HollywoodHaunts
Posted by HollywoodHaunts (68.67.177.47) on October 13, 2003 at 02:34:50:
The Haunted Vineyard
http://www.thehauntedvineyard.com/
Okay, maybe I'm biased, but I maintain that the best independent haunts in the
country are right here in Southern California. You just can't live in an area
surrounded by movie and creative industry professionals and not expect a
handful of top-notch haunted attractions to spring up season after season. On
these boards, I've touted the likes of Hallowed Haunting Grounds (small but
excellent) and Riverton Cemetery (loads of fun) as the royalty of the
indie/yard haunt realm. But after my latest excursion in search of the perfect
haunt, I'm happy to say that a new king has been anointed in these parts.
The Haunted Vineyard in Ontario (40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles) is a
labor of love for special-effects and theme park design partners Steve
Cotroneo and Ron Pardini of CIFX (see www.cifx.com for their resume which
includes props for movies like “Men in Black” and sculpture work at
Islands of Adventure and Tokyo Disneysea.) Even with their impressive credits,
the pair always dreamed of putting on a Halloween production, and eventually
turned down a few paying jobs to try their hand in the risky world of
independent haunting.
Guasti Winery was chosen when Cotroneo and Pardini attended a wedding there.
As soon as they saw the place, they realized they’d found the perfect
location for their haunt in the century old brick and mortar building that
once housed the Guasti marketplace. And let me say, they’ve made excellent
use of the space.
The first half of the maze coils around the exterior portion of the building,
through elaborately designed graveyards cloaked in bluish-green fog. A
cornfield is the highlight of this section, where scarecrows descend from
their shadowy perches to “entertain” the guests. Subtle but frightening
sound effects add to the spooky ambiance here, as do the multi-colored show
lights which emphasize richly themed portions of the exterior.
At the halfway point, the maze turns inside the 100 year old brick building --
and here is where the fun really begins. The echoes become louder, the shadows
longer; half-rotted corpses hang from the ceilings; glowing portraits watch
from the walls; a baby carriage with a tiny carcass rocks itself in the
corner. There are at least a dozen rooms inside the building, each more
elaborately themed than the next. The 10,000 square foot space gives the
actors plenty of nooks and recesses in which to hide. Chances are good
you’ll get at least one good jolt.
It’s the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Vineyard team that separates
them from the big boys. You won’t find any chainsaws, gratuitous gore, or
Freddy Kreuger masks here. It’s all about detail and mood, two elements that
haunted attractions with budgets three times as big don’t always get right.
My only complaint is that I didn’t have time to go through twice. There’s
just no way to take it all in the first time through. For my money, that’s
always the mark of a good haunt.
HollywoodHaunts
[email protected]
The Haunted Vineyard
http://www.thehauntedvineyard.com/
Okay, maybe I'm biased, but I maintain that the best independent haunts in the
country are right here in Southern California. You just can't live in an area
surrounded by movie and creative industry professionals and not expect a
handful of top-notch haunted attractions to spring up season after season. On
these boards, I've touted the likes of Hallowed Haunting Grounds (small but
excellent) and Riverton Cemetery (loads of fun) as the royalty of the
indie/yard haunt realm. But after my latest excursion in search of the perfect
haunt, I'm happy to say that a new king has been anointed in these parts.
The Haunted Vineyard in Ontario (40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles) is a
labor of love for special-effects and theme park design partners Steve
Cotroneo and Ron Pardini of CIFX (see www.cifx.com for their resume which
includes props for movies like “Men in Black” and sculpture work at
Islands of Adventure and Tokyo Disneysea.) Even with their impressive credits,
the pair always dreamed of putting on a Halloween production, and eventually
turned down a few paying jobs to try their hand in the risky world of
independent haunting.
Guasti Winery was chosen when Cotroneo and Pardini attended a wedding there.
As soon as they saw the place, they realized they’d found the perfect
location for their haunt in the century old brick and mortar building that
once housed the Guasti marketplace. And let me say, they’ve made excellent
use of the space.
The first half of the maze coils around the exterior portion of the building,
through elaborately designed graveyards cloaked in bluish-green fog. A
cornfield is the highlight of this section, where scarecrows descend from
their shadowy perches to “entertain” the guests. Subtle but frightening
sound effects add to the spooky ambiance here, as do the multi-colored show
lights which emphasize richly themed portions of the exterior.
