When people think of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Route 66 comes to mind, which is also Central Avenue. On any day, classic cars are cruising the road and people are visiting the shops that line this street. There are even several filming locations along the street, from both film and TV.
When driving down Route 66 in October, you might even hear screams coming from a custom car shop. The screams and strange noises are coming from Purgatory Haunted House. As explained on their website, Purgatory is an immediate state after death for exploratory purification. Once you park your car and walk to the ticket booth, your journey begins.
Purgatory haunted house has a new owner and is at a different location than the previous season.
Within the confines of Purgatory, there are many souls that await. We encountered many actors throughout our journey, and they used the layout well to provide multiple scares. The acting varied throughout the haunt; some were devoted to their character and fully interacted with us, while others stayed motionless.
We did see some actors that did not try to scare. Compared to Purgatory last year, we noticed that some of the actors broke character. We heard several actors say to other actors fairly loudly that they tried to scare us, which took away from their believability. We had a few good interactions with a few actors but there were more that either did not try to scare us or more that simply walked past us.
The two standout characters were the playful fox creature and the girl who wanted to play hide-and-seek with us. There was a good variety of characters we stumbled upon, and we noticed some were more fleshed out than others.
How complete, unique, detailed were the costumes, accessories? – (35% of score)
Were the masks, makeup creative, detailed, realistic? – (30% of score)
How appropriate were the costumes for the respective scenes, themes? – (20% of score)
How believable-, detailed-looking were the queue actors? (See Note if N/A) – (15% of score)
When one thinks of what a haunt with a name like Purgatory is like, one would probably picture costuming that would be creepy and unusual. Some of the costumes were well done, with worn clothing and dirty props that looked too gross to touch. There were some creatures that wore full-body suits that had masks tucked in. We did notice that some of the actors were wearing sneakers when boots could help more with building the characters. We noticed a few actors were wearing street clothes and masks. Compared to last year, there were not as many original costumes, and the costumes seemed to be of lesser quality.
The masks used were creative, like one actor wearing a fox mask we had not seen before. There were also creepy pasta masks that blended into the costumes. Actors wearing masks had appropriate colored makeup to help blend their eyes into each mask. The makeup on the actors was done in good detail, adding to each character. The makeup on girl with a creepy teddy bear had creepy makeup that made her look like an apparition from beyond the grave. The costumes fit well within Purgatory since these are characters stuck within the realm after death. The queue actor was also very interactive and sent chills up our spines.
How easy was it to locate, park at, navigate the premises? – (25% of score)
Safety (Only dock points for TRULY DANGEROUS hazards!) – (30% of score)
How professional, helpful, friendly were the staff members? – (25% of score)
How easy was it to find pertinent information before arrival? – (20% of score)
Parking is on the street, but it was easy for us to find a spot. Throughout our journey, we felt safe, and there were several emergency exits throughout the haunt. All the staff members we met were professional and friendly. For the guests that purchased the VIP, the staff at the gel ball were very helpful with explaining to us how the game worked.
By using their Facebook page or website, it was easy to find the address and drive to the haunt when using GPS. Upon arrival, there was signage on the side of the haunt.
We did notice that the videos of Purgatory on their Facebook page might need to be updated to reflect the new haunt as they seem to be from previous years, as well as the warning signs. While going through the haunt. They hinted that this was a touch haunt but it did not seem like a touch haunt.
How well did the pre-haunt areas ("vibe") prepare you for the attraction/s? – (25% of score)
How obvious, creative, believable was the storyline? (See Note if N/A) – (20% of score)
Were you completely, consistently immersed inside the attraction/s? – (40% of score)
How well did the "vibe" flow after, between the attraction/s? – (15% of score)
While waiting in line to enter Purgatory, there were the ambient sounds of the haunt to build excitement, and some of the actors provided scares to those waiting. The storyline was easy to understand since anything could exist in Purgatory, but we believe more theming would add value in building the story further.
At times, we were immersed in the attraction, but there was a part where we could see the busy street that took us out of the environment. The haunt, being comprised of wooden pallets, could have been more immersive if the pallets were built taller. Several times, we were able to see above the barrier.
Also, the VIP guests are taken out of the middle of the haunt to go to the gel ball field. We think having a separate entrance to the experience would be better. When going from the haunt to the gel ball, there were props that helped maintain the flow.
How effective were the sound effects? – (20% of score)
How realistic were the scene designs, details? – (30% of score)
How effective, realistic were the props, animatronics? – (30% of score)
How well did they use creative, special, sensory effects? – (20% of score)
Audio within a haunted house can help set the atmosphere and add to the intensity of a haunt. Throughout Purgatory, there is a creepy soundtrack of otherworldly droning noises. Walking through, we did not see any animatronics, just static figures. Throughout our journey, we did not see a lot of special effects either. From what we could see, they did not have fog machines, either. There was a good strobe light that covered a small area.
We noticed several static props, but quite a few were hidden or did not have lighting. Purgatory is an outdoor haunt, so it is understandable that the wind could carry fog away. The night we visited, it was very windy, and there was an incoming storm, so the fog machines could have been stored away. Compared to last year, there was less strobe lighting as well. Again, there could have been more strobes without the weather.
How scary was it? – (35% of score)
How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? – (15% of score)
How predictable were the scares? – (25% of score)
How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? – (10% of score)
How strong was the ending / finale? – (15% of score)
Purgatory had some good scares, and it takes a lot to scare our group. We saw the actors scaring other groups as well. The actors we encountered did a good job of targeting everyone in our group.
With the lighting and the wood pallets that were used to build the haunt, we noticed some actors before they got to us. Most of the scares were pop up or startle scares. We did have some actors that creeped behind our group and stalked us. The finale’s actor had a chainsaw that did not work, but this actor did improvise to provide us with a scare!
It could be due to the incoming weather as well, but we did not notice any compressed air compared to the scares we received from these effects during our last visit. As far as animatronic scares, we saw props that could have been animatronics, but they might have been disabled too, so we did not receive any scares from them either.
How satisfied with the entertainment provided by the MAIN attraction/s? – (50% of score)
How satisfied with OTHER entertainment INCLUDED with the ticket price? – (25% of score)
How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s? – (25% of score)
Overall, Purgatory does offer an okay value for your hard-earned money if you’re not looking for the scariest haunt out there. If you pay for the VIP, you get the gel ball add-on, too.
The gel ball reminded us of laser tag. There are two teams and in our case, the other team were scare actors. They provide you with face protection to shoot each other, the gel balls sting but don’t leave any marks. The price of the combo ticket offers a better bang for your buck.
Purgatory lasted twelve minutes, and at a price of twenty-five dollars, the minutes of entertainment per dollar comes to .48 or about thirty seconds for every dollar spent, which is quite a bit below the average of 1 per minute that we like to see most often.
Purgatory is a haunt for anyone who wants good scares and, if they buy the VIP, an opportunity to play gel ball!
9999 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123