Magic Mountain’s 30th Fright Fest!

Six Flags Magic Mountain has come a long way in its 30 years of Fright Fest, earning its inclusion among Halloween must-sees like Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights or Knott’s Scary Farm. Fright Fest has improved greatly since my first review in 2017 – in terms of production value, themes, and acting quality. Magic Mountain has culled the best houses to keep over time, retained amazingly gifted scare-actors (like Innocence Willoughby), and gained the rights to some impressive IPs in horror: Saw and The Conjuring. Fright Fest has raised its game and gets better every year.

*All photography by Eric Boguslavsky.

The Haunts (Mazes)

Six of the eight haunted mazes this year are repeats – but admittedly some of the best repeats. However, let’s start with the new walk-throughs in the line-up.

SAW X (NEW)

Yes, I want to play a game very much. This walk-through features some of the most iconic scenes in the Saw franchise – like the needle pit, Adam and Dr. Gordon in the bathroom, and the bucket-head trap – which are all impressively done. However, I was slightly disappointed that there weren’t more jump-scares; three or four of the rooms were also empty of actors but had the potential for narrative beats. The maze also focused on the victims stuck in Jigsaw’s traps instead of the villain himself (or any of his apprentices). While the haunt was very well-done with impressive acting and gross-out gore (there might be spoilers for Saw X), I walked through apologizing for not helping more than screaming.

THE CONJURING (NEW)

Full disclosure: The Conjuring is not my favorite franchise. This haunt takes an approach similar to the Saw X maze, walking haunt-goes through the first film’s major plot points. The Conjuring haunt starts off strong, welcoming attendees into the Warrens’ artifact room where they catch a glimpse of Annabelle before hurrying forward. The timing felt slightly off here, since the scene concluded before we had left the room, leaving the actors in an awkward freeze-frame. The maze includes some great animatronics and effects, but if you’re not in the right place at the right time, you’re left with a scare resetting itself, or no scare at all. The conclusion of The Conjuring is an impressive final room, with a barrage of lights, sounds, actors, and distortion – a perfect ending for an exorcism.

Truth or Dare

In its second year, Truth or Dare has not seemed to have improved much from its first. This maze takes haunters through the soundstages and backstage areas of a game show gone horribly wrong. Despite its exciting and fresh concept – riffing off shows like Nickelodeon’s Double Dare – the narrative isn’t super clear, nor were there enough actors to add to the theme. In one room, we were among the wardrobe racks, in the next we were in a sea of green poisoned gas, and the next contained a compression tunnel. This haunt would have benefitted from sticking closer to a cohesive theme of behind-the-scenes madness, and more scare-actors.

Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising

One of the carryovers from past Fright Fests, Aftermath 2 remains one of my favorites. Haunters traverse through a city ravaged by a virus. Spacious and realistic, with plenty of fog and startling pyrotechnics, Aftermath 2 is like creeping through the sets of The Walking Dead. Since many park-goers were in lines for Saw X and The Conjuring, there was plenty of one-on-one interaction with some great scare-actors: both police personnel rushing us to safety, and the infected hoping we didn’t get there.

Vault 666 Unlocked

Another stand-out from years prior, Vault 666‘s theme is its lack of theme. The vault of a curiosity shop is opened for viewers, each room presenting a different version of terror (much like Reign of Terror) – from hungry neon plant life to mannequins and dolls to a hallway of hands reaching… for you.Unlike a maze that follows one theme or type of monster, the fun of Vault 666 is not knowing what’s around the corner.

Sewer of Souls

Fright Fest’s maze through dark-light tunnels of waste returns in Sewer of Souls. Not for the easily grossed-out, the haunt features wafting smells of garbage (or maybe worse) and a very large pile of number two. Haunters are given 3D glasses to wear through the maze which intensifies the neon colors and optical illusions within. More of a fun time than a scary one, Sewer of Souls is brief respite from the more serious or gory haunts.

