Haunt Reviews 2016: Clio Manor (text)
Clio Manor is an interior haunt, converted from a Paintball Arena. (Which will likely also leave it as one of the last Haunted Attractions in the state still running a Zombie Paintball shoot. For them this isn't an add-on with extra expense so much as a reapportionment of existing assets.) Given I hadn't been there last year, and last saw them with their first year at this location, I felt that they were the familiar Flint Haunt with the most to improve upon, and improve, dramatically, they did.
My first experience with them was part of what convinced me that good, if not great, scare acting will always trump expensive props in a quality haunt (the other being the Lyon's Club of Utica's Sinister Haunted House, a charity knockdown with one of the best Scare Teams in the state.). This year they doubled down on the quality performances with a group that gave me the full nine yards, measuring tape & all.
It started with a trio of indoor/outdoor hosts. These weren't just guys who were going to read you the rules of the haunt, but a full team of quirky hosts with top notch banter & Dadcore level humor. I can easily see how they can warm up any long line that might form up during the full of the season, and appreciate that. Once you're “Inside” the the facade, you're up a flight of stairs. Clio Manor is a 2-story haunt, and the Haunted house is handicapped inaccessible. (Though the Zombie Paintball is).
Once worked up, things quieted down as I ascended the stairs, the first scare actor in a highly narrative performance was more pensive, intimidated by the goings on withing the haunted house, setting the mood effectively. As I moved through alone, there was a genuine sense of an ongoing plot, a tale to tell, hinted at in the “About” section of their homepage. The first half of the haunt felt far more like I was walking through a movie, not a series of decorated rooms. And the bare bones tale of Lizzie Barlowe worked, added drama to the details of some well laid & decorated rooms. Without a wealth of ready made props & animatronics, they sold the show on setting & cast and sold it well.
The second half of the Haunt, after descending a flight of stairs, is where things went askew. Much of the narrative was lost to a madman keeping people prisoner, and exacerbated by a genuinely disjointed & out of place electric chair rig. (Literally my only, “This is completely out of place, this needs to go” is that one prop setting. It doesn't match anything before or after it. (Really? They never do, it seems. I can get a Haunted Prison, but since when did Sanitariums, or Barns for that matter, hold executions?)
But even then, it remains a strong haunt. I just hope they refine the second act to where it makes as much “sense” as the first.
Then they have two add-ons, an arcade-style zombie shooting gallery & a “Last Ride” dark ride, so I finally got to try one of those. They're okay, a bit fun, and a nice distraction to round out the evening.
The only problem I have with the Zombie Paintball remains the same that I have with nearly every arcade shoot. Poor lighting. As in, almost none. They could seriously stand to upgrade that... somehow... given the prices asked. I could barely see if I was shooting, or what I was shooting, which seems a recurrent problem at many Haunts featuring shoots. That said, there were a lot more targets than the typical zombie shoot, and a much larger shooting gallery. That said- on Oct 8th & 9th they have planned special events of Zombie Vs. Humans & Paintball & Airsoft! Using the establishment to it's full advantage they're handing the Zombies guns in the way you always want to try.
Once again, I didn't grab any snacks, but the fair on hand was in the popcorn, chips & bottled pop variety, likely the same sort of stuff they'll have available all year as part of CRU Paintball. I'm not expecting every spot to also have a full restaurant, though, so this aspect was about average, and it's clear they put most of the effort into outside-the-ammo-box thinking in ways to exploit their building's potential to the fullest.
They put on a really great show this year, and the only things I could fault where minor nitpicks that, instead of fixing said haunt, would instead put it over the top closer to 5's all around. Maybe add more to the website, not so much in noise & animation, but fleshing out the About page & more with photos of the actors to flesh out the story, & better advertisement of the Vs events (and if their weekend experiment pays off, adding more weekends to the haunt next year! Good luck with that!). All in all, Clio Manor is a strong on my recommendations list, as you'll see in the numbers.
Points by Tally:
Amenities: 5/5
Snacks: 3/5
Lines: 4/5
Props/Decor: 4/5
Performers: 5/5
Narrative: 4/5
Extras: Zombie Paintball +1 Last Ride +.5 Special Events +.5
Final Score: (Average of 6)
4.5/5!