The screen in front of us crackles iconically as it goes dark. Left in total blackness and silence, we heed our guide’s warning: Don’t Breathe. Suddenly, lights flash and we see a young girl in tattered clothing with her long, dark hair falling in front of her eyes. As quickly as we see her, she disappears, only to reappear closer to our car than before. The lights continue to flash as she seemingly teleports around the room, everywhere at once. I watch through half covered eyes as she appears right outside my window. Suddenly, she’s gone. The lights flicker back to the warm and familiar glow of the video store. The next film begins to play as I finally let myself breathe. Horrorwood Video’s Highway to Hell presents short vignette horror scenes in a Drive-In Format.
A Trip to the Video Store
Majestic Repertory Theater’s Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell is a Drive-Up horror experience in Las Vegas that continues their annual Horrorwood Video series in a covid-safe environment. Over eight minutes, you will be guided through Horrorwood Video’s underground film library by Leon, the store’s most unsettling employee. As Leon describes the films, they will come to life around you.
The setting is simple but effective, with excellent scare acting and a great use of FM radio for sound and lighting for dramatic effect and optical illusions. Not only is this one of the more frightening drive up experiences that the Haunting team attended, it’s also an homage to some of the greatest horror movies and tropes of all time. The references create a real celebration of the season that will speak to seasoned horror fans. Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell centers the things that frighten us and the subculture of people who are unsettlingly excited to be frightened (most of us here at Haunting included). Filled with references both to movies and to past Horrorwood Video shows, this is the ideal event for a group of horror fanatic friends.
On screen, video store employee Leon will guide you through your experience. The supporting actors are fairly scary and will touch and interact with your car, which is a departure from the usual format of drive-through haunts. This change in format elevates the scares, so don’t be surprised if this one gets your heart racing. You also enter the space one car at a time, so you are the focus of all the action during your time at the show. This is an intelligent, well produced, and wonderfully frightening Halloween show.
Background and References
This is the third year that Majestic Rep has put on Horrorwood Video, so fans of the series will be excited for this most recent installment featuring the same format, themes, and characters. Participants will enter Horrorwood Video, a movie rental store of the Blockbuster ilk under the guidance of Leon, the shop’s sweaty and unsettling employee. Leon’s specialty is indie and underground horror, and he’s excited for this opportunity to show you his favorite deep cuts from the back shelf.
Each of the films referenced is an homage to a classic horror film. Satan’s Sideshow, a freakshow themed “movie”, opens with a ringleader introducing various sideshow members with ominous exhibitionist flair. These characters span the frightening and the ridiculous, with everything from the invisible woman to inside out boy. This culminates with a brother/sister escape/revenge plot that includes killer clowns. Satan’s Sideshow feels like an homage to Halloween or American Horror Story: Freakshow. The freakshow theme isn’t new for Horrorwood Video, past versions of the film have included a spider woman. The result is a play on not only a common horror trope, but their own past shows.
The second film is Rewaindo (Rewind), a 1996 Japanese horror film that pays homage to Ringu (i.e. The Ring, Japanese original version) with TV static giving way to darkness as multiple Sadako’s (Samara’s) appear around your vehicle. Audience members are chillingly told not to breathe in what was, for us, the most frightening of the scenes.
The last scene stars “Pig Gut” from Slaughterhouse Massacre 3: In 3-D, a fan favorite from previous years and Horrorwood Video’s slasher archetype, a reference to Leatherface from The Texas chainsaw massacre. This scene begins with a skeptical police officer accusing us of smoking and loitering and telling us to get lost. This recurring character is always the opening scene of the Pig Gut movies, never believing in the existence of the infamous slasher. As a frantic young woman covered in blood begins to bang on our car, it becomes obvious that something has gone terribly wrong. Pig Gut is on the loose and looking for his next .
