The Bunker Below 2021
Set in a town you would normally associate with bright white teeth and ‘double nawty’ characters from shows glamorising the best (but mostly worst) of Essex, Brentwood, you will find the least ‘secret’ Nuclear Bunker there is – the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker. It is genuinely the best signposted ‘secret’ you’ll ever find.
I was lucky enough to be invited down to Kelvedon Hatch for their brand new scare event…The Bunker Below. This was only my second scare event of the Halloween season, so was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer. I was joined by 2 scare event newbs, which made the anticipation of the event that much sweeter. And I can say now…..it’s one that doesn’t disappoint.
First things first, we need to talk about the venue. Built in the 1950s, Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker is an imposing venue, built into a large hill it’s an underground bunker maintained during the Cold War as a potential regional government headquarters. Since being decommissioned in 1992, the bunker has been open to the public as a tourist attraction, with a museum focusing on its Cold War history. Think of any apocalyptic movie with an underground bunker and then fill it with tech from the ’70s and ’80s and you wouldn’t be far from it! With long dark tunnels, no natural light and many small dark spaces, it has to go down as one of the best, most authentic scare venues I’ve ever been lucky enough to visit.
So…on to the experience. The background story of Bunker Below is that a group of top-secret government scientists/military folk have been conducting research into the science of fear. They have discovered an audio recording known as ‘The Signal’ which turns anyone who hears it into a psychotic mess! If you have read or seen the Stephen King story ‘Cell’ you will have a good understanding of what you are in for! ‘The Signal’ brings to life a person’s worst fears, in the form of hallucinations. In the story, the government have lost control of ‘The Signal’ and you have to go into the bunker to investigate….
The event was immersive from the get-go, with being greeted by a not so chirpy soldier in full fatigues telling us where to go as soon as we parked the car. We wandered down to a pre-event screening where we signed in and awaited our turn to be met by the government scientists. Following a few nervous looks from the newbs….it was our turn to go in.
The event starts in a very dark tent where the 3 of us were tested with a mild version of ‘The Signal’. Needless to say, it was full of the kind of noises that if you listened to for long enough, would eventually drive you mad! We were then met by a soldier who welcomed us to the bunker and told us that they had lost control of the ‘The Signal’ and we were the test subjects who need to go in so they can understand the effects. I have to say this guy was one of our favourite characters, really played the part well, funny whilst also being the typical hard-ass soldier.
Now it was time to enter the bunker, conscious I don’t want to give too much away to those attending the event….What I can tell you is that as you travel through the bunker, you will be met by various unsavoury individuals who have been impacted by ‘The Signal’ whose aim is now to play on your greatest fears. It’s a bit of a ‘whos who’ of scary charters, all guaranteed to give you a good fright. Be prepared for a very good amount of jump scares and some psychological thrills.
The event ends in an underground café where I can tell you now, a few cans of lager were consumed to settle the nerves! The chaps in the café also had live video feeds of the event so you could watch all the unsuspecting attendees as they followed behind you.
All in all, I would highly recommend this event, the actors were great and the venue has to be seen to be believed. The spacing of the groups was also really good, we were kept to our own group of 3 and didn’t come across anyone else until after the event (apart from hearing the occasional blood-curdling scream that is!) for me this made the event more authentic and really made it feel almost personalized to our group.
The Bunker Below was created by a team of individuals with over 20 years of experience working in TV, Film and scare events. This experience can really be seen in the delivery of the event. The Bunker Below is on a limited run from 22nd October through to 31st October with tickets still available now, which can be purchased directly from their website.