Knott's Scary Farm 2021: Mazes

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

Welp, we've fallen a bit behind our haunt update schedule already--if only because we have a ton of events this weekend to cover next week. As a result, we're going to intersperse the additional haunts with our Knott's Scary Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain "deep dives" to mix in some variety to these updates. Today, we're back at the ol' Scary Farm for a look at this year's mazes, which is really just an excuse for me to post a kajillion photos that I took last weekend throughout Knott's 8 mazes being offered this season.

Although Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind is the marquee offering this season, Pumpkin Eater has also received a bit of a freshening in the form of a new back third or so of the maze, swapping out the old cornfield aesthetic with a rat plague and an infested forest that somehow manages to make the maze even gorier. The rest of the line-up remains largely unchanged from their 2019 versions.

That's not necessarily surprising, given the cautious nature that all professional haunts have had to take while planning this year's events (in case COVID results in sudden shutdowns). But one unchanged item that was a little surprising and noticeable to us was the continued use of draping doorway elements that guests need to touch and push through or away in order to cross into the next room. Given the public focus this past year on sanitizing surfaces and revising transactions to be as touchless as possible, it was surprising that Knott's chose to keep these elements in place. And though the risk of spread of the Coronavirus via touch has actually been shown to be less likely than initially feared (droplet and airborne transmittal is the primary means), the notion of avoiding touching strange surfaces is still one that's been engrained into our public health culture. So there's definitely a discomfort level that these elements will bring to some guests who have tried to exercise conservative, as-safe-as-possible habits over this past year.

We'll see if Knott's keeps these elements through the season, or if the transition portals from maze scene to maze scene lose their overhanging elements like Universal seemed to do.

In the meantime, lets work through each maze, one by one!

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind

When it became apparent that Knott's Scary Farm was only bringing in one new maze this year, many fans were disappointed, having become accustomed to the cadence of two new mazes per season. But now that we've seen Mesmer in action, we have to say that no one should feel cheated. Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind is a vividly captivating, spectacular looking, surprisingly lengthy maze that literally takes twice the time of many of Halloween Horror Night's mazes (this year) and weaves a splintering story of madness and mentalism.

The preshow of Mesmer paints a hypnotic and potentially unsettling picture.

Guests enter the circus tent to find Mesmer beginning his act. As he counts down, he places his assistant (or perhaps an unknowing victim) into a trance, opening her mind and touching upon the horrors that await. Entering the maze proper, a series of screens takes guests down a proverbial rabbit hole into the madness of the mind. As it turns out, the maze organizes its scenes along the individual performers of this big top, tracing each one's tragic backstory and horrifying suffering. For some, it's physical--Viola, the Human Violin, is doomed to put string to arm for eternity, drawing a mournful melody over and over that cuts into her skin, slicing to the bone, orchestrating a concerto of crimson. Others seem to have torture inflicted upon their mentality--an unnamed performer struggles with a vortex descent into instability, while Vanya the Vain regard her reflection in a never-ending cycle of purgatory.

Time is not on guests’ side as they wander through Mesmer and the minds of the various circus characters.

The maze features a plethora of visual spectacles, from a massive mirror passage that tilts back and forth to a nifty tightrope gag to the towering, intimidating skeleton of the massive Mr. Zoetrope--Knott's newest monstrous animatronic creation. There's also an unknown deformity of a blob that seems to be a festering mass of fat and tumor that may be the most disturbing sight Knott's has ever created (Daniel Miller continues to outdo himself with nightmare fuel). And the integration of projections, screens, and timed effects demonstrate an incredible amount of sophistication that has marked the park's mazes over the past decade.

Naturally, the adventures dives so deep that ever Mesmer cannot pull out of it. His frantic cries of "Red room!"--the safeword meant to break the illusion and restore sanity and reality--are of no avail, and as guests somehow escape, it seems the mentalist may have trapped himself in the nightmare of his own creation.

Mr. Zoetrope looms large over guests in the climactic scene of the maze.

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind is a fitting new addition to the Halloween Haunt. A spiritual successor to the Black Magic maze that occupied this Xcelerator location before the previous Shadowlands maze, Mesmer touches upon themes that have been featured in Haunts past but wraps them in a refreshingly new and creative package. The storytelling is layered and nuanced but definitely noticeable if one takes the time to soak it all in. The voiceovers heard in each segment provide a haunting ambiance, similar to the whisperings of Poe and his writings i the old Nevermore maze over by Mystery Lodge. All in all, this is a very well done maze that shows Knott's is in fine hands in the post-Jon Cooke era, because the creative team has learned and evolved with the times, adding new and advanced production techniques into their maze design repertoire and embracing the theatricality of today's successful new mazes to manifest more immersive environments for today's evermore demanding guests.

