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: 8.95
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.76
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 9.02
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.54
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 9.34
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.96
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.71
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.67
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Summary:
Exit 13 Haunted House radiates a notorious aura of serious scariness in its looks, atmosphere, intense actors, and content.
Especially for those in the know, getting in the driveway, going through line, and crossing the threshold after being told there is a safe word (!) is an act of will.
Well, we survived to tell you it was worth it. Exit 13 was scary and it was fun.
So, let’s get to it. Time to enter Exit 13!
Cast: 8.76
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.6
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.8
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 9.1
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.7
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This cast put on their grownup pants before coming out to play. Moving and interacting in threatening and intimidating postures, no doubt they ruled the roost here.
These monsters also tied off their trousers with bossy belts! Whether they were ordering us around like the hired help, pushing us through the next door, mashing us into a hole in the wall, or beckoning us forward, these folks let us know they were large and in charge.
In fact, the voodoo priestess demanded we kneel before her. Although she then nicely helped our old azzes back up, she still kept calling us filthy maggots and cackling over it!
Other memorable characters were the gross doll, malicious murder clowns, and the lanky lad who somehow managed to gymnastically pretzel-pull himself through a seemingly too small window opening.
Costuming: 9.02
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?: 8.9
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8.7
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 8.9
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 9.2
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9.4
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Exit 13 impressed with potent efforts in the character looks department, with a varied mix of masks, makeups, and face appliques. Some carried it off with a minimalist method, while others were over the top grotesque. Their overall look reflected the rest of the attraction: dirty, dusty, grimy, yucky.
Clothing looked quite complete and appropriately detailed, with special attention paid to the voodoo priestess, who looked great in rather bright lighting and topped off her ensemble with a dapperly worn hat.
The camo guy wielded a ‘Lucille’ bat with authority. We found the living doll hard to look at and had a physically revulsive reaction to her. The murder clowns were also terrifyingly done up. High costuming marks across the board.
Customer Service: 9.54
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?: 9.5
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9.6
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9.6
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9.4
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If you can remember the haunt name, you can make it to Exit 13, which is conveniently located just off exit 13 of I-475 in Mount Morris, MI (near Flint, a little over an hour northwest of Detroit).
Without the numeric mnemonic, GPS navigation proved easy-peasy and we can’t imagine anyone missing the place with its multi-colored lights, spotlights, banners, props, and blasting music. Free parking was in a standard lot with a good number of attendants directing us.
Though there were spots where we had to crawl for a length or squish through a tummy-tucking constricted corridor, overall we found this haunt to be fairly easy to get through with no problems finding our footing.
Exit 13 owns a nice informative website (exit13hauntedhouse.com), and socials it up on Facebook and Instagram.
Atmosphere: 9.34
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?: 9.3
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 9.4
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The setting around the attraction was of a piece with what we found inside. Which is to say threatening and sinister, and loud in a good way (lots of aggro rock — Rob Zombie, check).
Outside the building, we observed a good amount of scene-setting with giant prop photo ops. Indoors, the queue was laying on heavy amounts of fog and mood lighting.
The exit let out directly into a wonderfully decorated gift shop that looked like a TV horror host’s wet dream. There you can buy snacks and drinks, branded merch, and a lot of unique memorabilia and such.
Exit 13 brought out a highly evocative atmosphere that charged us up for the experience inside.
Special Effects: 8.96
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?: 8.8
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9.3
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 9.1
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8.7
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Exit 13 featured detailed sets built in a layered and organic way that made the whole resemble a freak house that was really lived in by a bunch of maniacs. The design sensibility manifested a grungy, gritty environment throughout that felt like a filthy film enveloping the entire place.
Highlights included the beginning laser swamp area where we negotiated ramps and close walls, several rooms in the front that strung together a haunted mansion type vibe, the icky doll room, and some very funhouse-y elements like mirrors, tight-squeeze corridors, secret doors, moving bookshelves, and such.
Aurally speaking, Exit 13 played an effective soundtrack, including a brief and successful foray into ‘old-timey’ ragtime-like music.
This haunt apparently tears it down and starts over almost from scratch again every year to present something altogether different. Kudos on that approach!
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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No theme at all at Exit 13, and all the better for it. Just wandering through a violent madman’s dark, darting, incoherent mind.
Scare Factor: 8.71
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.8
(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?: 8.8
(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?: 8.3
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Exit 13 enjoys a rep as scary and extreme. In the opening rules-giving, visitors are told the safe word to escape the inhabitants’ greedy clutches…
A glow stick system enhanced our scares. Wearing the stick around our necks branded us for more intense terror targeting. We endured face caressings, head rubs, chainsaw molestations, pushes and shoves, ‘tickles’ (aka finger jabs), and a solid thwack on the booty from a paddle or something like that.
We further got pushed out of our comfort zone by being made to duck, crawl on all fours, and squeeze through an extremely tight vertical space.
As noted, characters were menacing, intimidating, and gross looking, paving the way for more frightening jump scares and squirmier interactions.
The design aesthetic played a key role in setting up scares, making the setting feel dangerous and unpredictable.
Entertainment & Value: 8.67
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?: 9.2
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 8.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 7.8
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9.6
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We managed to exit Exit 13 in 16 minutes. At a $30 general admission, the MPD (minutes of in-haunt entertainment per dollar) is 0.53. A fast pass option is also available.
No way around it, that MPD number is on the lower end of the scale, where we usually like to see somewhere around a 1.0.
Normally we’d scoff at such a ratio, but Exit 13 provided a crazy fun time with some unique experiences and great effects, sets, cast, and costuming.
If you don’t mind paying that price point, we’d say it’s worth it. And from the look of the crowd in the queue, many would agree with that statement.
While this was our first visit to the infamous Exit 13, it certainly won’t be the last. Count 13 as your lucky number for off-the-wall hauntjoyment!
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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