The Blumhouse of Horrors

I was opting to give 4 stars but noticed my fellow reviewers going all out for this event and rightly so — I couldn’t think of a more deserving effort! And why is it that I feel a need to review places like this so many months after the fact? It’s a combination of factors, mainly laziness. Lucky me, I still remember every detail.
Blumhouse is a penultimate haunted house experience. Where else can you walk through a once abandoned theater house in historical Downtown Los Angeles, working your way from one floor to the next, ready to scream at any given moment? It’s top-​notch stuff, down to every drop of blood, every creeping shadow and each piece of costume and décor. From a visual standpoint, it was beautifully done. There is always a line and it was hilarious to see the actors come out and scare the pants off so many unassuming people. The walkthrough was amazing; I love that they utilized all of the significant spaces inside that old building, namely the elevator and theatre. But really, each and every space you walked through was an eerie feast for the eyes. That one living room upstairs with the fireplace and velvet couch had me ogling at the vintage furniture for a split second before screaming when one of the guys came up from behind. And what about walking on stage and watching the actors perform before one of them is murdered before your eyes? I loved it. You should tread carefully as there are hands ready to grab you at any given moment and it’s dark and narrow throughout the building. Nothing marks a great night like a maniac with a chainsaw chasing you out of the elevator and to the finish line.
You know I’m coming back this year.

Purchased a Living Social Deal and was SUPER glad I got to partake in this amazing experience. I’m not too keen on dressing up slutty and getting drunk on Halloween so this was the perfect alternative. We went a day before Halloween and it wasn’t as crowded as I expected. The wait time was 30 mins if that. The outside wait was the best! I loved the creepy, irrelevant ghouls. They were a good sport.
*Insert irrelevant demon the pisses on you* a lil confused not scared
*insert convincing actors and actresses* still confused about the plot and a bit more nervous
*insert ghoulish props and creepy lighting* ok ok im getting scared
*insert creepy ass woman who is crab waking on the floor* IM FrEAKed out
*insert last minute lunatic with a chainsaw* WTF IM DONE and officially scared
Overall it was worth it: D! I got the living social deal which made it $ 15 (50%) off. I would suggest waiting for a deal. It makes the exp more enjoyable when you feel as if you’ve gotten the best price.

AAAAAAAAAHHHH!
SO WORTH IT!!! GREAT PROPS! GREAT MAKE UP!

$ 35 is a bit steep, but there are discounts everywhere from facebook to their website. I hope they come back again next year with another theme and storyline.

The venue is well done; however, the 2 hour wait is inexcusable. For that long of a wait, I expect a foot massage afterwards. In addition, they charge more than a 50% markup for «VIP» status ($ 20). Bitch please!
I would not go to this venue next year. I’d rather spend my money on Universal Horror Nights.

FINALLY got a chance to visit the Blumhouse of Horrors tonight, and I am so glad I did. It was very cool & very creepy. I love that it was held in an actual theater & that you go downstairs & upstairs & downstairs again. The actors were all really good, especially the couple in the basement. I was super creeped out by the girl scuttling around like a crab on the floor, and then she grabbed my ankle… EEK!
Travelling in the elevator was spooky & cool, and being on stage at one point with the magician was a bit disconcerting. I will definitely come back again next year & highly suggest you get over there now… you only have two more days! (Oh, and going the day after Halloween was perfect… no lines!)

@blumhouse is a top-​notch Haunted House. I have been to Haunted Houses literally from coast-​to-​coast and this one ranks right among the top three.
The venue is great and the crew really worked with it. The tour is longer than most Haunted Houses and the focus is slightly tilted toward creepy factor over outright scream moments… although there are plenty of those as well.
Having organized a Haunted House once myself I have respect for the amount of effort that went in to this place. Do yourself a favor and attend this one, then reflect on it later and consider the amount of effort that went in to… well I won’t give them away but there are some great effects and gimmicks going on here.
We’ll be back next year…