Dark Ride: Castle of Chaos

It's funny for me to look back and remember that I initially wasn't a huge fan of Dark Ride the first time I went through--or even the second. It's not that I disliked it; I just couldn't see why everyone was raving about it so much. But things clicked on my third trip through, as I started piecing the details and the subtle storytelling together. Mixed in with a brilliant soundtrack that plays a role in the narrative itself, and Dark Ride then became an all-time classic in my eyes. Since then, I feel like I uncover a new detail or pick up on a new scare or action each time I go through.

Dark Ride is as scenic and beautiful as ever.

This year's Dark Ride is unchanged from 2019, thought its exterior facade has filled out across the Cloud 9 Ballroom. In addition, the subtitle of "Castle of Chaos"--the fictitious name of the abandoned dark ride that guests stroll through--has gained more prominence.

Each time through, it seems as though there’s another detail to uncover!

Inside, it's the same walking adventure that sees guests following the path of the ride for a quick spell before ducking into some dilapidated and shady looking backstage areas, then rejoining the ride course and alternating back and forth between on and off stage. The new control room and gift shop remain, and the big finale scene where everything finally opens up is as stunning as ever.

That ending scene where everything opens up is still a thrilling and fantastic scene!

Dark Ride is also greatly aided by its veteran cast, whose energy and timing for scares are fantastic. Every time I went through the maze last weekend, there was plenty of activity, and the charisma and maniacal charm of each monster was on full display. Clearly, though its inhabitants are far less classy, Dark Ride has aged very well, like fine wine.

Pumpkin Eater

Ordinarily, this would have been mentioned in the Knott's Scary Farm announcement event--returning maze gets new additions that enhance and amplify the story. But since Knott's did not hold one this year and instead relied on a series of video vignettes that also chauffeured in Scary Farm's new icon for this year (the Conductor), the revamped last third of Pumpkin Eater remained a secret surprise until opening day.

The story of Pumpkin Eater remains the same. Peter Peter, pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her. Put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well. Well dead, that is. Daniel Miller's gruesome gourd-based maze takes guests through the home of the serial murderer, then into dens featuring his victims, descending further and further into a sloppy muck of gore and desecration.

The plague has come to Pumpkin Eater, and it’s messy!

The new additions switch out the original cornfield or corn maze section with a rat infestation. Of course, these rats aren't just out for regular food. No, they've developed a taste for human flesh, and their bloodthirsty cravings cannot be satiated. This transitions into a forested area featuring fearsome pumpkin creatures before coming back to Peter's abode, where the human ingredient for Peter's produced pumpkin produces (such as meat pies) ensures some horrific delectables.

A dark, ghastly forest also replaces the area that was a corn field previously.

The maze renovations were definitely a pleasant surprise, and they helped freshen up a maze that was just starting to feel a little familiar. With these changes, I imagine Pumpkin Eater will be around for at least another one or two years.

Origins: The Curse of Calico

Last Haunt's most incredible and epic maze is back with the same layout unchanged from two years ago. This love letter to the history of Scary Farm and the Ghost Town Streets mythology immediately cemented itself as an instant classic in 2019 but possibly due to just poor luck of the draw, was not quite as impactful this year.

Listen, I know online learning has been rough, but have you considered the dangers of the alternative?

Scenic-wise, everything was fantastic, with the supernatural and morbid tie-in's to Ghost Town Streets and even a bit of Ghost Town Alive! providing wonderful Easter eggs to longtime Knott's fans. But talent-wise, several positions seemed to be missing both times we went through this maze, which dampened the effect. We realize that this is the chance nature of going through a haunted house, though. Sometimes, if breaks are not staggered well enough or if a scareactor has just scared another guest and is needing to reset, the result is much less action than normal.

The outdoor Ghost Town scene of Origins is still dramatic and amazing.

That said, we still loved the Catawampus monster near the end of the maze, and we also noticed that the witch's book in the last scene made its presence known elsewhere at this year's Scary Farm--a show that on the surface might seem completely out of place but in reality is setting up some storytelling for something to come in the future!

The Green Witch may no longer hold domain over all of Scary Farm, but she still reigns supreme in Calico!

