Nightmare New York Haunted House

This was such a disappointment! I went with my mother and we were expecting it to be great, as we've been ro their other haunts before. This was such a waste of time and money, definitely not worth the price. The whole thing took less than 10 minutes. The actors seemed to be rushing us along, and it all just seemed low-budget. We feel ripped off. It wasn't worth the travel time ( we come from Yonkers, NY), and certainly not worth the price!
We've been to much better places for half the cost.

Super overpriced for a 10 minute walk around the house. Just have some food at the restaurant below it'll be a better night.

I love haunted houses and was really looking forward to this one after reading the great reviews. We got tixs through Living Social which was great, I came with a group of 12. They have a waiter walking around while we were on line taking drink orders which was great. Who doesn't want a drink while they wait?

The actors were good however I didn't scream not even once and I found it very short. The only thing that I rally liked was that they put black hoods on you and make you walk by yourself following a rope.

I'm very happy I didn't pay full price and that I was a great group of people who made the night amazing.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:

A+ for having a bar in-house. As far as execution goes, I had a few minor gripes, since at times, the house juxtaposed campy/fictional with serious/real life and that didn't work for me. I think you have to pick a side - campy/fake or realistic. But I had fun, it was a new and interactive concept and well executed as far as sets go. It's a tough one because you can't go too far on the realism here out of respect for victims. To be honest...I am not too comfortable with the idea to begin with, I appreciate serial killers on an educational level, but this is entertainment and we're talking about real crimes and real victims (fairly recent). But aside from that..I did have fun and I think it was pretty well done overall.

SPOILER REVIEW: (written right after attending)

The most terrifying and disturbing stories of crime linger on the pages of history. After all, the serial killer, the most irrational breed of criminal, carries out his or her acts of depravity for pure pleasure, and never fails to make our blood run cold.

This year, you can sign up for a face-to-face encounter with the most notorious serial butchers at Killers: A Nightmare Haunted House. The new Halloween exhibition unveils a series of rooms based on real life executioners such as John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and the Zodiac Killer, among others. The theatrical display is masterminded by creator and director Timothy Haskell, whose previous Nightmare scares include detailed productions based on fairy tales, superstitions, and vampires.

The entertainment begins as soon as you step inside and are immediately accosted by a maniacal clown. An on-site bar is available to deliver liquid courage to ease guests' trepidation and a gallery of actual killer memorabilia, including artwork and forensic evidence, graces the lobby walls.

To elevate the experience and sensation of terror, attendees can choose to be touched by performers. The brave souls are distinguished by the mark of the beast, or more accurately, the red X drawn on foreheads by an employee, in a manner slightly reminiscent of Charles Manson's famous facial swastika.

Upon entrance to the haunted house itself, participants tiptoe through a variety of sets, each one evoking a different emotion. The scenes take you inside a serial killer's kitchen, dungeon, and even transport you to a courtroom and an electric chair chamber. Each mise-en-scène is meticulously designed and equipped with visually stunning costumes and props. The sight of a crying woman, strapped down, watching her own leg violently mutilated by a sadistic doctor, is one of the best faux horror set-ups I have ever come across.

The actors were significantly more developed than mere chainsaw wielding mutants who insert themselves behind you at appropriately timed intervals, although this essential staple of the haunted house tradition was not completely omitted. Most importantly, the performance provided an interactive and adrenaline packed way to spend an evening by allowing the audience to play various parts, ranging from victim to executioner.

It's possible that the creators anticipated controversy and carefully orchestrated the show so as to downplay the consequences of the horrific acts, by fictionalizing some of them. Hardcore serial killer enthusiasts may be disappointed due to the fabricated entertainment influence present within the house, through the inclusion of fictional TV killer Dexter, as well as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe of the Ed Gein room. Perhaps the strangest use of artistic license credits applies to the portrayal of bloodthirsty Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Bathory, by a male actor spouting vulgar comments. This resulted in a bizarre and campy climate, somewhat inappropriate for the macabre lair of one of the world's most prolific and appalling serial slayers.

Names of murderers and unfortunate casualties alike were missing from most rooms, presumably in an effort to avoid upsetting any relatives of victims. No recently convicted criminals were showcased and the famous New York City Son of Sam killer was left out of the mix. The only murder re-enactments included crimes perpetrated by 19th century killers H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper.

