their lives.

The Asylum has pulled off a near-perfect execution and has murdered the competition this year.

PROS

Freaky scary, good set, great actors

CONS

Some rooms were empty, could have been a little longer

RATING

REVIEW

In two words: ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING!! This one was amazing in detail from the guy at the front door, (who is VERY creepy) to the last scene in the haunt. This one had my heart pounding from room to room, and there were rooms that we just didn't want to go into at all. These guys have raised the bar this year, and they deliver over-the-top scares!

There were many actors that did things I just couldn't wrap my mind around, and I'm still wondering how they pulled off the things they did. They were all great characters, and the makeup and costumes were well done. Some areas were mild in scares, but if we let our guard down, we would really get it around the next corner.

The lighting was fantastic, and had us so disoriented in places we really had no idea where we were. This made it challenging to navigate, which increased our fear. There were rooms that seemed innocent enough, but when we got closer, we wanted to find the nearest exit.

The layout gave this a great length, and by the time we were through, we were almost grateful because our hearts could only take so much for one night. I really enjoy being so scared that I'm ready to cry, and I could feel the tears coming after this one! If you are out to get really scared, have your mind played with, and only plan to see one or two this year, do not miss this haunt!!

PROS

Set design/lighting, actors, costumes

CONS

Some areas lacking activity, too much fog in some places

RATING

REVIEW

In the parking lot of Boondocks Fun Center lies a surprisingly awesome haunted house. In the past, The Asylum has been considered good, but I think they really stepped it up a notch this year. Starting with an introduction by a delightfully mad grey-skinned man covered in blood and scabs and ending with that great feeling of breathless excitement, I enjoyed every aspect of The Asylum. It is a classic haunt that relies on willing suspension of disbelief to be successful.

Without the bells and whistles of multiple levels, a permanent structure, or a complicated storyline, it delivers a solid cohesive experience in the playground of the insane. The actors were excellent as were their costumes and makeup. I saw people's bodies do things that I did not know were possible and fully bought into the repulsive blood and gore they were sporting. The timing was right on from every strobe to each actor and it lasted just long enough that we were on a high note running out of there screaming our heads off.

PROS

Genuinely messed with my head, classic horror, GREAT ACTING!

CONS

None

RATING

REVIEW

Whenever I make haunted house recommendations to friends, I always get the same question: "Yeah, but is it scary?" Take a trip through The Asylum, and the answer will be yes.

This is a scary haunted house, period. The inmates are terrifying, every last one of them. They don't rely on boring "pop out and yell boo" routines, either. Each one is crazy and scary in his or her own way. You'll really think you've wandered into an abandoned loony bin.

The design is brilliant, focusing less on detail and going more for disorientation. It works. The length is long enough to be a great scare and not too long that anything becomes stale.

This is one of my favorite haunts for 2006, and one that I highly recommend.

PROS

Disorienting; outstanding actors; SCARY!

CONS

None

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt was all-encompassing and truly met the standard of perfection in a haunted house. I don't have any complaints from this haunt. All of the categories that we rate on blended together in a way that was truly awesome.

The actors were amazing. They played their characters so well and truly took on their roles. You wouldn't think that a haunt in the parking lot of Boondocks would be that great, but they utilized the space they had and the materials they had to the limit.

The one thing that I can always count on in this haunt is that it will have the best strobe light out of all the haunts. It was timed so perfectly that we literally could not see or make sense as to what was going on around us. Another outstanding set of props were the tall dark figures they used that were standing against a wall. They totally freaked me out, especially when they moved. I literally ducked down so low to the ground! That was a "poop my pants" moment for sure!

It wasn't too long and it wasn't too short either. Everything fit together perfectly and I would definitely recommend this haunt to anyone looking for a freaky scary haunt.

PROS

Everything

CONS

Nothing