SLAUGHTERHOUSE TUCSON

Tucson Slaughterhouse Haunted Attraction - is voted 2021s #1 Haunt by Scurryface.  It was just amazing, there are almost no words you can use to properly describe how scarily outstanding this Haunt actually is.  The Line system they use is the best, because you get a text while you are waiting and roaming in the open midway, so you can shop in the gift shop and snack by the food trucks or in the bar, and play games such as ax throwing or soccer target or Guillotine escape, or get photos from the several photo ops provided, and listen to the dj and more, just to be entertained until you get your text letting you know you can now enter the first haunt.  This opening waiting experience is so much fun while you enjoy the haunting atmosphere provided to entertain you while you wait and it is a ton of fun.  The midway is packed with lots of fun opportunities to make memories, as well, before even going into the haunt itself. 

 

The midway characters are so good at what they do, there are stilt walkers, characters wielding chainsaws, a little one with her father scaring the crowds and much more.  The beginning of the haunt is a cemetery maze and it is full of many horrific monsters of different types and so well done that has many scenes and scare opportunities.  The gargoyle in the graveyard was so cool I loved it so much, you will know it when you see it.  There were a lot of ghouls that you didn't even notice until you took a double look and then you saw them.  The whole cemetery was so much fun and the characters did such a great job, all night long.  

 

Then you enter the Slaughterhouse and the beginning is such a great start of the haunt and it just feels so wrong and that is what makes it, so very right.  The sets are exceptionally breathtaking and somehow it just feels so eerie and you never feel alone while in the Slaughterhouse.  The sets, props and animatronics in the natural setting of the Slaughterhouse itself just give off a horrible scary feeling alone and then with the actors, costumes and makeup it just adds another horrible scary layer.  It is like a tasty cake with many delicious layers all together so it makes an outstanding delicious cake.  As you go deeper into the Slaughterhouse the creepy feelings just grow and it just gets better and better and better.  I love the scare actors as they all did an amazing portrayal and not even one disappointed me in any way.  The coolest thing is there was not a lot of “just” loud screaming and being outrageously loud.  I really liked that some actors did not even say anything at all, which is more creepy and gives the haunt a variety of scares, instead of everyone yelling and screaming all the time.  I have been to haunts where they just all scream all the time and are loud and it just gets annoying and predictable and boring - no imagination.  The scare actors are so good you know they have been doing this for many years or they have been trained very well to be so very good.  They have such a variety with the scare actors, but they all match within their environments and it feels like it is all real and you're in their messed up world.  You see sets, props, animatronics and the original Slaughterhouse itself, which is its own character by itself.  The actors and the animatronics work well together and don't feel out of place in any way.  I will be honest I did not want to leave the Slaughterhouse, but I know what is next and that is the clown area and last year it was so cool.

 

As we waited, a group was ready to tap out because the Slaughterhouse was too much for them, but my father talked them into staying, he told them this was such a cool part and he wanted them to enjoy the entire haunt.  Then we got our 3d glasses and entered into a mad crazy circus of clowns and mayhem.  How they utilize the 3d effects is a work of art and so well done.  Anybody can purchase the fluorescent 3d paint and just paint sets, but to do it right, it takes a true artist.  I have seen 3d haunts and sets before and sometimes it is okay, but when utilized the right way, you see and experience that they know what they are doing.  There is so much to take in and the scare actors just bring it to life.  They did not clown around when it came to this part because it is so beautifully done in so many ways.  The scares are done well and in many spots and you don't even see them coming.  You feel like you're in a real horror movie the whole time at the Slaughterhouse.  The clowns did so good once again and they did not all just scream constantly and be loud and they had great varieties in all their scares.  They had different sound makers like shakers, horns, clappers and more.  The clown in the hanging bodies area was so perfect, but all the clowns really did a fantastic job.  As we approach the end of this area, all the sudden, the clown we were by, started singing the children's song, “Ring Around the Rosie” and then the coolest thing is that you then hear it echo, because the whole maze was doing it in unison and it was freaking creepy and awesome.  I had chills and never have I seen or heard anything like that ever.  Again, I did not want to leave, I wanted to stay and join in on the madness.  The costumes and the makeup were done so, so very well!  I love that this whole attraction doesn't just rely on masks, they have makeup and they use it to its greatest ability.  I am not a fan of haunts that rely on masks for the most part and they often don't even put on facial makeup to cover up the area around their human eyes and to help make the mask look more real.  This haunt knows what they are doing and it shows in the love and passion demonstrated by the entire show.  You step back and just take it all in and you wonder how they do it and if they are magicians and just bringing magic into the industry.  But wait, it is not over.

 

As you leave the crazy clowns, you enter into the maze of the living dead, yes the zombie maze that leads you into the apocalypse.  The zombies really did well and one even followed us the whole time.  I am not sure if he was doing it to creep us out or was watching us because he thought we were going to be trouble.  We were so excited we were slow and kept talking about what we noticed and saw, so maybe he felt that we were trouble.  I am not sure and I also kept talking about how I love zombies.  Either way, that zombie did a good job by protecting his crew and by following us he made us feel creeped out, very well done.  The only thing I did not like is towards the end he screamed in my ear.  This is the only negative thing about the haunt.  I did not like that at all but other than that it was great.  The whole zombie maze was so good and the umbrella hive characters also did an outstanding job.  They made it feel real and the zombies took it to the next level.  The zombie apocalypse was a very cool experience.  You get a gun and you shoot the zombies and monsters you come in contact with on your mission.  Again the zombies did a great job and that is coming from me and I am a hard judge on zombies, since I have professionally been one for several years now and I am a part of United Zombies of America.  I am tough on the living dead/zombies, but they did not disappoint me in any way at all.  Great costumes, makeup, movements and sounds again they had varieties in their volume and sounds, not just all screaming and loudness.  I really hate that.  The cool thing about the apocalypse is that it is interactactive and you are a part of the story and get to be an interactive part of the show.  I hope next time I am there to get a shirt and or a hat from the apocalypse because I loved it so much.  I only buy and wear t-shirts and hats from the haunts that I deeply respect and love and Slaughterhouse I wear with pride.  The sets of the apocalypse are again outstanding and you really feel like you enter a whole new world with the living dead welcoming you into the chaos of the end of the world, as we know it.  Close to the end, a zombie attacked one of the umbrella hive guards and we all stopped and just started clapping because we loved it so much it made it feel more theatrical and I applauded lovingly because haunts with theatrical aspects just make the whole thing come to life and feel realistic.

 

Once we were done with the haunt we headed straight to the shop since we had VIP tickets and we had a $10 gift shop credit so of course I had to get 2 t-shirts and a hat.  The VIP ticket is well worth the price because you get to skip the waiting and you get the zombie apocalypse and like I said a $10 shop credit as well and that makes it all worth it.  Again, you blew us out of the water and there were a lot of changes this year as well and I don't want to give anything away, but this is Arizona's best haunted attraction (as well as Scurryfaces #1 Haunt for 2021) and in my opinion, they still hold that title.  We also really enjoyed talking with and getting to know the staff.  They are all such nice and kind people and they care about their haunts as well as your experience while you are there.  If you want to see Arizona’s best haunt then you must go to Tucson’s Slaughterhouse, there is a reason why they are Rated the #1 Haunted House in the Country for 2021 and the MUST SEE Arizona Haunt by Scurryface. This year you need to come out to the Slaughterhouse Haunted Attraction, it is well worth the drive and the money, trust me.  Great job Slaughterhouse!  Don't forget to Vote for them on Scurryface.com for 2022!