At the halfway point, the maze turns inside the 100 year old brick building --
and here is where the fun really begins. The echoes become louder, the shadows
longer; half-rotted corpses hang from the ceilings; glowing portraits watch
from the walls; a baby carriage with a tiny carcass rocks itself in the
corner. There are at least a dozen rooms inside the building, each more
elaborately themed than the next. The 10,000 square foot space gives the
actors plenty of nooks and recesses in which to hide. Chances are good
you’ll get at least one good jolt.
It’s the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Vineyard team that separates
them from the big boys. You won’t find any chainsaws, gratuitous gore, or
Freddy Kreuger masks here. It’s all about detail and mood, two elements that
haunted attractions with budgets three times as big don’t always get right.
My only complaint is that I didn’t have time to go through twice. There’s
just no way to take it all in the first time through. For my money, that’s
always the mark of a good haunt.
HollywoodHaunts
[email protected]
HOLLYWOOD GOTHIQUE
Monday, October 11th 2004
Posted by: Steve Biodrowski
Event Date & Time: Haunted Vineyard Halloween Maze
Location: 3099 Guasti Road, Ontario, CA
In its third year now, the Haunted Vineyard has developed a reputation as an excellent Halloween attraction, and this year's presentation fully lives up to the high praise heard from fans. The Haunted Vineyard is a stand-alone attraction with a single, excellent walk-through maze featuring wonderful atmosphere, great sets, and dozens of scares. Of the many mazes we've walked through this year (ten at Knott's Scary Farm, seven at the Queen Mary, three at Spooky House), this was the best single one; it was so good, in fact, we took advantage of the discount admission price ($5) for going through a second time.
With so many other established haunted houses, you might wonder what this relatively new one has to offer. The most obvious point is that, despite being new, it is not trendy; in fact, the Haunted Vineyard is a world all its own. You won't find most of the familiar cliches seen at other haunts: no black-light 3D decorations, no strobe lights, no killer clowns, no mangled limbs and severed body parts, no ghoul in skintight black leotards painted to match the colors on the wall, and no pulse-founding techno music. Instead, you will find a wonderfully creepy and convincing series of set pieces that provide a maximum opportunity for exciting, thrilling, and above all fun scares.
The first remarkable thing about the Haunted Vineyard is its location. As you drive to the haunt, you pass old dilapidated houses and a winery, then park in a dirt lot that makes you feel as if you're almost in the middle of nowhere -- or at least that you've left the safe, comfortable urban world behind and wandered into some dangerous backwoods nightmare. It's not quite TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, but it's close.
You enter the grounds through a gate with a lighted sign above. To the left is a ticket booth; to the right are some other booths where you can buy merchandise or snacks, or have a souvenir picture taken, with one of the haunt's calendar girls (Miss November was on hand the night we went).
After buying your ticket, you walk past the booths and some guards direct you around a corner, where a guide in a black robe informs you of the rules (they'll sound familiar to frequent haunt goers: "don't touch the monsters and they won't touch you," etc.) Then the ticket taker punches your ticket and you're on your own, wandering through a very long and elaborate maze.
The interior sets make you feel as if you're in some demented back woods home where the residents went crazy long ago. The exterior scenes are even better, including an extremely detailed graveyard and a "cornfield" so overgrown that there's no telling where a monster may be hiding.
Clearly, much thought went into finding imaginative ways to catch victims off guard. Upon occasion the monsters resort to the simple art of lurking around a corner, but more often they rely on innovative techniques. There are numerous trap doors that allow ghouls to appear almost out of nowhere. Some are crouched down low and/or camouflaged so that you walk right by them before they spring upon you. In one case, there's even a hole in the roof that allows a monster to reach down at you from above. And others have simply perfected the familiar art of standing so still that they look like statues -- until they attack.
There are some simple but effective mechanical effects: props that look as if they are about to fall on your head -- just before they come to an abrupt stop with a loud CRACK that will send you jumping. There is also an extremely effective use of sound, with an emphasis on subtle recorded whisperings that seem to come at you from all directions, interspersed with louder, abrupt noises (like the aggressive caw of an unseen crow in the cornfield).
It all ends with a last frantic chase toward safety, with a monster who appears from behind just when you think the maze is over. After that, you return the way you came, and you'll be tickled at how eager the haunt employees are to ask whether you enjoyed the show. This underlines one aspect of the Vineyard that sets it apart: it looks and feels like a small mom-and-pop operation. It may not be as high-tech as the more familiar theme park attractions like Knott's Scary Farm and the Queen Mary Shipwreck, but it has a personal kind of touch that makes it unique. After attending several other haunts this year, you may start to feel as if you're seeing variations on the same themes over and over, but the Haunted Vineyard really will strike you as different enough to justify the trek out to Ontario.