Haunted House fans — Check this out!!! Definitely a new must for those who have been doing the Knott’s-Universal-Queen Mary circuit for awhile.
This is much different. As previous review said, it’s a «tour» through an actual theater. It’s not a plywood maze, which sets it apart right there.
The sets, acting, make-​up, sound, and lighting are all top-​notch. Well done!
My only gripe was the plot/​story. A bit hard to follow and didn’t all add up, plus would prefer to go through in a smaller group. We had 12 and they were all annoying teenage girls who kept holding things up.
Bravo to the actors entertaning us while in line. The creepy girl with the doll was awesome. It got us in the right mood.
Looking forward to next year and to see what the «new» ghost story will be!

A haunted maze at a real haunted theater? Spooky! (Ok, writing this review at 4:14AM, just gave me goose bumps!)
Don’t just come here and expect to be scared out of your pants, come here also to enjoy the storyline, the props and set. It was so real! It’s like walking into a haunted house movie dream. (overall 4.5 stars rounding up, and here’s why)
I had so much fun on an eerie night! each group is separated into a 10 people group. It was well organized. We had a fun group. A pair of twin sisters with dark black long hair (so fitted into the eerie script), and also a smarty pants smart mouth guy, whom was annoying but entertained us at the same time. He was like that annoying smart mouth guy in those horror flicks (fright night, scary movie, etc.) that gets killed at the end. haha!
The props and set was awesome! Everything including the characters/​actors and actresses were so realistic! It was so much better then the mazes at the theme park which is a lot of people and all you do is walk rush through everything without checking out the set and props.
My favorite part was walking through the side of the theater and then being on the stage with the bright lights! (OK, I don’t want to give too much away) You MUST go check it out if you love haunted mazes!
My suggestion if you are claustrophobic, it’s not a good idea to come!
Some of you know I have severe back problems and due to that, There’s so many things I like doing and I had to limit myself. Halloween is one of my favorite holiday and going to haunts and mazes is what I like doing on this holiday! I was worried my back couldn’t take it from the 4 level haunted theater, going up and down those stairs.
It wasn’t that bad at all! A few going down on the stairs but you don’t have to walk up the stairs. You take the eerie small elevator all the way up.
It was a great experience and lucky us got free tickets! But I would definitely pay for it. Check out the sites or face book and get $ 10 0ff. We went on a weekday and they had it on sale for $ 20 a ticket. Best to go on a weekday, Either go earlier or later like after 10pm to avoid the long lines. We went on a Thursday night around 10pm and the line wasn’t bad at all. 30 minutes, and the maze did not rush, Took about 25 minutes, but at the end leaving us wanting more!
Having haunting folks!
** FROM THE SITE**
From the producers of terrifying films like Paranormal Activity, Insidious and Sinister, experience an intense tour through one of Los Angeles’s most haunted locations. Explore the corridors of this possessed theater whose stage was home to one of the world’s most twisted dark art magicians. The building is being opened to the public for the first time since a tragic accident forced it to close… Will you be able to handle the terrors within these doors?
Visitors will tour the twisting corridors of an eerily haunted theater whose stage was home to one of the world’s most deranged dark-​arts magicians during the heyday of 1920s vaudeville. That is, until one tragic performance when his assistant climbed into a magical box and vanished forever. The theater was shut down instantly and permanently closed to the public — until now

Sorry to say this was a disappointment. As a Haunted House afficianado, my friends and I were drawn in by the creds of the Blum name and the idea of a old haunted theater.
What works: Great locale (the old Variety Arts Theater) and some enthusiastic actors. But overall the experience was lackluster. Maybe because we went toward the end of a Saturday night, but the actors were tired and it showed. Also, while «creepiness» is important, it doesn’t necessarily equal scare, and there just wasn’t enough of this.
All of which would be «OK» if not for the relatively high price if admission ($ 29 in bought online). Just not enough scare-​bang-​for-​the-​buck. Cannot recommend.

