The Purge: Breakout

Last year, when we arrived at The Purge: Breakout, we were not certain what to expect. Upon entering, we were surprised at how good the quality of scenic, effects and overall experience of this traveling escape room was! There’s far more scenes inside the trailers than you’d expect could fit by looking at them from the outside. If that’s where my experience ended, they likely may have received five stars. but then things took a very unnecessary turn.
We were well on our path to escaping in time. While working on one of the final puzzles — a common black light flashlight gag found in nearly every escape room, we realized there was nothing to be found in the last room. After searching it top to bottom four or five times, we asked the actor if we should be moving backwards through the experience to find our black lit clue. She clearly and explicitly told us no — that it’s in this room, and that we cannot go backwards. We realized pretty quickly that this became a «run out the clock» situation because it was obvious that the clues were not in the room she insisted they were in, so we ultimately stood around for the last three minutes of the experience just wishing the time would run out faster as there was literally nothing for us to do.
Upon exiting, we asked one of their operations staff exactly what just happened with that final clue. They openly informed us that we had to go backwards, but if you don’t go backwards with more than five minutes left on the clock, they don’t allow you to go at all. We asked them why we paid for a 30 minute game if we were only allowed to play 25 minutes of it. They informed us that it was «more important» that we have our picture taken at the end than play the game. No. No, no, no, no, no. This attraction could have been truly spectacular — but unnecessary and dishonest operating procedures completely killed it.
I’m fairly certain The Purge: Breakout is gone for good (in fact I think their trailers still sit abandoned in the empty lot of their last location in LA) — but if somehow they did come back, they’d need to make serious changes to their operating policy before I could in good conscience ever recommend this experience to others.

If you’re over the typical haunted houses and waiting in lines at over priced theme parks this Halloween, this is something new & different to try out! Not scary, but very interactive & fun! It is like being dropped into a real life video game.
I hope this team brings this event back to L.A. next year, making even bigger and better, and longer please!
We died, but I wish the death room had a bit more going on.
Reposted from 10÷23÷14

This was great. It was not like the other haunted houses I’ve been to – it was highly interactive and the fact that time was ticking down kept my adrenaline up the whole time. Very exciting. I liked the fact that most people do NOT succeed in escaping, so my competitive nature wanted to figure everything out and get the hell out before our captor got home and «killed» us all. The clues were not easy, but at the same time it does not require a genius to solve. I recommend going in with a group of people who have different skills.
ps. my group did not successfully escape, but I still had a lot of fun.
I hope these guys come back in the future with something similar.

I really enjoyed this. First of all, this is NOT a haunted house. It never promises that and the website even mentions it. If you’re looking for a Halloween Horror Nights experience, go elsewhere. Now, with that out of the way, if you’re looking for something fun, different and interactive — this is worth a try.
I didn’t have high expectations which may be part of the reason why I loved it so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Yes, it’s in a trailer. Yes, it’s small. Yes, it’s dark. However, none of this stopped us from having a good time. The actress that we had was actually fantastic. She is definitely the reason we got as far as we did. The puzzles were not ideal at times, but it was still fun. We had a great group. That helps immensely. I would suggest if you can go in a group of 6 to ensure that you know everyone, do that. However, we had two girls in our group who we didn’t know and they ended up being totally awesome. Your group is everything. It will really suck if you can’t make it past the first few puzzles.
This thing wasn’t scary, but I was amped up the whole time. I really wanted to beat it and I’m competitive, so maybe that’s why my heart stayed beating pretty rapidly, but whatever the case, it was definitely worth it. $ 30 well spent. I much rather spend $ 30 to do something like this where it’s interactive and creative vs. $ 30 to have some bad actors in costume jump at me.
Four stars because there is definitely room for improvement (like, make sure everything is completely functioning, for one), but would most certainly do this again next year if it comes back around.

