RECAP:   A "smoke"-filled passageway beckons entrance into the Portal to Hell, where an immediate chainsaw attack is unleashed, sparks fly, and a demonic ghoul causes a possessed girl to levitate high up into the air!  Sunday school is in session at The 666 Church of The Devil, amid the hanged body of convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, then a secret, claustrophobic passage accesses a room containing slaughtered pigs that's populated by a mad doctor carrying a sledgehammer anxiously looks for his next victim!  Pumpkin-headed Kurbis guards entrance into an old cemetery that's occupied by a roaming creature that condemns all who enter his graveyard, and "Marks them for Dead!"  Mechanical startles emanate from within a cursed room full of dolls in advance of a lethal run-in with Dr. Butcher, who's cut off the face of a young girl, then begins tearing open her chest with the murderous blade of a circular saw!  "Here have some blood!," he proudly offers while splashing it in the direction of onlookers, and wickedly laughing and boasting, "I had to kill her!  She was a little b*tch!"

Escaping the diabolical physician leads into Mania - a haunt that exposes things the City of Southport doesn't want you to know about, or at least doesn't want to call attention to!  Highlights include a desolate junkyard that finds homeless, roach-covered Leroy canvassing for shelter amongst the scrapyard of old, rusted-out water heaters, alligators, and even dead human cadavers; a Sanitarium that holds a maniacal captive named Steve hostage in a jail cell, begging to be set free to reunite with his two-timing, size queen wife; and a straight-jacketed girl that stands up out of a wheelchair and gives pursuit from behind!  Streets are littered  with old beer cans, as a drunken hillbilly asks for money to buy more booze and chicken wings for him and his granny to snack on while watching old NWA wrestling tapes!  Motel 69 is around the corner, where an orgasmic lady of the night drums up business offering to, "Ride you like a pony!" for a mere $50 up front!  

Gazing into a mirror in the next room and saying "Bloody Mary" 3 times leads to a spine-tingling surprise, then it's onto Deranged Deception - the third and final leg of the Fright Manor experience, where crawling through a tunnel progresses into a shrinking hallway, then into the clutches of a rabid dog attack!  Bodies are carved up by a lunatic wielding a power saw, and causing sparks to shoot forth compromising advancement onto a vibrating bridge that hastens the course to a room of head-popping barrels that's inhabited by an irate fiend banging a big monkey wrench on the floor and surrounding walls!  Next up is a visit to Dr. Root Canal, a "get your money's worth" type of dentist, who's willing to extract any and all body parts, not just teeth!  The journey continues over an uneven wooden bridge, where firecrackers explode, and a surprise, glass-hitting animation goes "bang!"  Fog obscures duel confrontations with Michael Myers, followed by a stern warning from a cantankerous, trespasser-hating loner to, "Get off my property or I'll put your heads in my pots!"

Other sites include blood dripping from a suspended body overtop of a tub, a boy (prop) relieving himself in a disgusting lavatory, and a variety of mechanical surprises that originate off of beds, out of suitcases, and out of drawers!  Progression leads through a killer torture chamber, then onto multiple clown encounters including a girl prankster concealed in a playpen filled with colorful, toy balls that springs up proudly announcing, "I've got dead bodies hidden in here!"  From there, it's onto Chuckles Revenge, then another girl clown toting an oversized sledgehammer singing a song about death before giggling and faintly asking, "Are you ready to die?"

Wild gorillas run amuck as the attraction exits into an apparent safe zone, identified by a sign that attempts to lull you into a false sense of security with the words, "It's over."  Not falling for the devious trap, and figuring the owner's up to his old tricks again, we're more than ready for a double-team, chainsaw ambush that emerges from out of nowhere, and ensuing chase-out of the 2019 installment of Fright Manor!

ANALYSIS:  Actors all did a great job interacting with groups to provide quality scares!  Dialogue is good throughout.  Lady of the Night is memorable and leaves a lasting impression. Dr. Butcher did a fabulous job as well.  Scenes for the various attractions bounce around a bit from time to time, but somehow manage to flow pretty well together due in part to connection zones being kept short, thus creating easier transitions from one setting into the next.  Demon levitation is fantastic and one of the best we've seen!  Soundtrack was okay, but quiet in outside areas.  The attraction has always been appreciated for its clever ideas, like incorporating current events into the progression of events (Epstein hanging), utilizing plays on words as is the case with Motel 6(9), 666 Church, Dr. Butcher, and Dr. Root Canal, etc., and well-planned design that mandates ducking down, crawling, and so on.  Favorite props and effects include vibrating bridge, body dripping plasma into a blood-filled sink, firecrackers, sparks, aforementioned levitation, and "peeing" boy.  False finish perfectly sets up the chainsaw chase-out, and is an underutilized, seldom seen ploy these days!

This was OVH's first visit to Fright Manor since 2014 and we must say it was a very refreshing experience!  Many "tricks of the trade" as hinted at above are displayed here that just aren't commonly seen anymore.  Proceeds benefit The Southport Little League.  Support their annual fundraiser by paying a visit to Fright Manor, "Indy's Scariest Haunted House!"