Murder House Productions x Twisted Haunts presents Shook!: 2021 Review
Murder House Productions, Los Angeles, CA
Happy Saturday, folks! We’re sneaking in one last spooky update at the end of July, and this one comes from two excellent examples from the rising crop of talented young haunters who have come onto the scene over the past several years: Murder House Productions and Twisted Haunts.
Those who’ve followed our Halloween season coverage for a while know that we’ve been huge fans of Murder House Productions since almost the beginning. Aurora Persichetti and Kyle Warner have constantly astounded with their professional quality, Halloween Horror Nights-caliber productions that have combined complex theatrical lighting and sound, immersive atmospheres, and key, timed jump scare sequences to produce amazing home haunts. Meanwhile, Zion Fenwick’s Twisted Haunts (fka Twisted Minds Productions, fka Twisted Minds Experiences) have created their own innovative, heavily actor-dependent experiences that blend immersive theater into a maze experience. This month, the two joined forces to produce a second run of their wonderfully fantastic and successful Pride celebration haunt, Shook!, a three-IP haunted maze that had also been open in June.
Located in MHP’s new commercial space just west of Downtown Los Angeles (a welcome location much more easily accessible to the bulk of Southern California, as opposed to their original location in Thousand Oaks), MHP x Twisted’s Shook! is a trip through the horror and frights of three cult classic films spanning four decades—all of which have held some connection or relationship to the LGBTQ+ community over the years. Starting with the 2014 thriller, The Babadook, spanning into the 1983 cult classic, Sleepaway Camp, and concluding with the classic and riveting 1976 icon, Carrier, Shook! represents the most extensive and elaborate production yet from both haunts, and it absolutely lives up to the high expectations that Aurora, Kyle, and Zion have carved out through their fantastic past work!
A vibrant and colorful queue provided a very Instagrammable vibe for those waiting to enter Shook!
Appropriately enough, Shook! begins with the maze’s effective namesake, The Babadook. The psychological thriller features a villain that was initially co-opted as a LGBTQ+ icon in jest before having said meme take on a life of its own. But the story itself (for those unfamiliar) involves a widowed mother in Australian suburbia finding a mysterious children’s pop-up book that she reads to her son. But as it grows darker and darker, the Babadook himself is conjured out into existence, where he terrorizes mother and son. The movie can be said to be about the concept of oppressive grief manifesting itself into a tangible form to strike back, or it can be viewed as a Dr. Seuss tale gone morosely wrong. Either way, it quickly entrenched itself as a cult favorite in the horror community.
A fully functioning “Bababook” was one of many astounding features of the maze.
After walking through a large cut-out of Mister Babadook, guests find themselves in front of a replica of the iconic book from the movie. Invited to turn the pages of the fully articulating pop-up book and read the tale, guests might be caught unawares as the mood of the space turns heavier and darker, dimming until the Babadook himself pops out in front of the readers for the first jump scare of the evening!
Well, this explains the title of the maze. And the projected text against the wall added a really nice feel to the setting.
A very creepy but static Babadook.
From there, it’s onto a series of hallways where the Babadook makes its appearance in various forms. Excellently crafted flat cutouts of the monster lend a whimsical touch to the space, especially with phrasings from the book printed along some walls and even projected onto others, changing and adding a cinematographic touch. The Babadook stands as a dark, shadowy figure in one scene, and he lunges out from a drop portrait in another hallway. The tension between the solemn build-up and the sudden scares creates a great rhythm that keeps guests on their toes. A fun Easter egg here and there—like a lampshade sporting the logo of the Tower of Terror’s Hollywood Tower Hotel initials—gives sharp-eyed fans a couple of fun surprises to enjoy.
A very terrifying and dynamic drop portrait pop-out Babadook!
Turn past the stairway, and guests find themselves out into the moody, chilling wilderness of Sleepaway Camp. Unlike the winding, almost claustrophobic ambiance of the previous section, this summer camp gone wrong is open and airy, taking advantage of the double height volume of MHP’s new space. Returning Murder House Productions fans will feel an obvious connection between the forested environment here and the first part of MHP’s 2019 maze, Wendigo. But the lighting, sound, and ambiance have been enhanced here, creating more of a Halloween Horror Nights Friday the 13th quality.
Moving on to the initially serene setting of Camp Awarak, home of Sleepaway Camp.
A pier receding to the distance creates a convincing perspective just past the sign welcome guests to Camp Arawack, but a survey of the scene quickly reveals something has gone terribly wrong in this otherwise idyllic forest setting. A couple of campers are shown shown slain in their sleeping bags, violently butchered to mimic the equivalent scene in the movie. Suddenly, a scareactor (portraying hte role of camp owner Mel) rushes out and is immediately shot by an arrow, reaching out with bulging eyes to guests before receding back into the shadows.
