Fright Nights Fearstival 2020 Review

 Fright Nights Fearstival 2020 Review

If you asked me back in March if we would have Fright Nights at the end of the year I would have said no chance, but Thorpe Park have done it and the 19th rendition of the event is one of the best, despite the COVID restrictions.

This years event included 8 attractions and strayed away from the usual 'Pack as many mazes in as you can' mantra that the event has had for the past few years with only 2 mazes, mainly down to the lack of indoor mazes as the park decided to only have outdoor ones for this year due to obvious reasons. Ahead are my reviews of all the attractions after experiencing them multiple times.

Back for its fifth year, the maze has undergone major changes for 2020. The route is flipped around and the general creepy atmosphere remains. The tunnel now being the queue line, you start the maze like you always do with the tour guide taking you down a path explaining the Sleeper Express and conductor. They leave you and you now go into the village, starting with the streets and the cottage being last. Lots of actors and good scares in this section, the theming is still great. After the village you cross the bridge, with bodies in the water and a few actors in the woods, and reach the Sleeper Express. You now first see the back of the train rather than the front with the fire effect which is underwhelming. The actors around the train do a great job and are very energetic. You then go down a straight path with old Love Island Lates huts repurposed down the route to act as sheds for actors to scare with, a personal highlight of the maze is the facts along this section, just small details. Once you get to the end of the path you reach the 'end of the tour' and are asked to exit. You then go through a tunnel and see a train tunnel with the conductor in front of it and lots of actors around. You then get chased up the exit ramp and the experience is over, although the scares continue as you are let out into Creek Freaks: Unchained! Overall the maze is still decent and the changes are welcome. However it is not worth £10 in my opinion, hopefully the upcharge is removed if it returns. I believe with the route being flipped it has breathed some fresh air into the attraction and we should see it again next year.

6/10

The new scare maze for 2020 follows the same route as Blair Witch has as well as incorporating the Jungle Escape building. The maze was very disappointing for me. Starting off with a serious of quick pre shows in the Jungle Escape building explaining that the forest is locked down by the military to help research take place. You are then taken into the forest and left on your own. Once in the forest you take the same, disorientating route as Blair Witch, I saw around 3 actors in the main section, with batching not being the best so scares were seen in advance. Actors have Ghillie Suits on and are 'hybrid' creatures. You pass a watch tower, with an actor telling you to not go into the building. Once in the building there are a few actors and the finale is a singular actor attached to the wall. Overall I'd say the maze was weak in every section, the pre shows were more rushed than expected, the main section lacked actors and the finale was underwhelming, I would be disappointed if it was free, but it was £10. Hopefully I caught this maze at a bad time and it has a chance to redeem itself in 2021.

3/10 

The 2019 maze 'Creek Freak Massacre' could not return due to the cramped nature but the Freaks from the Sawmill have remained in a new scare zone for 2020! This zone is located around Rocky Express and is only one-way and accessible from next to the Old Town Burger King and toilets. Very much like a small maze you go past Buckwheat Supplies, Ma's Moonshine Bar and the Creek Woods Sawmill itself. There are about 10 actors inside, all with deep storylines to tell and the acting quality is second to none. Theming around the area is some of the best in the events history. And not forgetting the famous chainsaws which chase guests out the attraction. It feels very much like a scare maze with the one-way route and progression through, and was a fitting replacement for the world class maze. If possible could Creek Freak Massacre be connected to Creek Freaks: Unchained? An indoor, outdoor maze?

8/10

 New for 2020, and the flagship attraction of the year! Located in the middle of the park, opposite Derren Brown's Ghost Train, which is SBNO this season. You can access this zone next to Mr Monkey's Banana Ride or The Walking Dead The Ride, although it is one way at busier times. The centrepiece is a big stage, the same one used for Oktoberfest, and there are also lots of smaller stages around the zone. Around 10 actors are in the zone and all are different characters. My favourite character has to be Loco, the dog like creature which chases guests around while not on a chain. The shows are great, with my personal favourite being the Farewell Show. A fire show is on several times an hour and is one of the highlights of the event. Overall this zone had a great atmosphere, with a great cast, I hope it returns.

