Fear Farm Review (2024)

The cast at Fear Farm did a great job with what they were given. The four haunts reviewed by Jackalope felt well fleshed out with ghouls and monsters, with the exception of Nautical Nightmare, that could certainly use more actors. They did their best to be convincing in their behaviors and, for the most part, succeeded. The clowns were full of energy, cultists were suitably devoted and frenzied, and zombies were infected and groaned convincingly.

The cast in Dead Hour was especially great. Every person in this particular haunt played their role to the hilt. The most unsettling set piece didn’t even have any real makeup or costumes, just people sitting on a couch asking us to join them. I can’t really describe why it left me so unnerved, but something about it was amazing. 

The threats and taunts through the rest of that haunt were top-notch, and they were exceptionally interactive and happy to banter.  While some of the other haunts felt more rote, Dead Hour was unhinged in the best possible way.

Fear Farm is run by Thirteenth Floor, so they have a tremendous amount of expertise, though we saw some things that we feel could use more attention. Nautical Nightmare is a great example of this. While some of the fish cultist masks were truly stellar and shockingly good, the eyeholes weren’t blackened. We could see human skin right under the mask. Clean hands, arms, and necks abounded throughout each of the four haunts, small details that kept what was otherwise a really great makeup job from looking truly excellent.

Similarly, a few odd choices stood out for me. The cultist leader at the end of Nautical Nightmare was a man without any cool designs on him, no signs that he was the one causing people to literally transform into fish, he was just an average person. I fully understand that it was really hot out, and makeup and prosthetics are miserable in the heat, but some detail to indicate his role would go a long way!

Every employee that I spoke to at Fear Farm was polite, courteous, and informative. There weren’t any other major issues within the haunt. Nowhere on their website does it list that you need to pay for parking. There is an option for VIP parking nearer the haunt that you can pay for, but there’s no indication that you have to pay. On arriving on the night you are directed onto a field, then sent around the field to drive past the paid VIP parking lot to see how great it is, then out and around in the field until you get to the non-VIP parking. It’s only then that an employee tells you that parking is $5. That’s not a lot of money, but there are no signs, no warnings, no indications anywhere that you need to pay for parking.

A jagged piece of wood dug into my foot in Nautical Nightmare, which shows that they aren’t quite as committed to safety as they could be. A walkthrough beforehand to show that a big piece of wood was loose could have resolved the issue easily. It was hard to tell which haunt we were entering, as each had multiple signs with different names, but we managed.

Be prepared to walk outside quite a bit, so natural terrain and elements should be considered when arriving to and walking through the haunt and all of its attractions.

Fear Farm has built a spooky carnival on the outskirts of town, and they use this to solid effect. Everything has a solid vibe, with carnival food, rides, and hay bales to sit on. This works well for what they’re going for, and each of their attractions splits off of this central carnival area. Going in and out of each haunted attraction flows nicely.

Within the attractions, the storyline flows decently well, though each is a fairly well-worn trope. The biggest swing for the story was Nautical Nightmare, a town taken over by a Lovecraftian cult telling us that He is coming and we will dedicate ourselves to him. It worked really well and is something I haven’t seen done all that often. There were also spooky clowns, zombies, and murderous hillbillies. We did feel well immersed in the attractions, nothing pulling us out. Possibly, an overt storyline could help pull guests in further, adding to the already fun experience.

Fear Farm is a part of the 13th Floor Entertainment Group, and as such can rely on their nationwide expertise for their special effects. This means that everything within the property has a layer of professionalism to it that works out really well. 

Animatronics are solid, especially a killer clown wall in Clown Alley. Some of the set design is also fantastic, with Nautical Nightmare being an especially great entry. Their bubble pool in the center of the haunt was distinctive and creative, a really great showing. 

We would like to see more artistic creativity in Carnage, as the set design consisted mainly of plywood and metal stands and very little in the way of creative or artistic design, though we did enjoy their water cannon! Unfortunately, no other effects stood out in this one.

This haunt does a great job of distributing scares to everyone in the group.  It seemed to be fairly even, with scares sometimes coming from the front, other times from the back or the sides. In that aspect, they did a really great job!  However, each haunt had its own distinctive style and stuck to that, leading to predictable scares after the first few moments. There was variation from attraction to attraction, but not within the haunt overall. 

Additionally, none of the attractions had anything in the way of a finale. They each just ended. The exception to this was Nautical Nightmare, which had an actual storyline and a climax. The climax was someone let down by the simplistic costuming of the big bad villain, but I do need to give them credit for having and executing one.

I have mixed feelings about scoring the entertainment and value section.  Walkthrough time for the four included haunts totaled a combined 23.5 minutes.  At a general admission price of $34.99, we’re left with a minutes-per-dollar score of .67, which is significantly better than most Arizona haunts!

That said, there is so much that is not included in the general admission ticket price. The carnival rides are separate, which makes sense, but there are three other spooky attractions that are also ticketed separately.

Parking is available, starting at $5 for one of the parking lots on site, and an upcharge for a closer parking area. Parking attendants are there to guide visitors.

With the amount of active time one gets for the ticket price, Fear Farm gives its guests a solid value.