Tunnel of Terror Haunted Car Wash: 2020 Review
Russell Fischer Car Care, Huntington Beach, CA
Long Vo had a problem. He was going out to haunted attractions this season, and while it was nice to still have an assortment of haunts to defy the initial fear of Halloween supposedly being cancelled by the novel Coronavirus, the honest truth was that they just weren’t really that scary. And this was understandable. For commercial haunts, the rules and regulations for health safety meant that the vast majority of productions wouldn’t be able to offer the traditional intimacy and visceral scares that marked regular haunted attractions. Those that could only operate that way weren’t even allowed to open. The very few who did needed to make significant adjustments—either hold them outside, with barriers, in alternate formats (like the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride) or invest in substantial building systems and personal safety equipment upgrades (like The 17th Door). Even home haunts—a traditional bastion of outside-the-box thinking—were pivoting mostly to yard displays or haunted shows as opposed to regular walk-through mazes.
How then, could one capture the traditional haunt season frights without spending significant effort on infrastructure and putting heavy investment in set-up and alternative logistics?
Well, Long noticed that a recent trend that had started manifesting in spots around the country was the concept of a haunted car wash—an idea that had especially gained ground this year. Fortunately, there was a car wash down the street from where he lived, so he sent them a pitch over email. The owner, Chase Russell, was serendipitously receptive; he had been pondering how to bring a bit of Halloween spirit to the business as well. A deal was hatched, planning and production was quickly executed, and in an astounding less than two weeks, from idea to reality, the Tunnel of Terror haunted car wash made its debut as the first haunted car wash in Orange County, with Long serving as Marketing Director in the endeavor!
Welcome to the scariest car wash in Orange County. No, not a wash full of Karens. Rather, a haunted car wash… with clowns!
We stopped by the Russell Fischer Care Care Center in Huntington Beach last night for the opening night and media night of their Tunnel of Terror attraction. Essentially a nighttime, Halloween overlay of their regular machine car wash operations, the Tunnel of Terror is a twisted yet delightful car haunt overrun by diabolical clowns looking to clean guests’ vehicles—and perhaps take a few limbs or bodies with them as gratuity!
Located just off the corner of Beach Blvd and Edinger Ave, a little south of the I-405 freeway, the Russell Fischer Xpress Car Wash is a pretty standard automated car wash facility. However, when killer clowns are added to the mix, the experience becomes anything but standard. The trip begins as guest arrive off of Aldrich Drive. They’re likely to find a backed up line if opening night was any indication—despite the very limited time to publicize the event, the Tunnel of Terror was practically viral in its popularity, and vehicles filed through without any lull the entire night—running the services past its advertised closing time of 10:00pm by half an hour!
This helpful fellow sprays passing vehicles with a spray bottle. “That’s the car wash!” he proclaims.
Once they pull in, vehicles slowly make their way up the driveway queue, signing a waiver that disclaims voluntary assumption of risk of injury (and potential exposure to COVID-19) by participating in the experience. But even before arriving at the pay station, the scares have already begun, as a medley of psychotic clowns patrolling this entry alley approach and harass each vehicle as it enters. One presses up against the windows. Another aims a spray bottle and provides his own premium car wash by squirting at passengers. And if the windows or down, well, lets just say those guests get a special Halloween Horror Nights-style bonus. Still another may come up wielding a chainsaw. And they are not shy about getting up close and personal to their audience held captive inside their rides.
A long line of vehicles makes its way through the Tunnel of Terror all night long.
A turn at the far end leads to a split for two pay stations—each manned by a car was staff member wearing a mask. The experience is $20 per vehicle, netting a standard wash. This would be pricey if all it offered was the machine wash, but of course, the attraction at the Tunnel of Terror isn’t the car cleaning. It’s the car clowning.
Another clown (or sometimes two) stalks guests as they round a second corner into the car wash itself. Playing off the energy of each car, they startle, scream, or sometimes just stand there, looking creepy and sadistic, prompting nervous laughter from the passengers—many of which have their phones out recording the experience for social media.
This is typical of guest reactions. Screams, laughter, and general joy at a unique yet familiar feeling haunted attraction experience.
Once visitors enter the actual car wash tunnel itself, they’re instructed to put their car in neutral, take their foot off the gas pedal, and just let the carriage and the unknown fiends inside work their magic. The resulting trip is a low rumbling, disorienting, sud-filled coast of confusion and chaos. With soap bubbles flying, massive brushes whirring, and sweepers swishing, the view out the car is obstructed, leaving guests prone to the clowns springing upon them at unsuspecting moments. At least one of the clowns is actually helpful, squeegee’ing the vehicle as it passes through. But most aim for startle scares through the windows, or creeper scares through a bit of stalking.
