Darkness Falls on Asylum-“Petrifying Paintball”
Genre: Haunted Trail
Location: 3101 Pond station Road
Louisville, KY
Runtime: 20 min
Website: www.darknessfallsonasylum.com
This will be our first year checking out Darkness Falls on Asylum. We really weren’t sure what to expect since we’ve heard little about this haunt. But when we exited, we left pretty happy with what we had experienced. It’s not the greatest haunted trail in every aspect, but it has some elements that we haven’t seen at many haunts.
This is City Blood’s review of Darkness Falls on Asylum.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
Darkness Falls On Asylum is a 40 Acre Haunted Forest full of clowns, hill folk, chainsaw freaks and a wide variety of monsters and ghouls. This haunt takes place on the grounds of a paintball facility and it’s quite impressive how this place has been converted into a haunted trail. The first half of Darkness Falls on Asylum starts off pretty slow with lots of dead space in between scenes. But further into the trail, the action starts to really pick up.
There are a few impressive scenes that I haven’t seen at a haunted trail. The first that comes to mind is the crawl through tunnel full of fog and chained up prisoners. It resembles a broken down mine shaft or sewer. I’m not really sure what this is themed after, but it’s besides the point. You’ll have to crawl on your hands and knees when you enter this area of the haunt that transitions into a slide that will have you flying into a ball pit infested with crazy clowns. Yes, you heard me right. You’ll be flying down a tunnel that transitions into a ball pit infested with crazy clowns. This is a unique scene that really sets this haunt apart from other haunted trails.
But a haunted trail can’t rely on one great scene to make it worth the price of admission. Darkness Falls on Asylum doesn’t do that. There are plenty of great scenes throughout the haunt that will appeal to a lot of people. This ranges from Bubba’s Barn to a spoof off of Hell’s Kitchen. This scene involves an old camper with bloody body parts and bubbling organs in hot grease. Your host for the evening is a twisted half man half human creature.
The acting is pretty decent also. There are a few actors who just scream or jump out at you, but this isn’t the case with every room you’ll enter. Some of the best actors at Darkness Falls on Asylum can be seen in Bubba’s Barn. These funny hellbillies really know how to interact with customers and make them have a really good time. Apparently I smell like peaches and cream.
I’m not going to ruin the entire haunt for you by giving away every little detail. That would just be wrong. All I have to say is that there are many scenes you’ll enjoy that are different for a haunted trail.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
The first half of the haunt can be quite boring and uneventful. There were many times where I was asking myself “When something was going to happen”, and it didn’t. Some of the haunted trail can also be a bit dangerous. A great example of this is inside the crawl through mine shaft. This duck through area is very foggy and you’ll need to crawl on your hands and knees. I’m perfectly fine with that. But the problem is that there is a wall straight ahead of you that you can run straight into. Thankfully the woman in front of me ran into first before I was able to split my head open. It also doesn’t help that there’s an actor in this room who screams. If you get started you’re definitely going to stand up and run into this wall. This room needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
A few scenes didn’t make too much sense. A room with plexi glass and babies in blankets behind it is quite baffling. There are a few nice props at Darkness Falls on Asylum, but their showcase prop wasn’t working properly. The vortex tunnel was spinning, but there was no light. I’m sure this problem will be fixed.
Customer Service:
Darkness Falls on Asylum has a shop ( Asylum Extreme) full of model airplanes, skateboards, paintball merchandise and more. There are also concessions on site. Make sure to keep your ticket for $5 off your next paintball session.
$20 is too high for a haunted trail that lasts 20 minutes. You’re paying a dollar a minute and that’s just unreasonable. I’ve been to some of the best haunts in the nation that charge $20, but have invested over $500,000 into the haunt. So there is no reason Darkness Falls on Asylum should be charging any more than $12. If the price is reduced there will be a much larger crowd.
Final Thoughts:
Darkness Falls on Asylum is a good haunted trail and with some improvements it might be worth $15. But $20 is just too high of a price for a haunt of this quality. Coupons also need to be available for printing out on their website.
Length-9 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-7 Acting-7 Scare Effect-8
Official Score – 7.6