We are led into a house one by one, blindfolded. I’m guided to lie down on someone’s stomach while someone is guided to lay down over my thighs and knees, and a third person lies above my ankles. “Well what do we have here? It’s great to be back!” A man’s voice booms over the maniacal laughter of a female. But the laughter doesn’t last long – it is soon replaced by howls of pain. Guest by guest, the shrieks move closer to me, until someone is pressing into my hips sharply, and I cry out as well. My blindfold is pulled down, and the rush of water fills my nostrils and mouth. The man speaks again: “Oh how I missed you, how I missed this. It’s just like old times.” ch33r$

While advertised as a 1 hour and 45 minute experience with two timeslots, BL4KM4SS’ CH33R$ ended up being a single 3-hour New Year’s Eve party, and the first of twelve holiday events that BL4KM4SS is producing for the year 2020. There were a few ways to purchase tickets for the event: The party was either $150 standalone or there are HOL1D4YP4SS options for those planning to attend more of the shows in the series. Registered participants could bring a guest for an extra $75 and participants with an “4LL” HOL1D4YP4SS were permitted to bring a guest for free. The party included notable cast members from past BL4KM4SS productions as well as snacks, a light dinner, and a champagne toast at midnight.

While advertised as a party, CH33R$ was very much a show from start to finish. Despite the lack of a full narrative through-line, participants were encouraged to – and often times forced to – interact with different characters in varying ways. For example, Baker, a main character from the M series, would test guests regarding how much pain they could take – in case one of his jobs requires it.

Participants also had input before CH33R$ on some of the dietary elements. Guests were asked to choose various snacks and meals they would eat before they died. In the snacks scene, each guest sat at a table and took turns choosing who picked what snack. Regardless of whether if they paired the correct participant with their matching food selection, that food was force-fed to the selected guest by an actor. This caused noticeable discomfort as some options were clearly not liked by everyone.

The climax of CH33R$ involved Clausen and Baker interrogating the two main ticket-holders. They repeated the Chinese water torture from Prelude, and even allowed our two guests to assist in the torture. After the torture, the first person who was able to run to Baker won a prize and passed the interview tests. That prize was the ability to shoot the tortured victim from M P4rt I. The show concluded with blindfolds, bindings, and a force-feeding of the dinner chosen in the emails before the show – our final meal.

While CH33R$ was an incredibly engaging show, it’s important to note that this was also a very physical show that used extreme haunt techniques. BL4KM4SS has previously noted that they are not an extreme haunt, which leads to some level of confusion. Even though none of the guests complained, there was no information prior to the show detailing that these elements would be used – including things like choking, flogging, tickling, pinching, waterboarding, and blood. Personally, I would have liked this information beforehand as my attire was for a party (a nice dress that I didn’t want ruined), making me inappropriately dressed for the more intense physical elements of the evening. We warn future guests considering attending the HOL1D4Y shows that this series may be different and/or more intense than BL4KM4SS’ usual productions.

Overall, CH33R$ proved to be an exciting holiday event with many different scenes to keep guests engaged and immersed. I’d like to see them share more information on what each of the different HOL1D4Y shows entail to set a better expectation of the evening; guests should know exactly what they are signing up for. Despite these criticisms, CH33R$ was an intense way to ring in the New Year with a smile. I’m interested to see what BL4KM4SS does with the eleven remaining HOL1D4Y shows and recommend them to anyone that would like to see a different form of BL4KM4SS’ work – and don’t mind that they may or may not be more physically challenging.

For more information on BL4KM4SS’ HOL1D4Y shows and the different pricing options, follow them on Instagram. Check out our Event Guide for more extreme horror events throughout the year.

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