Lights OUT Haunt presents Fun Haus: 2021 Review

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, North Hollywood, CA

We’ve got another haunted attraction update for you today, although this one is and kind of isn’t. And I know what you’re thinking… it’s July, what’s up with all the spooks already? Isn’t this a little early, even by haunt standards? Well, after COVID re-wrote the Sacred Timeline last year (by making the passage of time both immediate and never-ending and thus devoid of meaning), things aren’t abiding by the traditional chronological schedule this year. That means haunt in the summer, haunt in the winter, and haunt the way that Halloween enthusiasts like it: all the time!

(Photo courtesy of Lights OUT Haunt.)

That said, this update features Lights OUT Haunt, a production that actually intentionally avoids staging its events during the fall haunting season in order to avoid the already highly-saturated fright market. In the past, we’ve featured Lights OUT at Midsummer Scream with their Scream Queens tribute haunt, and Lights OUT has also created special run extreme haunt, a virtual experience, and a spooky scavenger hunt. This time around, they’ve leaned into their more unadulterated side with a LGBTQ+ walk-through haunt experience that is more interactive theater than startle scares, but which provides a debaucherous stream of hilarious and sometimes perturbing entertainment.

(Photo courtesy of Lights OUT Haunt.)

It’s fitting that this Lights OUT run is set at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, a venue that has been long known for its productions of twisted depravity mixed with their own concoction of sardonic humor. Fun Haus carries much of the same type of snippy spirit, dark drollery, and manic mood. Guests in groups up to five people are welcome into the entrance of what looks like a carnival-like environment and welcome by a busty circus barker who identifies herself only as “Mother.” She beckons a volunteer to spin a wheel to determine their upcoming experience, and when it lands on some form of a perverse descriptor, promises kinky thrills ahead. But there are rules that guests must abide by, and those who don’t may have to be disciplined… perhaps with a riding crop!

From there, it’s onto a whirlwind journey through the ZJU space to meet “Mother’s children,” a collection of raunchy, lewd characters who are all willing to embrace their roles of societal outcasts. From a dominatrix beating a hapless blow-up sex doll named “Brad” to the hysterically foul-mouthed, catwalking, cross-dressing Aunty Nasty and Sir Jackoff to a party girl trapped in an endless loop to writhing self pleasurer, the scenes within this tent of taboo mix through chaotic, tongue-in-cheek (and sometimes other places) energy that is gleefully perverted.

The intimate space of Zombie’s Joe’s is cleverly enhanced through the use of peep holes, curtains, moving partitions, and careful stage lighting to feel larger than it actually is—another trick Lights OUT seems to have learned from the ZJU veterans. The scares are actually few and far between—and even when they occur, they are light hearted and the softest of startles. That’s because frights don’t seem to be the focus here. Other than some initial posters and graffiti hinting at commentary on anti-LGBTQ+ harrassment, there isn’t much of a mood of horror (although we did spot a little 17th Door Easter egg in one of the scenes).

Instead, Fun Haus is a celebration of the community, twisting their historically outcasted roles in society and reclaiming that into a position of power and showmanship. It’s a celebration of pride a month after its pop culture highlight, subtly reminding the audience that said pride and support of the community is year-round, not just 30 days that have become increasingly commercialized by corporations eyeing June as a social trend rather than something more substantive.

Ultimately, while not truly quite a haunted attraction, Fun Haus is nonetheless a bawdy and fantastic experience that embraces the liberation of societal taboo. The cast is raucous and incredible, and interactive nature provides a hint of unpredictability in every scene. It’s an absurd, naughty spectacle that will have guests wishing for more!

(Photo courtesy of Lights OUT Haunt.)

Lights OUT Haunt’s Fun Haus is located at 4850 Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91601 and runs tonight and next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Free ticket reservations are encouraged in advance. The price is $25 per person at the door, cash only. All guests are required to wear masks, and all cast members are also masked up to comply with the Los Angeles County indoor masking ordinance that just went into place last night. Also note that this event is for adults only and features nudity. Zombie Joe’s rules, in essence.

Also, if you enjoy this, don’t miss their next production this winter at Midsummer Scream’s Season Screamings event on December 17-19!