Blood Manor 2012 (Review)

Well I've now attended Blood Manor for 4 consecutive years. You'd think I'd be jaded now but Blood Manor seems to change up things every year which is always a plus. Jimmy Lorenzo, Jim Faro and Mike Rodriguez have a reputation of running a well oiled haunted house and it's well deserved. In years past they have outside acts consisting of painful torture and contortionists to keep the crowd entertained and it will be brought back this year. Who doesn't like seeing extreme pain? But at the end of the day, it's the house that makes Blood Manor.

Photo via Downtown Traveler

Accompanied by veteran Blood Manor alum Leslie from Downtown Traveler, this preview night has always been a great kickoff to the haunted house season.  I've said it year after year, the actors and set designs are what make he masses flood to Blood Manor. The actors at Blood Manor are mini comedians. If you give them time, interact with them, talk and joke with them you'll laugh and be completely shocked by what comes out of their mouths. It's imperative you don't rush from room to room (even when you're ordered to do so). The actors want to talk to you, make fun of you and scare the shit out of you. It's your job as a scaredy cat to make it happen.

During my visit I was called some odd things, viewed a deformed baby and sat down on a bloody table for some open heart surgery. And through some new technology, I saw myself as a zombie.This interactivity, though brief is what make Blood Manor leave it's patrons happy. Sure they have rehearsed lines, the growls and screams come out of nowhere but you need to talk to the crazies in order to make it all worth it.

I've always thought the actors, dressed in their mental patient outfits, zombified gore and stellar makeup can bring about a sense of horror close up. The victims scream endlessly, begging for help as you mock them (oh wait, I guess I'm the one who decided to do that). I want a quick snap personalized experience if possible and the actors clearly when they are on their game can do that.

Photo via Downtown Traveler

The set design and rooms are always beautifully classics of monster lore of the past. New rooms include a Dr. Frankenstein laboratory with a funky new interactive TV. The mad doctor's autopsy at the morgue was a nice touch. I believe it was the best room so far. The fucked up Thanksgiving dinner banquet has always been a solid room and with some creative lighting furnishes it with some creepy crawlies. Also a steam punk room complete with prepackaged steam punker was new. The staples of bacon carcasses and zombie strippers is always a good time as is corridors with utter darkness and laser tech. The finale brings back the 3D effects which for the newbies, will be wicked cool.

I still think the actors rush you a bit from time to time, but that must be a prerequisite with the job when there are large crowds itching to go in. I'd also appreciate if I got to do more interaction (like the impromptu surgery) or maybe dance with a stripper? How about firing that cannon? The more audience participation, the better I always say.

My suggestions as always is to take things slow. You really need to slow the pace in order for you to see the scene unfold. Sometimes you'll bump into the group in front of you or the group in back of you comes out of nowhere. Then you get a clusterfuck of a mess of 6-10 people jam packed into a room. If everybody didn't rush through, I guarantee Blood Manor would flow seamlessly with scares.

Blood Manor is a staple of NYC Haunted Houses. If you've never been, it's a must go. They are indeed the blockbuster of all the haunted houses in the city combining Tim Burton style rooms with a mix of Universal monsters horror and high tech wizardry. They seem to always be on the cutting edge of pushing the tech aspect of haunted houses and the actors come full prepared to torture you with invisible scares and smart ass remarks.

Also I did mention zombie strippers right?

The Vitals

• The official site
• Like on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Blood Manor opens this Friday 10/5.
• Blood Manor is located at 163 Varick Street (Soho) Subway: 1 Train to Houston St or C/E to Spring St.
• General Admission tickets are $25 and R.I.P. tickets are $40
• Blood Manor runs until 11/3/12.
• Special Thanks to Jim Faro, Jimmy Rodriguez!

 Check out the trailer below.

Categories: blood manor, blood manor review, haunted house, new york city, nyc halloween haunted house, nyc haunted house, nyc horror