Obviously, the Haunted Vineyard is not the place to go if you're looking for an attraction that will keep you busy all night. However, if you're looking for something to do in between trick-or-treating and watching a late-night horror movie, this is the perfect entertainment. It's probably too frightening for smaller children, but teenagers should enjoy it, and it's imaginative enough to please older, more jaded haunt goers as well. We hope the Haunted Vineyard does well enough to continue for a long time to come. We definitely plan on going back next year.
Posted by: Steve Biodrowski
Event Date & Time: Haunted Vineyard Halloween Maze
Location: 3099 Guasti Road, Ontario, CA
In its third year now, the Haunted Vineyard has developed a reputation as an excellent Halloween attraction, and this year's presentation fully lives up to the high praise heard from fans. The Haunted Vineyard is a stand-alone attraction with a single, excellent walk-through maze featuring wonderful atmosphere, great sets, and dozens of scares. Of the many mazes we've walked through this year (ten at Knott's Scary Farm, seven at the Queen Mary, three at Spooky House), this was the best single one; it was so good, in fact, we took advantage of the discount admission price ($5) for going through a second time.
With so many other established haunted houses, you might wonder what this relatively new one has to offer. The most obvious point is that, despite being new, it is not trendy; in fact, the Haunted Vineyard is a world all its own. You won't find most of the familiar cliches seen at other haunts: no black-light 3D decorations, no strobe lights, no killer clowns, no mangled limbs and severed body parts, no ghoul in skintight black leotards painted to match the colors on the wall, and no pulse-founding techno music. Instead, you will find a wonderfully creepy and convincing series of set pieces that provide a maximum opportunity for exciting, thrilling, and above all fun scares.
The first remarkable thing about the Haunted Vineyard is its location. As you drive to the haunt, you pass old dilapidated houses and a winery, then park in a dirt lot that makes you feel as if you're almost in the middle of nowhere -- or at least that you've left the safe, comfortable urban world behind and wandered into some dangerous backwoods nightmare. It's not quite TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, but it's close.
You enter the grounds through a gate with a lighted sign above. To the left is a ticket booth; to the right are some other booths where you can buy merchandise or snacks, or have a souvenir picture taken, with one of the haunt's calendar girls (Miss November was on hand the night we went).
After buying your ticket, you walk past the booths and some guards direct you around a corner, where a guide in a black robe informs you of the rules (they'll sound familiar to frequent haunt goers: "don't touch the monsters and they won't touch you," etc.) Then the ticket taker punches your ticket and you're on your own, wandering through a very long and elaborate maze.
The interior sets make you feel as if you're in some demented back woods home where the residents went crazy long ago. The exterior scenes are even better, including an extremely detailed graveyard and a "cornfield" so overgrown that there's no telling where a monster may be hiding.
Clearly, much thought went into finding imaginative ways to catch victims off guard. Upon occasion the monsters resort to the simple art of lurking around a corner, but more often they rely on innovative techniques. There are numerous trap doors that allow ghouls to appear almost out of nowhere. Some are crouched down low and/or camouflaged so that you walk right by them before they spring upon you. In one case, there's even a hole in the roof that allows a monster to reach down at you from above. And others have simply perfected the familiar art of standing so still that they look like statues -- until they attack.
There are some simple but effective mechanical effects: props that look as if they are about to fall on your head -- just before they come to an abrupt stop with a loud CRACK that will send you jumping. There is also an extremely effective use of sound, with an emphasis on subtle recorded whisperings that seem to come at you from all directions, interspersed with louder, abrupt noises (like the aggressive caw of an unseen crow in the cornfield).
It all ends with a last frantic chase toward safety, with a monster who appears from behind just when you think the maze is over. After that, you return the way you came, and you'll be tickled at how eager the haunt employees are to ask whether you enjoyed the show. This underlines one aspect of the Vineyard that sets it apart: it looks and feels like a small mom-and-pop operation. It may not be as high-tech as the more familiar theme park attractions like Knott's Scary Farm and the Queen Mary Shipwreck, but it has a personal kind of touch that makes it unique. After attending several other haunts this year, you may start to feel as if you're seeing variations on the same themes over and over, but the Haunted Vineyard really will strike you as different enough to justify the trek out to Ontario.
Obviously, the Haunted Vineyard is not the place to go if you're looking for an attraction that will keep you busy all night. However, if you're looking for something to do in between trick-or-treating and watching a late-night horror movie, this is the perfect entertainment. It's probably too frightening for smaller children, but teenagers should enjoy it, and it's imaginative enough to please older, more jaded haunt goers as well. We hope the Haunted Vineyard does well enough to continue for a long time to come. We definitely plan on going back next year.
