Zombie Joe's Urban Death Tour of Terror: 2021 Review

Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre, North Hollywood, CA

What can we say about Urban Death: Tour of Terror that we haven't said before? This twisted, provocative, disturbing exercise of haunted theater blends a creepy and freaky walk-through maze with an even more perturbing black box theater performance. In fact, it wouldn't be inappropriate if it was provided with a Frankenstein-style disclaimer...

How do you do? Mr. Zombie feels it would be a little unkind to present this production without just a word of friendly warning. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now is your chance to, uh… Well, we’ve warned you.

(Image courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

But the thing about Urban Death (both regular version and its Halloween season counterpart) is that all of that horrifying strain is addictive. Urban Death mixes its morose brand of macabre with a twisted sense of humor that creates a perverse, nervous style of entertainment rooted in the twisted darkness that it dispenses. It's not surprising to hear the audience laugh as much as it groans. There's a certain sardonic tinge to the way Zombie Joe's and his company tackle subjects and events that can normally be incredibly revolting or depressing.

All of this remains the case for this year's Urban Death: Tour of Terror, which comes in two iterations and seems committed to cramming two years' worth of indelible shock and horror into its return show this year, after being dark last year thanks to COVID.

(Photo courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

In the regular "adult" version, the emotional grip comes from the very start, as guests zigzag through the dim, sheet-divided maze. Lighting their path with nothing more than their pale, blue light flashlights, the experience grabs them and shakes them viscerally. Various actors in bare states of undress and bloody blemish and gory deformities skulk from their perches throughout the layout, writhing and trembling with tensed up, despairing energy. The scenes are murky and disturbing, and they each leave a sense of "what did I just witness" to the passers-by.

This leads to the blackbox theater space, which seems to accommodate more audience members than ever this year--a strategy to actually allow more space between audience members admitted under limited numbers. There, a lone sailor surveys the night and the darkness, accompanied only by the beat drops of stormy weather and a distant bell ring of a buoy--and also sourceless fingers, hands, and arms that creep in like tentacles from the shrouded doorways and openings on the back wall. The sailor's palpitation is not unlike the gravedigger at the Haunted Mansion. And once all the guests are in, the seaman makes a tepid retreat back into the abyss.

(Photo courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

Like past years' formats, the theatrical portion of Zombie Joe's Urban Death: Tour of Terror features a series of disconnected vignettes that follow no particular plot or narrative, displaying moments of horror in all the different forms that it comes in. Some of this engages the gross factor, such as when two 80's attired ladies fawn and fondle the face of a mindstruck victim with ghastly boils on his face, mixing the sensual with the sickening. Other parts incorporate more traditional projections of horror via jump scares and sudden, surprising movements. There is also an artistic, abstract horror in play, like a shadowy dancer, barely lit in the dim strobe light, moving like a series of disembodied limbs and body parts, generating unnaturally freakish motions. And sometimes, the horror is rooted in the reality of normal life for marginalized people.

Of course, it's Zombie Joe, so there is plenty of nudity involved, both genders equally represented, fully explicit, from multiple angles. The raw vulnerability of these displays enhances the dreadful sentiment and emotion conveyed in the Tour of Terror, and some of the scenes are so wrenching that the audience is left speechless and unable to react. Other times, they play into the dark comedy that interlaces the heart of Urban Death.

(Photo courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

In contrast, Zombie Joe's Family-Friendly Urban Death: Tour of Terror--which is offered Saturday nights at 7:00pm--seems to focus on the horror of the absurd, or perhaps the absurdity of horror. This show is meant to be for all ages, so there is zero nudity, and the vignettes shy away from anything too clinically depressing or grossly violent or remotely sexual.

Instead, the Family-Friendly version plays out like a very inappropriate comedy that kids would find funny... or gross... or both. A dancer who can't contain her flatulence at key moments. A tooth fairy who seems to attain a deeply satisfying high from collecting dental trinkets (and, in a later callback, something else). A trenchcoat-clad snout (not smut) peddler. These characters represent silly moments that are dismissible by adults, but which would impress upon children more personally.

Both shows also share several scenes, including recurring favorite moments down the backstretch involving whirling shadows, an axe murderer, and a beloved segment that we like to call "The Skitters."

Of course, once the show is done, everyone needs to return through the maze the way that they came. A completely different set of garish scenes greets guests making their traverse back to the outside world.

(Photo courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

It's become a broken record, but somehow, each instance of Urban Death that Zombie Joe's troupe performs grows better and better. This year's shows mix horror and hilarity in new and creative ways, pushing the boundary against what's distressing, even for a Zombie Joe audience. But that bold and relentless creativity is what makes Zombie Joe's one of the best and most unique horror attractions in Southern California, and it's why ZJU has gained such a devoted following.

If you've never gone to a Zombie Joe's show, you don't know what you're missing. So this October, head over to the independent performing arts hub that is North Hollywood and take a most unusual, thrilling, and disquieting tour. It is unlike any haunted attraction you've ever seen!

(Image courtesy of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre.)

Zombie Joe's Urban Death: Tour of Terror takes place Friday and Saturday nights, all month long, plus Sunday, Halloween night, and Monday, November 1st. Showtimes are at 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 10:45, and 11:30 in the evening. Tickets are $20 per person plus fees online or $25 per person at the door. All guests must wear face coverings properly over the nose and mouth throughout the attraction, and all actors are fully vaccinated and tested for COVID weekly. In addition, don't miss another ZJU show this October, The Vampire's Puppet, playing Sundays and Mondays at 8:30pm this month from the 10th through the 25th.