In its First Year, 7 Gates is a show of what could be future greatness. Three houses include Dark Terminal, The Last Chop and Den of Demons. The Lobby includes extra games that will be open year-round.
Sections:
Navigation and Customer Service:
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In the new NISE Center on Williams Rd in Niagara Falls near the border of North Tonawanda
- Set back with minimal street signage
+ Great Banner when you see it
+ These owners and team members are very professional and courteous,
always looking for feedback
Atmosphere and Lobby:
Key Lobby/Midway Amenities
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Concessions
+ Redemption Counter
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Merchandise
+ $8 Beautiful Pumpkins
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Video
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Music
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Seating
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Bathrooms
- Single Port-o-Potty in the Lot
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Games
+ Axe Throwing
+ Carnival Games
+ Escape Games
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Stage
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Photo Ops
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Queue Line Actors
Bonus:
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Metaphysical
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Pyrotechnics
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At least one HUGE set piece
+ Big ole Reaper giving spiel about the afterlife
Facade Quality
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3 Houses
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Graffiti on Dark Terminal
+ Major Toronto Graffiti Artist
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Butcher Shop Front for The Last Chop
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House on Den of Demons
+ Fence adds depth
Dark Terminal
Theming and Design:
Lighting
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The only light at floor level is from “Scare Guns”
- Due to fire code requirements, light floods in over the facade at the front
+ “Scare Guns” are bright and disorienting
Sound
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Multiple sources of sound including “Scare Guns” at Floor Level
+/- “Scare Guns” are deafening
+ Slow, rumbling soundscape
The Last Chop
Actors and Acting:
Energy
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Thrashing and Crawling around on the floor
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Some running at you
+ Some were eating body parts
​
Costuming
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Run-of-the-Mill Tattered Clothing
- A lot look like Street Clothes
+ The hillbilly costumes look good
Lines and Vocalizations
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Some growling and groaning
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Most have lines
+/- Almost all lines are about cannibalism and Dinner
+ The body parts sound tasty
Theming and Design:
Lighting
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A deep color palette
+ LED Spotlights absolutely everywhere and hidden in pods in the corners
+ Laser from Laser Swamp passes right through the slits in the wall
Sound
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An all-house Soundscape
- Music seems above the house, not within
+ Menacing tones and animal sounds
Special Rooms
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Walk-in Freezer
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Laser Swamp with Surprise
Set Dressing
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A lot of Gore with dark, older blood rather than fresh, lighter blood
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Different varieties of wall construction
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Grime everywhere, too
Den of Demons
Actors and Acting:
Energy
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Reasonably high vigor
+ Actors jumping and running around
Costuming
+ Great cultist outfits
+ Demon Priest Silicone mask
Lines and Vocalizations
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Most actors have lines
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Some actors make spooky sounds
+ Demon Priest will absolve you of your sins
Theming and Design:
Lighting
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Hot color scheme
+ Fire Pots
+ Red and Yellow washes
+ Hidden LEDs
Sound
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Roaring Soundscape
+ Very reminiscent of House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs
+ Captures the essence of the dark forces surrounding the Cult
Special Rooms
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Cult Temple
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Finale Attack
Set Dressing
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Spray painted pattern on the walls
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Statuary
+ Very dense with theme-related miscellaneous pieces
+ Like a resurrection of Mark of the Beast in its sinister aspect
+ Pattern fills the dark space with “floating” symbols
Entertainment and Other Values:
Fun
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They have a good Lobby for spending extended time at
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The two well-themed houses have some entertaining actors
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Play some games
Scares
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Where there are actors, they have a good vantage point
Monetary Value
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$30 GA
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$45 VIP
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18 – 20 min Walkthrough
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I'm not saying whether or not you should buy in this review
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They have huge plans for the future so, if you want to see those things...go this year
Recommendations
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Good to go with any other Niagara County haunt, Frightworld or even Everhaunt if you're a Southtowner​
Experience Essay
The newest Haunted Attraction in Western New York exists to shake up the future of local horror. It resides in an abandoned strip mall on the South Side of Niagara Falls. Owner Dakota and Right-hand-man Mike have established this new spot in just six months and were ready to go, guns a-blazing'. Taking some of the scattered talent from all over the region when House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs went belly up, they formed an aggressive plan for the future.
Starting this year, they have a Lobby with Fluorescent Ax Throwing, Carnival Games, a redemption desk also selling beautiful $8 Pumpkins, two five minute escape rooms and a twelve to thirteen ft tall Grim Reaper waving its scythe. In the main body of the haunt is Dark Terminal with its high end Graffiti Facade and Transit Station Roof. Toward the back on the left is The Last Chop Slaughterhouse-themed House and straight ahead is Den of Demons Cult-themed House with its 666 House Number bedecking.
In a clockwise motion as I do when I go to Screampark Layout haunts, I came to Dark Terminal first. This one is a mostly effective Dark Maze only hindered by the State's demanded necessity to have open space between the Sprinkler System and the facade. The rest of the walls are sealed to the ceiling but, there is a hole over the facade. In spite of this obstacle, the actors still scare and disorient very well. They come at you with Scare Guns that flash bright lights and blare a horn from multiple Actor Boxes.
The next element is The Last Chop. This one is a pretty well executed slaughterhouse with a number of actors. They have a high gore content with minimal fresh looking blood so as to look like old butcherings and not go for too much of a sadistic touch. The actors are frenetic and intense with their bloody, tattered costumes and props they feign eating. Later on, you go to the swamp and wrastle a Gator. They have good dressing all through the house and it potentially causes you to forget the reality that you're walking through a simulation of a backwoods slaughterhouse/community.
The final element is Den of Demons. You enter the front door of this diabolical Cult Hive and peruse most typical Haunted House rooms before you get to the meat and bones of what truly makes this the best element in the Screampark. A clear pattern on the walls that fills up visual space and reminds you of what's coming is the checkerboard of symbols featuring 666, Pentagrams and three-segmented Diamond shapes. This pattern is painted on from beginning to end and enhances the effects of fire and demonic aggression in the climax and resolution of the house.
My favorite component of the production is the fact that nearly all light sources are hidden in the form of LED spot and flood lights. These are a great technology that really opens up the color palette and vibrancy of an aesthetic lighting strategy. They also have a decent, variable soundscape in both The Last Chop and Den of Demons. The conclusion of Den of Demons is a high energy attack from beyond the ether.
