Field of 1000 Screams

Alton Towers Scarefest, Alton Towers, Staffordshire.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

          On Saturday 17^th October, me and 8 other Scare-E TV members joined force to venture to Alton Towers, to see what this years Scarefest event held in-store for us!

          After a full day in the park we thought we had better head out towards the hotels to go and attend the two other attractions, Field of 1000 Screams and The Boiler House.

          The queue for Field of 1000 Screams was really quite large at this point so we joined it to find out that they had had some technical difficulties but everything was running ship shape now. So after 45 minutes we were given our speech and told to follow the worker to the end of the path.

          We was left by the worker to venture on our own into the corn. The first scene we stumbled upon was the final scene from years gone by. An army personnel jumped out from the corn and ran towards the group screaming at us to get inside the house for our own safety. We thought it better to do what he tells us instead of being eaten by zombies!! After a few jokes about member of our group he said he better get in touch with ‘Dr Frankenstein’ in the middle of the corn. A grainy satellite video is displayed on a screen and the Dr is looking slightly worried and says he wants us to go and visit him in the corn, before he has to go because there is a disturbance outside and the video cuts off. The army man ushers you outside and along the path towards the Dr.

          A few very dark corners later and we hit an army camp, there was only one problem, there was nobody inside. A truck to our group’s left had the noise of dogs barking, start to yelp and suddenly stop. We liked this and as everybody paid their attention on it a female actress jumped out to our rights banging a large metal pan with a wooden spoon. The whole group screamed and started to laugh at the same time. This character was one of the funniest yet strange characters I have ever seen in an attraction, you did not know whether to feel sorry for her or get away from her as soon as possible. She tells you about ‘Roger’ who is a skeleton in a van, and how ‘they’ (zombies) ripped his face off, so her and her brother stole his clothes as he didn’t need them anymore. The sound of an air raid siren blasted and the little girl started to get quite worries saying ‘uh-oh, they’re coming, the baddies are coming’. With that we thought it best to make our way to try and find Dr Frankenstein so carried on through the corn. We passed a very low tunnel made out of army camouflage, this was a cheap, but nice touch to the path.

          On sight of a medical tent we thought we better hurry up to see if the Dr was in there. Upon entering a video of the Army man was shown and he was very distressed saying about how the zombies have broken free and they (meaning the group) aren’t safe anymore and to get us out as soon as possible. Just as he says that the video cuts off and the Dr comes running through the tent screaming at us demanding to know why we’re there. This is where this review takes a little downfall, at the beginning we were told that we would not be touched by any of the actors. The Dr actually grabbed a member of our group and pulled him into the tent pretty forcefully, there’s more of this that happens later on, but for now, back to the review… He sets up the story about the zombies working together, like a pack of wolves and it being extraordinary. ‘A bus is on the outskirts of the corn, make your way there and you’ll be safe’ made the group a little apprehensive, but not for long as a female actress came running into the tent screaming she has been bitten by one of them and brandishing a large gaping wound on the side of her neck. The Dr starts to strap her into a chair before turning to the audience in a very evil tone saying ‘get out now, can’t you see she’s turning into one of them’. This scene was followed by a little walk through the corn to the nearby bus, along the path we heard groans and rustles at the side of us deep in the corn. These was used to great effect as you couldn’t see anybody, just hear them and had no clue as to who, or what was there. A little tunnel later and a Marine met us to take us onto the bus.

          The marine officer blocked the path and on sight of us started to scream at the top of his voice to get on the bus. This actor was a little bit too into his role and physically smacked me on my back and pushed me up the bus, he also pushed another member of our group who fell over and dragged another one on the bus so fast he nearly tripped over the steps. As the last of our group entered the front doors were slammed shut and we were ordered to stay at the front of the bus. The marine tried to get the bus moving but to no avail, the bus shuddered and smoke filled in as the lights started to flicker. A large light shone on the front of the bus as a zombie was backlit smacking on the front window. The marine then shouted for us to move to the back of the bus, so as a flock of sheep we do, we all huddled and run for the back of the bus. The lights finally went out on the bus, plunging us into a smoky darkness. A actor opened the front doors and grabbed the actor before throwing him out. The same zombie the entered the bus, under the cover of a strobe light started to make his way to the back of the bus in a slow, zombie-like walk. As he reached the middle doors, they too swung open and three more zombies entered, by now four zombie were lunging at the group and snarling, ready to have their suppers. One of our group members were licked in his face by a zombie, we do not know if this was by accident due to the strobe light or if it was on purpose, but due to the other contact being made, we were not too sure. The back door flew open as the group was ushered, or rather pulled and dragged out of the bus the same marine.

          Overall, I thought this maze was very well put together, and the final scene was one of the best (visually) scenes I have EVER seen in a Scare Attraction before. The only problem I had with this attraction was the contradiction of the sign outside. ‘Do not touch the monsters and they will not touch you’, we thought the actors had gone too far with that one. If the sign would have said ‘The monsters WILL touch you, but will not harm you’ then this would have made us feel that much better. I have to admit though, the actors touching you made it feel so much more real and as though there was more urgency for you to get out!

I give this attraction – 7/10

This review was written by Mark Lofthouse