The Scream Machine: Running on fear

            Growing up, Scream Machine was a house I remember fondly. For many years my family and I would make the trip, enjoying a house that was well designed with elaborate sets, and actors that were passionate, and were driven to scare their captive audience. For years it was one of the best houses to be done in Wayne county, and being local made it the house everyone I knew visited. Unfortunately, location changes were forced on the house, and for awhile it looked The Scream Machine would join the list of great houses that disappeared forever. Luckily, after a few years it reopened in its current location, bringing terror back to Taylor.

            One thing that stood out was how little it felt like the sets stood out. An introduction room with bodies everywhere, and security monitors showing mayhem was the biggest stand out. All the scenes seemed to just blend together. Very much a standard dark hallway to claustrophobic room layout. Comparing it to the older versions of the house, it is a shame to not see the larger scale facades that would be used, however it is very possible that this location doesn't give them the room to use that style, which is a shame. It comes off as a list of haunted house tropes, all checked off on a list. It makes things feel sadly generic.

            What does seem to carry over from the past, is a set of great actors. This is a group that is enjoying what they are doing. They make great use of their space, and come at visitors with a ferocity that is incredible. Some entertaining wisecracks were made at our group along the way as well, which is always fun to hear. The actors did get help in their work by great designing of boo-holes. In many cases it was not easy to find out exactly where people would be coming from. There was also not much dead space, allowing it to feel like being constantly under attack. This group of actors are perfect for The Scream Machine to build on.

            The Scream Machine's newest iteration is not perfect. Work can be done to make scenes feel different from each other, and to keep the house from feeling too generic. However, with how good the actors are, the house overcomes these problems. I think The Scream Machine just needs to find its groove when it comes to theming. When this happens, combined with the already great scares and actors, The Scream Machine will be a great as its earlier years.

3.25 / 5