Terror Films’ Scare Zone brings on the laughs and the jump scares

Terror Films is releasing their newest film Scare Zone this month, and it’s a welcome addition to the set-in-a-haunted-attraction sub genre of horror.

You may not think you are familiar with Terror Films, but if you are a dedicated horror fan, you have probably watched at least one of the film distribution company’s independent movies. Have you heard of Hell House LLC and its two sequels? What about The Taking of Deborah Logan, Savageland or Don’t F*** in the Woods? Each of those popular indie horror flicks was brought to you by Terror Films, which specializes in horror content.

On May 27, you can watch their latest film, Scare Zone on the Terror Films YouTube Channel, or you can wait until June 3 to watch it On Demand.

I am admittedly fascinated with Halloween haunted attractions. I love them all, the intricate haunted mazes such as those of Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, as well as the more homegrown versions. And, as such, I really enjoy the films I have watched that are set in said haunts. And check out this poster for Scare Zone, it looks great!

Some of my own favorite haunted attraction films are Hell House LLC, The Houses October Built, Haunt and Haunters: The Art of the Scare (which is really a documentary, but SO fascinating). Scare Zone is less intense than those films, but it has a unique backstory.

Writer/Director Jon Binkowski lucked into the perfect set for his first feature film: a fully dressed haunted maze at Universal Studios Orlando. The maze had been built for Halloween Horror Nights, but was to remain standing for a convention taking place in late November, so the cast and crew had three weeks in which to shoot their film.

Binkowski said that ever since the first time he visited a Halloween haunt, he has had the same disturbing thought: What if a crazed killer was hanging out, and people thought he was one of the “scare-actors”? He could just walk up to someone and hack at them with an axe, and “would anyone notice that it’s not part of the show?”

That’s the premise of Scare Zone, which at first seems to be just another haunt.

Eventually, of course, people end up murdered, and the guests just think it’s part of the haunted attraction experience. It’s a fun film to watch, with some laughs, lots of jump scares, and the required number of annoying characters, just to make sure we can enjoy at least some of the murders.

Scare Zone stars Neil Brown, Jr., Arian Ash, Jordan Woods-Robinson, Michele Simms, Chris Burns and Simon Needham.

We want to know about your favorite Halloween haunt films, give us your top three in the comments section.