Fright Nights 2022 Review

 Fright Nights 2022 Review

Fright Nights is back for a 21st addition of one of the UK's premier Halloween events. For 2022, the event boasts 10 attractions, 3 of which are brand new. Ahead are reviews of all the attractions which make up Fright Nights 2022. 

Creek Freak Massacre is back for a 3rd and final season, under the moniker 'The Final Cut'. This maze was the beginning of the 'new era' of Fright Nights, where they started prioritising quality over quantity, but however this season, I think the maze was quite lacklustre. The story remains the same, focusing around the Buckwheats and the abandoned sawmill. The sets are still incredible, and incredibly claustrophobic, with lots of unique features, as well as classic maze features. However what let the maze down for me in 2022 was the lack of actors, usually this maze feels like its swarming with them, but this year it felt like there were lots of empty and blank points. The maze has had an incredible run and will go down in Fright Nights history, but its time is definitely over, and I can't wait for Project Exodus. 

6.5/10

Survival Games is new for 2022, and is the biggest and most expensive scare maze in the history of the event. Prior to the event, I was excited for a huge multi route maze, but wasn't excited for the story, which centred around fighting for survival for social media recognition, however the story is not prominent at all throughout, other than the pre-show. The maze consists of 3 sections. The first being where you watch a pre-show video, and then separated from your group. The second is a more linear section, where you walk through and see the preparation for the survival sections of the maze. The third and longest section is the maze, where you have to find your way out, it is absolutely swarming with actors, and loads of different rooms. The theming in the first and second section is very good, and of the level we have became accustomed too with recent additions such as Creek Freak Massacre and Trailers, however the third section is mostly sparse, but due to the lighting and intensity, this is not a large issue. The maze feels like it has loads of actors, and they are very hands on, something which is rare for Thorpe Park. In my opinion this is the greatest maze the park has ever had, and I am sure it will be at the event for many years to come.

9/10

Trailers is back for a 2nd season, and is once again a highlight. The premise of the attraction is you go through cinema trailers, based on previous mazes at the event. There are small changes for this season, but nothing major. The actors work the space very well, meaning there are very little dead spaces. The sets are still the greatest in Fright Nights history. This maze will definitely be a staple of the event for years to come, and the stability of the quality over 2 years gives me hope this could be the events long running attraction, like Terror of the Towers at Scarefest and Creepy Caves at Howl'O'Ween.

8/10

Amity High returns for a 5th, and potentially final season. Once again teaming up with the Lycan's, this high school scare zone once again provides a tamer scare zone for the event. The show is as always great quality, however some of the song choices were strange. I have never been the biggest fan of this zone, however for some slightly younger visitors it does provide a good option, and it is one of the catalysts of the recent Fright Nights rejuvenation. 2022 is likely the zone's final season, with the theme this year pushing on the graduation, and final nights of the high school. Fright Nights and the Stealth plaza will be different without it, but I'm excited for the future.

6/10

Birthday Bash is back for a 2nd season, something which surprises me, as I believed it would be exclusive for the 20th year in 2021. I wasn't the biggest fan of Birthday Bash last season, as it did not feel like a zone, and was mainly just a show, however this has been rectified for 2022, with actors remaining in the area, even when a show is not on, like Amity High has been doing. The show is still great, and one of the best the park has ever produced. The characters are great, with new ones, such as a Burlesque Grandma, being introduced. I am a big fan of this zone, and hope it continues to return, however I can see it being replaced for 2023, as 2022 is a birthday year, as was 2021. If it does get replaced, a new zone has to be added into the Derren Brown's Ghost Train plaza, as it feels like the hub of the event for me.