My husband and I have been working in the haunt industry for over 15 years, and we absolutely loved this event! Keep in mind this is not a maze, its a haunted tour, and I wouldn’t compare it to other haunt events like Universal or Knott’s Scary Farm.
Anywho…
The actors were great, costumes and makeup were perfect, the storyline stuck through the whole experience, the props and rooms were beautifu. I couldn’t stop looking around! I would’ve given 5 starts but the security team member inside the lobby had a horrible attitude. He yelled the entire time to have people move up in line when there was no place to go! Besides that, we loved everything about it and will definitely be telling our friends to come visit

I’m not easily scared but I really enjoy going to haunted houses to see the production value and have a cool experience. The Blumhouse is just another run-​of-​the-​mill haunted house. I really enjoyed it, but it’s nothing special, which is why my review isn’t higher.
I definitely recommend going because out of our 10 person group, I was the only person who didn’t «love it.» Everyone else had a fantastic time. So having said that, here are the bullets:
— The house is longer than most. It took about 20 or so minutes to walk through, which was great.
— The décor is extremely detailed. The team who created the actual look of the house did a fantastic job.
— There was a magician near the front of the line entertaining the crowds as they waited, which was a great touch (and he was fantastic).
— The scares were minimal for me, in fact, I don’t think I was really scared once, though there were a few times that I was impressed with the misdirection and experience.
— Even though the house was longer than most, there was a point right at the end where it felt like it should have been only halfway through, but it was indeed the end.
— I think groups of 10 are too large to let go through at once. I frequently saw the people in the front of our group getting scared, rarely the middle, and sometimes the back.
Overall, a cool experience, but I’ll probably look for another haunted house experience next year.

To start off, I’m one to get scared easily so I was very hesitant to go when my boyfriend asked.
I ended up in downtown on a Saturday night at 10:30PM. The line was reasonable, it took about 50 minutes to get inside, which wasn’t too bad.
When we got inside, though, there was not «horror» about it! The sets and designs were well decorated and realistic, but they lacked in the actual scare factor. There were too many breaks between each transition and no one in our group really screamed. If anything, a lot of us had a bored look on our faces.
There were one or two stops that were scary and made me scream, but overall I came out disappointed.
I’ve had much scarier experiences at home, alone, at night… with a scary movie playing.

My boyfriend and I went last night and definitely had a blast! I am OBSESSED with finding the best Halloween attractions around Los Angeles and this seemed like something interesting and different. SO sick of Knotts and Universal. I would give this 5 stars, but there were a few disappointments and I believe its probably because this is their first year doing this and they have some kinks to work out.
Some pointers:
**GO EARLY!!! We got there at 8pm and there was no wait at all. They were actually trying to usher us in as soon as we got our tickets. But we both had to go to the bathroom which is across the street at the Hotel Figueroa. When we came back, 15 min later, there was already a line but not long yet. Groups of 6 – 8 were being taken in fairly quickly. Right when we got to the front, there was a wait for about 30 minutes. I’m thinking there was a technical error or something, because until then the line was moving quickly. There is a band inside for your entertainment and a magician which was fun. Definitely a good way to pass the time. Finally it was our turn to go in and they put us in with a VIP group. I wouldn’t recommend buying VIP tix. If you arrive early, you will not wait long. When we left, around 9:30, the line was all the way down the block!
**DON’T“T wear HEELS or bring your KIDS. Ugh, of course we get in a group with two kids under the age of 12. I love kids, but I was annoyed because the guide at the beginning kept hinting to the parents that this wasn’t appropriate for them, but they stayed anyway. I feel like the lady at the beginning sent a radio warning to all of the actors that there were kids coming through and to tone it down… I hope not though, that would be lame. The mom was wearing super intense HIGH HEELS, which was weird to wear in general to a maze. You have to walk down a lot of dark, steep stairs. My boyfriend even tripped once. And there is a lot of debris and bodies on the floor, so definitely not a good idea.
**If you are super claustrophobic, DONT go! Seriously, I wont give it away, but I even felt pretty trapped at one point!
**Don’t even try to follow the story line. The only reason I knew there was a story is because I read about it on line. They need to work on connecting that a bit better OR show a video in the beginning or something explaining the story so people somewhat understand what is going on. Just enjoy the scares and the AMAZING props, scenery, costumes, sets and special effects.
Overall, we had a really great time. It was fun and I was scared/​surprised a few times. Its definitely something to experience because it is so different. If you’re looking to be terrified, definitely not going to happen here. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good Halloween attraction for a relatively cheap price.