Yet another successful event from Blumhouse! I’m a big fan and every year they have a great Halloween event! I have now done The Purge 3 times, and finally made it out on the 3^rd attempt! Ha! I was obviously determined to escape and each time we had a great experience!
This is a really fun, interactive experience for anyone who enjoys scary movies and puzzle solving. While the escape game itself is not particularly scary (although there are a couple scare tactics here and there), it still revolves around a horror story which you’re pretty much a participant in. It is however very suspenseful and stress builds on while you’re trying to get through the trailer riddle by riddle.
Unfortunately there is a part in the story where there is a major glitch. The first two times I went, it ate quite a bit of our time. Then the third time it didn’t work at all so we were told to skip it and move on. Let’s just say it’s a phone issue. That part was unfortunate and made me wish the whole experience was a little longer (maybe 40 – 45 minutes would give a higher escape rate? However they do make your failure to escape pretty entertaining, so maybe they set it up that way on purpose). So just keep in mind to move quickly, use good communication skills with your group and be organized. Use that time wisely! Other than that enjoy what this trailer has to offer! Once you get in the set up is pretty amazing and you completley forget you’re on a semi!
One of the most important things I can say is that you need to make sure you are on time for the reservation time slot you choose. If you don’t make it on time, you and your friends might get split up and placed with other groups, and even that is not a guarantee! Keep in mind it’s LA, so traffic is mostly awful. If you’re mindful of all that and make sure your on time you won’t have any issues! Also use the bathroom before you get there, otherwise it’s a porta potty.
If you’re sick of the usual things you do when you go out with your friends, try this and spice it up a bit! You’ll have a good time! Be sure to say hi to Big Daddy for me!

We really enjoyed this event and found it to be our favorite escape maze. We lucked out that my husband and I were partnered up with two cool people to do the challenges. I actually knew one of them already but hadn’t seen her in years. I could see how being grouped with strangers can affect the experience since you all have to work together.
It is a high stress maze mentally but not so much physically. It is cramped space since it’s the back of a semi so claustrophobic folks may want to pass on this one. I loved the stress added by the countdown.
We didn’t escape… however I really do think we were close. :-)

Loved it, loved it, loved it! One of the most unique and entertaining experiences I’ve ever encountered. Don’t research it too much, just know it’s not at all a traditional «haunted» experience — it’s entirely different, and a fantastic thrill ride you won’t forget. Can’t recommend this one strongly enough — the only way you won’t like it is if you’re expecting some sort of passive experience. You’ve got to open yourself up to something that will use your mind as it gets your adrenaline pumping. Great stuff!

This «game» was over before it got interesting. I regret the 30 minute drive to get there and definitely miss the 30 bucks I wasted on the event.
The whole thing takes place in 2 trailers. Your locked in with a bound and gagged girl outside of a cage. You find your way out of the cage. And it pretty much goes down hill after that. Then there’s a confusing mess of codes and clues in a dimly lit tight space… And I mean REAL dim. The fact that u can’t see takes up a LOT of time. When your half hour (20 minutes) is up and you haven’t solved enough clues, your shuffled into a closet to die. Your hot, sweaty, and left with that «Is that all?» feeling.
One of the workers told us only «1%» complete the game… Those are ridiculous odds!!!
Save your money… The movie costs less and lasts longer.

This was like being dropped into the middle of a video game. We teamed up to solve the puzzles, searched everywhere for clues and I mean EVERYWHERE. The atmosphere was pitch perfect. We came close, but in the end we could not escape Big Daddy.

