Review by Rick West

If ever there was a reason for Knott's to get rid of studio-backed attractions at Halloween Haunt after the love and cash have run out - Quarantine is a textbook example of what happens when there is no more funding and no one gives a shit anymore except for the poor talent that feels "obligated" to stick it out because they've been there from the beginning and want to see it through to the end.

In 2008, when Quarantine made its debut at the Scary Farm to rave reviews, despite the fact that most guests visiting Halloween Haunt had no clue what Quarantine was to begin with. The maze's success in 2008 made it a safe bet as a return maze for the 2009 season. However, as we have seen played out before with The Grudge 2 maze at Knott's, time and lack of budget doesn't help the cause of mazes that existed for their moment of synergistic marketing appeal.

The talent in 2009 was decent - and definitely some folks were much better than others. We recognized a couple people that had returned to Quarantine that were on the '08 crew - and noticed also that there were a lot of rookies in the attraction as well. One of the most unsettling members of the team was the lady that's actually pictured as part of the logo above for this review. We don't know her or her name - but she absolutely worked it each time we went through Quarantine. It's talent like her that saved all that could have been saved of Quarantine last year.

It was painfully obvious that Knott's didn't want to spend the time or money on Quarantine to give it the production standard that it enjoyed during its first year. And that is really sad, considering the state of the maze isn't a reflection on the movie or the studio backing it in 2008 - it is a direct reflection of the quality of Haunt and what Knott's deems "acceptable" for this event in an arena with ever-increasing competition from all directions each year.

The first tip-off that all was not well at Quarantine was the absolutely miserable facade of the maze. Actually, I take that back - there was no facade for the 2009 run; just a long "QUARANTINE" banner and a crappy black wall with a door built into it. Haunted houses in shopping mall parking lots have better "flash" facades than this! Hell, teenagers making their own haunted houses for Halloween night in their front yards put more effort into it.

If Knott's wasn't interested enough in Quarantine to even bother attempting to create a decent-looking entrance to this maze, they shouldn't have bothered - because if it came down to someone new visiting Scary Farm and seeing this one maze only, everyone else on the block - from Queen Mary to Universal and everyone in between on all scales and levels - kicked their ass nine ways to Sunday. There is no excuse, there is no reason Knott's designers can give to make this acceptable, there is no explanation that would ever satisfy or justify this. Knott's dropped the ball huge on Quarantine's presentation last year. Period. Own it, and move on.

Once inside the maze, the lack of enthusiasm was evident - from effects being gone or barely working, to the most glaring detail of all left out... a roof. There was no covering over Quarantine last year, which left the maze wide open with a bright sky-blue "sky" over it from a year-round structure in Fiesta Village. The bright lighting from outside poured in, the sound from the surrounding area spilled in, and the whole dark, spooky feeling that you were in an apartment building was completely shot to hell this time around. Another glaring corner cut by Knott's that is absolutely inexcusable.

As stated, a lot of the talent in Quarantine worked it out - and there were plenty of high-energy scares to be had. However, the disappointment and low morale of many of the monsters there was also very apparent. And we don't blame them. There's nothing that screams "Vote of No Confidence" like a roofless maze with a non-existent facade. Our props go out to the men and women that stuck it out and helped Knott's rake in the bucks during the 2009 event - and our total sympathy as well to you guys, because no one had your backs design-wise this time around.

The soundtrack within the maze was the same as 2008's, but without the creepy ambience of feeling like you were in an apartment building, the intense screams and sounds were pretty much a wash.

Fans of the maze will recall that there was a great (okay, it was kinda great) falling fireman effect in the entry room - that was gone as well this time around, as was the live news reporter or fireman urging people to get moving, creating a real sense of panic the moment you stepped inside the maze. Instead, there was no backstory, no set-up, nothing. If you were not in tune with what Quarantine was all about prior to walking in to the maze, there was nothing to set the story up for you or anything. You were on your own, and that is a huge no-no, whether you're a Disney attraction, carnival sideshow ("Come inside and see the 12 foot-tall horse!") or a major Halloween Haunt maze.

Story, story, story, story, story.

I know people that have never seen the original Halloween, so don't assume that everyone going to Knott's Scary Farm magically knows what Quarantine is all about; that is pure laziness and sloppy design work, folks. No two ways about it.

And really, that's all there is to say about Quarantine 2009, unfortunately. The team that worked it and did their best - we appreciated your efforts, totally. Our hearts went out to you, as it's been a long time since we've seen a maze so utterly abandoned before like this. Before anyone on the design or build team gets defensive - we understand that you're all worked like dogs over endless hours as it is. The fault lies directly with Knott's for not hiring more of you to get the job done correctly. A few more hands, a few more bucks and Quarantine could have been just as good as its debut was. In a case like this, money talks - and screams "CHEAP!"

Which leaves us debating the future of studio-backed mazes at Knott's. We watched the physical state of The Grudge 2 go from tremendous to sad very quickly when it was thrown up as a re-used maze at Halloween Haunt. And now Quarantine has fallen even worse from grace. IF Knott's continues to partner with these studios to come up with movie-based mazes for the Scary Farm, it's Theme Park Adventure's opinion that they are obligated to maintaining these mazes just as they do their other creations regardless of whether or not studio cash flows in for the second or third-year runs of these things. Knott's has an obligation to its guests and staff to raise the bar and keep it raised. No one cares that Knott's is always bellyaching about resources or cash. The public company information shows us how many millions and millions of dollars Cedar Fair rakes in each year and how much its executives make. As far as I'm concerned, until there are corporate cash cuts and figureheads are not able to take home millions in pay and stock bonuses each year, the company has NO right or business whining about cash flow issues. It's as simple as that - if you're broke, you're broke and you deal the best you can. If you're a company like Cedar Fair and allow Knott's Berry Farm to flounder and offer something like Quarantine to guests flooding through your gates each night at more than $40 a pop... I call bullshit on that.

I say Knott's doesn't need studio partnerships with its mazes for Halloween Haunt; most of the time everyone involved in the process complains about what a pain in the ass the studio people are to begin with. If it's such a chore and the aftermath are half-baked mazes as other designs such as Terror of London or Dia de los Muertos are smiled on by the gods - what's the point? Don't dumb-down the quality of Haunt as a whole by having one great maze and then one that is complete crap. It balances and averages out - and guess what? People notice. Screw the studios and their partnerships - for more than 30 years, Knott's Halloween Haunt did mazes on their own and have held the crown as the best in the world without titles like The Grudge 2 or Quarantine. Knott's hasn't needed the studios before - they absolutely do NOT need them now. Because we've been shown that it doesn't work, unless it's a one-year deal and the studio funds the attraction mostly. In that case, I don't think there is an issue (unless you create something as utterly and shockingly pathetic as The Stepfather walk-through). The trouble starts when these movie-based marketing vehicles return for more runs without studio backing or any creative interest from Knott's itself.

Either do it, and be the industry leader and show everyone how it's done and what you've learned after almost 40 years in the game - or step aside, do it on the cheap and watch events like Disneyland's Halloween Time and Universal's Halloween Horror Nights kick your ass to Ohio and back.

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