RECAP & ANALYSIS: There has been a variety of haunted house's in the "Old barn" at Buzzard Cove for over 20 years. This season the new owner at "Buzzard Cove" has added a wooded trail and hayride, which more than doubled the length of the haunt compared to the last time we were here. While not technically a first year haunt, much of the Buzzard Cove Screampark was updated, resulting in a very fresh feel to an old-school Ohio haunt.
The first part of the haunted house is the wooded trail. Right from the beginning they were playing mind games, mixing creepy conversation in with some really good jump scares. The walk has a variety of dilapidated environments with the residents doing a good job of coming at you from unexpected places. These folks are great at misdirection, waiting until you're right up on them and looking one way before coming at you from another. While the screams and loud noises were all pretty good and the animal grunts freaky, it was when the locals wanted to start a conversation with you that you realized the depths of their depravity. The first part of the trail ended in a blackout maze with a couple well-placed guides. These were two of the best people in mazes I've encountered, as they did a great job of making you think they were putting you on the right path and then trapping you down a dead end. Great interaction from both of the folks here.
After the maze the trail continued through an abandoned church with busted up pews and black-shrouded worshipers still sitting in them. A graveyard scene and another dark building kept you on your toes. So much of this trail was well done, from the spacing to a creeper popping out of a hole in the ground to the little things like using a variety of materials to mark the trail. Where many haunts will use ropes or caution tape Buzzard Cove Screampark used a variety of fencing, chicken wire, pallets, and other materials that fit the theme.
The trail was followed by a short hayride that took you back to the barn. The hayride had a couple scenes and a few monsters chasing the tractor, but was more fun than scary. As I mentioned earlier, the barn has been on site for decades as a haunted house, which means it has a great authentic "lived in by the devil" feel. There's not a single theme, but it's a good mix of cramped twisting hallways, open rooms, and disorienting situations. The first floor included scenes of a satanic ritual and creepy drawings plastered on the walls. The bottom floor included some of the best acting I've seen all season, including a crab walker dressed in all black and a pair of women insisting that we'd never leave and that I should leave my friend because "I want her! She's mine!" Two other highlights included an excellent butchers den with the butcher stalking you around the hanging meat and chain link fencing and one of the final rooms that had white sheets hanging from the ceiling, getting you turned around and making it difficult to find the exit.
Buzzard Cove Screampark is an example of a high impact, low tech haunt done well. They didn't rely on many animatronics or any crazy effects. The animatronics were all very old-school, which often fit the overall decor of the haunt but sometimes seemed a little unnecessary. The lighting and sound both did their job, but they could also use some work to make them more effective going forward. There was a spot with a computer and a large speaker rather easy to spot, so they should take some care to cover those things up next year.
It's nice to see a classic haunt back and running at full speed. Buzzard Cove Screampark isn't trying to blow you away with massive effects or crazy designs. They're looking to put you into a creepy situation and let their very talented crew take over from there. Given that this was the first year for a big chunk of the haunt I see Buzzard Cove Screampark as having a great opportunity to build on an excellent year! (J.MO.) |
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