First off, this isn’t a ‘haunted house’ type experience. It’s not scary at all, nor is it supposed to be. It’s billed as an escape room experience and it is very much that. Though they try to make the atmosphere a little creepy, it really isn’t at all. I never once got that feeling of impending dread or fear that usually accompanies haunted attractions. But I’m not going to be taking points off for that because that’s not what this thing is.
Like I said, this is an escape room. That means you and a group (of 5 or 6 — if your group is less than 5, you will be grouped up with another group) will be going through rooms to solve puzzles to hopefully get out of there within 30 minutes. It’s based on The Purge movies, but only the story wrapper around the event is tied into the world of the movies. Everything else could easily be just from any old generic torture house. Actually… torture houses aren’t even really prevalent in The Purge… so it actually doesn’t feel like it uses the license properly except for the timer counting down to the Purge.
The setup is that you’ve been captured by Big Daddy (one of the characters in the movie) and he is waiting for the Purge to start to kill you. It starts in 30 minutes and so you have that amount of time to get out of there.
It’s hard to really review it without giving much away, but the puzzles all seem a bit hit and miss. I really liked the very first puzzle, but a lot of the rest just involve searching everywhere for random scraps of paper and then plugging them into locks. It actually feels a lot like old school video game survival horror puzzles (Resident Evil, Silent Hill). That wouldn’t be so bad, but you meet a character early on that acts as kind of your guide (basically there to make sure you keep on task and also help you if you get stuck). And she basically screams at you the entire time. I get that her character is supposed to be frantic and desperate, but she came off more like mean and belittling. Also, the actress kept breaking character, which was really distracting. Choice quotes from her included things like (when we couldn’t find a clue) «Oh, god. Just let me do it! It’s so basic!» and «You are LITERALLY grabbing everything except what you’re supposed to!». Okay, I get that you’ve been playing the same character in this dark, cramped semi trailer for who knows how many hours, seeing people getting stuck on probably the same exact puzzles, but c’mon. That’s kind of what you’re paid for, so please just play along! She was actually quite distracting. The best parts, coincidentally are the very beginning and end, where she doesn’t say anything. Most of the rest of the puzzles are her screaming at you to go somewhere and find something, then telling you what to do with it. It’s less puzzle solving and more just following the orders of a madwoman.
All in all, though, it was a fun experience. Our group ended up dying, though I think we got a pretty decent amount through the thing. The final room is very challenging and it’s important that your group actually works together verbally. One thing is that a lot of the challenge in the puzzles actually comes from the lack of lighting. They don’t allow you to use anything you brought with you, so you can’t write notes, use lights, or anything. There are clues that rely on colors, and it was honestly very difficult to tell between a green circle and blue circle in the darkness. If you’re in to escape room experiences, this is one of the only ones around the LA area, so I say go for it. It’s fun with a group, though it surprisingly never uses the group dynamic for anything but having more bodies to search things with — there is nothing that you absolutely need more than one person to do like pulling switches at the same time or pressure plates or anything like that. I actually think this might be easier with 2 or 3 rather than 6 because as the timer ticks down, people get more frantic and just start yelling things. After the event, I thought back on some of the puzzles we were stuck on and immediately figured them out. Though you do have to sign a waiver beforehand (and I was told the director of Blackout, aka the worst Halloween event ever, directed this one), you will not be asked to do anything crazy or harmful and you won’t have to endure any kind of weird stuff like being tied up or grabbed or pushed or anything. But, if you are looking for a true haunted house type event with scares and things that go ‘BOO’ and pop out at you, this is not it.

A lot of fun for those who can let their imagination go. The end was a little anti climactic … Expected big daddy to come in and scare the crap out of us but it just sort of ended.

Soooo sooo lame! If you went to the other blumhouse productions ie. 2013 it’s nothing like them!!! Besides being a different maze you have no idea which «clues» you are looking for not to mention this crazy chick screaming at you. Did anyone make it??? Is there negative stars???

SO LAME! You enter in a trailer and go through 3 rooms being screamed at by a crazy chick for clues to go through each room. $ 25 and over in 20 minutes. Save your money and do not go. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!

It’s only as good as the group your with. I went with my besty and we love being scared but the group we got stuck with kinda sucked. They kept screaming «we’re gonna die». Keep screaming in my ear and you just might. I’m still giving it 4 stars because I liked the «rats stuck in a cage» feel of it. You start in a cramped room and in order to get out you have to «unlock» clues. The group doesn’t have to move forward together, so if someone’s stupid… leave them behind :). The staff are all very helpful and seem to be in the Halloween spirit. Have Fun… I know I did

It was cool. The whole thing happens in a truck trailer. But there was a room where the panic button was not out of place and it’s not lit (none of them are.) It’s next to the vanity in the bedroom, 4 ft. Just be sure to assess the room b4 touching anything since the lighting is like an emergency atmosphere, on/​off. We still had 20mins left. It’s not scary at all. U will be the 1% (apparently 99% fails.) We went in heavily buzz, so no big deal. I agree, the guy who introduce us to the maze was rude. He was yelling, saying the button was out of the way. He should just be cool, like sorry game over. Anyway, the crazy chick at the beginning who stays with u the whole time, she’s legit. Good luck! It’s doable. The host did talk crap about the other Purge like festivities. Thumbs down for the negativity.

Not what I was expecting at all. I give them credit for trying something new and I kinda see what they were going for, but it didn’t click for me. I mean, I am one of the easiest people in the world to scare and I found myself being bored. Then again, they did mention before going in that it is NOT a haunted house attraction. I felt no excitement, no adrenaline pumping. It bummed me out because I really wanted to love it. If constant puzzle solving gets you amped up, this is right up your alley.

Definitely a lot of fun! A lot better than expected, and a lot better and more elaborate than it looks from the outside. Pulling up, it was just trailers. My expectations were low. But entering the experience, it was completely immersive and interactive. I don’t want to spoil it, but it definitely challenges you. Honestly, it was definitely worth my money and id definitely recommend it. They take in parties of 5 to 6 at a time, so the more friends you bring the better. One thing to keep in mind it gets pretty hot in there, so dress accordingly.