The 17th Door: Crybaby is a Descent Into Therapy Gone Wrong
This review of The 17th Door: Crybaby does not contain any plot spoilers.
“He is coming…”
We enter a long hallway led by an elderly prison janitor. “You won’t want to be in his way,” he warns us. Something is coming for us, but we are beholden to our slow guide whose gnarled hands fumble at his keys, our only means of escape. The music builds, the intensity escalating our anxious heartbeats. We follow on the janitor’s heels, looking over our shoulders in anticipation. We huddle around the exit and watch in horror as the door opposite us slowly opens, smoke billowing out. A towering figure starts toward us as we press our bodies to the useless exit. The giant comes ever closer, smashing the overhead lights in his wake. Finally, he is upon us. The creature raises his massive hammer and we brace for impact.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
The 17th Door, a haunted house with minor extreme elements in Fullerton, is in its 4th year and gaining increasing notoriety as a boundary-pushing experience. Riding on its reputation of aggressive fear tactics and unsavory subject matter, it certainly looms as an ominous hurdle for those seeking the next rung up the ladder of intensity. The rumors tell of manhandling, foul smells, dirty clothes, rooms filled with cockroaches or rotten meat and, of course, plenty of electric shocks. You will get messy and you may leave bruised. Oh, and did we mention you will be shocked? This year, in the walls of the Perpetuum Penitentiary, we are told the story of Crybaby. The narrative continues to revolve around inmate Paula, and her unfortunate confinement within these hellish walls. The death of her baby from years past still haunts her. Now, as she goes through unorthodox therapy, old wounds reopen and she continues her descent into psychotic madness, lashing out at those around her.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
Dealing with heavily taboo subjects, The 17th Door relies on shock value, both figuratively and literally. It aims to dive into psychosis by pulling you into the depths of a psychiatric prison gone wrong, and manifesting the pains of emotional trauma in a physical manner. Depravity and suffering will confront you in every room through grotesque imagery and unsavory characters that expose you to their perverted existence. First and foremost, this is an energetic experience filled with visceral sights and sensory challenges in which the underlying story serves as a clever subplot to drive the mini-scenes in each room. Paula’s tale of madness shines through the cracks and provides a thin thread to support the depravity on display, but it takes a back seat to the constant bombardment of scares and physical challenges, as you become overwhelmed with anticipation and dread. Within the Crybaby narrative, we get a lot of angsty Paula screaming and cradling her therapy doll, tormented by her inner demons. On a room-to-room basis perhaps a few more deviations from this plot line could help avoid redundancies.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
The 17th Door excels at setting a scene. Each room is meticulously designed, eerily lit and adorned with ghastly props – should your eyes manage to wander into the shadowy corners. The layout of the maze is also carefully considered. At one point, we approach a wall riddled with bullet holes. Light pours through the holes, creating a lattice of rays visually setting up the expectation of the pain that awaits, leaving us with a pit in our stomachs. The characters that live in Crybaby are all the epitome of madness. Actors leap across the ceilings, strike fear with their sheer size, and create unease with their facial contortions. Standouts being electric chair victim Mad Dog, the Vixi Ward head nurse, and the humorous old janitor that provided little help in escaping the monstrous creature in the hallway.
Mad Dog | Photo By: Taylor Winters
Technically speaking, The 17th Door is operating at a very high level for such a low price point. Throughout, there are effects that pulled me into the world and left me awe-struck and impressed. The haunt makes skillful use of pneumatic elements; walls and floors are not always as stationary as you might expect, and the constant sound of the machinery creates a sense of impending danger. A simple touch, but one often overlooked in many haunts is that this attraction is loud. You won’t find moments where you are struggling to hear a bit of dialogue, or the sound design isn’t completely enveloping you. And when the show intends to deliver an auditory punch, it truly makes a statement of it.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
The 17th Door is a masterclass in haunt pacing and the track is simple and clear as guests are ushered through sequentially numbered rooms. The awareness of where you are in the maze, and the unknowns behind each door during excruciatingly short breaks from the action, emphasizes a dread much more effectively than the consistent slow-shuffle through a traditional maze. As your group funnels into each room there is a split second of confusion but then a horrible buzzer sounds (a great device that not only serves to set the scene in motion but begins to train you like one of Pavlov’s dogs); the scare is coming, the scare is now. There is an especially surprising ah-ha moment in this year’s maze that is sure to leave you conflicted but ultimately filled with conniving glee. Everyone in my group was amazed and laughing after this short-but-guilty pleasure was gifted to us, only to quickly be subjected to the evils of the Penitentiary in the next room.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
The silver lining in this palace of pain is that you do not have to subject yourself to every horrifying act. You are given the autonomy to use the safe word – “mercy” – on a room-to-room basis. Take comfort in knowing that if it ever becomes too much, you can receive safe passage onto the next room, leaving your worst fears in the dark where they belong.
After completing my session in The Vixi Ward Experience, I must say no visit to The 17th Door could be considered complete without this $13 virtual reality add-on. Hands down, this was one of the best VR experiences I have taken part in. It’s extremely paranoia-inducing as you are literally strapped into metal chairs that are most certainly going to electrify you; they’ve been quite clear on this element in the introductory video. This VR experience is a fun story that jumps between painful scares and satirical comedic moments. It delivers a truly full sensory experience that is both transportive and surprisingly grounded. I never knew strapping on a virtual headset could be so physically demanding.
Photo By: Taylor Winters
The 17th Door manages to strike fear and elevate your nerves well before entering the doors of the Penitentiary. The rumors and the waiver alone go a long way to heighten your anxiety. If you have not been electrically shocked before, do not let that dissuade you from this experience. My own fear of being shocked was confronted and I might have left with the surprising feeling that maybe I wasn’t shocked enough. And if you’re still not sure, you can opt to wear the mercy pendant, a glowing necklace that will save you from any room that goes too far for you. What goes on in this haunt will challenge you, excite you and disgust you, but it always manages to do so within reasonable boundaries. The shocks are supported by the atmosphere they create; you will be fully transported into this Hell and have a blast while doing so.
For tickets and more information on The 17th Door’s Crybaby, check out their website and Facebook page.
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