Review by Rick West

In 2007, Knott's Halloween Haunt designer Brooke Walters turned the Scary Farm upside down with her creation, The Doll Factory. A truly twisted maze, The Doll Factory explored the world of dark sexual bondage and the murder/mutilation of innocent young women - poor souls made into "living" dolls to be played with and exploited in the most obscene ways.

And for the past five Halloween seasons, Knott's Scary Farm fans have loved The Doll Factory; a true testament that Brooke and the rest of the Dolls team over the years must take to heart and be very proud of.

2010 was supposed to be the final year for The Doll Factory; it wasn't until Haunt 2011 was in heavy planning stages that its life was extended one more season. The reason was wardrobe; the department had invested time and money in 2010 on new costumes for the maze, so at some point, an argument was made to management that it was a waste not to use the new costumes again, and so, The Doll Factory's stay of execution was granted for another year. Personally, I found that pretty weak - plenty of professional haunts spend a lot of money each year on new costumes, props,  and many of them only last one year - it's surprising that the complaints of the Wardrobe department could dictate to Knott's management that a maze be extended another year and alter their program plans. That said, we have always loved The Doll Factory - and so having it around for another year wasn't a horrible thing; just unexpected and surprising in the way it happened.

The Doll Factory is easily "legendary" status in the Scary Farm history book. Brutally clever and shockingly dark, this maze helped re-define Halloween Haunt and raised the creative bar at Knott's to a new level of excellence that many newer mazes have yet to live up to - most never will. Brooke explored new territory with The Doll Factory and shoved us into the dark unknown in a claustrophobic, sexually-tense atmosphere that delved deeply into madness and beauty on levels never before attempted at Halloween Haunt. And she succeeded with flying colors.

Looking back over the legacy of The Doll Factory, we cannot ignore the fact that one of the most well-known icons in Haunt character history emerged from this maze, affectionately known as "The Girl". Haunting, frightening and absolutely brilliant, The Girl became an instant fan favorite and internet sensation almost overnight. Her character was a living marionette, twisted and robotic in movement. Guests absolutely freaked at this - and no one really knew what to make of her. Truth be told, The Girl (who existed in The Doll Factory for the 2007 and 2008 Haunt runs) set a maze monster standard that was mimicked and imitated each year after her departure, which is flattering to the original talent and also points to the fact that even new Haunt talent recognized what an amazing aspect of The Doll Factory The Girl was, and looked to carry that tradition forward. Never before have we seen such a strong trend like that carried on in a maze; it was a truly unique scenario and one we'll not soon forget.

And The Doll Factory served as a proving ground for several of Halloween Haunt's finest monsters over the years who have continued to work at the Scary Farm and prosper. It became an honor to be part of the legacy of The Doll Factory, and it was apparent that the 2011 crew really wanted this maze to fade into the history book with a resounding finish. I'd say they accomplished that, and then some.

2011 looked to be a very interesting year for The Doll Factory; an extra year that wasn't intended. In 2010, the maze seemed really tired; it had definitely run its course. The ironic thing, is that most mazes that are revered as "legendary" - they stick around for at least five years and it seems too soon when they finally fade into the fog. The Doll Factory had a very strange "aging" problem, which I discussed in more detail in Theme Park Adventure's 2010 review.  This maze was so shocking and unlike anything else we've ever seen at Knott's Scary Farm that it suffered a "shooting star" effect - it burned hot and bright, and then smoldered out quickly. We were all hit with Doll Factory shock and awe, and then became quickly jaded and desensitized to it, shortening its long-term shock value tremendously; a very strange situation and fate.

So, when we learned that The Doll Factory would return in 2011, we really felt that the crew would rise to the occasion and give it a tremendous final year, or it would crash and burn and we'd regret that it was forced to have another go because of something so politically petty as new costumes that had only been used one year. Quite honestly, I personally thought this year would be dialed in, and that it would be a blemish on the legacy of The Doll Factory.

I'm more than happy to report that the men and women who became part of The Doll Factory's final cast absolutely rose to the occasion and delivered a kick-ass send-off to one of the most beloved mazes in Halloween Haunt history. Throughout the run, The Doll Factory remained strong and actually, had picked up positive momentum by the last days - the team was on fire and really did the maze proud; a much stronger year than the 2010 version.

Minimal layout changes marked the 2011 Doll Factory, and the soundtrack was the same wonderful mix of Charlie Clouser's Dead Silence score and some in-house tracks created by Knott's. As for costumes - for the life of us, nothing stood out as "new", so I couldn't honestly tell you what the hubbub was all about regarding that issue. The stand-out element was the cast this year; they really worked their asses off to end The Doll Factory's run on a high note, which we heard them express way back during Scare School this year that they wanted to do.

A huge bravo and round of praise for everyone - past and present - that took part in making The Doll Factory one of the greatest Halloween Haunt mazes of all time. And of course, huge kudos to designer Brooke Walters who breathed life into this nightmarish old doll factory! It was the stuff of legend and will never be forgotten!  

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