OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RAW SCORE : 8.406

RATING

REVIEW

The coolest part of this haunt for me was by far the Donkey Kong style progression. Bear with me. Throughout the haunt there is a creepy screaming monster guy standing above the whole thing. He keeps yelling and throwing things and for me this was the perfect touch to a jungle themed haunt. Primitive Fear capitalizes on fog and sand and vertical space to ensure a disorienting environment. They then mix up the traditional haunt experience by filling it full of leaves and shadows and all the creepiness of being in the woods (without actually being in the woods, which is in itself kind of amazing). The flow of this haunt was great and even though I was at the back of the pack and miss the timing of the scare, I felt awe inspired with every unfolding. There were moments when I found myself trapped, but not, moments when I thought I could run and couldn’t. Unfortunately, for me this haunt was scary and encouraged running, which I shouldn’t have ever thought was okay. This haunt in particular, is riddled with stairs. Where I’m used to ramps (that I also trip on) here I found huge drop offs and sudden rises that weren’t my favorite. Maybe people who aren’t the cowards I am can handle it. Either way, this haunt rules, and the novel thinking that went into scares like this are well worth seeing.

PROS

Great use of texture and vertical space

CONS

Stairs can be scarier than monsters

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt grows on me every year. The biggest improvements came in the props/sets and the length. I can't be sure these elements actually changed, but that's what impressed me the most. I had an overall feeling of being lost in the jungles of South America. Imagine being on an expedition and getting separated from your team...that's what Primitive Fear felt like for me.

I felt inundated with textures and smells: burlap, leaves, wood, sand, fog. There was a lot of camo netting, which not only hid ceilings, etc., but also gave it that "lost in the jungle" feeling. The bridges also felt and looked mossy to me, which is what I imagine a jungle river bridge might be like. They used the effect of collapsing walls really well in this haunt. A couple of times, I felt like we were in a cave whose walls weren't very steady and they were crumbling around us.

The feeling I came away with from this haunt was that I had actually BEEN somewhere else...something I look for in a haunt. I don't necessarily need to have actors jumping out at me or startling me to be scared in a haunt. Sometimes, just being totally immersed in the atmosphere a haunt creates is enough. Primitive Fear transported me to the unknown realm of the jungle and delivered some good scares along the way.

PROS

Well done props and sets, full immersion in the scenes

CONS

Some costumes were just black clothing

RATING

REVIEW

Out of the three HauntPlex attractions, this is my least favorite. And that’s not because it doesn’t have great ideas in it – I just don’t get the tribal, jungle theme that is consistent with this haunt. It’s not something that really brings a state of fear to me, but that may vary with other haunt goers.

The set design is creative and is well mixed with a few inventive special effects – although not much has changed from last year. I think my favorite actor in the whole haunt was the guy standing at the top in the middle of the whole haunt. As you progress through the haunt, you can see him and hear him through cracks in the ceiling or camo mesh. When you finally get a good look, he is very powerful and creepy looking. His constant taunts are distracting you as you go scene to scene, so that the other actors get the drop on you.

Without giving too much away, I still enjoyed the log scene and the falling actor room. These were repeats from last year, but as always it’s best to keep the good ideas and throw out the bad ones. The hallway with the white circles and strobes was also present – this effect is great! I could have stood there for a long time entranced if it wasn’t for the disturbing actor standing there staring back at me. All in all, this haunt still competes with the best even though it’s the last one on my list at HauntPlex.

PROS

Creative and different atmosphere than most

CONS

Nothing changed from last year

RATING

REVIEW

Whoa, I absolutely LOVED the jungle theme!! Everything’s better with monkeys! So I don’t remember seeing any monkeys; but the thought that there might be (especially rotted zombie monkeys) sent me over the top! I don’t know about everyone else, but for atmosphere, sets and props; this was my favorite house at the Hauntplex. I thought for the larger part the acting was great too. A few actors might not have been at the top of their game, but I was looking for monkeys, so I wasn’t fazed.

