[Haunt Review] Fear Factory - Full of Terrifying Promise...Hopefully

Typically we stay away from first year haunts and while Fear Factory has been around since last year, they really haven't had gotten a full season in due to many factors. That said, this one is definitely one to keep an eye out for in the future and even now.

Featuring two unique haunts and covering 30,000sq ft the sky is the limit here and hopefully they keep improving things well into the future to make things better and better.

That said, any haunt this young is going to have it's problems. There is plenty of upside here too, however, they just need to get things rolling on all cylinders. It'll happen though, and we're pulling for them to make it special. Outside of the Halloween season they also do a Christmas show, Tinseltown Terror, and a couple of others are in the works too.

• Date Visited: 10/12/14
• Review Team: +Carrie H.C.  +Filip Muncan and +Kitsune Hazard 
• Rating: Average (First Year Haunt)
• Recommendation: Check it out if you're in the area, they've definitely got some good things going on here and it is pretty family friendly if your kids over over 10.
• Likes: A couple of great set designs, and a few of their actors really nail their parts!
• Dislikes: A bit too chaotic and the themes didn't always carry through, also a bit too much reliance on animatronics throughout. Some actors didn't seem to fully understand their roles and many areas devoid of any real set design.
• Pro-Tip: The lines can get a little long at times from what I've heard, so if you don't want to wait, I'd get there earlier in the night for sure.

Disclaimer: We were invited down to check out Fear Factory and given complimentary access. This, as always, has not and never will influence our opinions or views on any attraction that we visit. Stop asking, the answer is always the same.

Alright, let's get goin!

Nestled in an unassuming strip mall behind the Hamilton Mall, we really had no idea what to expect as we entered the doors to this newly founded haunt. On either side you find the entrance to the haunts and the center is reserved for a photo spot, tickets and a concessions area.

Overall, a really nice little set up and definitely has a lot of promise for it. From what we saw, many people were partaking in a bite to eat as well as quite a few twisted creatures wandering about between the haunts as well.

For us, it's not about food (well okay, sometimes it is), but all about the attractions and in this case the two that were being offered up, Mayhem Manor and Kill Grille. We decided to opt for the latter to start off the night.

Before even getting into the haunt itself, we realized that the two actresses that were working the line and handling groups before entering were something special. I wish I would've snagged a picture because they were just that good.

This pair of twisted waitresses really wanted you to enjoy your time with them, even if that meant you wouldn't be surviving. They really set the tone and were great all around. However, after that, things went a little awry with this one for us.

Once through the doors to the back of the diner, you'll find that this out of the way truck stop is not you're typical place and quickly surrounded by all manner of weirdness and even venturing into a swamp at one point! That said, things in here felt a little disjointed without much flow between the scenes and a lot of that had to do with lack of scenery in a lot of ways. Some of the acting was great (Swamp man, I'm lookin at you!) and there are some really cool animatronics and set design. However, there seems to be a lot of reliance on the latter while we were there. Hate to say it, but they may scare a few folks but not the majority.

So, while we did sort of enjoy our first round, mostly, we had to get things rolling and hit up the second bout of things that Fear Factory had dished up. This time was to head into Mayhem Manor. The opening two scenes are done extremely well here and I have to give the entire crew credit for it. Again, the pair of actresses in the first scene, great! Even the second scene was right on and we really hoped that things were looking up, but turned out to be more of the same.

Not only were some elements completely broken, but again there just wasn't nearly enough detail out there and too few actors in the rest of the attraction. This really is something that needs to be addressed and one of the biggest things was that two whole scenes were empty, no actors, no nothing. They were also huge and lacking in details so they stood out even more for us.

They were short on actors, so a bit of leeway has to be given since that can plague any attraction on any night no matter how good or established. However, the ones that did show up on the night of our visit were very hit or miss on things. They were trying, but it's evident that this is a young haunt still and hasn't fully developed a core group of actors yet. Some of them weren't even "in character" (why is a zombie doing a clown laugh?) and many were just overwhelmed by being stuck on an island by themselves in places that definitely required more being there. They did try, but they've got a long way to go.

Overall, this one is really just average as it stands right now. They're trying and they did have a hard time of things to just get open but that was last year. However, this one still needs a lot of work to get up to snuff. If it were me? I don't even know where I'd begin, the list is that long of things that need to be addressed. From my standpoint? They need better acting management, better set designs and theming, more actors, better make up and costuming in many areas, less reliance on the animatronics and that's just the start of it. It felt like there was a lack of passion here, and that can happen with everything that they've had go on in the past two years, but that needs to be overcome and improvising ways to overcome shortcomings needs to be a thing.

In the end, I hope they do get things together, but it's going to be a while before we go back and touch this one again. Maybe in a few years they'll have things sorted and the list of issues resolved, otherwise I don't see a bright future for things here in the long run. I hate having to say these kinds of things but have to call it as I see it. Maybe their Christmas and other off season holiday events are better, but the night we were there? Just wasn't happening.