Brutal Planet

OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor
  

Actors
  

Set Design
  

Length
  

RAW SCORE : 8.41

RATING

REVIEW

Elitch Gardens obviously tries to get into the holiday spirit for Halloween. When first walking through the gates to the park, you are greeted with a graveyard. It's full of skeletons, coffins, fog, tombstones, and even live zombies. Practically everywhere you go in the park is decorated for the season. At certain times, Elitch's even presents a funeral precession. At the end of this precession, the ghouls and monsters host a contest to win '09 tickets to the park. If you're a fan of the typical middle section of Fear Factor, you'll enjoy this contest. There is even a new dark ride to experience for you to get even more in the mood.

This then brings us to the haunts. Brutal Planet is Elitch's premier, adult oriented haunt. Once you enter the haunt, some back-story is given in a fairly cool way. This basically tells you that zombies have been "tamed" (yeah, right). After this and some quick scares, you are sent on to the rest of the haunt. This place really has a cool feeling. Brutal Planet does a good job of making the visitor feel as though they are in a science lab where things have gone horribly wrong and the experiments are on their own.

In the area just after the introduction made me feel like some serious problems were beginning elsewhere in the haunt by clever use of a vibrating floor. I was wondering what sort of event was going on making it vibrate the way it was, the only thing that I knew was that it was not good.

Brutal Planet did a great job setting up their actors to scare in creative ways. One of the most impressive was monsters jumping in from nowhere. This haunt also had impressive use of hidden actors to operate other scares. Use of these actors made props and other characters move almost my magic exactly where it needed to be fore the most notice/scare. The actors themselves with a few exceptions didn't really say much and did not stick out much to me.

The rest of the haunt was for the most part pretty cool as well. The beginning looked exactly like I would imagine a bioresearch lab to look like. As you progressed things started to get more and more strange. There was complete darkness, strange equipment, even skin attached to the wall. The fog room was quite good as well.

For all of its strengths, Brutal Planet did also have some weaknesses. The haunt it's self when it was over made me feel as though it was cut short. It needed to be just a bit longer for my tastes. I also think that there was a bit too much dead space in places where I could have used some more scares.

Overall, this is one of the better haunts in Denver. If you already have a pass to Elitch's I highly recommend going. On the other hand, if you don't have a way to get into the park for free or at least at a reduced price, you may need to decide if going is worth it to you for the price of admission.

PROS

Cool sets, nice props.

CONS

A bit too short, very costly to enter park.

RATING

REVIEW

For the first time haunt goer to Brutal Planet in the past 2 years, this will be a much welcome and scary haunt. Since changing their theme last year to zombies, they have incorporated awesome scare tactics and very disorienting F/X with strobes and fog. This year is just as scary, albeit similar to last year, same theme, mostly the same rooms, just different order, and mostly same scare tactics. That's not necessarily a bad thing, b/c they are using what works best. I really miss the all reflective tin foil room at the end this year, but some of the great rooms from last year are still around, including the ultra creepy children in the dark, mannequin room, suspended by ropes severed head room, and extremely disorienting fog/strobe room that just about makes you feel the true definition of vertigo. Imagine your entire spectrum of vision, including peripheral, enveloped in static TV fogginess, trying to feel your way to the exit with zombies occasionally popping into sight just inches from your nose, very effective. There are also some entrances to rooms that have very excellent surprises, like dangling corpse heads staring into your eyes just as you part the curtains. Overall, this haunt does not disappoint and really is quite brutal in its scare delivery. I hope next year is a redesigned theme with all new scare tactics to really keep the momentum of this attraction going.

PROS

Very effective scare tactics.

CONS

Same as last year.

RATING

REVIEW

Brutal Planet definitely feels like an upscale theme park haunt and has some very disturbing moments. This Haunt has also come a long way from its original roots. It started off as a relatively small independent in the mid 90's. So what you see today has been in the making for a long time and has become a quality Haunt you must see!

It has been at least three or four years since I have been through Brutal Planet and I definitely feel like it has even gotten better since then. There are elements in this that really stand out from the others. I love the opening introduction where there is a large video screen that warns you what to do if you should see zombies and it has a great surprise right at the end! I was disappointed to not see many zombies after that though, so don't expect that theme to carry on, but the rest of this haunt is very theatrical and even interactive. For example, be prepared for a few things like vibrating floors as you enter a toxic waste area that literally keeps you on your toes. There are even a few stunts performed such as a creature that comes flying down from the ceiling at you!

And once again, the way the lights, strobes, music and sound effects are used, it is very theatrical. So you are in for a treat with this one.

PROS

Hi tech, theatrical, great sounds, great performances and stunts

CONS

Could have more action, and could have more characters

RATING

REVIEW

It seemed as though there was going be the toxic spill theme when our group first walked in this haunt, but that idea quickly faded once in the first scene. The strobes and mirrored walls clearly stated that this was no landfill of super fund site. There was not a general theme here and it appeared that it was a series of random rooms and ideas throughout.

Some of the scenes were executed very well like the flesh room. I liked the idea of the walls being covered in the skins of unfortunate souls and the costume of the actor in the room was well done. However the strong smell of latex took away from the overall effect for me, as it was not as authentic as it could have been. Places where there appeared to be entrails hanging down along with scalps and other bloody delights were a nice touch and added detail. When these brushed my cheek as I walked through they felt quite realistic, which gave those scenes realism.

