Review by Rick West

Considering that Labyrinth is a Brooke Walters design, fans of Knott's Halloween Haunt know that this maze is at the very least, going to be a visual treat.  And that would be correct.  Brooke has become a fan favorite - a Haunt designer with a flair for epic maze designs that are truly gorgeous and larger-than-life in scale and experience.

In 2008, the doors to the Labyrinth creaked open, and inside, guests found a bizarre world of twisting corridors, playful Nymphs, horrible beasts and mystical monsters.  The only problem was - and is - that Labyrinth is perhaps too beautiful and artsy to truly belong at Knott's Scary Farm.  It's a very, very... odd situation, indeed.  And it makes for one heck of a challenging review to write.

The talent in Labyrinth have their work cut out for them; I would imagine being a rookie monster in this maze would be very difficult to grasp, since unlike the rest of the attractions at Knott's Scary Farm, you're almost required to act in this environment.  If you're cast as a Nymph, then you act... Nymphy.  If you're a Masquerade Dancer, you.. dance.  It's a weird, weird combination of maze meets show in this case.  It's also nice in a way, because you can almost be guaranteed that you won't be hit with an onslaught of monsters slamming their hands against the walls inches from your ears or rattling shaker cans in your face.  So it's definitely appropriate and warranted in this case to give huge props to the men and women working Labyrinth this year.

I will point out that we felt that there were definitely high points and low points to this year's talent in Labyrinth.  The positive is that the Nymphs were absolutely awesome every time we went through the maze.  Sometimes they would be scaring, other times they were flirting, and the rest of the time, they were just plain bizarre.  And the sounds they made... what the hell?  Crazy.  Theme Park Adventure totally got a kick out of the Nymphs this year, and of course, our unending love to their Queen... Sandy.  Props to you all... and your weird little sounds!

In 2008, the strongest part of Labyrinth in our opinion, were the Masquerade Dancers in the final scene of the maze.  And this year, we sadly have to say, we felt this was the biggest let-down.  Last year, each time we went through the maze, the last room was generally always well-staffed with absolutely enthusiastic talent, dancing their asses off with guests and really getting into giving Knott's visitors a great show.  This year, we felt lucky if more than one dancer was present - and never once did we get the same "wow" feeling from this group that we did in 2008.  It may not necessarily be completely fair to judge simply based on our trips through the maze - we may have just had bad luck all month long each time we walked through the maze.  On the flip side of that, we cannot help but ask why then, were the Dancers amazing each and every time we took a trip through Labyrinth last season?  It seems to us that for whatever reason, the "grand finale" of Labyrinth this year wasn't really grand at all.  And that sucks.

Part of the magic that is Labyrinth is the awesome soundtrack that this maze is blessed with.  Danny Elfman fans are absolutely in Music Heaven as haunting refrains from Edward Scissorhands punctuate and illuminate the dark corridors and dream-like surroundings of Labyrinth.  The music couldn't be any more spot-on in this case, so mad props for the Labyrinth soundtrack this year (and last - it was virtually the same).  There's never enough Elfman in my opinion when it comes to Haunt mazes; kind of like Dead Can Dance... certain groups or artists seem to just go with mazes like chocolate and peanut butter, you know?

The visuals of Labyrinth are stunning.  This is Brooke's forte, in my opinion - squeezing the eye candy out of every possible spot in a maze, regardless of how big or small the scene may be.  She is a true artist, in the sense that she takes time with every aspect of her designs and really delivers something special and visually exciting.  I think Brooke's success is that she perhaps designs her mazes as she would want to see or experience them as a fan.  At least, that's how it comes across to us.  Labyrinth, like Terror of London (also Brooke's) is one big visual feast that seems to appeal to Haunt fans on many different levels.

In addition to gorgeous surroundings, there are some nice props found in Labyrinth.  One fan favorite is the rock golem almost half way through the maze (it's depicted in our Labyrinth banner this year up above); that animated giant draws comments and excitement from Haunt guests all night long.  While I agree that it's a nice piece, I will say that it is automatically disqualified from my personal favorite props at Haunt because it is an off-the-shelf figure that anyone $22,000.00 can add to their haunted attraction.  Don't believe me?  Click here, and you too, can have your very own Labyrinth Rock Monster animatronic!  While it's a great piece - don't get me wrong, I do think it's a wonderful figure - I can't help but think what another $20k poured into Labyrinth could have looked like, you know?  Spread some of that love around, maybe.

