Baldwin Asylum Haunted Attraction Review (2021)

The cast at BAHA remained incredible throughout our walkthrough. From the moment of entering to the finale, it seemed everyone was in sync with timing, interactions, and scares.

Some of the younger talents were able to dart across a room in seconds without warning. There were a few actors who found their way on top of autopsy tables and other horrid contraptions that added to the level of intensity. BAHA is an asylum-themed haunt of course, and the 40ish actors we came across all gave a sense of insanity throughout as well. It is hard to try and pinpoint any moment someone wasn’t taking their roles seriously and it showed that the team was really into the experience as a whole.

The dedication given even on the last show of the night was intense. There was nothing lazy about it or a ‘just going through the motions’ feel at all. You could tell even after a long night they were still giving it their absolute all. What I admire about BAHA is that dedication, so much so, that they have committed stilt walkers inside the attraction in rooms that tower over and somehow even drop down seamlessly. To continue on that level of commitment and convincing moments provided throughout is impressive.

We need to recognize a young actor who left us wondering what exactly we were looking at for a moment. We happened to walk into a dark red room with plenty of fog and noticed something above our eye level just ahead’ This actor we want to keep talking about will be mentioned in our Scare Factor category, as it seems more appropriate to finish this conversation there, just bear in mind this was a moment we were left stunned, which is something that doesn’t happen often, especially on return visits.

The makeup and costume department goes above and beyond for these crazy details throughout all costume designs. It remains a high point of the review and helps provide extra details within scenes. BAHA also uses plenty of prosthetics to help provide depth into costume designs and attain an extra level of horrid gore such as flesh wounds gaped open, revealing having a human face. It is quite the spectacle to see these designs brought to life by the cast and crew.

Some of the more particularly frightening costumes have to be these two demon creatures. They both have their particular-looking features, such as the first to mention looking like some kind of actual demon with these great-looking horns to add to the appeal. The second one looks something more along the lines of Chatterer (one of the OG Cenobites from Hellraiser) only much more horrifying. This character design also includes some great curved horns as well as some tusks growing from the cheek.

What I enjoy about the creativity here is how there is no detail left unfinished. For example, as great as these costumes are, the team at BAHA tends to take it a step further and work on greatly detailed stilts on some of these characters. Not only are they a sight to see at eye level, being at least 3 feet taller gave us a sense of feeling helpless and fragile compared to these monsters. One of the other giants, who is already easily six foot four inches without help, wears giant platform shoes giving him a close to 7-foot mark if not a bit more. He carries around a giant mallet that looks very heavy but swings it around with no problem.

One other incredible detail throughout is the use of face masks. There is a great deal of design in some of these masks that I recall some actors having for character pre-covid on our visit in 2019, but this year was rather stunning. Some of the masks used would smoke from some device on it that was a crazy-looking detail.

BAHA must have some great talent within their walls because the proof is in the details. Incredible work here.

It seems that BAHA takes advantage of the giant lot they have by having plenty of actors walking throughout both the parking lot and inside fa������������������ade to create a unique atmosphere.

Focusing a bit on the inside, the fa������������������ade is very gorgeous, to say the least. With what we are seeing, it feels as though we are approaching a building of torment and pain, which is practically stated on the front door as an advertisement: ‘Baldwin Asylum. Rehabilitation of the Mind Through Pain and Suffering.’ Something like that tells us no patient is here by their own will. What I appreciate are the sounds coming from here as well, giving an extra sense of paranoid feelings. The lights in here are also dimmed and warm which helps give into the sense that not is all that it appears. As great of a fa������������������ade as we are given here and effective as it is to transform us into the front of an asylum full of tortured and demented patients, the only way I can describe it effectively is it is a literal calm before a storm, and that storm is behind the front door’

The SFX department at BAHA is full of some great surprises and creations. Some of the more effective pieces throughout happen to be scenes and props. As it is an asylum, we are treated to some aftermath experiments that did not go well for the patient. BAHA has had some of the goriest details during our 2021 tour. What makes these scenes interesting that adds so much more than just a bloodied mess is the light play. Some rooms had clear focus points by keeping certain parts of the room a bit darker than others and worked to add a sense of worry in said scene. A good example of this would have to be this one scene where a doctor is operating on a dead patient. When we entered the room, it was a clear focus that we should walk to the red light through the darker set and witness the horrors taking place. The usage of light also gave the rest of the room just enough light to make out certain details but also add a depth of mystery to it all. Might we add that there are certain horrid smells in rooms as well! This kind of gives an impression as though there may be rotting flesh somewhere near, possibly even being worked on right in front of us.

