2000 Elitch Circle
Denver, CO 80204

View larger map

Dates and Times (2010 Season)

September 25 – October 31, 2010

Fridays-Sundays • 7pm-10pm

Price: $6.00

Website: www.elitchgardens.com/frightfest.aspx

* * * * * * *

REVIEWS

These reviews are the property of their respective authors. Please do not quote or use, in whole or in part, without the authors’ permission.

COREY rated this haunt 7.25/10 and said:

Scare Factor: 7
Acting: 7
Sets/FX: 8
Length: 7

Bloodlust is one of the two haunted houses at Elitch Gardens. When walking up to this attraction you pass through the graveyard which is very realistic.

When entering the haunt you are greeted by a wizard and it honestly was weird, it did not match the haunt at all. But, when I entered this attraction I was very impressed. The theme here is a homecoming at school gone wrong. The beginning scene makes you feel like you are actually back in school and it was fun, it’s a long hallway full of bloody lockers.

Also, there are scenes where you seem to go into the school’s basement and janitorial closets. The sets here were really good and actually quite scary.

The acting here was decent but I did hear the occasional ‘boo’ and was a tiny bit disappointed. But altogether I think Bloodlust is a good haunt to visit when at Elitch Gardens this year.

DAVE rated this haunt 6.25/10 and said:

Scare Factor: 6
Acting: 6
Sets/FX: 7
Length: 6

Elitch Gardens’ Fright Fest not only has several Halloween events, scare zones and shows, it also contains two haunted houses. The haunt in question for this review is Bloodlust: The Homecoming, which is located in the closed for the season Elitch Gardens’ water park. It appears that Bloodlust’s vampires have been evicted and some twisted school has moved in.

The front castle façade is a little strange as it doesn’t match the theme. Inside the haunt is when you start to get the feel that this is taking place inside of a school during Homecoming. Actors start to give out snippets of information which suggests that the janitor is the cad responsible for all of the trouble and that we need to watch out for him.

There are many scenes very recognizable from any school in this country that you are likely to visit. You’ll walk through the school’s stadium, bathrooms, and even the janitor’s closet. Then there were a few strange scenes that I couldn’t quite figure out how they fit into the whole homecoming theme. Why is there a bunch of large barrels stacked?

Acting in Bloodlust was also a mixed bag. For instance, the jock shooting balls at visitors as they enter his stadium looked absolutely bored. Luckily, he finally came to life and decided to give us a little chase. Another strange occurrence was a female operator of a not so real chainsaw who looked a little too much like Hitler. She held the chainsaw in a hardly threatening way and unenthusiastically came after us with it. Though there were some bright spots. The girl swinging as though she had hung herself was quite creepy and more than a little scary.

Bloodlust did feel a little bit short. I believe that is likely due to the fact that they are limited to the building that is available to them for the event, but even so, I would like to have a little larger walkthrough.

If a choice had to be made between Bloodlust and its sister haunt across the park, I would likely rather choose The Suffering. However, once you are already visiting the park the entrance price for both is very reasonable and you will still get your money’s worth out of your visit.

KRIS rated this haunt 6.75/10 and said:

Scare Factor: 6
Acting: 7
Sets/FX: 7
Length: 7

It appears as though the high school janitor has gone mad and has focused his demonic intentions on some of the students who treated him poorly.

Entering the haunt, the school scene is set appropriately and I am taken back to my school days. There is a startle point in here that is executed fairly well. I would like to see a bit more interaction with the actor in here, something a bit more intense and in your face would work well.

The football player in the stadium has a unique scene that I enjoyed. It was an interesting way to interact with visitors that I have not seen before. If the actor had been more menacing it would have really pumped up the scare in here.

The girl that slowly comes down on a zip line is an interesting twist and adds a touch or realism to the setting. If she had rotated to face us that would have increased the scare dramatically and given a better jolt.

Scenes included the janitor’s closet, showers and storage areas. Most were done well, although there were a few spots that seemed inconsistent with the overall theme. Pitch black rooms offered more than what they seemed and I will not give this away, but it is an old favorite that I personally never get tired of. Fog filled rooms that make it impossible to see have surprises of their own lurking within.

This haunt has something for everyone and is not overly scary or gory so it is a good attraction to take some younger kids to, not too young though as there are some scenes that would not be appropriate for the much younger group.

This theme has potential to really grow and develop over time and I am hopeful that the creators will push it to its limits next season. More intense acting alone could push this haunt to bigger and better heights.

MERCEDES rated this haunt 5.5/10 and said:

Scare Factor: 6
Acting: 5
Sets/FX: 6
Length: 5

It starts with a crazy dude at the front telling us the janitor went crazy in this school. Once I go in, I see a hallway full of lockers. I totally feel like I’m back in school, and I don’t know if the janitor is nearby. I get out of that room and go into the field and a football player is throwing fast balls at me. I’m in shock, but I run out of there before I get hurt. I admit he totally catches me off guard.

As I go deeper into the haunt, I find the bathrooms with dead bodies lying around. The next room is the janitor’s rooms, showing off the tools he might have used to kill all these people. I’m looking for him to come and get us, but he is nowhere in sight. We keep walking and run into a pitch-black room. We cannot see anything, so we start touching the walls, but even the walls are not our friends since they are give us shocks. This tactic is awesome. I love how Blood Lust tries to limit what I can do to get out of this room. Minutes later, I find the boiler room, or what I think is the boiler room, followed by a string of toilets. Some toilets are broken and have body parts—as if the people were killed while using the potty. It makes me think I don’t want to die that way. At the end of this bathroom scene a girl comes out with a bloody face. She does not look like a victim, but more like the janitor’s helper.

There is a cool room filled with fog, making it hard to breathe and walk. I extend my arms out and touch a person—thinking it belongs to one of my friends, I grab it. To my surprise, he whispers in my ear and says, “Wrong person!” and laughs eerily. Oh my gosh! This makes my heart pound out of my chest. Well done! Close to the end, I’m looking for the janitor, and here comes a girl with a chainsaw, but did I mention she looks like Hitler? I don’t know what to make of that.

This haunt follows its theme, which makes it feel more realistic. Unfortunately, though, it has few actors and is too short.

RYAN rated this haunt 5.75/10 and said:

Scare Factor: 4
Acting: 5
Props/Sets/FX: 8
Length: 6

Bloodlust is the second haunt at Elitches to get improved. They actually stayed with the theme! The theme was homecoming this year so they made it to where you are wandering through a school. They had a long hallway with broken toilets and distorted body parts that was very impressive. The second area you walk into there is an actor shooting rubber balls at you! Be cautious as you turn the corner. I’ve never seen a haunt do this. Also, they have an effect called “Shock Walls”. I have heard of them but never experienced them until now so again, be cautious!

Actors were Average. Just yelling at you. I was disappointed with the chainsaw at the end. The girl had on a costume that resembled Hitler and the chainsaw was fake when I saw real ones in the Midway. Also, toward the middle of walking through a man walked in and was showing a family some of the props. This killed the mood for the rest of the haunt and dropped the scare factor.

Overall, greatly improved but if you’re on a budget this haunt isn’t worth the money.