“Survive The Zombie Horde”
By Noah Wullkotte: Jollypumpkin@aol.com
Dungeons of Delhi will be celebrating its 18th season of creeping out the Delhi area. We arrived at this popular charity haunt around 7:30 and entered through their well lit graveyard and noticed their massive Dungeons of Delhi sign painted on the side of the building right away. There was a pretty decent crowd considering it was a Sunday. Many haunts are completely dead on this day, but Dungeons of Delhi was still alive and strong. The new queue line is improved from years past. It has a secure roof, graveyard fencing and a mini graveyard on the outside. The fence was made with PVC and then painted to look spooky.
After waiting in line for about 10 minutes, it was our turn to enter the haunt known as Dungeons of Delhi. The haunt always starts off with the Bates Motel which has a check in counter and what you would expect from an old haunted hotel. Photos line the wall and feature people who have visited the haunt in years past. I would soon find out that I would be taking a picture with some of the cast and it would be placed on the wall for all to see.
Dungeons of Delhi works their tails off to make money for the Police Explorers and it’s definitely paid off. Over the years this haunt has expanded and become larger than ever. This year’s course is close to 20 minutes with many new scenes and effects. Dungeons of Delhi doesn’t have a storyline, but it tries to stick to tradition when it comes to its many creative rooms. You’ll enter scenes like a room full of clear body bags that’s inhabited by Demonic Derek, one of Dungeons of Delhi’s longest working actors. He’s been haunting the place for nearly 8 years and had a body bag just for me. His haunting stare creeps me out to no end. Another well known actor at Dungeons of Delhi is New Blood. He’s a blood thirsty vampire that’s ready to strike at any second.
Dungeons of Delhi has a variety of rooms like a hallway that tilts back and fourth, Jigsaw Torture room, The Devil’s Lair, The Monster Garage, a haunted nursery, a graveyard with flesh eaters, a playful clown house, a crematorium and more. The upstairs section of Dungeons of Delhi seems to be more intense than the first half. Actors follow you, scream in your face and just seem to get more up close and personal. New this year is a scene better known as the Zombie Horde. I won’t dare give away it’s surprise, but you’ll know when you’re part of the scene or it might just sneak up on you.
Dungeons of Delhi has nearly 50 actors in its arsenal and the makeup is a big improvement from year’s past. Characters have scars, gory wounds, intricate airbrush designs and the makeup is just much cleaner and more professional than it has been. The haunt is not perfect though. There are scenes that need better lighting and a few actors who could improve their dialogue and costuming. There are a lot of great actors with elaborate costumes, but then there are some that just wear a Dungeons of Delhi t-shirt or some other type of shirt. If you’re a real monster, I wouldn’t think you would be promoting a haunted house or a company. The costuming needs to be more consistent.
There are also some scenes that could be improved. The Friday The 13th rooom is lackluster and the actor playing Billy The Saw Puppet was too large for his bike. The TV that was made for the Ring Scene doesn’t look like a TV until the Ring girl starts crawling out. In the movie, it wasn’t a massive TV, it was a small TV she crawled out of. The TV at Dungeons looks more like a wooden box. Even Leatherface wore a black t shirt and was played by a young kid. If you are going to have horror movie scenes, then they need to be as authentic as possible or they come off as being put together at the last second. The actor playing the role needs to also be around the same size of the character.
Other scenes just aren’t scary enough. The actor portraying Satan (aka Dark Lord) is great, but the room isn’t intense as it could be. It should include the Devil’s minions, pentagrams and things of a satanic nature. If it’s supposed to be Hell, then make it the darkest and most sinister room in the entire place. Even though there are a few scenes that aren’t standouts, there are some that will bring a smile to your face and will be your highlight of the night. This is the case with the haunted nursery that houses 3 twisted little dolls/girls. They want to play with your severed body parts and are very bone chilling. They don’t overact and are great at being downright creepy. Dungeons of Delhi is full of some dedicated actors.
As we exited the haunt we could see people working on sets and improving various things for the haunt. This year’s Dungeons of Delhi is a step in the right direction with its lengthier course and its more intense nature. I wish one day that the entire haunt would revolve around a storyline that people could follow from scene to scene, but it’s just wishful thinking. This is a haunt you can bring the entire family to and is only $8 a person. You can even re enter for $4. All proceeds from the haunt go towards a great cause and that’s the Police Explorers. The Delhi Police Explorers help teenagers experience a first-hand look at law enforcement careers. They train in police tactics, riding along with officers, and competing in roll-playing scenarios at local and national competitions fort the past fifteen years! So don’t forget to make Dungeons of Delhi part of your haunt schedule this year and have some fun while supporting a great cause.
Length-9 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-7 Scare Effect-7
Final Stab: 7.8
http://www.dungeonsofdelhi.com