Another great focus BAHA tends to have would be the use of transitions from scene to scene. There are multiple times when we walked into a scene with a sort of understanding of what direction to go to, however, the entrance to the next scene is sort of hidden into a much narrower space than anticipated. This creates two great effects: 1. The scenes feel much more immersive in a sense of not seeing a standard doorway 2. This gives the impression of almost a dead-end in each room, causing panic at times. It’s super effective for what it is.

On top of the lights, smells and panicking approaches BAHA has down, the details in the props and scenes overall are top-notch. We had seen the usage of ‘electroshock’ in the haunt via the usage of a tesla coil. It is at a wildly great effect and is at a clear safe distance behind plenty of fencing to assure no one is hurt by this. There is no way anyone could accidentally touch it. Other great details could be found in plenty of rooms, but one of the more basic yet effective builds would have to be the church area. There is a plethora of upside-down crosses hanging from the ceiling and can be striking to any religious person. The scene as a whole is ominous as it seems like a mountain of pallets and wood are just thrown together in a hectic fashion and help blend the crosses and the high altar until one is face to face with it. Overall, the special effects provided by BAHA remain not just frightening but very entertaining as well.

The Theme at BAHA remains the same from our 2019 visit but has shown a bit more to the story than our last visit. The story of the curse on the BAHA website tells of a woman who lived in the woods with her daughter away from society. When she was eventually discovered and taken to the local asylum for an evaluation, the local priest helped determine she was a witch. The witch then proceeded to inflict havoc and pain on the asylum and turn it into what it is today.

There were more signs of this curse in play with certain characters bearing certain markings that help tell the story of the curse and count towards the theme. We also have a good representation of the priest in the attraction which is a character in the story as well. It can be difficult at times to tell a whole story throughout, but there is more of an effort from what we can tell.

When it comes down to it, BAHA does a great job of providing a variety of scares throughout. One thing I would like to revisit is the actor we acknowledged in the cast section and what exactly took place when we met. *Spoiler* This was a serious moment of disbelief when it happened but set the scene for a good idea of what transpired. We entered a fogged room with red laser light to give a sheeted light effect (we were not able to see past a certain angle due to this particular light, typically used in a swamp scene so one is unable to see below the waist). From the fenced ceiling of the said scene, we had an actor crawling above our heads. The harness used was blended into the costume well enough to give us a believable reaction as though he was hanging on parallel to the ceiling and effortlessly gliding above us.

Along with all of the well-detailed gore, BAHA does remain great in terms of scaring. One of my favorite scares we received was almost immediate. We happened to come across an actor who was hiding a taser probe (not an actual one of course, but one for gag purposes) and zapped one of our team with it. Considering he was hiding rather well it seemingly came from nowhere. The few actors inside the attraction who also happen to be on stilts is something that can be unexpected in both practicalities (as one would only expect such in the queue) as well as the unusual movements that give them a great advantage to scare. The sort of finale provided at BAHA is also worth mentioning as it continues with the idea of gore and looks plenty gross (that is a great thing in a haunted house). Be prepared, as it is the only way out of the attraction.

BAHA continued to impress us during the 2021 season, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for the next season!

Our walkthrough time during our visit was 22 minutes long. With general admission being a mere $20 price online, it gives our minute per dollar value a 1.1. It is honestly a tad crazy to think the ticket price starts at $20 for such a quality show. Considering it is roughly a 2-hour drive to Rantoul from Chicago, the trip is worth the experience and this attraction.

Oddly enough, we have run into the BAHA team on off-season events as they have made their way to the Chicago area to visit haunts here as well (fun fact). This haunt is one I feel should be on everyone’s radar due to all it provides, and for such an affordable price. I know it will now be a regular visit for us during the review season!