Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Handicap Accessible✓-Food/Concessions✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-“Old-School” (Low Tech)✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Movie Characters✓-Original Characters✓-Indoor/Outdoor Waiting Line✓-All-Indoor Attraction
reviewed this attraction on September 30, 2017.
Final Score: 4.53
Summary:
This was Grissom Maze of Terror’s inaugural year and their marketing department definitely did their job, bringing in over 1300 patrons on their opening weekend. The haunt is housed inside of an office building that sits in a business park which is also owned by the haunt. They have big plans to expand in the future and add several other attractions and concessions. This is a very old-school style haunt, with no discernible theme, just a large collection of great props, immense sets and fantastic lighting.
Cast: 5.29
There are a lot of actors running around Grissom Maze of Terror and they are pretty good at popping out of unexpected places. It is evident that this is their first year though, as they were lacking in any real dialogue on interaction. With the exception of the nun in the queue, the actors basically resorted to popping up and screaming at us. There were a few times when someone would scream ‘Get out!’ ‘Keep moving!’ or tell us that we were ‘going the wrong way,’ when we clearly weren’t. Given some time and actor training, we expect this haunt’s cast to improve greatly.
Costuming: 3.83
The nun in the queue line and a couple of the clowns were very well costumed, along with one of the guides, who was dressed like a vampire bellhop. The rest of the cast relied heavily on standard latex masks, which made any attempt at dialogue nearly impossible. At one point, an actor wearing a very loose Freddy Krueger mask, jeans and a black t-shirt with a white logo on it, popped up onto a short wall next to us. There was not a lot in the way of makeup except for one classic clown with their white face and red nose, and a few basic dirtied looks.
Customer Service: 4.25
Inside the haunt is pretty safe but, while we waited in line outside, we watched as one kid ran out of the exit and was scared towards the road, nearly getting them run over by a passing pickup truck. There is a roadway/driveway that passes right in front of the haunts entrance and, despite a police vehicle being parked right there, people have a tendency to speed by a bit too fast. While the speed of passersby is not under the haunt’s control, scaring people towards the road is. There was a table selling some munchies outside and you could also buy snacks at the ticket booth. At one point during out wait outside, the police officer brought out a box of free popcorn to offer the crowd. There was not much in the way of queue line entertainment either. Outside, there was a clown roaming around and a kid in just overalls that would walk around and just stare at you. Once you got inside the building, there was a screen near the front of the line showing clips from horror movies on repeat and an angry nun that tried to make sure that you and your date remained chaste. They have some chairs set up along the wall of the hallway to rest in and an arcade punching game at the end of the hallway that you can punch for $1.00. During our two and a half hour wait in line, we saw a few people nodding off in the chairs. Knowing that we were reviewers, we were asked by an actor in costume, how long the line was at our previous haunt’while we had been waiting for two hours in his line. Not a good question, not a good time.
Atmosphere: 3
There was no music playing outside the haunt and, if there had not been a banner on the front of the building, you could mistake it for just an office building celebrating the Halloween season, with their hay bales, two inflatable decorations, and skull projection out front. Before you entered the haunt, there just wasn’t a lot to give you that haunted house feel. The horror clips and a couple of stand-up props just didn’t do it for us.
Special Effects: 6.63
Most of the scenes at Grissom Maze of Terror are beautifully decorated and detailed, they have a nice quality sound system with a good soundtrack playing throughout the haunt. They did an exceptional job with their lighting overall but, there wasn’t a lot in the way of special effects. There were some really impressive props, such as the tree in the swamp area and the werewolf animatronic. We look forward to seeing what they do in the future.
Theme: N/A
N/A
Grissom Maze of Terror doesn’t follow a particular theme.
Fright Effect: 2.67
There weren’t a lot of scares in our group and, while we waited outside, most of the departing patrons were just meandering to their cars from the exit’even with the chainsaw wielding guy hiding behind the exit door. They pretty much focused on the younger kids and females of the group in particular. Obvious dark spots were set up for actors to scare from, which made them fairly predictable and typically consisted of loud screams and pop outs, as we were rushed from scene to scene.
Value: 6.03
The trip through the haunt took us about 10 minutes and with a ticket price of $12, that puts them at 0.83 minutes per dollar value, which is below the 1.5 average. They have filled the haunt with a lot of nice things, but between the 2.5 hour wait and the 10 minute trip through, it is hard for us to feel like it was worth the $12 ticket price. It is, however, their first year in business and we expect them to improve greatly in the future. They have the potential, they just need the time and experience.
Awards:
2020
Best Clowing Around