HMM, WHERE TO START? FIRST, this is a MAZE but unlike one you have ever experienced. Let me share the differences.
I will do my best not to have to many spoilers. IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING AND WANT TO BE SURPRISED STOP READING AFTER THESE QUICK TIPS:
–GO BEFORE 8:30PM (to avoid the lines)
–DON’T BUY VIP (just simply not worth it)
–BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE ONLINE (save yourself $ 10 — find a coupon code online, if you can)
**WARNING IF YOU READ BELOW THIS IT HAS SOME SPOILERS***
1) GUIDED MAZE — I have never had an experience like this before and I love mazes. This is a mix between a maze and a tour.
2)SMALL GROUPS– They separate you into small groups, about 12 people on average. If you have a large group (ours was 14) they will accommodate you and your entire party will be able to be grouped together. The best thing about the «guided» part is you NEVER see people «in front or in back» of you. They do an EXCELLENT job of isolating the groups so you have an intimate experience. Needless to say if you go with a 12 or larger group you get your own «special» tour.
3)DETAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL– You can tell that they paid a lot of attention to detail and special effects. The week prior I went to Knott’s Scary Farm — and this is exponentially better. Right on par if not better than UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (and I love UNIVERSAL)
4) WAITING IN LINE/​ONLINE TICKET PURCHASE– This is an important part and the reason why it doesn’t get 5 stars. We waited over an hour in line. Then once you get in the doors there’s another 15−20min wait. I guess it wasn’t so bad, considering they do a great job of pacing the groups. BUT LISTEN TO THIS PART…
WHEN YOU PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE — YOU STILL HAVE TO EXCHANGE THEM FOR «HARD COPY ENTRANCE TICKETS» Let me explain this:
When you purchase your tiks online and you print them out it — it looks legit, as if all you have to do is surrender the tiks to the doorman. You would think, this is the most logical thing to do. NO NO, that tik you just printed out from home/​work needs to be redeemed for an «entrance tik» when you arrive. That online tik is a WILL CALL TIK. It needs to be exchanged when you arrive. THIS IS IS THE WHACKEST PART OF THE experience. We had a security guard warn us about this. So if you didn’t know any better, after waiting in this long line and you get right up to the door (before they scan you with metal detectors) you have to spend another 5−10mins exchanging your ticket.
HERE’S A TIP — PRINT YOUR WILL CALL TICKET FROM HOME. Then when you arrive have someone save your place in line, then one person from your group walk up to the ticket booth and exchange all your tiks at once. this saves you those extra precious minutes.
5) UNIQUE AND AWESOME — As a huge and critical fan of Halloween Experiences I REALLY REALLY enjoyed this event. It’s a one-​of-​a-​kind event that anyone who is a FAN of Halloween should do.
Last words: I not only enjoyed the experience but I would probably go again with a new set of friends –THIS YEAR. There’s just sooo much detail and stuff to see. Normally, I don’t get too scared — BUT SOME STUFF IN HERE REALLY CREEP’D ME OUT.
AGAIN, It’s DEFINITELY NOT WORTH THE $ 55 VIP (and I usually pay extra for these convenience)
AGAIN, STRONG 4 STARS — AND IF I WOULD HAVE GONE EARLIER IN THE EVENING I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY GIVEN THIS A 5.

THIS IS A MUST!!! What an Amazing experience from beginning to end! Well done guys!!! We had SO much fun. Beautiful sets/​set design, great improv actors!
We’ll Definitely be recommending this to Everyone we know!
Thank you for such a memorable night!

