Netherworld Haunted House, Atlanta, GA

October 21st, 2009

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I was saving Netherworld Haunted House for last while I was in Atlanta mainly because it was open on Monday night which let me use the weekend to see others. But it didn’t look like a Monday night when I saw the line that had formed in front of the entrance.

Netherworld Haunted House is obviously one of the most well known haunted houses out there – and deservedly so. It has been featured in magazines, newspapers and on television multiple times. There is little I could probably tell you about Netherworld that you don’t already know, but I’ll try to give you my spin on things.

I met Ben Armstrong shortly after arriving and he quickly gave me a rundown on the facility. They have a HUGE building they use – square footage wise it’s probably not the biggest, but the building is very tall which gives them plenty of room to project video onto on the outside, and in the inside, the ceiling practically disappears in the fog. Netherworld has two different attractions and this year they are Blood Night Haunted House and Zombie Rampage Haunted House. I went through the larger of the two, Blood Night first.

When you first enter the foyer, you immediately realize this is going to be one awesome haunted house. The scenic design and props in this room looked amazing. After a brief rules seminar and short plot line narration we entered into the time vortex (two short vortex tunnels spinning in opposite directions with mirrors behind them that made a cool effect). I couldn’t even try to give you a proper walkthrough since it is so big and there is so much stuff in there. I went through twice and don’t think I saw everything anyway. Incredible sets, set design and loads of props and animations fill this haunt. There is a good mix of dark scenes and scenes lit just enough to show off the detail. There is also a nice variety of scenes ranging from graveyard to slaughter room to mansion.

One of the aspects of the show that I liked were all the stunts. A bungie jumper along with some custom made swinging and lifting devices were used to enable actors to fly overhead, drop right in front of you or fly up above your head. I haven’t seen this many stunts in an indoor show this year and it was impressive. I also like the spinning tunnel where they had two tunnels one after another but the second tunnel was spinning faster than the first so it gave a kind of spiraling sensation. The show featured several unique or custom props and costumes which makes this haunt stand out amongst the others.

The second haunt was a Zombie themed haunt – apparently if you drink the Zombie Rampage energy drink, mutations are possible. This haunt is a little more intense than Blood Night but still features the amazing sets and props you would expect. They do a great job presenting you with varied scenes and pathways – sometimes crawling, sometimes avoiding water or just walking through dark spaces. This haunt also features a runaway truck gag (you know the one where the headlight comes on, then a horn, and then the vehicle charges at the group), but this truck slams into the barrier next to you when yo uare walking through with a lot of force and it makes you wonder if it might actually break through. Its a nice touch compared to the others you se where the vehicle simply slides toward you.

Netherworld is an incredible production and seems to run very smoothly. Everything was top quality from the masks, to the costumes, to the rigging to all the props. This is certainly a great show and few others can match the production value. My thanks to Ben and his partner Billy for putting on a great show. Have a great season.

I lost some photos with my computer problems, but they have a great website so check it out for more photos.