The 17th Door Provides Innovative Scares in its Best Year Yet

“Don’t sit in the barber’s chair if you don’t want to get a haircut!”

 

The warning replays in my head as I spy a man with barbed wire digging into the soft flesh of his face holding an electric shaver. “Who wants a cut? I’ll only take a little off the top!” His voice is full bodied and jovial. A bald guests plops down in the chair, smiling with bold confidence in his lack of hair. He laughs at the barber, but the barber only smirks and brings his shaver to life. “Buzz buzz buzz,” it squeals with glee. The barber reminds the man of the safe word, “Mercy”, and then inches the shaver closer to the bald man’s face. Yet, he remains confidant in his decision. With one fell swoop, the blade glides across the poor man’s eyebrow, leaving his face contorted in shock.

 

 

 

 

The 17th Door is back for its third year as we follow Paula into the depths of Perpetuum Penitentiary, after she murdered her child at the end of year two. Replacing the pig demons of Gluttire University are scarecrow-masked inmates who personify fear and ghoul-faced officers who patrol the halls with night sticks doubling as tasers.

 

The experience expands on its namesake, providing over twenty rooms, a full thirty-five-minutes, and over sixty actors a night. The rooms are expertly timed, utilizing a green light / red light system that is unforgiving. For those unfamiliar, participants spend a full minute in each room and then are ushered into a passing corridor. Here, they will wait until the red light changes to green and allows them to enter the next room to face the terrors inside. If they do not make haste, they may miss valuable narrative or spoil a well-timed scare. The impetus to move forward is as much on the participants as the actors.

 

 

 

 

While in previous years audience members were voyeurs to the dark spiral that was Paula’s college years, in Perpetuum Penitentiary the focus is shifted to us. We are the main character, forcing Paula into the role of a supporting character. Thus, experiencing the two previous years is not necessary—the penitentiary stands strongly on its own. But if you have been following the story, it continues with some clever nods to previous years inside. Either way, the narrative flows naturally as you move through the prison and beyond. It is as exciting as it is frightening—and is constantly pushing you forward with excitement and apprehension to explore the next room.

 

Scrapping all of their sets from prior years, owners Robbie and Heather Luther and their talented team built Perpetuum from the ground up. Thus, this year feels fresh and new, but does lack the varied sets and detail from previous years. This is not a knock on The 17th Door in any regard though, just more of the statement that the previous year had two years in the same space to build and expand their incredible sets. The detail this year is much more muted, and captures perfectly the aesthetic of a dingy, dark prison. Brick walls, steel bars, and chain link fences adorn much of the interior. While there are a few surprise rooms, I have to mention one in particular. In one of the most incredible events I have experienced in a haunt to date, you climb to the roof to make your escape. Yet how we made that escape still surprises me as I write this; it was worth the trip alone for this room.

 

 

 

 

While the roof scene is the absolute highlight, there are some especially wonderful moments that support the rest of the experience. A few scenes feel truly cinematic, with actors engaging to lighting and sound cues with perfection—adding to a sense of dread that builds throughout the experience. Actors are given more freedom to embody their roles. One room holds guests for a full three minutes, instead of the standard one, and the inmate within this cell provided strong engagement that set the tone for the rest of the prison. Finally, Mad Dog, one of the few face-characters, provides a truly entertaining, interactive, and personal scene in the prison yard. These characters would not feel nearly as frightening if it weren’t for an incredibly talented makeup department, including two of Coven FX’s owners, Angela Santori Merritt and Haylee Detroit Dewar.

 

Previous years of The 17th Door prided themselves on “Mercy” calls using foul-scented food, live insects, and a generous dose of electricity, but this year, they have toned down this “extreme” aspect and focused more on creating genuine dread and fun scares. The shocks are still there, but water effects replace the food and animals. Further, the live insects appear to have been toned down as well, with only a small portion of one room dedicated to them (and they weren’t even used in our run through). Mercy calls only skip the current room, so if you are really against bugs or water, calling mercy will get you into the next safely and still allow you to enjoy the rest.

 

 

 

 

Finally, a new addition to this year is their $12 up-charged Virtual Reality (VR) experience. This is not your typical VR though; it is fully immersive. Literally strapping you into a motorized chair, the VR transports you into Perpetuum Penitentiary. Reminiscent of Dark Corner’s Catatonic, the story involves you, strapped to a wheel chair, as you move through the fear-induced hallucinations of the prison. As things go from bad to worse, pain is inflicted onto you—but not just virtually. The visuals are perfectly matched to effects that happen to your actual body. There’s plenty of surprises, including an extremely shocking ending. If you absolutely hate electricity, you may want to skip this—or you will be mercy-ing.

 

The 17th Door are perfectionists in this industry. They don’t settle for the mediocre, but rather strive to be the best. The VR is one of the most immersive virtual experiences I’ve done, and easily the most frightening. The sets are some of the most expansive and technologically innovative. And the jump scares don’t rely simply on loud noises and startle effects, but rather are carefully crafted through a anticipation, dread, and innovation. While they still do rely on shocking, water, and insects, these are the icing on the cake—and not the cake itself. The 17th Door has found a distinct voice in the Haunt community and they are only getting stronger each year. Get locked up with Paula this Halloweeen Season; there’s a cell waiting for you.

 

For more information on The 17th Door and Perpetuum Penitentiary, please check out their website.