Nightmare Village at Xtreme Action Park Brings Movie Monsters to Life in Fort Lauderdale
By Erin Lee
Stepping through the ominous gate and into Nightmare Village, I am greeted by a ghoulishly undead skeleton lit in eerie green. Eyes blinking, he looms over the crowd of people holding cocktails in flashing cups, mingling around a coffin
In the background a large projection screen sets the tone for the evening by clips from scary movies like Halloween and Chucky.
The Nightmare Village storytelling theme for this year centers around movies. The three houses are featured as movie posters:
Patches’ Slaughter, The Collection, and Haunting of Duskfield Springs, 6 Years Later.
The central character of the event is Dr. Patches: “Just a normal clown doctor” we overheard her telling the group ahead of us in line for the haunted house!
The facade of the first two houses is an abandoned movie theater. As you step through the doors you are greeted by a lobby with movie posters. Walking down the hallway things seem quiet at first- too quiet. A crazed concession worker pops up from behind a counter demanding to see your tickets.
At every turn you get a glimpse at how the clowns and ghouls have taken over: lurking in the shadows, hanging from above.
Darkness emerges and momentarily disorients you. The maze twists and turns and it feels as if you will become what’s served at Patches’ pizza party.
Literally stepping through a movie screen is a surreal experience. Moving from one room to the next, we made our way through Camp Crystal Lake’s bunks, greeted by Jason and other characters ripped straight from the screen.
A mad scientist in a lab pieced together menacing experiments.
After completing the first two houses, we crossed the large space to queue up for the final house. Greeted by a family of bbq possum eating country folk, they advised us in this house we’d be seeing “teasers for upcoming movies.”
Unsure of which way to turn, we searched the room and were met with a creepy guide who showed us the door.
Half dead and undead figures were lingering in various states of slashed and bloody.
An empty chair slid across a black lit room. Lights flickered, chains rattled in a hallway bathed in red light, and eventually an abandoned diner led us to the conclusion that we wouldn’t be served up regular old hamburgers!
Overall, the Nightmare Village experience is an excellent way to spend an evening filled with frights!
This haunt is unique in its character development: each original character has its own storyline, and verbally communicates and interacts with attendees. A far cry from the random grunts and growls most scareactors are relegated to at your standard haunt.
Seeing these characters brought to life added depth to the event.
Nightmare Village opens to the public on October 2nd, and runs through November 1st.
Tickets range from $40-$55 depending on the date you attend.
Nightmare Village is located at Xtreme Action Park: 5300 Powerline Road, Fort Lauderdale.
Visit www.xtremeactionpark.com to purchase tickets.
Images by Erin Lee:
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