If you go to ANY haunted ANYTHING this year, make it The Blumhouse Of Horrors!!! These are the same guys who produced the Paranormal Activity film franchise and they put on an AMAZING interactive haunt!
As someone who has worked at a very well-​known, high-​budget haunted house for the past 5 years, it’s been about that long since I’ve been legitimately scared let alone impressed at one of these shows and I was both and then some tonight!
GO GO GO, THIS SHOW ROCKS! Well done!

If you’re like me and have done every single «haunted maze» attraction in LA… Halloween Horror Nights, Knotts Scary Farm, the haunted pumpkin ride etc – you feel like you’ve seen it all… that is, until you’ve experienced the Blumhouse of Horrors. DEFINITELY. GO. THIS. WEEKEND. I just got back a few minutes ago, and couldn’t wait to review it on Unilocal (Dammit! 8 other people already beat me to it!!). We just learned tonight at the ticket office, that this week, Travel Channel ranked this place one of the top three haunted house experiences in the country!!! (not sure what #1 and #2 are, but i would say they have great taste).
There is NOTHING else like this in LA, nor anywhere else that I’ve experienced. For any of you who haven’t been to a «haunted» attraction – they’re all usually the same. A few «cheap» scares with bloody actors jumping out at you, and creepy black lights that make everything glow through a tented maze with gory scenes – but not this attraction.
Blumhouse create’s it’s creepy environment in a completely different way, and elevate’s the idea of what a «haunted» mansion could be. Rather than letting a snaking line walk through the place, you are separated into small groups of 10 – 12 people, which makes the entire experience feel very intimate (and creepy!!). There is a bit of a wait at the front, but they have a live band that plays music from above, and a wandering magician who does great slight of hand (I’m still trying to figure out how he knew i had the Ace of Diamonds!)
This place feels much more like an interactive theatrical show than a house of bloody corpses (which it is not), with dozens of various rooms, «interactive scenes» and sets. Don’t get me wrong – stuff like the SAW maze at Universal is fun – and also very gory, but where this place differs is each room you enter reveals a unique story – a plotline that develops further with each step. Each character seems delighted to see (or attempt to murder) you – and acknowledges your presence by drawing you into the show (vs just screaming for help in a torture chamber).
You don’t just walk by scenes unfolding on their own – the actors in each room engage with you, bring you into the story, and even guide you along, and interact with the group in a way I’ve never seen before. The scares and chills that do happen are carefully timed and orchestrated with people bringing you into mini setups and stages – and yes, there’s the occasional hidden monster behind the corner or the moving statue – but by and large, you feel like you’re walking through an interactive piece of performance art, room by room until everything ties together in a huge finale at the end, with state of the art special effects.
I don’t want to give too much away but to say that the producers of Paranormal Activity definitely delivered on their promise. Much like the movie – the scare tactics they use will shock and surprise you – but they do it with a careful attention to detail that makes you feel like you truly are walking backstage in an abandoned theatre and of course… the show must go on.
The entire experience, once we got inside, took about 40 minutes from start to finish and every minute kept us guessing at what was going to happen next!!! If you’re one of those people who are too scared to do the haunted attractions during halloween – this one is a great blend of awesome storytelling and some decent scares – but nothing so overwhelming that would make you cry – scream maybe, but no cheap scares. Every scream is well deserved and worth it!!!
Go see it for yourself!!!
The only thing that I would improve upon, is they should add a bar downstairs in the waiting area, so you can get beers for the show!!! :)

