If you are in the L.A. area this Halloween season, have I got a treat for you (and tricks galore, too!) Hollywood stuntmant Jon Braver has created an elaborate love letter to haunted houses with the ultimate interactive theater experience and it’s called DELUSION. Just imagine – rather than merely watching THE HAUNTING, THE EXORCIST and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE for the millionth time, you can experience it firsthand (and then some)!
Set in an authentic 100-year old Victorian mansion, DELUSION begins when you and a small group of fellow “Science Colleagues” are guided into Dr. Lowell’s rather unconventional sanitarium where his experiments have gotten a bit out of hand to say the least. Filled with innovative thrills, chills and amazing stunt effects it truly feels like the most 3-D horror experience you could ever have.
I already knew we were in for a treat when a nearby church bell chimed, echoing eerily as we were led to the front entrance. There were 10 of us on this virgin voyage (I hadn’t realized when I got tickets that this would be the very first show – and it went without a hitch.) Our guide immediately drew us into the sinister goings on and his sense of urgency was contagious as we shuffled en masse into ever more dire circumstances.
Each new room offered a host of freakish eye candy and new possibilities for terror – every door, curtain, dark corner threatening us with new scares. Our group huddled together – each new jolt seeming to form a bond not usually permitted amongst total strangers. We were warned in advance that we might be touched, and so we were, in addition to other interactions with the motley crew of mental patients throughout.
Braver and his theater troupe demonstrated a true love of their craft. Too few practitioners realize that effective horror relies on two elements: the predictable and the unpredictable. The predictable relies on knowing that something is going to happen – though she may not know when, how or where, thus creating suspense. The unpredictable, of course, are those thoroughly unexpected surprises that come out of nowhere. With a healthy balance of both, Delusion is the perfect storm of nightmares brought to life – to chill and delight.
I shan’t reveal spoilers – it is an event best experienced shrouded in proper mystery. All I will say is that I have been to many a Haunted house over the years, and none has been as “authentic” and delightful as this one. The masterful use of some rather elaborate stunts (involving harnesses and wire work) is positively inspired and used to best possible effect within the story. This was made with love and serious craft.
I was also enthralled by how our small group became its own cast of characters. One fellow, in particular, became the comic relief when rendered an unwitting participant in the plot and responded with his genuinely apprehensive, yet still somehow sarcastic dialogue, “You want me to do what? Of for fuck’s sake. Of course it has to pick me. Well, shit, okay.”
One woman behind me had sheer terror on her face for the duration. All of us had our share of yelps, shrieks and laughter. We left high as a kite – on adrenalin, on joy, on inspiration.
I can truthfully think of no better way to celebrate the Halloween season than to buy tickets and tell all your friends. It’s also a perfect date outing, too. The couple ahead of us were clearly on an early date and I hope this is just the first of many Halloweens they spend together. Their reactions were a perfect example of how horror brings people together. This had been but the first part of a multi-tiered evening the fellow had planned for them, but as we all escaped with our lives, he commented, “Well, anything after that is just going to be anti-climactic.”
Lucky for Agustin and me, that turned out not to be the case. The effects lingered on our senses. We decided to celebrate with wine and a goat cheese pear tart at our beloved Figaro’s where we noticed we were still reacting to every unexpected bump and jolt. Outside, a terrifying zombie-looking man (though I daresay it was not intentional) walked up to us and asked in a scary, drone-like voice, “Can I have a dollar?” as he reached out to us with his hand. We stifled a squeal as we ran off. Fortunately, for a better spent dollar, we got a serenade from a fellow who boasted that he did a killer Johnny Cash imitation. We took him up on it and he did a lovely rendition of a song I did not know, but it did indeed sound like Cash and we may just catch his band STOLEN CASH at El Cid next Monday evening.
Ah, but magic breeds more magic and there is definitely magic in the air at DELUSION – The Haunted Play. Seriously, don’t miss this one.