Acting & Setting
While in previous years participants would walk through the sets, this year the sets come to you. After pulling into a closed off carwash-type area, the action takes place around you as you watch Leon on the big screen. Leon will direct your journey, and actors will interact with each other and with your (closed) car. It’s a fun take on the series that allows for social distancing while preserving the spirit of the experience. Audio is pumped in through an FM radio which is a fun effect that many drive-through/drive-in haunts such as Haunted Hayride, The Bite, and Trapped have been using this season to great effect. Using radio audio helps bring the action into your car in a fun and effective way.
The high quality acting elevates the experience. The use of multiple actors playing the same role allows for fun effects, like Sadako seemingly teleporting around the space, getting closer and closer to your car each time. Omar Hanson’s Pig Gut is physical, frightening, and energetic, a standout finale performance for the show. Mike Vargovich perfectly captures the unsettling, sweaty enthusiasm of Leon the horror film buff. Leon is the kind of character that you didn’t even know was a trope but instantly realize you’ve met before in real life, and his commitment to the role is astounding. Gina Manago, among others, form the team of dead eyed employees moving participants in and out of the space and squeegeeing their bloody cars.
Immersion
The immersion begins even before the show starts, as a video store employee waves you forward with DVDs in hand. After the show, blank faced actors clean the blood off of your car with ominous thudding swipes. This is a fun and in-character way of ensuring safety and keeping transitions organized. Of course, the entire production team is clothed in matching red Horrorwood Video employee polos. Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell even includes a playlist for your drive over as a way of setting the mood and making the immersion last far beyond the show itself. Your car windows are required to remain up the entire time, which actually allows for greater immersion as actors can touch your car and get up close and personal without worrying about covid safety issues. Of all the drive through experiences the Haunting staff did this year, this one felt the most interactive and had some of the best scares.
Recommendations
It’s worth noting that this is one of the only drive-through haunts that allows actors to interact with and touch your car. This is done with every intention of safety and care, as not having windows open means that actors don’t have to worry about accidental contact with participants. However, if you’re protective of your vehicle, give this one a miss or drive a friend. All contact is respectful and safe—and there will not be any damage to your car at all—but we know some people baby their car, and we wanted to make sure you have the expectation that you may get some blood or handprints on your vehicle. It’s cleaned up after, but interaction is essential to this show.
Final Thoughts
Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell is a covid safe rendition of the Horrorwood Video series that is a recurring part of Majestic Rep’s repertoire. Expect classic horror, self-aware references, and authentic and well executed scares. Within a fairly small space (car wash sized), the show feels intimate and tight in both pacing and physical space. The scares are moody and thematic, just like the best horror movies. The performance delivers a lot of content in a short amount of time, and is sure to excite and delight. Our group of friends laughed, gasped, and shivered our way through the show’s stellar and creative parodic content.
Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell plays on the drive-in theme that’s been so nostalgic and popular this Halloween season. While it’s funny in it’s self-awareness, the show itself is deeply frightening. Expect a few particularly cool moments of effects and interactions that might surprise you. Time slots also prevent long wait times and move people efficiently through the show. The pre-show playlist and in-character staff extend the immersion long beyond the show itself. This is one of the most creative uses of space and vehicle interaction that we saw during haunt season. Make sure you’re set up to tune into the FM broadcast audio, then buckle up for a great show. Featuring the horror films you know and love, this show delivers on both fun and fear.
Overall, Horrorwood Video: Highway to Hell pays tribute to horror movies as a genre while bringing them to light in the spirit of the season. Majestic Rep manages to create a cohesive and unsettling mood that permeates the entire experience. There’s a lot of intention, intelligence, and talent invested in this show, and we highly recommend it to groups of horror fans. If you’re looking for nostalgia mixed with all out creepiness, Horrorwood Video has you covered. Best of luck finding what you didn’t even know you were looking for on the back shelf of Las Vegas’ most ominous video rental store.
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Horrorwood Video returned to Majestic Repertory Theater with Highway to Hell, a drive in experience. Highway to Hell and Horrorwood Video is always a favorite; don’t miss this Covid safe experience.
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