One of the best Haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres is Hell’s 1/2 Acre. And like every other haunt that night, there wasn’t much of a crowd. Over the years this haunt has experienced its share of problems, but this year it seems to have tweaked a few of its problem areas.
Length-8: It will take around 15 minutes to walk though Hell’s 1/2 Acre. There are very few spots where nothing is happening, but there is a moment where you’ll be waiting in a room for the final scene. The wait alone may take 5 minutes.
Design-8: You would expect most of the rooms in Hell’s 1/2 Acre to center around Hell, but sadly this isn’t the case. But overall there are some great scenes such as a walk through sewer, a confrontation with Satan himself and a variety of rooms that are sure to raise Hell.
Props/Animatronics-8: Hell’s 1/2 Acre has a variety of well timed props. These include lunging zombies, a feeding werewolf and many static zombies and ghouls. While there are some impressive props a few rooms have a few animatronics that aren’t well lit. This isn’t that big of a deal, but when a haunt spends thousands of dollars on props for one scene and you can barely see them, it seems like a waste of money.
Acting-7: Most of the actors you encounter at Hell’s 1/2 Acre lack dialogue and mostly yell and scream. There aren’t many stand out characters with the exception of Satan himself. The final scene will have you coming face to face with the prince of Darkness and this scene can be quite intimidating to say the least. The only problem this scene faces is that the actor’s normal voice can still be heard underneath the voice changer. This somewhat ruins the effect.
Scare Effect-7: This is your typical haunt that as a variety of themes. Unfortunately most of Hell’s 1/2 Acre has nothing to do with Hell with the exception of the last room. But this still is one of the more frightening haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres.
Fright Value: $10 is a bit high for a haunt that has no sense of direction. Please make sure and buy a combo ticket for $27 and save a scary amount of money.
Final Stab-7.6: Hell’s 1/2 Acre is one of those haunts that is a couple of steps away from being great. But right now there are just way to many areas that need to be worked on. These include the acting, length and the theming of rooms. Hopefully these areas will be improved upon in the future.