House of Horrors

*First review is for House of Horrors, second for X-​Maze.
**TL;DR review at bottom of each.
So I have to say I was initially enjoying the House of Horrors. The actors are very professional; some have developed personalities and accents, remain in character, do not touch or harass the visitors and are generally well hidden. The house itself offers several rooms with different themes and surprises, some of them obvious, others less so. The characters are varied, makeup is good. Some of the room effects are a bit sparse, but the assorted atmospheres are effectively created. You are also kept in a group of 15 or so people and certain activates encourage group cooperation, not to mention enjoying other group members being frightened. All in all, the house was great fun… until the half way point. Now I will say ***Spoiler Alert*** BUT this part NEEDS TO BE SPOILED. Please read on.
After roughly 20 minutes of fun the house takes a drastic and sudden turn. You are shown a two minute news video of Christians being killed for their beliefs in the Middle East. «Odd,» you think, as you watch. They then announce that you will see 3 Christian martyrs who died for their cause. And you do; for the next 15 – 20 minutes you watch a total of 4, not 3, actors tell you how they suffered and died for their belief in Christ. You then go to a room with a large wooden cross that pours red water representing the blood of Christ, where you are again informed that Jesus and God love you and not to forsake them. After all these rooms you pass through «hell» which you think may be fun and actually back on track as a «haunted house,» but it’s just a pitch black room– no light whatsoever– that is a maze, that you bumble through with an entire group, and is often frustrating and in no way entertaining. In the last stretch there is finally some red light that allows you to see, work your way through the last 20 feet of maze while two obvious actors jump and scream at you. Then pass through a cloth cross of light, into another room with 3 smiling faces. Once the group is together again you are shown a video by the pastors who operate the house, who briefly speak of all the modern horrors in the world (crime, violence, and yes EBOLA) and how God is the truth to salvation from it. You are then asked to go with a final gentleman who will speak with you briefly about himself and his relationship to Christ. I politely declined this part.
So I have to say, my own beliefs aside, that it in no way keeps with the theme or fun of a haunted house. I would have been less irritated if I had known prior, if it had been obviously advertised somewhere, or even if that portion was optional. Had I known this portion of the maze existed I doubt I would have gone, and I’ve in no way found it advertised. So here I sit, attempting to inform people unaware. So if you’re thinking about going, be prepared to sit through a 20 minute sermon of zero fun.
TL;DR: First half is an awesome haunted house (roughly 20 min), 2^nd half is no fun and all about how Jesus is your only salvation and NOT a haunted house (roughly 20 minutes as well).
Guests can also participate in the X-​Maze for an additional fee. The X-​maze is just that, a maze composed of cloth curtains. I would guess the entire maze only took about 5 minutes to finish, and during that time I saw 4 actors that I can recall, none of which were well hidden and did little more than growl or yell at passersby. Is poorly lit, which I found did not add to the fun, just made it more difficult. You are herded into the maze and then immediately abandoned, which again, in a group of around 15, did not add to the fun, only the confusion. However, unlike the House, you do not have to remain with the group and can break out on your own. All in all I would say the X-​maze was put up in a hurry, and without much consideration on how to make it entertaining. I would not say it is worth the cost.
TL;DR: Its a quick, boring maze with no surprises and not worth the cost.