Creep: Awake Review

ROW DTLA, Los Angeles, CA

Ever have one of those surreal fever dreams that seemingly leads you through different unconnected paths… yet somehow seems… rational? Welcome to Creep LA: A W A K E. Keep your eyes open, open, open…

The entire event begins when you meet at a big tree in the middle of ROW, located just outside the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to the Fashion District and Arts District. Foodies might recognize this as the place where Smorgasburg takes place [almost] every Sunday. You’re met by one of the Creeps who checks you in, and once you’re all ready, you’re led to the elevators…

Remember to stay quiet, people are sleeping.

Your group is taken upstairs, separated in a very clever way to ensure everyone has a slightly different experience. Once the elevator reaches its floor, you’re taken by the Creeps and made to lie down in a bed either with other participants, or paired up with a Creep.

Lying there, listening to an eerie and haunting piano version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” by Scala & Kolacny Brothers, sets a very cool tone for the event while you wait for the group to be put to bed. As the song ends… the Creeps wake up from their dreams. This is when the fun begins.

Watch out for Mr. Fingers…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

There is confusion and cacophony as the Creeps recover their senses—recounting their intimate nightmares as the haze of their dreams slowly fades. It’s okay, though. They’re awake now, are the not? Well, that is the crux of this experience. What is reality and what is dream, when dreams and past history are intertwined?

One by one, four different groups are taken from bed… each group runs off to their own nightmarish adventures. Without spoiling the event, the four different experiences are “Junior,” “Mr. Fingers,” “The Salesman,” and “Crawl Space” (our names for each segment).

“Junior” explores a bit of tension within a family structure. Ever feel like you weren’t the favorite? Well… that’s the idea here. Beware the baby… babies are already creepy as hell, murdery ones are even worse!

“The Salesman” finds you following your Creep to their home… or so it seems, but something’s a little off. One by one, the children of the town start going missing after this creepy salesman appears. Careful, you don’t want to go missing too! Don’t be surprised if the salesman follows you around after you’re out of this one!

In “Crawl Space” you encounter another creepy stalker situation…

Finally, “Mr. Fingers,” it’s a sort of Goldilocks situation… we try to find our Creep’s bedroom. Nothing ever seems quite right. Finally you find the right one. But then it’s time to escape before Mr. Fingers finds us! Poor Sophie…

Oh, Junior…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

The Salesman waits…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

Enter the Crawl Space…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

Lights out, Sophie!

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

The initial experience takes you through two of the four stories (awesome for repeat visits and group experiences). You’re all drawn into act three… we arrive as a woman tells the story of her abusive husband and how the entire experience turned to self-harm, the storm descends in a brilliantly animated sequence as the tension builds (all well produced by MouseTrappe). It all culminates in a very interesting dance sequence…

Suddenly we find the space transformed and we’re at a seminar for the movement to stay awake… DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES! STAY AWAKE!

A year really changes her outlook on things…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

The groups are again separated… this time into two separate groups. The first in the back are taken away to class by the teacher. The rest are taken to a funeral.

The classroom features a very stern teacher with some very interesting quiz questions… seriously, pay attention when you read them, you want to make sure you answer correctly. A few people are taken from the room for another experience at the Principal’s office.

In the Funeral you’re taken to a wake with your fellow Creepers to pay your last respects to a dearly departed friend. Everything about this experience is “off.” After the eulogy someone gets up to speak about how the deceased was the love of his life. But the twist here is that even a funeral can sometimes become something more… everyone has a story to tell and who knows how late is too late. People are taken away from this room as well to a room where they have to comfort a girl having her own issues with an unseen infestation, skittering and crawling everywhere…

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

Finally… the entire event wraps up as we’re all gathered in the same place and urged to keep our eyes open, stay awake… awake… awake… eyes, eyes, eyes, open, open, open… we’re all gathered together for the last little bit of creepy weirdness… shrouded in a building percussion of chants and lamentations and an ever-present sense of peril, and there’s movement and shouting, and an cresting rhythm, and a strange creature above, and the urge to find protected ground, and then… as strangely as it began, the entire thing is over. And yes… it all feels like an inexplicable fever dream. You’re left questioning literally everything that happened. How could THAT have been real, but that’s the point isn’t it? Were we awake… or were we dreaming?

Photo by Hatbox Photography and courtesy of Just Fix It Productions.

Another year… another great event from Just Fix It Productions. I’ve had a few scrappy little friends over the years urge me to check the event out and timing was just never a solid possibility until last year, and would you know… they were right. It’s a fantastic interactive (yes, creepily so) theater piece that is great for most crowds. The performances of each actor are exquisite and riveting, varying from flushed and frenzied to cold and unnerving. Be aware that there’s a chance you’ll be touched and handled by the Creeps (nothing inappropriate that you can’t handle if you’re a good sport). For the most part the event is exactly what it says it is… it’s creepy more than a hard scare event. Bottom line: it’s great.

Creep LA: A W A K E is a 75 minute long interactive theater experience that runs now until November 4, 2018 on select nights. Please note, this is not a haunted house experience.

There are still tickets available but it WILL sell out, so don’t wait to book a show now! Tickets are $89 (and well worth it!)

More information and tickets can be found by visiting Creep LA’s Website (CLICK IT)

Get off your butts and do this… you won’t regret it. Sweet dreams…