Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site✓-Handicap Accessible✓-Food/Concessions✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-Special Events✓-“Hi-Tech” Attraction✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Movie Characters✓-Original Characters✓-Covered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-All-Indoor Attraction✓-Family Friendly
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 9.1
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.59
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 9.13
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.55
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 9.84
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 9.12
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.54
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 9.36
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Summary:
Don’t let the fact that Azra Haunted House is only in its second year deter you because, if you did not visit them last year, you MUST attend this year! Azra has many chambers of frights for you to enjoy. Every possible fear will be touched upon while you are inside their walls. Azra covers the whole gamut when it comes to oogie boogies!
This haunt is full of action without many areas for you to collect yourself in between terrors. The festivities begin as soon as you approach the haunt with its full-service party, a.k.a. the queue line, around back. The entertainment starts before you even enter. In addition to the fears the haunt has to offer, many other activities like a rage room, axe throwing, and escape rooms can keep you busy for an entire evening, if you so desire.
Cast: 8.59
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 9.6
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.9
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 7
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 7.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 9.8
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Actors are aplenty at Azra. We counted roughly 38 actors the night we went and, as that is quite a high number, we did not feel like it was overly saturated. There were still areas without actors with animatronics and other sights carrying those areas.
The actors were not very dialogue-driven this year. Being more focused on the dialogue and more engaging conversation could have made a few scenes more impactful. One masterful mention would have to be for the woman, unfortunately, being sawed in half; how awful, poor thing! She probably had the most spine-tingling screams we have heard this season! Her entire character was based on the pain she was enduring, and she truly had us feeling it through those awful screams.
The zombie area with the cage climbers was impressive yet again for fully incorporating their sets. One in particular had us crouching, ready for impact! The most involved and engaging actor would have to be the opener as soon as you walk in. She put on a creepy yet controlling dialogue.
Here’s a tidbit for you: we had provided our scaredy-cat of a teammate’s name to an actor upon entering and gosh-be-darned somehow everyone within the haunt knew her name and tortured her with it. It was truly terrifying for her, and I’ve never laughed so hard in my life!
A certain clown with some Latin name (It escapes me. Maybe I will remember before I die’ ah, anyway) he stealthily popped up to startle us more than once throughout our journey. His presence made us feel as though we saw double or triple, which we actually did in the clown room! Let us explore that more in the Costuming section.
Costuming: 9.13
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 9
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 8.5
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 9.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9.6
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Costuming: here we are now, let us speak about those costumes within the clown section, shall we?! Holy-ravioli, we noticed there was something slightly off with those costumes. It turns out, with the 3D glasses on, the costumes themselves become 3D! This was a small but powerful detail we caught onto that dazzled our already confused eyes.
Also, I refuse to produce any spoilers here, but most-exciting for us was a particular cardinal-colored villain placed carefully inside. He’s hard to miss.
Outside of a few particular costumes, a majority are typical costumes you expect to see. All were appropriate for their scenes, and we did not see any that were incomplete.
Customer Service: 9.55
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 9.4
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9.5
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9.8
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9.5
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The giant dragon outside the building is the first indicator you are in the right spot for Azra. As disappointed as we were that the dragon was not spewing smoke or making any sound effects the night we visited (sad-face), his presence is still staggering. Bright changing lights with people meandering, a food truck, and a packed parking lot are also some key indicators. There is minimal parking in their lot, but local businesses provide overflow. We like the Church next door as we know it is not open and will offer us a safe refuge when we come running out.
Azra has some excellent people working there, friendly, and excited to make your evening memorable. Also, the staff at the end of the haunt working the rage room / escape rooms / ax-throwing were very knowledgeable about their additional services. Security is on-site, and no safety concerns were noted. Portable and permanent bathrooms are available, as well.
Atmosphere: 9.84
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 9.8
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 9.9
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Azra wants every victim to have a fun and entertaining experience before entering the doors to their demise. Go figure. They do a pretty great job at it, though!
