When Knott's first worked with a movie studio and brought The Grudge 2 to Halloween Haunt, it was a turning point in the event's history.  Backed by a lot of studio cash, The Grudge 2 went on to be one of the most popular mazes of Haunt 2006.

Ironically, the success of the maze wasn't the design or cash behind it.  The success that The Grudge 2 enjoyed in 2006 was hands-down because of the talent that busted their asses each night.  Studio money can't and doesn't buy greatness at the Scary Farm.  Sure, it can make for a damn impressive maze - but when it comes down to it, without the Knott's know-how and talent, it wouldn't work.

Due to the success of the theme park/movie studio venture, it appears that film partnerships are now a fixture of Knott's Halloween Haunt.  The fans are okay with this - and the talent seems to be okay with this (despite the fact that we know that the studios put a tremendous amount of pressure on Knott's in all areas).  So, we will go with it and accept it.

Enter Beowulf.

Based on the Robert Zemeckis film that wouldn't release until after Haunt 2007, Beowulf would take Haunt guests into a medieval realm of monsters and demons.  To be quite honest, when we learned that the "studio maze" would be Beowulf, we scratched our heads and wondered what exactly, a non-horror film had to do with the world's largest Halloween event.  At face value, we're still not sure that it was a great idea for a Haunt maze.  But hey, we're just fans with cameras and big bucks from Hollywood folk seems to speak volumes.

The first challenge was the studio itself.  Without going into too much detail - let's just say they were very challenging for Knott's to work with.  Their expectations and "quality control" throughout the entire process of concept through build - just about drove everyone batty.  However, in the end, Beowulf did work as a Haunt maze and became very reminiscent of the old Inquisition maze that was located in The Gauntlet for years.

The next challenge for Beowulf: would it matter that the movie hadn't come out yet or we were being thrust into this dark fantasy world filled with creatures and characters that we weren't familiar with at all?  Initially, we were concerned that this would be a problem.  Quickly though, it became evident that like any other Haunt maze, people just went with it - not caring what or who the monsters were supposed to be.  Beowulf was dark, filled with creepy creatures at every turn and was actually decent in length.  Overall, it was a great Haunt experience!

Did the maze honestly help the film's theatrical release outside of Buena Park?  Probably not.  Not once did we read or hear someone say, "That maze was awesome!  I can't wait to see the movie now!"  Some of us here at Theme Park Adventure haven't even seen Beowulf yet.  So much for that marketing push.  But hey, if Knott's got a good deal out of it and we as fans got a good maze, then more power to Cedar Fair for making the deal.

Considering that Beowulf is not a horror film, it is scary to know that originally, the studio tried to tell Knott's and the Beowulf talent crew not to be scary monsters - but rather, speak lines from the movie, etc.  Had that happened, the maze experience could have been a very different experience for everyone involved.  GOOD call NOT to follow through with that lame idea.  Keep those Hollywood folks behind their desks, Knott's - no one needs to be telling you how to do Haunt.

That said, Beowulf was a one-year deal for Knott's Scary Farm.  It will not be back again - there are too many more themes and things to do and Beowulf, unlike The Grudge 2, it was well-received, but was not massive like our beloved Grudge Girls.

So, we give thumbs up and kudos to the Beowulf crew; you all did a great job promoting a maze/movie experience that no one had any friggin' clue as to what it was we were experiencing.  The design of the maze was good fun and so props go out to the Build crew as well.

The soundtrack for Beowulf was mostly studio-supplied, so while it was good, it was nothing for us to get excited about.  "This I promise... This, I swear..."

And with that, we applaud those guys and gals from Beowulf.  You all did a great job - and what a unique experience you all had; 10 years from now when Haunt fans are discussing the "old Beowulf maze..."  You will be able to say, "I was part of that and this is how it was..."

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