OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RAW SCORE : 7.469

RATING

REVIEW

I’ll admit, I don’t think clowns are inherently scary. I’ve never been scared of the state fair and Stephen King’s It hardly gave me nightmare. CarnEvil fixed this problem for me. Perhaps the most credit goes to the conductor of the train that brought us to CarnEvil. Though staged within Red and Jerry’s the performance of this actor not only convinced me of the train, but set the tone for the whole haunt. Creepy/funny took on a whole new meaning inside CarnEvil. While I expected clowns, I was happy to find clowns pushing the limits, performing acrobatics in padded rooms and amping up more than your typical maniacal laughing shtick. I liked the cool carnival tricks like the vortex tunnel and hallway that gets smaller, though I’m not sure everyone would. It seems the world of CarnEvil involves a lot of small spaces and crawling that might not suit everyone. Likewise, though I loved the way close quarters held hidden clowns, I’m not sure it would be everyone’s favorite. Fortunately, these type rooms are offset by puzzles, where some walls move and other don’t. I really enjoyed expecting scares that weren’t coming and not seeing the ones that did.

PROS

AWESOME intro ride

CONS

Tight spaces are no fun

RATING

REVIEW

If you don't like clowns, then CarnEvil is not the best place to go. The clowns are there, they're evil and they want YOU. I didn't particularly find a lot of the clowns to be scary...except the one in the maze. For the most part, I felt like I was in some sleazy, run-down old carnival. The usual characters were there: the fortune teller, the train conductor, the dude who is hacking people to bits or something. Maybe they didn't buy enough coupons for the rides...who knows? There were a couple of new surprises, like the room that got progressively smaller as we walked through.

The new location at Red & Jerry's entertainment area added some interesting, and probably unintended effects. I liked the fact that they had covered the carpet in the venue, which gave the ground a real "squishy" feeling. That really added to the dizzying effect of the shrinking room. I also liked that we could hear the noise and sound effects coming from the games outside the haunt, kind of like the midway at a carnival.

All in all, there were some new things to spruce up this haunt and the change of venue might bring in people who have never been. I would love to see some new effects and scenes added to this haunt, while keeping the carnival theme running all the way through.

PROS

Carnival atmosphere started outside the haunt

CONS

Carnival theme gets lost now and then

RATING

REVIEW

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with CarnEvil as in I love this haunt because I freaking hate clowns. This year CarnEvil has changed for the better and for the worse. Don’t worry, you still have plenty of clown to terrorize you, although seemingly not as many as there were last year – but of course it was opening night.

Big clowns, tiny clowns, clowns with knives, clowns with big gnashing teeth, clowns with chainsaws, you know, the usual stuff of nightmares. I didn’t think it was as scary as last year though, maybe because they had fewer actors this time. They got rid of the maze, which many people thought was annoying, but I liked that part from last year. They have the typical spinning vortex to crawl through, lots of neon, wire, circus tent-themed construction inside, typical for this haunt.

The spandex walls with faces pushing against it is a neat trick, but my favorite is the dollhouse children’s room you have to crawl through. Tiny and claustrophobic, you’re just waiting for the tiny little evil clown to pop out of nowhere.  They still use the train ride effect in the beginning, which always was effective – in making me sick. There is the small chain link maze inside that they have kept from years past – how do I not remember to get out of this every year? Hint: juts push the creepy and annoying clown out of your way – he won’t slit your throat or anything (or will he?).

They have moved this haunt to Red & Jerry’s entertainment complex and is next door to Dead Before Dawn – probably a wise move in the overall scheme of things as kids can play arcades or skeet ball and make a night of it. Overall, I still enjoyed it as I have in years past.

PROS

New set design

CONS

Not as scary as in years past, shorter

RATING

REVIEW

Ok, we all know clowns will eat you if you fall asleep, right? Good, then I’m not alone in feeling that clowns are inherently scary! This was one of the first haunted houses I’d ever been to and I had a great time. We begin with a creepy and wholly TOO convincing train ride to reach our nightmare. I have to say the conductor made the trip as uncomfortable and un-nerving as possible. He just flat out MADE the trip, and honestly was the character I enjoyed most.

For a house thrown up in such little time, it seemed to do the job. They had some very good acting, some interesting sets and good make-up and costumes. It had a good amount of twisting, turning, surprises and shocks. All in all a decent haunt, and it’s still early in the season. Loved the hanging punch bags and the girl on the hypno-wheel!!!

PROS

Good pace, fun. Again, the Conductor rocked!

CONS

Room for improvement on some characters, but the Conductor is a hard act to follow!

RATING

REVIEW

This was a great surprise this year! They have moved the haunt to the inside of Red & Jerry’s, and it sits right in the middle of the arcade area. Deliberate or not, it works because you can hear the arcade games while you are inside which adds authenticity.

The space is well used, which creates a better length. The addition of animals, made up of actors and props adds to the circus feel of the theme. Lighting, sloped floors and areas you had to crawl through were great. My favorite was the area where the dimension of the rooms changed. Without giving it away, I will say it is very reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s house and it was great. The little guy at the table was very creepy! There was also a nice twist on the vortex tunnel that I liked, and don’t forget to say hi to Pennywise while you’re there. Plenty of actors here, no real lag time and great new space they are in. If you’re really afraid of clowns you may want to skip it, otherwise this is a good twist on an old favorite.

PROS

Room dimensions, authenticity, Pennywise

CONS

Some costumes, abrupt ending, some lighting

RATING

REVIEW

I liked this haunt for many reasons. It had a theme throughout, they worked hard on the set, and the games from the people playing in Red and Jerry’s going off in the background really made me feel like I was inside a carnival. They also brought some cool ideas into play.

I also liked that there were mazes and rooms that shrunk and it made me wonder if you were ever going to get out of the crazy nests of clowns an carnival rides I liked the that them was carried thought the hunt and there were plenty of actors. And it was almost like a fun house with crazy rooms and confusing hallways and clowns jumping all over the place. So be ready to walk through one haunt full of craziness jam packed with screams.  I think some of the actors overacted some time. I loved this house I think they did a great job. I hope to see them take it even father next year.

PROS

Actors were Charismatic 

CONS

Some rooms were field with to many actors

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt wasn't too bad.  It had some great features in it and I liked the changes they made to it.  The fact that it's in an arcade and you can hear the arcade games in the distance made the carnival theme more real.  The acting was pretty good as were most of the props and set which in part let to some pretty good scares.  The length was excellent, especially since there was no super long maze at the end to annoy the heck out of me.  I feel like this was a pretty fun haunt to go to and they did a pretty good job.

PROS

Great theme

CONS

Could use some more/bigger scares

RATING

REVIEW

I love the way this Haunt begins. The actor who guided us through the train experience was awesome. He was really animated and interesting which was a great way to get the group keyed up for what was to come.

When the train doors opened I found myself in a courtyard of sorts, but was immediately distracted by the sounds of video games permeating the air. The sounds made me really aware of being in Red and Jerry’s and less immersed in the haunt. However, there were still a lot of cool rooms in this haunt that kept me interested in what would come next.

The rooms with multiple exits and entries as well as a few really unnerving actors were my favorite. I enjoyed that I had to decode a puzzle in some places or else I would be stuck with some maniac clown wielding a weapon. The necessity of unlocking secrets in the haunt kept me involved in a way that I might not have otherwise been with the game soundtracks I could hear in the distance.

This is one of those haunts with a lot of neon and florescent light, but its used in a way that is effective and often scary. I definitely witnessed a few girls run out of this Haunt screaming their heads off!

PROS

Varied spaces with some cool secrets to decode

CONS

Found arcade setting distracting