There is a room that has children in it that could be very creepy, but it was too bright in there and the actor was less than enthusiastic and easily seen when they shouldn't have been. Some areas were too well lit and the actors were not very original in their tactics to scare our group. I heard "Grrrr" and "Arrrgghh" a few too many times for my liking the night I visited. Costumes and makeup were not overly impressive although there were a couple that were well done.

The length of the haunt is pretty good but space could have been utilized better with more actors and less dead space. If you have a season pass, it's worth the extra few dollars for admission for a couple of mild scares and some scenes that are worth seeing. If you are looking for intense, truly frightening scares this may not do it for you.

PROS

Some interesting scenes, length, and good creativity

CONS

Too well lit, dead spots, average acting

RATING

REVIEW

Wow! I enjoyed this one a lot! Also at Elitch Gardens, it's definitely scarier than Screams and more appropriate for teens and adults. I loved the entrance with the fog room that is so thick it's hard to think. I found myself scared not knowing where I was going, and feeling helpless as monsters seemed to jump out at me from nowhere. I thought it was a great start—very strong. They did an excellent job keeping up with the theme of the "science lab" throughout. I loved that the props did a good job making it feel so real— as if you were in a lab gone wrong. There were "human" skins on the wall, as well as heads—some looked mutated, with multiple heads. This you imagine could have happened in a real lab, a scientist playing with human anatomy. The sound effects kept the creepiness continuous, and the vibrating floors were excellent, making you feel as if the place was falling apart.

I thought most of the actors did a good job getting into their characters. I loved the mannequin character who did a good job jumping out at me with creative spoken lines; he totally gave me the creeps. Another great character was the floating head in the dark room; the lighting really messed with my head. I liked that the actors got in your face and kept in character. This haunt was AWESOME! I would highly recommend it.

PROS

Good scares, great set up and props

CONS

Some rooms needs more finishing details

RATING

REVIEW

Brutal planet was the second of the haunted houses provided by Elitch Gardens Theme Park. This haunted house was established to thrill the older people in the crowd. You begin this haunt watching a short film explaining the rules, which is finished with a creative and unexpected surprise.

From pitch-black rooms to smoke filled rooms the haunt constantly kept you wondering what is going to happen next. One of my favorite rooms had an actor who was attached to a bungee device, which made it possible for him to jump from the ceiling and scare you half to death, not knowing where they came from. The sets and props in this haunt were very creative and nice eye candy to look at.

The actors at Brutal Planet lacked energy though making the haunt less believable. The scare factor was good but with the sets and props they had set up I felt that it could have been much better if the actors were up to par. Not overly scary for me, probably a fun haunt to bring the whole family to, after spending the day at Elitch's

PROS

Good length and amazing props and sets

CONS

Lack of actors and week scare factor

RATING

REVIEW

Brutal Planet gives you a really unsettling feeling as you walk through it. It was unclear when to walk or when to hold on for dear life. Brutal Planet's props and sets created a terrifying experience. There were rooms where you could not even see your hand in front of your face. The anticipation, not knowing what could be in there with you, was truly scary. The ground is vibrating and shaky under your feet, it keeps you wondering what could be underneath you. They had very intense props that looked as if they were real people, and then out of nowhere, one would come to life and come at you, acting in a way you would not imagine. The actors also seem to appear out of nowhere in several of the rooms. In some rooms it seemed like they came out from the walls, and in some from the ceilings. It definitely kept me on my toes, never knowing what would come next. However I felt like some of the actors lacked energy. It also seemed like it ended abruptly, it felt like when it was really just getting going, it just came to an end, too soon. I feel like they should have added in a few more scares, extra length, and energetic actors.

PROS

Effects and props

CONS

Needs actors with more energy

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt has some great energy. You can't help but feel anxious in this haunt. One of the things that stick out most in my mind in this haunt is the loud, obnoxious noise throughout. It sounds like there are alarms going off and loud bangs all over. This gave me an unsettling feeling, and while I wanted the noise to stop, it created excitement.

This haunt handles darkness really well. In some places, it's pitch black which I think is scary in and of itself, but when you're not expecting it, someone appears in a flash of light and scares the crap out of you. It's the same deal with the fog. They use fog in this haunt to the point where you can't even see your hand if you hold it out in front of you. Then all of the sudden a monster will appear out of no where, except you don't know where to turn because you can't see a thing! This is great! Sudden scares like these really got me. I wonder how the monsters saw me though…?

A few other things that really stood out to me was the skin hanging on the wall. It looked like a full body that had been skinned for wall art. That was sick. The room with the hanging heads was freaky. They spun around, and you had to touch them to get by. Their faces were gross, which made this scene more disturbing. Also, the room with the heads on the shelf was great too, Especially when one started moving toward your face. That actor really pulled this scene off well. The room with the mannequins was really cool too. I really didn't know which one was real until he moved and talked, and by the way, he was funny. One last room to mention was the room with the little people, they creped me out.

Overall, an excellent haunt, if they were to change anything, I would say that the actors could involve the viewers a little more intensely. Also, a little more attention to following the original theme would be beneficial.

PROS

A lot of excitement!

CONS

Needs a little more attention to detail.