RECAP:  This is the story of Joint Research Base Hoorah, a top-secret military facility led by Sergeant Slaughter, where newly arriving “recruits” face evaluation prior to embarking upon their mission of undergoing institutional training necessary to equip them with the ability to perform a recon operation by infiltrating the facility that’s been taken over by Super Soldiers created by  failed experimental warfare efforts and determine whether the site can be salvaged, or if it should be nuked and restarted from scratch.  Two-way radio broadcasts warn about a cannibalistic nurse, having a hook for a hand, that has escaped and is now loose on the premises!  Anyone that happens to come in contact with her is advised to flee for their lives!

New arrivals pass through a genetic bio-scanner designed to detect gene markers that could potentially inhibit their success in completing the program, however results return a number of false positives making it necessary for some to substantiate their qualifications by performing additional tasks, such as jumping jacks, squats, push-ups, singing familiar songs, reciting poetry, etc.  Once testing is complete, troops are loaded onto a transport bus and driven to a secluded, undisclosed location.  Following a terrifying surprise, disembarking leads through isolated woods to a bizarre, old factory-like building out in the middle of nowhere where the process begins in the midst of some sort of power outage.  We’re armed with flashlights to light the way and given 45 minutes to regain control of the compound or it will be destroyed!

Bloody bodies litter the dark corridors of the botched complex that’s stockpiled with various electronic devices and army paraphernalia.  Navigation through the lightlessness exposes a strange woman clutching onto a dirty bedpan, and a girl screaming for help after suffering the fate of having one of her eyes gouged out!  Desperately handing her detached eyeball to passersby, she hopeless pleads, “Can you put it back in?” 

Next up is a disgusting visit through a maggot-infested mess hall that’s staffed by a pig-faced chef   Sliding floors inhibit progression an obstacle course-like challenge where a rope is utilized to aid the climb up a ramp onto a ledge before jumping back down off the landing into a camouflaged crawlspace!  Sharpshooters protect advancement taking dead aim with their red, laser-assist beams as the walkway bends through a firing range and subjects are placed one-by-one into a spinning cylinder that exits through a shock-wall lined hallway that accesses a highly flammable, smoking gas chamber!  Slithering through a burning, coal-fired crematorium-like incinerator and through a claustrophobic squeeze dumps into an elevator that dives down 71 feet underground to a surveillance bunker.  Then it’s onto a jail-like zone discovering a frantic, straitjacketed prisoner breaking free and giving chase into a padded room, where a hidden escape route passes through a tight, blown-out hole in the wall unveiling a scud-like warhead!

Russian barrels spew Novichok nerve agents mandating a fog-filled, decontamination shower!  Other obstructions include a foul smelling bathroom; body bags; bloody corpses; a run-in with a crawling contortionist; smoking crates; and an OR-like trauma center where alarms sound, a CGI door displays the image of hook-handed Nurse Gertrude emphatically trying to gain entrance into the restricted area, and victims have blue, light-emitting chips inserted in their foreheads by an irate doctor upset that “more rejects” have been delivered to him!  In a fit of rage, he grabs his medical assistant, slams him onto a gurney, and forcefully yanks out his programmed implant, the removal of which causes an immediate eruption of blood that sprays out everywhere!

Eluding the deranged physician is hindered by flickering lights, short-circuiting electrical boxes, gunshots, and a path-blocking fiend panicking, “He’s going to kill you all!”  Additional obstructions consist of a horde of hungry zombies trying to break through secured doors, and a Corporal barking out orders alerting, “Let’s go!  We’re running out of time!” while hurriedly directing the way into a hoist that carries survivors back to the surface, but not before the mushroom cloud from an exploding nuclear bomb is seen through an adjacent window! 

Back on ground level, the lift empties into an apocalyptic holocaust of bombed vehicles and total destruction!  Sirens blare, horns honk, and undead walkers roam the desolated aftermath!  Safety is sought in a nearby fallout shelter that doubles as the attraction's gift shop, then the experience concludes through an eerie forest that houses a spooky cemetery inhabited by an intimidating grave digger noisily slamming his shovel to the terrain, and exits through large iron gates back to the parking lot region of The Haunted Hoorah!

ANALYSIS:  The Hoorah combines a military plot with haunted scare tactics to create a most unique, interactive attraction that gets their customers involved in the action!  Suspense begins right away when the queue line section is surrounded by armed guards and following a brief photo-op, the fun continues with the antics brought about by patrons setting off the scanner! A bus is then boarded, which delivers riders to the secret location of the haunt itself, which remains a mystery!

Sounds are quite good this year and costuming is authentic throughout.  Scenes themselves are imaginative and creative in nature, and the outdoor cast does its best to interact with participants.

Memorable performers include the doctor and his assistant, eyeball girl, straitjacketed escapee, and certainly Nurse Gertrude, whose stalking presence sends chills down your spine!

Favorite rooms and effects include the scanner; gas chamber; crawl through heat emitting incinerator/cremator; spraying nerve agent; decontamination shower; sharpshooters; moving floors; spinning cylinder; shock-skin corridor; claustrophobia; hidden escape from rubber room; elevators; blue, light-emitting implant chips; and the blood-soaking finale inside the operating room.  Nuclear wasteland is extremely realistic, unexpected, and quite well done, and excellently foreshadowed by first witnessing the "mushroom cloud!"  Group separation increases anxiety in chambers and upright cylinder.  Use of nerve gas, missile, and Gertrude’s hook are likewise appreciated!

The only flaws can be attributed to the lack of lighting, which makes it difficult to see some of the décor, but the darkness suits the storyline and everyone is given a flashlight for use throughout.  A few trip hazards exist as well, inside personnel could stand to be a bit more talkative, and last season’s “false finish” is missed.

This one-of-a-kind Halloween adventure is annually rewarded with a spot on OVH’s list of Top 13 attractions!  Their hours of operation are from 8 PM until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays starting September 20^th and running through November 2, 2024.  Cost of admission is $30 plus fees, and fastpass upgrades are available for an additional $20 per person.  Play along with the intriguing storyline and "Comply or Die" at The Haunted Hoorah!  Don't miss it!