The tri state’s newest haunt is Junction Nightmare. When we first arrived the parking lot was pretty vacant and to be honest we weren’t expecting much. But once we entered we knew that this haunt was going to be something special. It’s obvious right from the start that a lot of time and money was put into building the Entertrainment Junction. The entire facility resembles an old fashioned town with local stores and attractions. It was pretty impressive to say the least and once we entered the actual haunt we were shocked out how good this first year haunt was. This is our review of Junction Nightmare.
Length-8: Junction Nightmare consists of 2 themed haunts that are intertwined. Your tour through this unique haunt will take 15-20 minutes depending on how well you navigate through the various mazes.
Design-9: Junction Nightmare is made up of Ripper’s Revenge and Fear Factory. Ripper’s Revenge will have you venture along the streets of London in a time when Jack The Ripper was causing panic. The dynamic lighting highlights the intricate details in the sets while the use of haunting music brings quiet scenes to life. The second haunt you’ll venture into is called Fear Factory. This haunt is more entertaining then it is frightening.
The majority of scenes center around a circus gone deadly wrong. Some rooms you’ll experience at Junction Nightmare are a confusing clown maze, frightening chain link maze and even a classic mirror maze that’s usually seen at a carnival fun house. There are many scenes that are sure to impress you at Junction Nightmare and overall this is a very professionally designed haunt that can compete with any haunt in the Cincinnati area.
Props/Animatronics-9: There are a wide variety of props at Junction Nightmare that perfectly compliment the scenes they’re in. Highlights include a spinning vortex tunnel, a vibrating floor, shaking cellar door and much more. A few more high tech animatronics would help fill the gaps between a few scenes, but overall there’s a good mix static props and animated scares. You’ll notice right away that Junction Nightmare uses a lot of air cannons throughout the haunt and this is very effective in scenes where not much is going on.
Acting-9: Most of the actors you’ll come in contact with wear old clothing that would be worn in the 19th century. While the costumes are elaborate, the makeup falls short of being spectacular. This is the case with Ripper’s Revenge. The characters look like they are straight out of 19th century London, but many lack makeup or prosthetics. It would be nice to see more of the actors at Ripper’s Revenge wear makeup to make them look like one of Jack Ripper’s unfortunate victims.
In Fear Factory the attention to makeup is pretty impressive and as with Ripper’s Revenge, the characters are intense and in your face. Depending on what night you visit you may experience a startling surprise involving one of Junction Nightmare’s actors. We were totally caught off guard and weren’t expecting this effect at all. It will surely give you goose bumps and have your hairs standing on end.
Scare Effect-9: All of the elements of a great haunt are present at Junction Nightmare. It’s a scary haunt with great design and actors that bring it to life. There are even some effects we’ve never seen before at any other haunt and this impressed us immensely. Even though the building itself makes Junction Nightmare appear as if it may be hokey haunt, you’ll be pleasantly surprised once you purchase a ticket.
Fright Value: $15 is a bit steep for a first year haunt that only lasts around 15 minutes. That equals $1 a minute. Make sure and purchase a Dark Triangle Combo pass which will get you into Junction Nightmare, St. Rita Haunted House and USS Nightmare for the low price of $33.
Final Stab-8.8: Quite frankly we were shocked out how impressive Junction Nightmare was. We were expecting a haunt with thrown together rooms and mediocre acting, but we walked away with a sense that this could be one of Ohio’s top haunts next year. Drive out to West Chester Ohio this haunt season and experience Junction Nightmare.