Geek’d Reviews: The Asylum Haunted Attraction!

What’s the best time of year? October, of course, with all of its scary movies, candy and our favorite thing in the world: Haunted Attractions! There’s nothing we love better than a crisp October night, a road trip to an area haunt, and screaming in octaves that only dogs can hear. Halloween is our Christmas.

So, we at Geek’d have decided to visit some of the local haunts and give an honest, no-holds barred review based on the following merits:

1. Originality/Concept
2. Set Design/Atmosphere
3. Actors/Performance
4. Price/Value
5. Scare Factor

First up on our list … The Asylum. Located in Nowata, Oklahoma, this haunt has racked up the awards for the last few years and now we know why.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0sLrAY9Z0[/embedyt]

1. Originality: So a mad doctor who turns his patients into frightening creatures isn’t exactly a new concept. That said, few are done as well as this one. There are some interesting spins on the concept, so it never seems rehashed or familiar.
   
   
2. Set Design: Once inside, you feel like you’ve stepped directly into a horror movie. It’s not decorated, it’s designed. Due to the layout of the floor plan, you’re forced to ‘participate’ whether you like it or not. Trust us, you’ll want to.
   
   
3. Actors/Staff: Each scene you encounter is as unique as the actor or group of actors you encounter. They embody their role brilliantly, with a diverse range of tactics to invade your personal space and freak you out! Some whisper, some chatter wildly, but all of them know how to get under your skin to great effect.
   
   
4. Price/Value: At only $20, it’s a fantastic value. We timed it at around 20 minutes, which is an ETERNITY when something new lurks around every corner and the scares are high quality. We’ve paid as much for as little as 7 minutes at other local attractions, so we felt like it was definitely worth the money.
   
   
5. Scare Factor: Being scared is subjective, but we think that even the hardcore haunted house fans will appreciate the set design and overall experience. But for the majority of people that we encountered, they had an amazing time. And we did too, even though it takes a bit to get our hearts racing. We’ll admit, we had a few expletives leave our lips more than once. And we could hear the screams from the other patrons. Job well done.
   

We’d argue that the Asylum has packed more fear and set design per square foot in their 2 story haunt than most do in larger venues. After the doors open and you step in, you are suddenly in a different world. The sets are movie quality realistic, with some hands-on disgusting props that have to be felt to be believed. But what pushes The Asylum to the top of our list is their staff and actors. It can be a challenge as a haunt worker to maintain that energy, but after going through it twice we were beyond impressed with their commitment to their performances. Chilling. Terrifying. Scary. The Asylum should be at the top of your list this season as you look for something to do over the weekends this Halloween season.

Learn more at www.okasylum.com or get tickets here.