The producers faced the bold task of creating an exhilarating and historically significant attraction based on violent, real-life killers with minimal offense to victims and their families. It may not have lived up to its disturbing potential since highlighting the genuine depravity of the homosexual cannibal and the rapist clown would have likely landed Haskell in hot water. And I am certain someone was offended in the end. Nonetheless, he succeeded in creating a fun, visually thrilling and dynamic environment that releases just the right amount of endorphins. In that sense, Killers hit the nail right on the head, leaving a trail of bloodstained faces in its wake.

Do you like being scared? Are you a fan of getting a rush of adrenaline running through your system? Is having your heart beat a million times a minute something you enjoy?

Well that won't really happen here unless you're chickenshit. Nevertheless it was an awesome time. I highly recommend it. I signed up to let them touch me (they mark you by putting a red X on your forehead with fake blood) and the fun began. Screwing around with the actors who are trying real hard to scare you while laughing at the people in your group, who are scared and being able to grab a drink at the bar before or after makes this place a hit! (Though they only serve beer). I enjoyed it more than Blood Manor on the West Side.

How has this not been done as a haunted house before? Such a good premise for a haunted house. Overall, it was a great time.

A few things keep it from being truly great:
-the sound-proofing. You can hear the other rooms which does take away from the surprise ...and makes it hard to hear what the actors are saying.
-the cost. $30 is the going rate for haunted houses nowadays but...that is pricey.
-I think for some killers background is needed. Afterwards, many in my group were asking "what room was the clown? Who was that?"

Especially loved the year they had talented actors "Killers" portraying the murder scenes in each room. I really got into the whole story of each killer and the actors were GOOD! (It is NYC after all). John Wayne Gacy and his whole freaky selection of a guy out of our group to swoosh down the trap door was freaky and fun and so clever. And Jack the Ripper, and every creepy killer's story you have heard of came to life! We make this an annual group trip and always have a blast and we are ages 35 - 48 years old ! haha Even the history and stories in the lobby were freaky and interesting.

(PS. the only thing I could do without, was last year (2014) an actor, not so good, kept screaming "F - You" in our faces repeatedly and wanted us to give him money and he was relentless. Maybe the scene was supposed to seem like a scary NYC mugging but people gave him a couple bucks out of their wallets and he just kept screaming, "F - you " in our faces forever... (Could do better without that actor or scene, not very interesting or enjoyable or scary... he was just annoying and we already gave money for our tickets so additional money to the "F-U" Guy is weird.)

First, I would like to make it clear that the review posted on 10/13/2015 is NOT from 2015. That is clearly a review from last year or earlier, because this year is not the haunted house portraying murder scenes or having the info posted in the lobby. That is what was done in previous years. This year they only have a selection of performance art shows.

I make it a yearly tradition to go with my friend to Killers as I always thought they have the most unique and creative haunted house, loving that it is more performance based which really made them stand out. We went this year fully aware that it was not the usual haunted house, but that it would be some type of horror shows. From the description on the website, we were expected these shows to be interactive and scary- still containing some elements of a scary feel to them. We left SO disappointed. I feel bad to review this way because I do believe the the actors and story writers were very passionate about what they were doing, but it was just weird and not scary in the least. It was honestly a waste of our time and money, and it seemed every person in our audience felt the same way afterwards.

We saw the Ed Gein show, which was semi interesting as it at least had speaking parts, the actor was great and the puppet used was TOTALLy creepy looking, but it was ridiculously short (maybe 10 minutes, not the 22 minutes stated on the website) and the 2nd performance was Unbroken- it was nothing more than a dance piece. Nothing remotely scary about it.

If you are into haunted houses, I strongly suggest spending your money somewhere else and I really, really hope Killers goes back to its regular performance based Haunted House format for next year!

This was quite possibly the most pathetic thing I've ever done in my life and the biggest waste of my time and money. I didn't get scared once - and I had a red cross on my head, to indicate to the performers that they could go full freaky on me, with gusto. It was a ridiculous gimmick and amateur at best.
Even though you book tickets for a certain time slot, you still have to wait for about an hour in line, beyond that time. They LITERALLY herd you through the line: "Move up! Move up! Squeeze together! Right against the line!" and push you through the "haunted house" in 15-20mins. Really, a regular night out in New York is scary than this...
Save your time, energy and money. Put it towards a ticket to Sleep No More for a quality high-end performance, a great story and a much more haunted experience.

I swear we got trolled for 30 bucks. Just really bad. Expected an interactive haunted house, got 'Fame' - the ghostly outtakes.

Luckily it's 8:30 and we still have time to salvage Halloween.