Halloween is here! Whilst I always go
for the same iconic ripped shirt I bought from ASOS covered in fake blood each
year, it’s really not the season unless you’re truly spooked! Me and the bestie
Laurence recently went to Thorpe Park to try out Derren Brown’s improved Ghost
Train, Rise of the Demon, and so what
better time to write a review? We certainly left feeling unnerved…
With an original delay of 2 months there’s
a lot to live up too, but I can certainly say overall there is NO attraction currently
like this in the UK, a whole new type of experience. Derren specifically asks
to reveal no spoilers, to maintain the fun and shock of the attraction, so
don’t worry, this review will contain NO MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS. Even so,
maybe you should keep the light on reading, just in case…
The fast-track for this ride is a
hefty £85, but I really did enjoy in the queue trying to grasp where we were
going and why we were getting on the
train. The Victorian-era brick building is plastered with propaganda-style
messages about fracking; are we frackers, is the station a safe space? This
certainly made my brain whirl, and I was especially impressed by the pre-photo-op
which kept your senses on alert. However, being able to meet Derren, makes one
thing clear; this isn’t a ghost train, this is DERREN BROWN’s ghost train. It
really is frustrating just how much giggling and screaming happens from guests
in this first segment (staff really should say to be quiet before it starts),
but Derren soothes you, noting that it’s OK to be afraid, and that you are
allowed to close your eyes and talk to each other after the entire experience
has finished. Thus the plot, and being scared, blur into the background…
Derren Brown’s Ghost Train, is like no
other. On this train, your senses play tricks. Reality and fiction become
blurred. You lose track of yourself and our always on edge…the real game, is
trying to stay sane.
Going to see the train for the first
time is truly an in-awe experience. The big queues outside disappear, and your
small group can barely even touch the cavernous station. However, it was very
disappointing to see how quickly this image was destroyed. Staff were not in
character and weren’t focused on you, which was especially shocking when no-one
offered to help with the VR-headsets (one rider complained she saw nothing the
whole journey). Even using the VR whilst it was working, was a struggle. For a
reported budget of £13 million, the graphics are not industry-standard, and the
360 perspective VR allows was never utilised; all the action happens in one
direction. The shifting realities between segments loses the sense of making
you on edge, to simply being confused. Whilst the VR does blur with reality and
the train itself really well, the storytelling is broken. You leave knowing
that there could have been more! Thus, the horror gets lost in your
frustration.
Whilst I didn’t ride the original,
from what I’ve seen this version is a real improvement. Even though I I’m harsh
on the VR, the whole experience is so much more than this, and highlights the
thought needed to create an experience that leaves people talking and wanting
more. It’s exciting to think this ride can be continuously updated as new technology
and trends are introduced. Even now, there is one moment that makes this a
MUST-RIDE. I was left stunned (you all won’t stop talking about it), and Derren
Brown should be proud to have his name attached to an attraction that is the
first in using new techniques.
However, there’s already signs the
train has already been de-railed (signage hasn’t been updated signalling there’s
no longer a bag drop for example). Will Derren and Thorpe Park be able to solve
the problems of non-effective connection (and then dis-connection) with the
audience? Can I stay unnerved throughout? Its future is not clear now, but as
me and Laurence seemed to have different experiences when we talked about it as
we left, I’m not sure the final destination has been reached just yet…
3/5, but could be 5/5 with more
love and new ideas constantly tried.
Find out more about Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon, here.
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