Willoughby’s Resurrected

The manor still stands; its resident ghosts still haunt Willoughby’s. Fright Fest’s take on a traditional haunted house is filled with spectral figures and gorgeously decorated with impressive special effect-enhanced scares that elicited a jump from even me! Ghosts themselves aren’t particularly scary (for me) but the actors do a commendable job of spooking other attendees.

CondAmned: House Party

CondAmned has changed a bit from my last trip to this dilapidated house, but it’s still a blast! More like an undead frat house, CondAmned now touts a “House Party” label, and it does not disappoint on that front. The most physical haunt for attendees, CondAmned will have people ducking and squeezing through this monster (pun intended) rager.

The Scare Zones

While the haunted mazes are the main draw for theme parks like Magic Mountain, the quality of the actors in the scare zones should not be taken for granted. Interacting with strangers (and not all of them kind) for hours in costume can be exhausting, but these actors take their jobs seriously: screaming at, chatting to, and scaring passersby to keep them always entertained and on their toes. Some of my best interactions of the night were in the scare zones.

CarnivHELL

Taking over the kids’ area after dark, CarnivHELL is filled with typical carnival “freak show” characters – like a flexible lizard man, a bird woman, and a half-man/half-rhino – who are so much fun to interact with. Look for the wolf-like magician and his pet white rabbit at the entrance; he’ll even show you a magic trick.

Nightmares

This glow-in-the-dark area is a staple of Fright Fest, and now houses several impressive statues from retired haunt Red’s Revenge. Nightmares is a grotesque take on well-known fairy tales, with horror versions of characters like the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. Stop and stay for a story or two.

TERRORtory Twisted

The steampunk area in the back of the park houses the weakest scare zone with the most potential. TERRORtory Twisted seems like the “starter” area for scare-actors, with several being reluctant to really get into character or interact with us. The goriest props are set up in this area and the man-meets-machine concept could really flourish here with a little more effort and make-up effects.

City Under Siege

Taking up residence in the DC Universe area of the park, City Under Siege is overrun with neon, glow-in-the-dark clowns (who are also the Slider performers). In a set like one out of Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, evil and mischievous clowns torment park-goers from atop stilts, with air guns, and with larger-than-life personalities.

Exile Hill

At the top of the hill by Willoughby’s Resurrected, Exile Hill houses all the restless Willoughby ghosts that need some fresh air. Classic and elegant, these are your traditional ghosts, themed along with the haunted house. Also, on the night we attended, Innocence Willoughby made her penultimate appearance at Fright Fest before her retirement after nine years of scare-acting; we were honored to witness her masterclass in scare-acting and character work.

The Deadzone

In the back of the park, The Deadzone features a chain-link fence maze adorned with porta-potties and cyber-punk zombies carrying threatening weapons. The glow make-up effects and neon lighting give these scares a rave-like atmosphere.

Devil’s Triangle

In the front of the park, sea-ravaged creatures have been dragged up from the bottoms of the ocean to haunt attendees. I loved this concept, but there could have been more scare-actors in this area, or bigger (more eye-catching) costumes than ragged clothes.

Other Entertainment

Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest also caters to those who might not be into haunts or scare zones.

• ENTERTAINMENT – In addition to the haunts, with the darkness comes a Sliders of the Night performance toward the end of the night. Also, on the hour, aliens take over the stage in front of Full Throttle for games, music, and scares (we missed this due to timing).
• KIDS BOO FEST – During the day, kids and their parents can enjoy crafting, Halloween games, a small “corn” maze (made of cut-outs), and photo ops with lovable characters.
• FOOD AND DRINKS – Fright Fest features Halloween-themed food and drinks, like a blood bag of sangria, a green “slime” Sprite concoction, and “dirt” pudding.
• OKTOBERFEST – The rear of the park houses an Oktoberfest Food Festival with offerings like German chocolate cake, poutine, and pretzel ice cream.
• RIDES IN THE DARK – And, of course, what Magic Mountain is known for: the rides. In the evening, park-goers can experience the thrill of riding roller coasters in the dark!

Check out Magic Mountain’s 30th Fright Fest on select nights, now through October 31st. Check here for more information and to purchase tickets.