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Posted: |
May 2, 2016 - 2:06 PM
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By: |
Mike_J
(Member)
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Over the weekend, I had the most surreal experience ever.... being chased by zombies in a disused shopping mall.
Before you think I've had a wee bit too much wine tonight, let me explain. This was a genuine event, professionally staged in a closed shopping mall in the UK. And it is simply superb! This was a belated 21st birthday present for my son but I enjoyed it as much as he did.
If you are the kind of person who wouldn't even watch a movie like 28 Days Later then, trust me, this is NOT for you. But if like me you love zombie movies then this is an experience not to be missed. The whole thing takes place in a real (disused) shopping mall in Reading which in itself is quite fun (especially if you like similarly mall-based zombie flick Dawn Of The Dead) but for two and a half hours you are subjected to the most realistic experience in abject terror I could possible imagine.
After a brief health & safety chat outside the venue, you're let into the mall and from there everything becomes very real - all the organisers stay in character from start to finish.
It doesn't take long to get going - an unexpected zombie attack and you're off, guided by two security guards. Briefed and armed with pump action shotguns, you are off, into the depths of the mall, which for the most part is lit only by the small light at the end of your gun. Distant growls and screams get closer and closer as you wander through narrow corridors, up stair cases and into rooms, including the floors previously occupied by shops. Up and down dark stairs and inactive escalators, the tension is almost unbearable. And when the zombies come at you.... man alive it is seriously terrifying! Walking past a bunch of zombies who are stuck in a disused children's play area, I could literally feel my heart pounding. Talk about a "brown trouser" moment.
For me the most cinematic moment came after our security guy had to breach a door using C4 explosive - as it went off, the bang alerted a bunch of zombies to our position. By sheer bad luck, I was last in the queue to get through a door when suddenly, from behind me, another door burst open and a female zombie let out a horrifying screech and started limping quickly towards me. I pulled my gun, went to fire and... nothing! Gun jammed! I had no option but to scarper, desperately trying to sort my gun out as I did, no idea how close the zombie was to me behind. I caught up with the others but there was a log-jam of people trying to get through a door... and still my lady stalker was coming. I turned around a pulled the trigger again and this time - bingo! A clear shot. The zombie stumbled but kept coming so I fired again and it hit the ground, moaning and still alive, but no longer a threat. Phew! That whole sequence of events took maybe 20 seconds at best but it felt like an age and it also felt totally realistic. When I got in the room with the others, for a second, I genuinely felt lucky to be alive. Seriously, it is that real.
When we were told we had to wander off without our security guards, it became even more scary - we had an objective, we had a vague understanding of the layout of the mall, but we were on our own and quickly lost and disorientated. It didn't help that factions of our group got wandered off so we were rapidly reduced in number.
At the end, everything got very frenetic with someone apparently having rung the zombies' dinner gong (and with the added danger that we were told the only escape route from the mall was going to be totally sealed off in 90 seconds). Being chased by all the zombies - including two who are immune to gun shot - while running full pelt for the exit before it closes, well I can't recall anything in my life so exhilarating.
The whole event lasted a little under two and a half hours but for the most part actually seemed far quicker because it was so fun. The only time that it went slowly was when you are trying to sneak somewhere and you are desperate to get out of an exposed area - that seems to take forever to get to safety!
The zombies themselves are awesome! They look exactly like movie zombies with fantastic makeup. And they literally never, ever break character - at one point I was really close to a female zombie trapped in the kid's play area so I thought it was time for a witty action hero quip of "honey, you really need to cut down on the partying" ..... all this did was enrage her and make her scream at me and try to rip open the cage (actually one of the better reactions I've had to one of my chat up lines, to be fair).
Everything about this evening - from the fabulously atmospheric venue, the brilliant zombies and even the little touches (inside the security room, CCTV footage plays of zombie shoppers wandering the mall - which kind of resembles Lakeside in Essex on a Saturday afternoon, albeit with more blood and more intelligence!), the whole event was just absolutely sensational from beginning to end and worth every penny. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
This is not for the faint hearted - seriously, this is not play acting, it really is as authentic a zombie experience as you are likely to get. But if your idea of fun on a Saturday night is turning the lights out and scaring yourself stupid watching The Walking Dead or whatever, then I cannot recommend this more highly. In a word "astounding".
If you are in the UK and love zombies then I urge you to give this a go. It isn't especially cheap but it is brilliant value for money.
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That sounds really cool. I did wonder what the guns did, whether they were just to make you feel better or if the zombies fell down dead etc. good that they react.
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