Psychomania, The Theater of Terror-“Sno Caps for Corpses”
Genre: Haunted House
Location: 717 East Louis and Clark Parkway
Clarksville, IN 47129
Runtime: 20 min
Website: www.theaterofterror.com
There’s nothing quite like a haunt that takes place inside an old movie theater. It’s just plain cool and a great setting for a an attraction. Every year Psychomania impresses me in some shape or form and this year is no different. I was prepared to be frightened, scared and startled. Would I run away in terror or would I walk away from this frightening movie theater?
This is City Blood’s 2010 review of Psychomania, The Theater of Terror.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
Psychomania is the only haunt I know of that includes a horror movie before the haunt even begins. You’ll walk into a small room that has 22 movie theater seats and a projection screen displaying a 5 minute movie explaining the backstory of Psychomania, The Theater of Terror. The movie is well produced and is very professional. Various characters such as a gravedigger with his shovel enter the room as the movie is being played. He’s there to freak out the audience and for the most part He does.
After the movie is done playing you’ll enter the queue line which is one of the most detailed I’ve come across. It features a large spooky farm house/mansion that is surrounded by a creepy graveyard. Lights flash on and off as sounds of a thunder storm can be heard all around you. It’s very unsettling and will have you wondering what’s inside this haunted house.
After a few minutes of waiting in line, you’ll be next to enter Psychomania, The Theater of Terror. Inside Psychomania there are plenty of scenes from a haunted dining room to a carnival games booth. I’m not going to give every little detail away about this haunt, but all I can say is that this haunt is full of just about every type of haunted house scene you can imagine and more. Psychomania is pretty entertaining and has some scary moments.
One of my favorite rooms is the Hillbilly Hoedown scene where you’ll be forced to do a little dance before being allowed to enter the next room. The actors are funny and bring a much needed comic relief to the haunt.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
There’s just too much going on in this haunt. Since its queue line facade resembles a haunted mansion you would expect the majority of the scenes to be themed after a run down haunted house. But unfortunately there are many scenes that just don’t seem to belong. This includes a padded room, hillbilly shacks, a demented clown room and just way too many rooms that should be eliminted from the haunt all together.
There’s one area in particular that bothers me to no end. At a certain point you’ll need to crawl on your hands and knees and jump down to reach the floor. I’m only five foot seven and it was a task for me to reach the floor without getting hurt. There’s an actor there to help you get down, but not everyone is going to want help even if they need it. A small woman or guy may end up falling and getting hurt.
The first scene is great because it looks like it’s straight out of a haunted house movie, but the makers seem to want to please everyone with everything including the kitchen sink when it comes to room designs. Less is more in this case and I think Psychomania needs to stick to the haunted mansion theme. If this is done, Psychomania could easliy be a 9.0 haunt without question.
Customer Service:
We showed up around 10 PM and had to wait close to 30 minutes because the actors were taking a break. This is inexcusable. To top it off, I was able to see actors on break smoking which totally ruins the believability of the haunt. When you are touring a haunt, people don’t want to see actors out of character. They want to believe that the crazy monsters they come across are real.
Psychomania does an outstanding job in making the haunt look like the original theater it takes place in. The theater is brightly lit and there’s even a movie poster on the wall that says Psychomania, The Theater of Terror. Once you step inside you’ll be quite impressed. There’s a palm reading station, a movie theater concession stand and of course the one and only Last Ride. The Last Ride is a coffin you lie in that simulates being in the back of a hearse while you’re being transported to a cemetery and buried alive. It’s a unique experience with lots of frightful surprises.
For only $16 you get to relax and watch a short movie and then tour a quality haunt. You can print out a $2 off coupon available on their website or use City Blood’s Killer Coupon available on this website.
Final Thoughts:
Psychomania has a great advantage over competing haunts in the same area because it’s using an authentic movie theater as its setting. It doesn’t get any better than that when it comes to spooky atmosphere. The makers just need to focus on one theme and stick to it. There’s a bright future for Psychomania if the right changes are made and I think they will be.
Length-9 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-8 Scare Effect-8
Official Score – 8.2
Fun Facts:
*The makers of Psychomania, The Theater of Terror don’t allow more than 1,000 people through in a night in order to create a great experience for all its customers.