The suspension bridges were awesome, swaying to and fro combined with sand covered floors and winding paths. I liked that it didn’t seem like a bunch of sharp angles. It felt more organic and random to me (seriously I was expecting monkeys!). But there’s one room that stood out big time. It was pitch black with florescent splatter on the walls (okay not so organic there). The theme is simple but the effect is awesome. Imagine being lost in a day-glo universe…

When I left the house, my knees were wobbly and I still wanted more. The sewer tunnels were fundamental. The places where I had to squirm thru stuff were really scary! I’m a big girl too, so the fear of getting stuck is definitely primal!

We also did this one last at the Hauntplex and had saved the Maze for after. The ‘Mazemaster’ kept cajoling us as we passed him up twice, finally we were ready to go thru and I caught him unawares and scared him good!!! RARGHHHH!!!!

PROS

Great sets, props, lots of interaction. I’d do this one again!

CONS

No friggen monkeys!!!

RATING

REVIEW

Lots of great changes here this year! I have always liked this haunt because of their set design, and this year was no exception. The overall theme has stayed with the scenes that work and I was glad to see that they had not been changed. New sets have been incorporated, and blend well with the rest of the haunt. I like the lighting here, it is enough that you can see where you’re going, but not bright enough to give any of the scares away. The length is good and when it seemed I must be at the end, there was another scene to go into. I really like the use of space and there was not an overuse of fog, which was an improvement.

The variety of scenes in this one offers something for everyone. Some of my favorite rooms were: The foam room, the swamp area and the actor there, the strobe tunnel area had some great new additions to it and the saw guy in the area with sand was great.

The actors were pretty good, and in one are very good. They had one member of our group cornered, and he was scared enough that he didn’t want to try and get by them. Costumes were improved from previous years, but have room to go to the next level. This haunt has a lot to offer by way of variety and set design, and should be on your list.

PROS

New sets, improved costumes, some actors intense

CONS

Some lag time, some areas with no scares

RATING

REVIEW

I must say that I really liked this haunt, because it was friggin sweet! I was in suspense around every turn. This was my first time at Primitive Fear and I was introduced to new things and new concepts I’d never seen before!

There was great use of space in this haunt and lots of attention to detail. At some points I was literally slanted in the dark. It didn’t seem like there was a theme but it all came together in the long run. I was picked on a little bit in this one and I loved it. At one point I was even separated from my group and ended up wandering by myself . The costumes were great and so was the makeup. Some of the rooms left me wondering weather or not I wanted to go in. I got a kick out of this house.  I also loved how I had to find my way around in the dark feeling like it was never going to end.

All in all this was a great haunt. I loved how it was different from all of the other ones in Hauntplex and I can’t wait to see what’s in store next time. You guys rocked me with scares thanks!

PROS

Loved the Ideas and the chromatic actors

CONS

Some rooms didn’t seem to have any actors

RATING

REVIEW

This was a great haunt!  I love the changes made from years past.  New things are always exciting and unexpected.  There were some really good props and effects that made this haunt stand out.  I hate giving stuff away, but the black room with glow paint sprinkled everywhere is the best I've seen like it.  The actors in it were excellent and it just had an overall disorienting effect like none other. 

Everything was really good, the scares, acting, and set.  The length was excellent. I liked how the actors made me feel uneasy as I was going through just by what they were saying, i.e. "They're getting closer!" like we were headed for the gas chamber or something.  A little more attention to detail would have made this haunt excellent, but it was really good overall.

PROS

Everything was really good

CONS

A little more attention to detail

RATING

REVIEW

I love the feeling of entering this haunt through multiple levels. The first room is filled with smoke and strobes, which are totally disorienting and I never knew when someone was going to pop out. The second space is a series of dark hallways leading to a super creepy bridge. When you finally pass over the bridge you’ll be in front of a large tomb where I felt like the true journey began.

The theme of levels continued throughout, almost to the point of excess. At some points there were stairs and steps that were difficult to predict and almost caused me to trip. What was cool about the levels is that if felt like things were coming at you from above, below and all sides, which is a nice surprise.

There was even one character that loomed above us and yelled through multiple rooms, taunting us as if we needed to find him. I really enjoyed the other elements that came from above in unexpected and unusual ways.

The final element that was really cool about Primitive Fear is that there are lots of textures throughout. Under my feet I could feel the textures changing along with many rooms. I wanted to touch everything and feel the different elements in order to gain the full experience.

PROS

Loved multiple entries and confusing spaces

CONS

Some scares too loud and hurt my ears!