Midnight Terror Haunted House – Full Review

Midnight Terror Haunted House is a Haunted Attraction located in Oak Lawn, IL.

5520 West 111th Street, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
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Haunt Type(s):

Links:

Contact:

Features:

Free Parking, Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site, Optional Games/Midway, Special Events, “Old-School” (Low Tech), You will NOT be touched, Original Characters, Indoor Waiting Line, Covered Outdoor Waiting Line

This attraction was reviewed on October 4, 2019 by Team White City Devils.

Final Scores:

(15% of Final Score) Cast: 9.12

(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.85

(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9

(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.97

(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 9.06

(5% of Final Score) Theme: 9.26

(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.73

(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.94

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Midnight Terror (MT) is currently in their 6th professional season coming out of Oak Lawn, Illinois. Considering we are regular attendees for MT’s Halloween season, Xmas haunts, and just recently in June (for Midwest Haunters Convention), we figured we had a pretty good idea of what to expect this season having gone through plenty. Boy, we were terribly wrong. MT quickly reminded us they were known for constant adaptation of their attraction, a fact we will make sure to never forget again’

Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):

(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.75

(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 9.2

(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 9.35

(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 9.25

(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 9

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On the night we attended, we were told MT was short staffed with only 70 actors from the usual 85-90 (turns out it was home coming for many of the local high school actors). The ‘lack’ of actors was not even noticeable in our opinion. If anything, this made our trip through MT more memorable as many actors would work 1-2 rooms and even re-emerge farther down our visit!

In the queue line, the actors entertaining the eagerly waiting guests really knew the lay out of the ins and outs of the queue line. They used the whole room as a personal jungle gym. We had to watch ourselves from all angles as they would climb above us, and slide towards us below waist level.

All of the actors really go above and beyond to entertain and really embody the characters they become. Orphan clearly has a thing for beards, just not sure if it’s just mine he wants or if he is incapable of growing his own. Carnal Baker was offering mints and Chinese take-out, except it wasn’t mints or take-out. One of our own actually shared a bit of a snack with him (a video is on our Facebook Page). We also met Quake in the queue line; she spoke a lot of gibberish and was extra friendly with kids! She would tweak out for a moment and twitch in sync to the unsettling music playing in line, giving us an eerie vibe towards what to expect once inside!

Once inside the haunt, the actors came at us full force! Again, being ‘short’ staffed really just made everyone we had run into work that much harder and become that much more effective. I would like to take a moment in this review to let Hazel and Agatha know that I did indeed ask Malum for Hazel’s pay raise and Agatha’s stapler back, and I hope you receive both your wishes.

Our trip into Black Oak Grove also led us into a new shop we have never seen before! Here we met Buzz the Barber, and he kindly led us into his shop for a quick shave. One of our teammates sat down in the barber chair and Buzz mentioned that he was ‘only going to take a bit from the top’ as he proceeded to show us his trophy wall of severed heads’ we spotted an empty trophy mount with our teammate’s NAME ON IT!!! Needless to say, she took a rain check.

I should also take a moment to address one actor in particular. I didn’t get a character name because she was busy eating something gross looking. When I looked at her, she threw up all of the gross mush and then continued to re-eat everything on the plate by hand. I couldn’t help but dry heave cause of just how gross that was. Clearly, the team at MT is very committed to their roles.

Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):

(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8.95

(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8.9

(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 8.8

(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 8.5

(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9

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One thing we noticed about costuming is how appropriate all the small details were. Besides some signature characters one would only find at MT (Gator, Orphan, Buzz, Quake, Carnal Baker), all other actors had attire one would expect for their location in the haunt.

Buzz, for example, is the local barber of Black Oak Grove. He was wearing a snazzy get up complete with a scissor bowtie. Along with the character that particular actor came up with, the outfit seemed very fitting of him and completed the entire vibe.

For many of the actors we met on our trip, the makeup was well applied! Everybody looked just like the story behind MT implies. The factory workers had darker contrast applied to them, giving an almost demonic look. The townsfolk were given a similar contrast, yet as vile as they appeared one would almost feel pity towards their tattered and worn clothes.

We hardly saw any masks except for signature queue line actors and of course Malum, who is an important part of the theme of MT (more on that later). We did however see some cool use of prosthetics. Gator looks as though he is growing horns out of his head and his contacts are very unsettling.

Overall, MT does a great job at keeping costuming effective and creepy in all the right ways!

Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):

(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 8.6

(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9

(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9.25

(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9.2

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Finding information on MT is very easy and there is plenty of it available. They have a FB page, IG page, a website and they stay pretty active on all of them. This is the 6th season at the same location on 111th, which makes it pretty easy to know where we are heading to by now.

We did, however, go out of our way to take the interactive shuttle this year! It was a pretty great way to start the evening. For those unaware, MT offers free parking off-site and has a free interactive shuttle that will take everyone to the haunt. They have two busses rotating from point A to point B and we were able to get on both of them, each with different actors. We really didn’t go wrong with either bus, as they were both different yet entertaining!

The staff seems like a terrific group of people who would happily answer any questions. Safety was stressed throughout as we were reminded about common haunt rules (do not touch actors, do not run, do not touch props, etc.) This is pretty common practice as there are people who just need reminders (unfortunately).

Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):

(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 8.85

(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 9.15

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Mt has changed their queue line up slightly since our last review visit. There is an outside tent which houses a light show, great music, and a fog machine. When we entered the building, we noticed a small ‘checkpoint’ between the outside and inside line. This checkpoint is unique in the sense that a video plays and tells the backstory to MT.