9/10

New for 2020 is the rival to Amity High. This zone is located on the old site of Do or Die and Bouncezilla and is an open plan scare zone. Acting as a rival school to Amity High, the area consists of a small astro turf pitch and school bus. I spent very little time in this zone as it lacked atmosphere and just seemed like an Amity knock off. The majority of the actors disappear for 20 minutes to take part in the Amity show and even when they're in the area it is too open for any atmosphere to be created. Overall it just felt like the scare zone was there to pump the number of attractions up and I had no desire to spend time in it. If it returns for 2021 I hope it becomes slightly more enclosed to help it gain an atmosphere and identity, as the actors were all good quality, they just lacked the sets.

4/10

One of my most anticipated attractions was the new for 2020, Swarm Invasion. This zone is toned down for obvious reasons, it is unavoidable on the way to THE SWARM. There are about 5 actors in the zone all dotted around the island. The actors are either conspiracists or soldiers, the soldier costumes are a highlight due to how detailed they are. The interaction you can have with all the actors is great and they always remain in character. The area is too big and open for any sort of atmosphere. The personal highlight of the whole attraction is the new soundtrack that plays, with the You Me At Six songs chorus based on THE SWARM is played periodically. I believe the zone does what it sets out to do, create anticipation for the ride and enhance the story, while not being too intense. The only thing I would do to improve it is add more themed lighting to the area to make it feel more immersive in the dark. I want to see this return for 2021.

6/10

Taking over the Stealth plaza for the third season, Amity High is better than ever. Starting with the zone itself, the school bus returns with some prom theming outside, standard stuff. The 15 strong cast is the best it has ever been with lots of great interaction and every character having a different story to tell. 4 times a day the zone transforms into a flash mob, with actors from LycanThorpe coming over for a dance off with Amity. The choreography and song choice is great as well as the story of the show. The rivalry between the 2 schools is seen during the show clearly and is one of the highlights of the event. The show alone gives this zone a high rating, this has to come back for 2021, it is an absolute staple of the event now and something I hope to see for years to come.

9/10

Returning for its third season, the cinema has had some new life blown into it. The changes were evident before you stepped into the theatre with around 5 Studio 13 actors roaming and interacting with the queue. Once inside a 5 minute show takes place with the director and other characters on the stage, very Dungeon-esque. Then one of the 6 movies play that have been getting shown since the attraction first arrived in 2018. The films are getting stale but still watchable, the effects inside however are appalling, with the chair being pulled back and smoke being spewed across the screen at all the worst moments. If it returns for 2021, get rid of the effects and put in some new movies. However I believe its run is done at the event and we will see something else in the Angry Birds theatre for 2021.

5/10

Thorpe Park's newest roaming actors are by far the best. The costumes for the 8 strong cast are phenomenal and all unique. The fact non of them speak and they have a distinct slow and messy walk adds to the tension and fear. The fact they could be anywhere in the park adds to them so much rather than them being in set areas, although they do have the crosses around the park they seem to go to sometimes. I saw them about 10 times over my visits and every time they were in different places. I hope they return for 2021 as a roaming crew again, I do not think they would work as a maze or zone, and the fear of going round the corner and seeing them adds to them so much.

9/10

General Park Atmosphere

The scare zones really helped hammer home the fact it was Fright Nights this year. Every area had something going on. Theming around the park itself was as sparse as ever, only really consisting of the crosses which The Crows use. Stealth, Nemesis Inferno, Saw, THE SWARM and Detonator all had new audio, my personal favourite being the new Stealth launch audio. The audio interested for WWTP radio is still great and the interruption to the audio whenever The Crows get near is a welcome reminder that the park has been taken over by fear!

Conclusion

Despite the COVID restrictions, this has been one of the best Fright Nights of all time. The focus on zones has created so much atmosphere with the mazes being lacklustre this season. Highlights of the event for me are Fearstival Arena, The Crows and Amity High. If everything is returning to normality next October, I believe we will see the greatest Fright Nights of all time. Indoor mazes and scare zones will be incredible and something I look forward to. Things that need to be improved or scrapped mainly consist of LycanThorpe, Roots of Evil and Screamplexx Cinema. I want to say a huge thank you to every actor at the event, thank you for everything you have done and went through to put this event on. Fright Nights 2020 was great, here is to an even better 2021 event!

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