Fright Factory 2200 S. Swanson Street Philadelphia, PA 19148
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I have been trying to get to this haunt for many years ever since I drove by their giant skull on top of a platform beside a warehouse behind the Lowes. They don't advertise that much so it's hard to even understand there is a haunted house in the basement of a warehouse. I was looking at their site online and found out they were doing a half price deal on opening weekend so I rounded up a couple co-workers and we met in the parking lot of the building and got in line. We were the oldest people in line without children. It seemed that most of the people going to this were young neighborhood kids, one of which ran away screaming saying he was not going inside (should of bought his ticket from him). There was also a family behind us with a little girl that had no fear at all, which was turning out to be very strange especially when she wanted her picture taken with a giant monster puppet as if it were Santa Clause. An actor came up to us in line and the little girl was yelling, "Eat their eyes!" Someone should keep an eye on that girl, she could be a sociopath in the making.
This attraction was a one shot and your done type thing as there was only one long maze on rough uneven floors indoors, even though they claim it is multiple attractions. We walked down long stairs and at the bottom they took our picture with some zombies. They made the pictures available online for free, which was pretty cool. We then proceeded into the first room. I remember the bad haunted houses a lot better then the good ones, and this one is unfortunately one of the worst haunted houses I have been to, which can be a good thing depending upon how you look at it.
I have read reviews by Dante and Omni and they both praised this haunt but then again that guy Dante would praise a haunt comprised of an empty dark room. The first scene we came upon was supposed to be a church. I only understood this because there was an actor in total darkness saying bible verses and several pews scattered through out the open room. It was a stretch because there were no other details to indicate this, so I will give some detailing tips for making it appear like a church, for example things like stained glass windows, alter, fake candles and maybe a podium would make it feel like you were in a church.
We then proceeded into an area with a alien inside a tank, which at best was a prop for a middle school play. We then went through many dark mazes coming into various scenes with actors who are not brutal like Dante claims but more like actors who didn't get into other haunts. There would be a scene with a girl in bed watching a TV with static. The detailing was horrible and the entire maze itself is made of particle board wood with a rough cheap wood texture. I could tell this even though they had little to no lighting in seventy percent of the haunt. They had a disgusting bathroom scene and I was hoping that they were using smelly chemicals on purpose because there were several sections that smelled terrible in this maze. They had an actor activated giant monster head that comes out at you and a spinning vortex tunnel which were probably their biggest scares next to a zombie/patient monster that jumps out at you for their video scare setup as a video game at the end of the haunt. They have no air driven animatronics and barely any electric ones either, which makes this haunt only a step up from someone's home haunt. They had another scene which was supposed to be a graveyard but I have seen better at a Spirit Halloween store. It was a picket fence and generic gravestones on a flat warehouse floor. Suspension of disbelief is a concept beyond this Halloween director.
We finished the haunt and headed into the merchandise area where they did have a video game scare where you put a dollar into the machine and hit a button to scare people in the monitor. It was a fun gimmick and they had a similar machine at Field of Screams. Overall, the most amazing thing about this place is anyone giving good reviews and them getting in the 13 haunts. We did have fun here but this place is more laughable then scary.