When inside for the indoor queue, the tone changed drastically from what was outside. The music playing on the speakers is in sync with the lighting at all the dramatic parts. What is playing on the inside is not popular music or anything you would hear on the outside, but more of a tense soundtrack giving us the impression that ‘s**t is about to get real.’ This really gave us a good idea to prepare ourselves for what was to come!

Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):

(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8.85

(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9

(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9.1

(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 9.2

(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 9.15

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The special effects throughout MT are effective through their subtleness. What worked for them this year was taking things back a step and going a bit more simplistic. A great example of what we are talking about is MT took the time to soundproof rooms. Sounds and music were effective when they needed to be, but those same sounds didn’t seem to over leak into the next scene. This led to some awesome interactions with actors, more so than we can say we have had in the past. This goes to show sometimes less is more!

MT doesn’t have a crazy number of high-tech props, but they rely on some very effective old school tricks for scares. Anyone visiting should expect to see a number of sparks throughout the tour! Another really great factor to mention is MT kept things extra gory this year! I guess the townsfolk of Black Oak Grove have to eat something’ or someone’

The details in each room were clearly well thought out. In the factory, the details in every pipe and gear show rust and pair well with loose electrics and smoking light fixtures. When entering Black Oak Grove, we found ourselves transported into a small town on the outskirts of a forest. We walked into a hospital, a school, the streets, and eventually the forest. It was clear what all the scenes were meant to be

Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):

(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 9.5

(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 9.5

(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 9
Explanation:

This one I went back and forth on as the haunt is technically called “Black Oak Grove” and that is actually what Oak Park used to be called. But it’s not particularly located inside a factory building of sorts.

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MT is actually one of the few haunts I can think of that stands out in this section. Every season adds a new chapter to the ever-growing theme of The Factory of Malum and The Town of Black Oak Grove.

I would love to give a quick run through, but I feel anyone taking the time to read our review should also take the time to read the full back story on MT’s website.

The Cliff Notes version is that Sledge, the owner of the factory on the outskirts of town is a very abusive man who found an ancient tomb to Malum, a Demon Lord. Sledge strikes a deal with Malum, which is his soul for a prosperous, powerful role in town through the factory.

The wealth and power go to his head and he starts drinking and abusing his daughter, Willow. No one seems to believe Willow as she pleads for help and the townsfolk ignore her until she eventually tries to run away. While making her escape, she comes across a book buried in the forest called the Sacramentum Autem Malleus, the same book Sledge found to strike his deal with Malum. Willow uses the book to summon Malum and traps Sledge and the workers in the factory as well as curses all of the townsfolk of Black Oak Grove to punishment for ignoring her and the abuse.

This year, we saw ‘Willows Revenge.’ This was essentially the aftermath of Willow summoning Malum and what the factory and town are now going through as a result of their negligence. It is seriously unique and always gets me excited to see what the next chapter of the story will be! Do not cheat yourself as a reader and as I mentioned above, check out the full detailed plot on MT’s website.

Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):

(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.6

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 9

(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8.8

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8.9

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.4

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MT provides many different ways of getting a scare through. Jump scares and surprise bangs seem most common and the actors did a great job on getting that point across more than once.

We attended fairly early into the evening, so we were lucky enough to go in as a group of 2. This does happen to give us a different perspective than a group of 4-6 would have in terms of everyone being effectively targeted. We definitely were both hit with some good scares throughout the haunt and can say the scares were not overwhelmingly predictable considering a ‘lack’ of actors. I can only imagine as the season progresses and MT is at full staff, the evening would be even more effective with scares and could even be effective to a group of 4-6.

The finale, Chainsaw Alley, was closed for the evening due to rain. It was great for safety reasons of course and totally understandable as it is something not in MT control, but it did take away from the finale that evening which is no big deal. Our score on the ending definitely would have been higher for the finale and everyone should know that our experience here will not be a common experience for everyone else. Again, safety first!

Overall, they were still effective on timing, scares, and variety!

Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):

(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 9.15

(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 8.65

(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 8.85

(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9.2

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Our walk-through time at MT for that particular evening was at a staggering 35 minutes! Reflecting back to last year’s timing, that’s about ten extra minutes due to readjustments on certain areas and placements of props and settings to add extra to the show. Considering Chainsaw Alley was closed that night, we could’ve easily been through the haunt in about 38-40 minutes.

At $24.99 GA and $34.99 VIP, the MPD (minutes per dollar value) is at 1.4! This number does not include the missed Chainsaw Alley or even the potential two interactive (free!) bus rides. I feel being as how early we were to the show, we were able to pace ourselves better than most would trying to run for their lives, but overall, we had a very entertaining evening with the team at MT!

MT also offers escape rooms, laser tag, and now axe throwing! There is plenty of fun to be had on any visit during the off season as well. If there were ever any doubts, I hope all were resolved in reading our review and you will be hooked into wanting to see MT’s next chapter to be told!

How Did We Get These Scores

Promo Images:

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Guest Reviews
Guest Average: 10 out of 10

Arty – 10/10 – July 26, 2018
I loved every second of it everything about it was soo professionally done and there was not one …show more second of boredom. There was this one worker especially and her name was Jas and she was soo kind and friendly and helped me when I was confused.

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Past Awards

2020 Awards

Most Detailed Haunt (Given by: Team White City Devils)

2017 Awards

Most Twisted Haunt (Given by: Team Zombillies)

Most Unsuspecting Atmosphere (Given by: Team Zombillies)