Knott's Scary Farm 2021: General Review

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

After two arduously long (for Halloween Haunt fanatics at least) years—punctuated by a charming and delightful “Taste of Fall-O-Ween” event that parlayed the essence but couldn’t (for obvious reasons) pack the visceral intensity of the regular event—Knott’s Scary Farm returned last week with a simultaneously broad yet restrained line-up of mazes, scare zones, and shows that celebrated traditional and familiar sights and frights while also dropping hints and looking forward toward the future.

The last time we checked in with Scary Farm it was coming off another fantastic season that was already starting to hint at changes up ahead. Special Ops: Infected and Shadowlands had been confirmed for their final seasons, paving the way for anticipated new mazes in the Mystery Lodge and Xcelerator maze locations, while the finale of The Hanging mysteriously featured an R.I.P. message suggesting that the show would be retired. Flash forward two years later, and the longtime tradition and pop culture satire show did indeed bite the dust, but it wasn’t the only marker of change.

The Conductor leads the way to the various realms of Knott’s Scary Farm’s mazes and scare zones this year.

This year saw the debut of a new icon for Scary Farm in the form of The Conductor, who has been featured in each of the promo videos for this year’s attractions. Yes, gone is the Green Witch, Sarah Marshall—although she still has a presence in the Ghost Town: Origins maze. Traveling across the realms of Scary Farm, The Conductor serves as the guide and gateway to the various mazes and scare zones that materialize each year, as the veil lifts, and the fog sets in. Not integral to any particular story as the Green Witch was, the Conductor is instead the connective tissue bridging the different stories that Knott’s Scary Farm tells. Not a bad upgrade for a figure who originated as a non-scare atmospheric character in Ghost Town a few years ago, along with the Undertaker and the Grave Digger.

For 2021, The Conductor has set up stops at eight mazes, five scare zones, and six shows. That’s quite a diverse line-up! And although the maze count is down one from the past few years, a new, fifth scare zone has been introduced in the form of the Gore-ing 20s, and four of the six shows are unique additions that did not take place in prior years (although Wicked Drums has had a similar previous iteration).

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind does not hesitate to get gory.

This year, in the wake of a still-active pandemic fueled by a Coronavirus variant that has cast uncertainty to the Halloween season and complicated the longterm planning required of a major, top tier haunt like Scary Farm, Knott’s decided to offer only one new maze instead of the usual pair that fans have come to expect across the recent seasons. Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind, brings guests into a demented and psychological journey that blends ideas and motifs some several of Knott’s previous Carnevil mazes. Designed by longtime Scary Farm designer Daniel Miller—Mesmer incorporates a blend of technology, multi-media, and traditional scares that mix in Daniel’s well known penchant for gory, twisted storytelling with the latest in Scary Farm production values.

From the theatrical preshow featuring Mesmer hypnotizing a dolled up assistant and a subsequent entrance pathway featuring a series of video screens projecting a feel of falling into a different, cerebral world, this maze shows off the polished, high production values that have transformed Knott’s mazes into spectacles in their own right. Guests journey through the mind of the circus sideshow, moving through nightmares themed to each performer, falling deeper and deeper into the control of the master mentalist pulling the strings. Of course, what happens when even Mesmer cannot control the descent, and guests are faced with the prospects of being forever trapped in the labyrinth of the psyche?

Mesmer also features a host of animatronics and scenically stunning sets.

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind is the type of maze that takes several runs through in order to more fully understand and appreciate the storytelling and the sequence of events. It also harkens to mazes of Knott’s past—be it the background audio of Mesmer narrating each scene, similar to the unseen voice in the Edgar Allen Poe-inspired Forevermore, or the illusionist connotations of Black Magic, which occupied the Xcelerator spot prior to Shadowslands, or the general circus aesthic that initially led some to believe this might be the return of a clown maze in the vein of Knott’s iconic Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns or Uncle Bobo’s Big Top of the Bizarre. In any case, it’s another successful new addition for Knott’s, which has really amped up the quality and spectacle of its new mazes over the better part of the past half decade.

The big climactic moment of Mesmer comes at this towering skeleton.

Although Mesmer received top billing as the new feature in town, the maze line-up across the board was pretty fantastic and solid. Dark Ride, a perennial favorite, was on fire throughout opening weekend, with the experienced and excellent talent firing on all cylinders with intense startles, misdirection, and charismatic performances. The fantastic soundtrack, incredible aesthetics, and overall epic presentation made this our favorite maze during our time there. In addition, Pumpkin Eater provided a pleasant surprise in the form of a modified and greatly improved second half that replaced the meandering corn field portion with a rat-infested, woodland plague dripping with the disturbing gore and visuals that befit a Daniel Miller project.

Dark Ride’s cast knocked it out of the park this year.

Pumpkin Eater’s new, rat-infested section was an unexpected surprise.