The Blumhouse of Horrors made it’s debut in the list of haunts this year and it did not disappoint.
I got a Groupon deal for this attraction and was completely sold on going once I learned that the producers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious were involved.
Wait time in line took about 30 minutes. The line itself had a bit of entertainment which made the wait go by quickly. Ghouls scatter through the line and try to scare unsuspecting guests. They even tried to scare people who were just on their way to LA Live. There was also a magician that stumped me with a few of his sleight of hand tricks.
The Blumhouse definitely provided it’s share of scares. There is a limit to 10 to 12 people per group which helped prevent the conga line that occurs in other events and heightened the group’s anxiety levels. The theater itself is already a creepy location and The Blumhouse of Horrors did a good job utilizing the space they had. The set designs were very unsettling and eerie at certain points. The Blumhouse used surprise and scare tactics for majority of the time. Sprinkled within the maze were some well-​acted moments that heightened the creep factor. A few of the moments weren’t even particularly scary, but they definitely had me either laughing or mesmerized by what was occurring. The cast did a great job staying in character and scaring the hell out of my group.
The theme seemed to be about former magicians and their assistants that met their demise and were doomed to repeat their deaths over and over again. There is a vague storyline about a man and his search for his wife that wasn’t really relevant until towards the end. The ending was a bit confusing. There was a cast member just checking out his iPhone and we weren’t sure if he was supposed to be there or not. The maze ends abruptly without any connection to the events that occurred within the maze. i just wished there was a better ending.
The Blumhouse of Horrors took exactly 40 minutes to complete and did a really good job at freaking me out. I was cowering behind my friends more than a few times. The Blumhouse did a great job for it’s first year and I’m excited to see what they will come up with next year.
PRO TIP: Drive over one more block and there will be a $ 5 parking lot available. No need to pay $ 15 to $ 20 for parking lots surrounding LA Live.

As a haunt stalker, this is hands down one of the best I have been too. While there are the typical «pop out and startle you» scares, the best part is how eerie and real this haunt feels. Like you’re a witness to the haunted history of the theatre. By keeping the typical «pop out» scares sparse, I was left on pins and needles every step of the way. This is a truly scary haunt.
My only complaint is the ending does not tie up the story as well as my group had hoped and left us with a need for a better end to the great story that they presented. I cannot wait to see what they do next year!

Could have been so much better!
Enticed by the promised storyline. Believed that it would be good based on the hype that it was from the «makers» of Paranormal Activity and Insiduous. Encouraged by the fact that people who left the building said they thought it was good.
However… once we entered — what a let down! I cannot even put into words how ridiculous it began. Some supposedly 104 year old guy into necrophilia and suffering from narcolepsy who goes to the bathroom before he gets out of bed!!! Who cares! It wasn’t funny. He builds up this whole thing about how his wife was stolen by Magii the magician and that we are supposed to boo the magician… He repeats this same spiel over and over again. We get it, we will boo him and get the guy’s wife back. He even said something about quicksand inside. And then, we are ushered into small groups through various scenes through and around the building. The whole time, I’m waiting for the moment that I’m supposed to boo this magician and figure out what is supposed to happen to get the wife back. It never happened. I still have no idea what happened to the wife. We never had the chance to boo the magician. There was no sense of closure; we were being ushered around and all of a sudden saw the sign that read thank you for coming. The final scene should have been really cool, but I was too distracted by the dirty guy jumping around in his underwear (why is he even there?) and the expectation that we would make use of the beautiful open theater and more was coming. Not.
I have to admit, they had some great potential. Moments were fantastic with some interesting scenes. When they actually had an acted scene, it was done well. They should have had more of that.
But they seriously ruined it by not tying together the storyline as promised and built up. A few of the scenes felt high quality and others were like a wanna-​be Knott’s maze and set-​up — with no rhyme or reason other than they felt it needed something «scary» and vaguely connected to magic or theater to get you from one place to another. I think the wall electrocuted me on purpose at one point — so there should be a disclaimer or something. They need to fire that old guy at the beginning. He ruins the ambiance and does not add value to the story… He said it was his house, but it’s a theater and the Magician lives there too? Ugh! Just so you know, it’s also not that scary. I’m a chicken who runs from monsters at Scary Farm and I screamed once when air blew a curtain at me. That’s it.
Anyway — $ 29 or more for the ½ hour walk through is a rip off. If you got the 2 for $ 35 from Groupon, that’s probably worth what you get.