Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Bane Haunted House
Website: www.banehauntedhouse.com
Location of Attraction: Livingston New Jersey
Date of Review: Sunday October 1st 2017
Total Number of Attractions Available: ONE
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 8.5
Entertainment and Food Rating (scale of 1-10): 7
Overall Makeup and Costume Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Overall Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 8.5
Overall Props Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Overall Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Overall Feedback: Bane Haunted House is like no other haunted attraction we’ve experienced before! At this haunt you’ll need to climb up, jump over, crawl through, and spin around what lurks inside the haunted house in order to make it out alive! We arrived on a Sunday evening slightly after opening time and the line was already beginning to fill up. We purchased skip the line passes as we planned to do two reviews in one evening and we are glad we did. Bane allows very small groups of two or three individuals to enter their attraction at a time to prevent the congo style build up that many large scale haunts possess in their attractions. Due to such small groups entering at once a decent wait should be expected, which is why we purchased the skip the line passes. As you wait there isn’t much entertainment besides a live DJ and watching guests exit the attraction but once inside the attraction the FUN DOESN’T STOP! When we initially arrived we were really curious how this haunt would turn a large warehouse type building into such a terrifying haunt. Well once inside it was pretty clear how… INTENSE AND RELENTLESS ACTORS!!! There was not a single moment for you to catch your breath and let your heart slow down throughout the entire attraction! Bane definitely makes it clear that the actors will touch you, that you’ll be required to separate from your group and that you’ll need to crawl, climb, etc. to make your way through and boy they weren’t kidding!! Throughout the attraction the actors had a lot of hands on interaction with the customers… be it stroking your hair or taking you by your arm and placing you inside something, the hands on nature of the haunt really added a whole new level in regards to scare factor! Not to mention being separated from your group is a big fear by many haunt goers. We aren’t lying when we say we only saw our squad members for a few moments in this haunt. For the majority of the attraction we walked alone (which was downright scary) or with other individuals (which was interesting). We witnessed teens crying cause they were separated from their significant other, kids running through scenes hoping to catch up to their parents, grown men panicked because they were by themselves and many other comical moments! Like we mentioned above the actors are very intense and relentless. Definitely a major in your face performance and very minimal theatrical skits. We did feel that some of the actors could have done a little more than just popping out and making growling sounds but this tactic seemed to work on the customers we went through with although it wasn’t effective on our squad members. The pace of the attraction itself is fast and upbeat so we honestly didn’t get the best look at makeup and costume but from the brief glimpses we did have it was on par with other similar sized haunts! Something unique is how Bane relies very little on animatronics and a lot on actors! The scenes were filled with a lot of handmade props which were all very well constructed and designed! Going back to the actors… due to the lack of animatronics, if the actors slacked off just a little bit the haunts overall performance and scare factor would take a big hit. So kudos to the actors on bringing a high energy performance! Most haunts always have a big ending and sure enough, so did Bane! We can’t tell you what the ending is but you’ll definitely be caught off guard and well… off balance too! Looking back on our experience at Bane Haunted House it’s not hard to see why it’s been rated “The Scariest Haunted House in New Jersey” by The Star-Ledger two years in a row. For the average haunt goer Bane Haunted House will surely provide a downright horrifying performance! Bane actually has a quitter count displayed near the entrance of the attraction showing how many individuals yelled for mercy and didn’t make it all the way through the attraction. Last year alone over 2,000 people did not make it all the way through the haunt… that’s incredible yet not surprising after experiencing the attraction for ourselves. Yes Bane Haunted House is just a one attraction haunt but boy is it worth is. For just $28 you’ll receive a solid 30 minutes of chills and thrills that’ll leave your heart pumping hours after heading home! Not only does Bane Haunted House just have the walk through attraction but they also have Escape Rooms during the off-season, a Purge event and a few other fun haunt related events! If you’re in the area of this haunt and you’ve never visited Bane Haunted House before then we definitely encourage you to pay them a visit. When you do let them know that York Fright Review Squad sent you their way!! Have fun folks!!