Ghost Town: Origins, Wax Works, and Dark Entities all featured great energy from the cast and the same, creepy and amazing atmosphere from prior years. It speaks to the overall quality of Knott’s mazes that these were middle of the road in our rankings, which doesn’t mean that they were average—just that they happened to rank that way compared to their counterparts.

The Green Witch may have lost her hold on Knott’s icon position, but she still haunts Ghost Town: Origins.

Wax Works is full of mutilated victims of Dr. Augustus Scratch.

Speaking of mutilated, Dark Entities pulls no punches in the gore factor with its victims of an alien infestation.

The only mazes that felt a little lacking for us were The Depths and Paranormal Inc. For the prior, the feeling of a build that never quite culminated in a satisfying payoff seemed to follow through the entire course. Although visually stunning, it lacked that extra oomph that a more active and interactive cast could provide. And Paranormal Inc., for all the time that it’s spent at the top of our annual Haunt rankings, has simply run its course. Even the best mazes have a shelf life, and it will be appropriate that Hayden Hill is opening it doors for one final season before returning to the ether.

A siren in The Depths lures guests to their doom.

The demons have taken over Hayden Hill Sanitarium at Paranormal, Inc. for one last time.

On the scare zone side, a returning quartet welcomed fans back to a familiar environment of fiends and scares. Ghost Town, the original and most sprawling, was fantastic as usual. The disorienting mists of Fog Alley, the stalking openness in front of the Bird Cage Theatre, and the long avenue of Schoolhouse Lane all provided that welcome, cold, classic embrace of the Halloween Haunt, and the plethora of street talent throughout Ghost Town Streets ensured that screams were never far away.

Ghost Town Streets, looking spooky and beautiful.

The Bride is one of many spirits that haunt the streets of Ghost Town.

Forsaken Lake brought back its swirling bog of despair and decay. Now in its third season, this marshy malaise has a cast that has rounded into veteran form and has really grown into their characters. Don’t miss the funeral procession that occurs fifteen minutes before midnight.

The souls of Forsaken Lake return from the bog to claim the souls of the living.

The Hollow has come a long way from its first year, where dim lighting and a relative lack of theming gave its monsters little to work with. This year, Camp Snoopy’s Scary Farm alter ego received additional theming integrating with Knott’s Spooky Farm, enhancing the more feral pumpkin ghoul aesthetic with more traditional autumn scenery in a way that works for both daytime and night.

The Hollow has some added decor this season.

And over at The Boardwalk, Carnevil’s clowns are as insane and zany as ever, using their built-in phobia-inducing visages to terrorize and traumatize and inflict mischief on unsuspecting guests. Faced with the challenge of having to scare in open view, without the benefit of fog or shadow, Carnevil nonetheless provided an entertaining show for the masses.

Carnevil, at the Charleston Circle border with the new Gore-ing 20s scare zone.

The clowns are out to slay at Carnevil.

Of course, the big story of the year when it comes to scare zones is the new area stretching from Charleston Circle to the Calico Railroad tracks just past the Walter Knott Theater. The Gore-ing 20s—paying tribute to the former Roaring 20s themed land that stood at Knott’s for nearly three decades before it was transformed into The Boardwalk—provided a mix of theatrical storytelling, jazzy energy, colorful characters, and sinister haunts to bring a new dimension to Knott’s scare zone line-up.

Effectively a scary version of Ghost Town Alive!, this area invited guests to participate and interact with a sprawling cast of characters that included grease monkeys, bartenders, preachers, upper class elite, dancing showgirls, shady muscle men, newspaper and flower vendors, and more. Through the night, under the spectre of Prohibition, a slow mystery unfolded, tied to an enigmatic “Devil’s Elixir” and seemingly focused around the Blind Tiger speakeasy.

The Gore-ing 20s brings a new dimension to scare zones at Knott’s.

Although we didn’t get a chance to truly dive into and unravel the story through the course of a full evening, we did witness elements in action. Some of the scareactors were eerie and unnerving, while others seemed free spirited and unaware of their impending doom. And everywhere through Memory Lane, one couldn’t shake the sense that something was just a bit… off—even during the more jovial moments when the big band was performing and jazz dancers were swinging on the theater balcony above. Even more than Forsaken Lake and The Hollow, which established character tiers and a sense of an unseen narrative to be discovered by guests throughout the night, the Gore-ing 20s washes through a deeper immersive theater experience that represents a new and dynamic dimension to what a theme park haunt can provide.

Some elevated entertainment provides a show—and a distraction—to guests below in the Gore-ing 20s scare zone.

Finally, there were the shows—and oh, there were so many shows! A decade ago, Knott’s Scary Farm was filled with shows, and a half dozen offerings per season was sometimes the low mark in the number of entertainment options for the Halloween Haunt. But then came a drought in the mid-2010s, when the park devoted its entertainment budget to Elvira and The Hanging, and shows were in lean supply. Fortunately, this year, the variety has returned, and there are a number of performances to take in for those looking for a respite from the fearsome dread.