While the movie has a dozen kills—many of them creatively gruesome—Shook! only presents a couple of them, containing its second IP to just this one space. But one last startle scare remains before guests leave Camp Arawak, as a sudden flash of light reveals shy, bullied Angela Baker to be the killer who has been offing kids and adults throughout the camp. Only it’s not really Angela, it’s Peter, her brother, who (spoilers) was revealed to have survived a deadly freak boating accident at the beginning of the film. Bloody and nude and almost hunched with a feral growl, this moment freezes the iconic shock ending of the 1983 movie, which presented arguably the first transgender horror villain in cinema history.
This does not appear to be the ideal way to snooze in the forest.
The final and most spectacular subject of Shook! is the 1976 Brian de Palma adaptation of Stephen King’s classic, Carrie. Though the book and movie do not feature any specific LGBTQ+ character, Carrie has become a representative part of the Pride community because of its delve into the struggles of an outcasted character with an oppressive, religiously-fueled home upbringing who is bullied and harrassed at school and has to come to terms with her own sexuality as she comes of age—an experience that many members of the LGBTQ+ community can relate to (minus the supernatural telekinetic powers).
Carrie White unleashes her rage on her antagonist—in this instance, Chris, played by MHP co-creator Aurora Persichetti.
Shook!’s take on the movie picks up immediately at its momentous prom scene. As guests exit the bosk of Sleepaway Camp, they wander into a gymnasium space and are immediately greeted by Chris, queen bee and main torturous villain from the movie, who enlists their help to rig the prom vote to crown Carrie White and her date, Tommy Ross, queen and king of Bates High School. One hardly has time to admire the set dressing the props in the space (including a deceptively neat spilled punch bowl that Aurora mentioned was her favorite piece) before the coronation ceremony starts.
As Carrie comes down the stairs from the loft of the MHP space—repurposed into the gymnasium stage set—Billy (or sometimes Christine, depending on actor availability) drenches her in a bucket of pig’s blood. Meanwhile, in true HHN-esque fashion, the audience gets a spritz of water as well as they witness the shocking prank.
The special and visual effects of the Carrie scene were particularly jaw-dropping.
Naturally, this does not bode well with Carrie White, and the moment she unleashes her terrifying telekinetic powers is when Shook! really shines. With one hand, she begins “Force-choking” her bully before hurling her back into rigging, sending a shower of sparks in her wake. With her other hand, she opens a fire hose cabinet—faucet visibly turning in a really neat motorized trick, before releasing a 3D projection mapped stream of water. As her rage builds, bursts of smoke erupt, and suddenly, the walls are filled with a projected conflagration. Carrie descends the stairs and poses on stage in the midst of her carnage and destruction, sparing her captive guests (us) the ability to flee.
You won’t like Carrie when she’s angry…
The remainder of the maze mellows out a bit from the climactic event. Guests exit the gym and immediately find themselves in the white house, with a beautifully haunting altar set up by Carrie’s zealously religious mother, Margaret. The warmth of the candles, the eerie cobwebs, and the somehow sinister-looking crucifix showcase the intimate beauty of MHP’s theming capabilities. Then it’s onto the final hallway, where one final jump scare from Carrie reminds guests that there is never truly an escape, before turning past the grave of Carrie White—hand bursting up to match the end of the original movie.
The cobwebs were a little detail added for the second run, but they enhance this little nook of a space so much! The rigorous attention to detail is what separates Murder House Productions and Twisted Haunts from many others.
Queue the credits as one truly final hallway past the logos of Murder House Productions and Twisted Haunts brings guests back to the outside. It’s been a gripping journey through three different films, and it’s certainly an experience that leaves even the most spirited visitors Shook!
Of course, you can never really escape Carrie White, right?
Each time I visit a maze from Murder House Productions or Twisted Haunts, I’m more and more impressed by the level and sophistication to which these talented, young haunters continue to raise their game. Shook! was the continued culmination of this passion, attention to detail, and commitment to immersion. The opportunities afforded by the new space are taken to full advantage, and the entire production drips with remarkable quality. For this level of theming, the $25 price of admission is well worth it.
If there was any limitation I could find, it’s that the single point of entry and exit meant that only one group could be inside at a time, lengthening the wait time. There wasn’t a huge line when I visited last Saturday evening, but I could certainly imagine longer waits during the peak of Halloween season if they followed this layout. Fortunately, MHP’s space also includes a coiling roll-up garage door wide enough to accommodate an entrance and an exit, permitting multiple groups in the space at a single time.
That said, Twisted Haunts is sure to be back with another haunted attraction this year (and presumably this fall), and Murder House Productions will be engaged with another collaboration that can’t revealed quite at this moment. But it will be a pretty high profile contribution once the news comes out. Kudos to Aurora, Kyle, Zion, and their cast and crew for a truly incredible experience. What a magnificent way to offer an early taste of haunt season, and what a stirring celebration of Pride-inspired horror. It goes without saying that the next time MHP or Twisted have another event, it will be a can’t-miss occasion for haunt enthusiasts!
Shook! was located at Murder House Production’s new location at 2525 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018. The production ran Fridays and Saturdays, June 18, 19, 25, and 26, and again last Thursday through Sunday, July 22 through 25. For more news on both MHP and Twisted’s fall plans, follow both of them on Instagram at @MHPHaunt and @TwistedHauntsLA.
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
