Scarefest, Alton Towers – Review

By Dominic Picksley – October 2024

Billed as a ‘terrifying live-action scare maze based on the story of Nemesis Reborn’, Compound opened it’s doors to unsuspecting ‘victims’ as it headlined Alton Towers’ Scarefest 2024 season.

Punters had been crying out for a new scare attraction at the UK’s biggest theme park and their prayers had been answered by the creation of the Compound, operated by the Phalanx (a shady organisation originally tasked with keeping the Nemesis beast under control). My son Ben and I were there to experience the attraction on opening day as guests of the VIP preview night.

“Gas mask-wearing operatives”

We waited patiently in the queue line, wondering what we had let ourselves in for, chatting to YouTubers while seeing some minor celebrities dragged to one side by impatient guards, who then nodded to hazmat suited, gas mask-wearing operatives, who scanned them up and down, looking for traces of who knows what.

I was even targeted and ordered to come forward and be scanned, before we were quickly ushered off down a pathway to the entrance of the building of the purpose-built maze on Gloomy Lane. We were directed through the entrance into what looked like the inside of the Tardis with a series of pods surrounding a central hub. Then the two of us were forcibly ordered into one of these pods, with the doors shut behind us.

Not a lover of being trapped in confined spaces, the next few seconds were of the sweaty palm variety before the doors into the maze sprung open and we entered this gloomy world of narrow passageways, hidden doorways and rooms of all kinds, with zombie-like characters – of all shapes and sizes – trying to scare you at every turn. And the theming in there was excellent, with Alton Towers’ sci-fi-meets-horror narrative.

“Burly beast”

You barely had any time to think or work out where you were, but we did marvel for a few seconds at a giant egg, before we stumbled through a lab into what looked like a kitchen, with two ways out… in one direction there was a metal cage ahead, which I hastily retreated from, while the other way meant heading through some double doors into what looked like a giant freezer.

I turned around, my son had disappeared. I attempted to retrace my steps, but a burly beast deliberately blocked my path, so I had no option but to choose the lesser of two evils, so I went for the freezer doors, hoping there was indeed an exit out the back. There was. Phew. But then, ‘whack’, I caught the edge of my forehead on a piece of wall, and dazed and even more confused, I headed down a dark corridor. Seeing a plastic curtain in front of me, I opted to go through this rather than press on, and as I did I stepped into freedom. I was out.

And that was it. Experience over, but nursing a sore bonce. I missed a good chunk of the maze as I exited too quickly really, but it was still a spine-tingling adventure that set the pulses racing. If you’d taken the wrong route/s, you could have been in there for ages, and some people were.

“Thrill”

A few seconds later, Ben emerged. “What did you think?” I asked him. “That was brilliant,” he replied. “I want to do it again.” And off he went for another go, but as he was deciding do it for a third time, I opted for a night-time ride on Wickerman, with my daughter Amelia eagerly in tow, before we did a lap of The Curse of Alton Manor.

As scare mazes go, it was certainly better than last year’s attractions, most of which had returned for this season, with Daz Games – with the added moniker ‘Rebooted’ – relegated to a supporting role, along with The Attic and Altonville Mines Tours: Tiny’s Revenge. These were pretty similar to last year, all good fun and not that scary, depending on your disposition. Daz was even in town again to give his maze a whirl – like 12 months ago, you had to find a couple of symbols, unique to the wristband you were wearing, and amid all the mayhem inside, get out as quick as you could.

For the younger ones, there remained Trick O’Treat Town, where you wandered through a colourful street, armed with a paper bag, knocking on doors to see who would pop out and hand you a bag of Haribo sweets… or shoot you with a water pistol. This year, though, there was the added thrill of Amigos In The Afterlife, located in the old Alton Towers Dungeon, which we enjoyed the following day after a night in the Alton Towers Hotel.

It really is a fabulous place to stay, with all the themed rooms, the warm welcomes and the chance to just take a short walk into the park after a peaceful night’s rest and a lovely breakfast in the Garden Restaurant.

“Jolly and colourful”

This walk-through invited ‘guests to step foot into a vibrant world where the gap between this life and the next is at its thinnest’ and this was the polar opposite to Compound, where everything was all rather jolly and colourful, with friendly spirits and mischievous characters guiding you through various scenes, where they encouraged you all to dance and sing and help with various tasks. Ben was chosen to take on a wrestling spirit – he reminded me of Kendo Nagasaki – but he looked too tough for ‘Kendo’ so a younger lad took his place and he duly proceeded to duff up the big crybaby.

And then it was back into the daylight, with everyone smiling and happy, in stark contrast to the actual scare mazes – well, Compound – where some guests were literally shaking with fear afterwards.

As the day progressed and night time fell on the park, it was most definitely rollercoaster time, with that bang on my head the night before banishing all my previous nerves and like a man possessed I joined Amelia on everything, from The Smiler to Nemesis Reborn, to Oblivion and Rita, and even Spinball Whizzer. Twice.

I still say there’s nothing like seeing Nemesis Reborn at night, with the sights, sounds and that incredible giant eye, although Galactica in the dark is something pretty special too, as you fly like a bird, both on your front and back, on the most relaxing coaster in the park.