The absolute highlight of it all is the returning Puppet Up! Uncensored, that debaucherous and raucous Muppet improv show that was the hit of 2019. The crowd participation and improvisational nature of this show guarantees that no two shows are ever alike, and though Puppet Up! features a familiar formula from two years ago, the show is still a hilarious can’t-miss. From a game show trying to identify “It’s That Big” to hot dogs trying to escape demonic creatures in the hellscape of Ohio to a BDSM family reunion, there’s no telling what act the talented Henson Alternative puppeteers have to create. And that is the whole fun and comedy of it all.

The set of Puppet Up! is amazing this year and so fitting!

The cast of Puppet Up! and a familiar cast of puppets.

Over at the Calico Stage, Carnaval du Grotesque provided a rotating duo of music and sideshow act, imitating a song and performance formula seen at the Voodoo Nights show at Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest. The musical artists were cover band Hiatus (which some might recognize from Disney California Adventure’s Mad T Party in years past), while George the Giant and Boo provided different sideshow performances, from sword swallowing to flamethrowing to glass walking and more. While this wasn’t the most riveting replacement for The Hanging, it was continuous entertainment every half an hour and a chance for guests taking a rest or food break to still enjoy something as they sat.

Hiatus performs at the Carnaval du Grotesque at the Calico Stage.

George the Giant makes a flaming hot impression at the Carnaval du Grotesque.

Meanwhile, at Mystery Lodge, a strange and seemingly anachronistic show entitled Invitation to Terror ran every 20 minutes throughout the night until one hour before closing. Dripping with 80s imagery, this presentation featured a company called Futuretronics demonstrating a new energy source technology with the potential to save the planet. Of course, there were darker secrets behind all of this, which the integration with the Pepper’s Ghost projection technology of the Mystery Lodge show took full advantage of to showcase. And while it might have seemed entirely out of place to have a richly nostalgic, retro-futuristic theme occupy a segment of Ghost Town, it might be less so if one considers this to be more of a preview of something to come in Scary Farm future…

Sinister spirits are unwisely provoked in Invitation to Terror.

Nearby, Conjurers: Magic & Mirth returned with close-up magic shows in the intimate Bird Cage Theatre. Internationally renown Johnny Ace Palmer was the featured magician the first weekend. At the Camp Snoopy Theater, Wicked Drums brought a pulsating percussion performance to The Hollow, hosted by the Three Witches of The Hollow and echoing the beats of the old Blood Drums show from nearly a decade ago. And over at the Fiesta Village Stage, Doce de la Noche brought a dance troupe performance with sugarskull performers and rhythmic moves. In some respects, it felt like Knott’s version of Halloween Horror Nights’ Jabberwockeez show.

Johnny Ace Palmer does close-up sleight of hand magic with two volunteers at the Bird Cage Theatre.

The Witches of The Hollow emcee the Wicked Drums show.

Doce de la Noche is a dance performance in Fiesta Village.

If that wasn’t enough, the Timber Mountain Log Ride was once again dressed up in its autumn overlay as the Halloween Hootenanny (which also runs during the daytime and for Knott’s Spooky Farm). Similar to this format in recent years, there are no live actors or scares, but it is a splashy Halloween attraction. And not advertised at all was an overlay at the Calico Mine Ride that can only be described as… weird and unique. Outwardly, it’s a trip to Candy Mountain. Inwardly, it’s a colorfully bizarre adventure with allusions to Hansel and Gretel and scenes that kind of feel like a psychedelic fever dream.

The Log Ride, with its Halloween Hootenanny overlay within.

The Calico Mine Ride has been taken over by candy fever—and worse—for Halloween.

All of this added up to the most expansive haunted attraction line-up in all of Southern California, and in Scary Farm’s recent history! With over twenty haunted attractions (when adding up mazes, scare zones, shows, and rides), this year’s Halloween Haunt provides plenty for guests to enjoy. And while the mazes remain the top attraction, those who seek a deeper appreciation can definitely spend two or three evenings to take in everything there is to offer.

The multitude of attractions is a nod back to the variety that Knott’s Scary Farm has offered in years past, mixed with the increasingly high quality and sophisticated production values of recent seasons. And as the park continues to move forward toward the future (Scary Farm’s 50th anniversary is just a couple years away), it has only deepened its richness and complexity, drawing upon its marvelous history to craft new stories and strengthen new traditions that show the same care and attention that built the park’s and this spooky event’s success in the first place!

This year’s front entry display at Knott’s Scary Farm.

Knott’s Scary Farm runs Thursdays through Sundays the rest of this season through Sunday, October 31st. For more information and online ticket purchasing, visit the Scary Farm web site.

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Correction:
The original version of this article incorrectly identified Jon Asperin as the designer of Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind. Daniel Miller is the designer, and my apologies to Daniel for the erroneous credit. Jon did work in the new Gore-ing 20’s scare zone.