X SCREAM: ONCE UPON A TIME | REVIEW
Rhondda Heritage Park, Trehafod, Fri 19 Oct
Do you enjoy being scared? Not just a little bit spooked, but so terrified that you don’t know whether to laugh or cry? Are you not easily offended? Then this is the Hallowe’en experience for you! Despite the ‘once upon a time…’ fairytale theme, this is about as far removed from a bedtime story as you can imagine. Staged in the already very creepy setting of the disused mineshaft and surrounding woodland of the Rhondda Heritage Park, this is an interactive, immersive, live action adventure that will genuinely frighten even the most hardened of horror aficionados.
On arrival we were taken to a marquee waiting area where we were given some soup and sandwiches, a large red wine to settle our nerves and our glowstick bands in case, horror of horrors, we became separated from our group. Ten minutes later we joined our companions for the start of our tour. The tone was set immediately as we were huddled into a small room with a very scary looking young man who showed us a safety video, insulted us and sent us on our way to navigate the rest of the tour alone. Or alone apart from the cast of horrifying characters who jumped out, chased and verbally abused us that is…
For the next 45 minutes we often crept slowly, sometimes ran and at one point most memorably were hooded and marched around the route which encompasses some outdoor areas, some incredibly detailed sets and scarier still, a part of the disused underground mine. The creators of X-Scream have really pulled out all the stops to entertain and frighten their guests this season. The sets were wonderful, and I must admit that I would have liked to go through a second time just to appreciate all the detail.
Imagine all the heroes of your childhood fairy stories being given a macabre makeover, those comforting tales told at a twisted tangent, and add in some more modern antiheroes – Jason from Halloween, The Child Catcher and the Killer Clown from It. A great value and exhilarating scarefest which kept my heart beating faster for hours afterwards.
words SARAH EDWARDS