Food is available in the form of food trucks throughout the season and some snacks located at the end of the haunt in the escape room area. A delicious-smelling donut truck accompanied us on our evening, so bring some extra cash for goodies!
The party atmosphere by Azra is crazy, and some would say a little obnoxious, but we say, entertain us, Mr. DJ! Movies were playing on big screens, fire and LED dancers, and queue actors to keep you aware of your surroundings. Many actors roam about, and new this year is a permanent cover overhead to keep you dry. Space heaters to keep you warm on those chilly nights and all that is missing are back massages while waiting in line, get on that Azra!
Special Effects: 9.12
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8.8
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9.3
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 8.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 9.5
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 9.5
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Special effects galore! Azra has its claws on all forms of props, sounds, and details to fully encompass you. I know we mentioned it before, but the mannequin room and the zombie cage area are favorites of ours. This is because Azra can turn an entire room into an impactful experience, and not merely because of an abundance of items or intricate details, but for other reasons. They can use lighting, activity from all directions of a room, fog, and one’s perception to their advantage. We want more!
Having details on the walls as you are sloping up to get to the different levels of the haunt is a nice touch. Going back to actor engagement, we felt as though sometimes the focus was put on animatronics to fill spaces a little too frequently. Perhaps if the actors engaged more, those scenes would resonate more, and if they used the props around them, it might help pull everything together. One example of this was an actor utilizing an animal prop near the end of the haunt. Granted, we were possibly moving at a quicker clip at the end, not allowing us to catch what the scene was entirely, but we do know there was a large prop, and it was scary. That’s all that matters, right?
To quickly mention, the sweet-smelling room of the carnival area, the carnival music, and the maniacal laughing track within that area was a little disorienting; I’m sure the 3D glasses had something to do with that as well!
Theme: N/A
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?:
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?:
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?:
This score is left “N/A” when we believe the haunt is trying to target a random variety of themes or phobias, rather than a single overarching “Theme” or “storyline.”
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Similar to last year, we are stating that Azra does not have a theme. There is no mention of the Azra story on their website, and the theme was not included along the way. We may know that Azra is the dragon, but anyone walking in without previous knowledge would not. Thus, this section has not been scored.
Scare Factor: 8.54
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.5
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8.9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 7.2
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Azra’s action-packed demeanor covers all the different possible scares. The actors’ attention seemed to be focused on the entire group versus individuals. However, that is how Azra operates, as they are not an intense, in-your-face-haunt that singles out people of your group. So, if you are one of those scared ones out there, this may be a good haunt for you to go through and be lost in the middle of the group somewhere. Some animatronic props were hit or miss with timing. The intensity throughout Azra tends to stay the same; there are no stand-out portions that are over-the-top, but rather a constant rumble that you can’t seem to kick.
The ending had good energy as personnel encourage you to hurry through the last portion after you are done taking your “ride.” By doing this, it builds some anxiety as you are hustling through the last scene, and you quickly stumble upon the almighty finisher of, you guessed it, a chainsaw.
Entertainment & Value: 9.36
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 9
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 10
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9.2
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9.3
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General admission is $25, and it took our group 16 minutes to make it through, which is a minute per dollar ratio of 0.64, which is very much on the low side. Even with the addition, it took our group less time to go through this year than last. A lot of factors could have caused that, but we still say $25 for the haunt and the queue line entertainment is a pretty good use of your buckeroos. The VIP fast pass is $40, and there is a skip the line entirely option for $80 – (insert shocked face emoji). Maybe if you despise lines, being around people, music, and fun, that option is for you!
There is a lot packed into that haunt, and we do not see how they could use their space any better from an outsider’s perspective. We were told, though, next year they are adding even more square footage! How doooooo they do it!?
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Promo Images:
Click to Enlarge
Awards:
2019
Highest Rated Haunt
Highest Rated Haunt in Michigan