7.5/10

Death's Doors is the new for 2022 scare zone, and is a new concept for the park, where guests knock on doors and actors open the door and come out for an impact scare. It's great to see loads of old costumes from the event in this zone, including Fearstival Arena and Roots of Evil, as well as new, original costumes. The door theming is good, but not outstanding. Overall I like the idea of Death's Doors, however it does not work in such a busy event, as the doors will always be knocked, not allowing for the actors to reset. If it returned, it could work as a timed slot attraction, to limit numbers, however I do not believe the park will do this, and just continue to attempt to batch a limited amount. It will be interesting to see if this attraction has a future.

5.5/10

The award winning scare zone, The Crows of Mawkin Meadow, returns for 2022 and it's second season. This year, the crows roamed from 3pm to 5pm, then the zone operates from 5pm to close, this means all the crows are always in the attraction, meaning more interaction. Also, a change for 2022 is a new route within the old Saw Alive queue, however I am not a fan of this, as it splits the actors up into 2 sections, leading it to feel like the zone only has half the actors, the new route's theming is also not that strong, and you feel like you're in a queue, rather than walking through the meadows. The crows themselves are still incredible, and the majority of theming is still great. This is still one of my favourite Fright Nights attractions of all time, and the crows characters are incredible. I'm sure this will return for 2023, hopefully with modified routes and a wider spread of actors.

8.5/10

Creek Freaks Unchained returns for a 3rd season, but is now a roaming cast, rather than a scare zone. I am a big fan of the Buckwheat characters, ever since there introduction in 2019, however I think having them as a roaming cast is not the best decision. When I saw them around the park it did not have the rowdy or intense nature we have became use to, and also not the shock and excitement of seeing them, like we had for The Crows in 2020 and 2021. It is however slightly more family orientated, which adds to a more wide Fright Nights offering. With Creek Freak Massacre leaving, I would not be too surprised if this roaming cast do not return either, and Fright Nights sees the end of the Buckwheats, after 4 seasons of great attractions.

4.5/10

Legacy returns for a 2nd season, and is now on the other side of Amity Beach. Unlike 2021, it features a screen now, along with all the lighting and fire effects from last season. It is a huge step-up from the lacklustre debut display, and now features on this year's event as well as the history of Fright Nights, when 2021 just focused on the history. The screen makes the show much more understandable and enjoyable for the average viewer, as well as still being packed full of throwbacks and Easter eggs for older fans of the event. Overall it is a solid show, and I really hope it becomes a recurring attraction and we see it return bigger and better for 2023.

7/10

The Terminal is the brand new scare experience for 2022, in collaboration with Darkfield. It is an audio experience, where you sit in a booth with headphones on for 10 minutes. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst attractions I have ever experienced at Fright Nights. The story of visiting another planet and being invaded by weird aliens is not scary, which is a bad starting point, as the story has to be scary to be effective and work in an audio led experience. The pre-show before entering the headphone room is the best part, which says a lot. The Darkfield technology involved is incredible, and I would like to try one of there longer experiences, but these short theme park ones are not high quality attractions. Compared to the Invitation at Alton Towers, it is very lacklustre, as that version has a far better story, theming and actors, which allegedly were added to the Terminal later into the events run, but I did not have any on my run through at the start of the event, and was not willing to spend another £8 for a very poor attraction. I commend Thorpe Park for trying something new, but I do not think The Terminal has a space at Fright Nights in 2023.

1.5/10

That concludes my review of Fright Nights 2022. Overall, the event is at its best, potentially ever, with all 3 mazes being strong, the zones all being different and adding things, and the park trying lots of new things like audio experiences, new roaming casts and reinventing shows. I can't wait to see what happens in 2023 for Fright Nights, especially with the high possibility that stalwarts of the event Creek Freak Massacre and Amity High won't be returning.

My Brief Prediction For The 2023 Lineup:
Survival Games

Trailers

NEW MAZE (CRUST PLAZA)

Death's Doors

The Crows of Mawkin Meadow

NEW ZONE/SHOW (DERREN BROWN PLAZA)
NEW ZONE (NEAR CONTAINMENT)

NEW ROAMING CAST

Legacy

NEW SHOW (Angry Birds Theatre)