Scream Bay 2023 Review
The Nightmare Project: The Reawakening 2023 Review
Our return to Seal Bay Resort in the small town of Selsey, just south of Chichester, marked the second year of Scream Bay, a thrilling scare attraction that we thoroughly enjoyed last year.
This year the maze has moved to a prime location directly outside the entertainment complex so visitors to the site cannot miss it. This is also handy for visitors not staying on site as it’s easy to find with parking directly opposite.
The theme continues from last year this time with the Alternative Energy Centre reopening Sector 9 and guests are invited to visit. The theme essentially explores different fears, a great way to incorporate different scares and creepy characters.
Your journey commences with a riveting introduction from an intense character, setting the stage for the immersive blindfolded segment. This ingenious touch instantly renders you more vulnerable, one of your senses momentarily taken away. Following the given instructions, you find yourself second-guessing what might lurk around the next corner.
The acting within the maze was nothing short of exceptional. Scares came at you relentlessly, with most actors expertly delivering shocking moments over and over again. The scenes you encounter throughout your journey are a mix of eerie and scary, from doll-like characters seeking a twisted game of hide and seek to a heart-pounding encounter with a tentacled creature that emerges from beneath a bed, leaving you in sheer shock. And then there’s the clown section, where the energy levels are off the charts, with clowns flinging themselves around the room, taking the scare factor to new heights.
While the great concept from last year remains intact, this time around, there’s a slight shift towards fewer theatrics and more intense scares. In our opinion, this isn’t a drawback, especially considering the attraction’s location and target audience. Scream Bay seems to have struck a fine balance that caters to the desires of its visitors some experiencing the maze multiple times.
This year’s event has just a couple of more nights left, but it’s worth keeping a vigilant eye on the Seal Bay website for exciting announcements about what the future holds for Scream Bay. This is an experience you won’t want to miss next year.
Scream Bay 2022
Scream Bay is a brand new event to hit the south coast. Hidden away at Seal Bay Resort in the little seaside town of Selsey about 20 minutes from Chichester in West Sussex.
A scare event at a holiday park is not something I have previously experienced so went in without any preconceived ideas. The event isn’t just a maze for teens and adults it also includes a family friendly daytime experience. As we had the day free we thought we would experience both and provide our honest opinions.
Dr Stein’s Monster Laboratory
This is a family friendly maze for all ages. While we didn’t experience this with children we were very much able to view the experience through the lens of a child. The maze involved finding clues to help the Dr in his mission. The actors from the beginning were brilliantly engaging and while aimed at a younger audience threw in humour for the mums and dads.
The concept of hunting for things along with the whacky character interaction is exactly what kids (and kids at heart) love. The actors were superb at improvising with responses from the group and made the experience fun and enjoyable. It was silly, engaging and fun in equal measure. We also thought giving a certificate at the end was a great touch as it gives the kids a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
A really fun family attraction that could entertain the youngest children and their parents too.
The Nightmare Project
Utilising the same sets as the family maze this incarnation takes a much darker turn. This maze was conceptually brilliant. It revolved around the idea of a deeper stage of sleep called dark REM. The Alternative Energy Commission had managed to harness this as an alternative energy source. Unfortunately dark REM is the state of sleep where nightmares occur and after a great introduction to the concept we went on our own journey through our very own nightmares. Meeting all sorts of terrifying characters along the way.
The different rooms enabled us to explore different fears and nightmares. For a fairly small maze the space was used really well with the actors hitting multiple scares in each scene. One scene in particular utilised smoke to great effect and had us cautiously moving through the experience not knowing where the next scare would come from.
After eventually finding our way out and traversing the narrow corners we came face to face with the finale character a menacing guy who terrrorised us through to the exit.
The unique narrative and high energy acting throughout really brought the attraction to life. Personally the prop used in the finale has been used a lot and isn’t always the biggest surprise but the experience as a whole well and truly made up for that. We have also got to be mindful that due to this mazes location it will attract many people who have never been through a scare maze before. We actually observed this while talking to the staff outside the attraction older couples were coming out with big smiles on their faces. They absolutely loved it.
It’s also worth noting that if you visit on a Wednesday or Saturday you can also experience a spooky halloween show. We didn’t get to experience this ourselves but would definitely be a nice way to wrap up an afternoon of fun.
So if you’re in the south and fancy some scares I can happily recommend making your way down to Scream Bay. The event runs on select nights through to the 31st October so if you get a chance it’s definitely worth checking out. There isn’t much in the way of scares this far south so it’s great to see a new event popping up. We really look forward to seeing what this event can become as it matures in future years.