It's times like this that I long for the old-school Knott's magic when they only made their Haunt props.  I love the romantic idea of Knott's coming up with these twisted and awesome Haunt props/figures in a dark warehouse throughout the year, keeping everything a secret until each Scary Farm season rolls around.  That to me, is much more fun than sending Knott's representatives to a Transworld Haunt Show with a corporate credit card to whip out on a spending spree for off-the-shelf props.  Call me old-fashioned.  I just really believe in the innovative spirit of the guys and gals that actually do make Haunt props from the ground up and I have all the respect in the world for what they do for us all each year.  I understand that there are times when there simply isn't the manpower to create each and every prop that goes into Halloween Haunt.  And large-scale events like Haunt can afford to pop for an expensive piece here and there.  But still, the nagging side of me says that the $20k spent (I'm using that figure because that's what the maker suggests as a list price - Knott's could very well have gotten it at a bargain blow-out deal) on this one piece could have paid a lot of production hours or for more individuals creating many props for Haunt.  I dunno... I suppose that could be debated and discussed forever, couldn't it?

So for the sake of not rambling too much, let's recap: we love Brooke Walters' artistic voodoo; we think Labyrinth is a gorgeous maze and pure eye candy; the talent that works this maze has to really go up and beyond to fit into their environment more so than "typical" Haunt mazes; there are few things cooler than a perfectly-matched maze and its soundtrack - in this case, Danny Elfman; and we enjoy the large-scale props such as the Rock Monster, even though I personally feel the money could be better spent in-house.

The bottom line that may seem to come out of left field after all of this: I don't believe that Labyrinth belongs at Haunt.

While the maze is stunning on many levels, it's not scary.  It's not what you'd expect if you walked up to a "haunted house" set up in a shopping mall or on a vacant lot somewhere on the outskirts of town.  When people visit Knott's Scary Farm, they're expecting and wanting scary experiences.  And yes, as we've stated, there can be some good frightening elements within Labyrinth - the maze itself, and as a whole is not scary.  It's more of an artistic walk on the dark side than haunted house.

In discussing this with our friend and partner Doug Barnes of The Season Pass, he pointed out that as a Haunt guest, he likes the variety that Labyrinth presents Scary Farm visitors - that not every maze needs to be scary at Knott's.  I disagree.  While I totally get where he's coming from - and I know that Johanna (TPA Admin and Co-Owner) loves this maze and absolutely feels that it's a great addition to Halloween Haunt - I think that the majority of Scary Farm fans and visitors are looking to have the piss scared out of them and will gravitate more toward intense experiences such as Lockdown, Slaughterhouse, Quarantine and Terror of London.  In my book, the mazes that seem to be general fan faves seem to be the more intense experiences - not the artistic endeavors.

And yeah... there was nothing more artsy than my favorite maze of all time, Dominion of the Dead... so what the hell do I know?  I just don't get the "Halloween Haunt vibe" from Labyrinth like I want to - and so I am left feeling that it's fantastic, but misplaced in this case.

Such a conundrum.  Damn you, Brooke Walters!

We love you, though.  And we love your work, always.

And there you have it - the debate is set to rage on and on and we absolutely invite your thoughts and opinions about whether or not Labyrinth belongs at Halloween Haunt on our Message Board here on Theme Park Adventure.  It's perhaps one of those things that has no correct answer or definite solution.  I'll leave that to you guys to carry on about!

Much love to the Labyrinth crew - you all had a tremendous stage on which to play out for Haunt guests this year.  And many of you brought it very nicely!  Regardless of how I feel personally about the inclusion of this maze in the big scheme of things at Haunt, I do look forward to it and as a result, am looking forward to it's magical doors swinging open once again in 2010; I don't think it's run its course yet at Haunt, so we'll see if it's got another year left or not.  Until then, slumber well creatures of myth and mystery...

*insert strange Nymph sound here*

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