Nightmare at Scareview Farms: Video Flashback

Nightmare at Scareview Farms returns to the Fairplex in Pomona this evening (well, the title has been shorted to Nightmare: A Haunted Attraction, but it appears to be essentially an expanded version of last year’s presentation). Fairplex is known to most local residents as the home of the Los Angeles County Fair, but it has been presenting various Halloween events for the last several years: Scarplex, Fearplex, and now Nightmare, which made its debut in 2009.

By the time we got out last Halloween, it was too late to post our video, but we did write up a review noting that, although the scares were not very intense, the haunt benefited from its spacious location within the Fiarplex’s Big Red Barn. Unlike most walk-through mazes, which rely on confined space to create claustrophobia, Nightmare at Scareview Farms was wide open, with several settings mimicking outdoor locations – even pirate ships! We were also impressed with a clever piece of theatrical ju-jitsu that turned a weakness into a strength: the place was loaded with mannequins, which seemed like a cheap way to avoid paying many actors; however, in many cases,the “mannequins” turned out to be actors holding a pose until victims wandered within reach.

For 2010, Nightmare expands from 3 mazes to 5, but we expect to see the same general approach in effect. If you want an idea what to expect, check out our video from Halloween 2009.