Once through the other side, guests can place their vehicles back in drive and exit the premises (the self-serve vacuum area is closed during this event for safety reasons, and to keep the flow moving)—but only after a finale tag team scare from a pair of clowns lurking behind the massive blowers.
Keep an eye out for intimidating figures stalking vehicles.
Overall, this haunted car wash offers an approximately 15 minute experience, and at the $20 price range, it’s a pretty good deal (assuming that this is split between at least two occupants in a car, truck, or SUV). Though the theming is somewhat light (understandable for such an establishment), there are a fair share of lights, fog, props, and even gory figures scattered across the course, bringing some haunt ambiance to the loop. On the Beach Blvd side, a spiral projection and a clown holding a body over the side of the building lend a maniacal tinge to the atmosphere.
Although some of them just want to help with the car cleaning.
But it’s the monsters who are the highlight, as they are in any typical haunted house maze. Made up primarily of Knott’s Scary Farm and a few Dark Harbor talent, these veteran scareactors showcase bounding energy that might be expected for talent that has had their scares pent up this season, in light of an absence of venues to actually work. Their energy is infectious and hilarious. Think Knott’s Scary Farm’s Carnevil, with an emphasis on the CAR. A monster named Bubbles aggressively hurls sponges at vehicles and demands to be let in. Another lumbers along with a cane, hunched and decrepit with age—only to suddenly spring forth and run after a vehicle, ranting with muttering irritation like an old fogie who has been perturbed. A third carries a severed head with her as she skulks around, dropping it heavily with a thud in front of guests who gaze on with a mixture of horror, question, and amusement.
Just watching them weave their scares from car to car was an giddy pleasure and welcome entertainment. Kudos goes out to Talent Director, Glo Haro—perhaps best known to Scary Farm fans as The Bride in Ghost Town and talented, frequent artist contributor to the Knott’s art shows—for assembling an excellent group of monsters to work this event!
Inside the tunnel itself, more depraved souls lurk in the turbulent environment.
Based on what I saw last night, Russell Fischer’s Car Care has a hit on their hands. The joy on guests’ faces and the enthusiasm of the monsters all night was addictive, and there were plenty of nervous screams and entertained laughs emanating from the vehicles all night. For the experience provided, not only was the Tunnel of Terror a great value, it was an event that felt very much like a regular, non-pandemic haunt!
There’s far less clowning around in there than one might expect. These clowns take their jobs seriously!
To that end, I do need to note that from the COVID-safety protocols, I did notice a few aspects of the operation that gave me some qualms. Although guests are required to wear masks anytime their vehicle windows are rolled down, the scareactors did not seem to have any face coverings other than their monster masks. In addition, for those vehicles with their windows down, the talent did come aggressively and intimately close, sometimes reaching into the vehicles for scares.
This was done safely from an operations perspective, but those who are cautious about Coronavirus risk or really want to limit their COVID exposure should be aware that having the window down is free game for the monsters to socially not-distance. This is a risk that each visitor needs to assess and deem acceptable or not. Fortunately, for customers, the simple solution for the greatest level of safety is to simply keep the windows up at all times. It’s a less visceral experience that way, but it would be more secure from a pandemic point of view. And all the same, I’d prefer to see the monsters wearing surgical masks underneath their costumed masks all the same too—most of the Halloween masks worn are broad-covering enough that the surgical mask wouldn’t be visible.
As for the other natural question about vehicle and monster safety? Well, that actually took care of itself. The vehicle line moved very slowly the entire time, with many starts and stops. The monsters made their way around each vehicle, but their contact and danger was never any more than that of something like a hayride. And though, yes, there is always the risk of someone becoming too scared and suddenly hitting the accelerator, in my observation, the drivers were always attentive to their path even as the scares were happening.
Some final BOOs for the road.
Bottom line, if you’re looking for some pre-pandemic frights, the Tunnel of Terror haunted car wash might be one of the best options this season for Southern Californians. The only other current experience that parallels this is the Del Mar Scream Zone: Road Kill drive-thru attraction. Our friends at Hollywood Gothique offered a pretty positive review of the event, and that too features monsters approaching vehicles in close quarters as the cars move along at slow speeds, offering up close and personal startles. In contrast, while the L.A. Haunted Hayride has its own fun spooks, the startles occur when vehicles are parked, and they are more scattered compare to the Tunnel of Terror, whose single-circuit forces every vehicle to encounter multiple sets of monsters, one at a time.
Who would have though that a haunted car wash might be one of the scariest attractions of the season? Well, in 2020, nothing should really be a surprise anymore.
The Tunnel of Terror is located at the Russell Fischer Car Wash on 16061 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach, CA 92647. It runs Thursdays through Sundays the rest of this month from 5:00pm - 10:00pm. A wash costs $20 for a machine wash only, with no interior detailing or hand dry. But the quality of the car wash is probably not why most people will do this event.
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