Dark Entities

The fact that Dark Entities is placed fifth in our unofficial rankings is by no means an indictment of the quality of this maze. Knott's has just become that strong that a middle of the road ranked maze is still an excellent quality experience and worth going through.

Dark Entities, located once again in the backstage area with neighoring Paranormal Inc. and farther neighbors, The Depths and Wax Works, takes guests to outer space, only to hurl them into an alien infestation onboard a doomed spacecraft. The talent in this maze was very committed and passionate, and although it did seem to have a few less scareactors than previous years, the crew there did a fantastic job.

Interestingly, Dark Entities had short lines each time I went last weekend. This may be because it's the line whose entrance is most tucked away in the back of the area of this complex. Guests hitting up these mazes will see lines for the other three before they see Dark Entities. Use that to advantage when it comes to deciding priority for which mazes to hit first.

Wax Works

Dr. Augustus Scratch is back making artwork out of humans and human parts to showcase in his depraved museum. This maze returns in its second year unsurprisingly unchanged, and again, though it's slotted sixth based on our experiences last week, that ranking is not indicative of any lack in qualiity. It's just how it weighed in in our experiences compared to the others.

Don’t fall prey to her beckoning allures. It’s a trap.

Wax Works packs in a nice variety of showmanship and different scares that demonstrate the diversity of haunt experience that we love at Knott's. The jump scares come from behind corners, in plain sight lulls of false security, and in illusion and trickery. The talent is given chances to craft character and motivation in some scenes, playing parts and interacting with guests, and simple focus on the scare in others. It's a refreshing mix compared to Halloween Horror Night's intentional repetitious scareactor directions, where the same scene is performed thousands of times over the course of a season. And it brings guests to a more intimate engagement of the storytelling of the maze!

The Depths

The Depths was one of the only two mazes that we felt was a noticeable step down a tier from the rest--which could each be contenders for best maze on any particular given night. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how to explain it. There was sufficient cast both times we went through, and the maze progression is unchanged from previous years. The set quality is high, and there are multiple great visual moments.

In the water, sirens lure seafarers to their doom.

But something about the pacing of the maze never quite seemed to work for us. The Depths would build and build and build, but it never seemed to quite hit the high energy payoff that yielded a cathartic feeling. It might be that this particular maze just doesn't have the same shelf life as some of Knott's other more recent, longer-running mazes. It could probably benefit from a mini-refresh similar to what Pumpkin Eater received next year.

And if that doesn’t work, the kraken will surely finish victims off.

Paranormal Inc: The Haunting of Hayden Hill

Finally, we have Paranormal Inc: The Haunting of Hayden Hill, a maze that demonstrates that no matter how amazing a maze can be, there is eventually a time and place for the conclusion of everything.

It’s the final year of suffering and torture at Hayden Hill Sanitarium.

This is Paranormal Inc's sixth and final season--a mark that ties it with the legendary Asylum for longest-running maze in this location. For pretty much every year it's been at Knott's Paranormal Inc has been our favorite or among our favorite mazes. The incredible theatrics, the stellar cast, the smartly design-in scares, and the gripping story have added up to one of the best all-time mazes in Scary Farm history.

The demons have come out to play for one more season.

But all good things come to an end, and this year, Paranormal seems noticeably lacking compared to previous years. The density of monsters, the timing, and the energy don't seem to be quite as sharp as in previous years. The scenes this year are the same as in 2019, including the redone "hell" sequence at the end of the maze that was greatly acclaimed when it was introduced in 2018. But at this point, it has become too familiar with fans.

Overall, it's still a quality maze from an objective view, but such is the quality of Knott's that a maze like Paranormal Inc. has fallen to the bottom of our rankings, simply because it's has reached the end of its shelf life. We’ll definitely miss it once it’s faded into the veil, but this year, we can’t say that the Hayden Hill adventure was a top maze.

And that does it for the biggest Knott’s Scary Farm maze feature ever—nearly 300 photos worth. Just imagine how many there would have been if Knott’s had their usual nine mazes this year—or even the as much as 13 mazes Knott’s has had in a season? Too many photos would be the answer. But hey, I really like taking pictures, and I really like Haunt, so when that combo comes together, the result is a trick and treat of Scary Farm eye candy!

If you didn’t read our general review of Knott’s Scary Farm this year, click here. And stay tuned for posts on the scare zones and themed rides and the Haunt entertainment to come!