DementedFX

Holyoke, MA

Website: https://www.dementedfx.com/

Pricing: $35-60

Type: Haunt

Setting: Indoor

Full Contact Option: No

Overview

DementedFX stands alone amoung the other haunts in the region. While most go for a mix of clowns, chainsaw wielding maniacs, or cult members, Demented keeps a consistent theme of radioactive mutants in a bio-research facility gone wrong. The entire attraction is build around this, and each room in the winding pathway gives little clue that you aren't actually on a set.

The level of detail is a notch above the rest. Each set has a purpose and nothing was created to be a standalone visual — it all flows from start to finish, where relatively normal office rooms slowly decay into a chaos of winding crawlspaces and broken containment tanks. The actors play into this as well, since not only do you have the traditional 'haunts' so to speak, who play into the unraveling downward spiral, but there are also helpful actors who can guide you along your journey, even if they do tend to meet an untimely demise for your sake.

Much of the navigation mirrors some of the standard experiences that a haunted walkthrough would provide. Since nothing can touch you, naturally, there's a lot of walking and looking, with the occasional jump scare. What does set it apart are the instances of interactivity. One section has you crawling through a vent of sort to get into the next room, while a heavily armed security guard yells you to move quickly. Another has you squeeze through an airbag as part of the decontamination process within the narrative. Sometimes you have to stop while an NPC moves the plot along, or a monitor plays a video that does much of the same. In other cases, you need to play along with the dialogue, since after all, you are helpless travelers just trying to get out of this mess.

One thing to also note is that DementedFX kicks up the visuals, but also shifts into Rated-R territory are it does so. Right from the instructional video that tells you to the dos and don'ts, the dialogue is peppered with some strong language, so keep that in mind if bringing children. My son has been doing haunted walkthroughs since he was six, and can handle the scares, but it did feel a little awkward bringing him here.

The premise has stayed more or less the same over the past few seasons, but with the level of detail and work that went into it, I can't imagine it could be altered much without an entire rebuild. Also there can be a lengthy wait to get in, but you can do indoors from the start, and they provide music videos to watch while you wait, and actors come out to either expand the plot or do some song and dance numbers. The waiting room is also finely detailed with a firey crashed plane and the exterior facade of a fire station. The building itself also has some creep factor, being in a part of town that has long since passed its prime, and is a relic of a bygone industrial age. The parking lot alone makes you wonder if you'll get out alive, and that has nothing to do with the attraction.

Notable Moment

When I was leaving, you can still hear the music and sound effects from within. I saw a lit up window low on the ground, so I peered in. Inside was a lone chair with nothing near it, yet the lights were on. I could only let my imagination wander.

Photos

Ratings

Ambience:

Everything is polished to give you the impression that you are deep within an underground facility. The very first moment has you enter an elevator that soon shutters out of control, leaving you in a different location and into the line of fire of a waiting security guard. From there on, things get grimer and further into disarray as the place falls apart, and once normal employees become to mutate and turn into monsters. I'm sure there were some red exit signs around, but for once, they wouldn't really serve as a distraction, but as part of the scene.

Value:

It's slightly higher than the middle tier pricing, but the amount of work that went into the set and actors more than justifies it.

Scares:

The portions of interactivity add to the immersion and help draw you into the story. Scares are the usual type, but the occasional narrative moments help and provide a bit of spectacle.