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Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Save your skin (literally) during this immersive The Silence of the Lambs tour
Pittsburgh City Paper: Ever want to know what it feels like to be trapped in a well by a serial killer? Now you can, thanks to a new interactive experience at an iconic Western Pennsylvania property used in the film The Silence of the Lambs.
6 comments:
Maggie
said...
This seems like a great idea for the spooky Halloween season. The Silence of the Lambs is obviously a classic horror film and definitely fits the mood of the time of year and having an interactive exhibit seems like a fun time for folks who enjoy being frightened. Personally I do not enjoy haunted houses or anything in that sort of realm, but this might be more creepy than jump scary. At the same time, it does feel a bit like it exploits the real victims of domestic violence and other such crimes that are similar to situations like this because it is not something to be made fun of, but it is based on a movie. I would be interested to hear that perspective on this experience to know how someone who might have gone through something like this might feel about how this might work. If that is not a problem, perhaps this will be successful.
This is a really cool example of how entertaining engagement art can be. There are definitely ways to do it wrong, but in this case, I think they really knew their audience. For Halloween season, a lot of people are definitely going to want to get scared and to set this up in their house was a huge financial opportunity for them to take. I do wonder how the costs balance out though. Between actors, props, redecorating, and other needs is this really making that much profit? Or is it more for the fun of it? In Universal, there is an interactive Walking Dead ride and it is super real. It definitely scares you as zombie creatures reach their arms out, chase you, and growl at you. But thinking back, being scared at the moment was not fun. But I am left thinking about what I should have said, could I get them to break character, and whether should I do it?
This is a really cool example of another abstract way the things I’m learning at this school can be used to create outside of the theater setting. Being able to use set design, lighting design, costume design, and other design aspects to create a really creepy immersive experience for an audience is such a cool way to use these talents. When I was in high school, my student council would always put on these holiday themed drive events and we would have to create scenes with our class. I remember my sophomore year, we were given the task to recreate the toy store from Elf the Movie, and I took on huge leadership roles doing so. Not necessarily because I wanted to lead, but because I really found creating this scene super interesting and fun. We found ways to make snowflake chains withstand a rain storm using waterproof paper, and put together a bunch of gift displays. I didn’t really realize it until now, but it’s one of the things I learned in the theater that I translated to a real life situation.
I hate to admit it but I’ve never seen the iconic film The Silence of the Lambs but honestly this whole experience makes me want to watch it just to be in on the references. I am a huge fan of any sort of immersive experience and I even worked on an immersive horror one act so this seems right up my alley. The one thing that is not quite clear from the article is how much is this just a tour of the property/show memorabilia from the film/photo opportunity and how much “performance” there will be if any. There is some reference to recreating one of the scenes but that’s it. I guess what I’m getting at is what is the vibe when it comes to the tour? Are they a fellow fan excited to show off things related to the movie or are they trying to make you scared and on edge the entire time?
oh interesting. I was expecting a haunted house experience that is just Silence of the Lamb Themed. Instead, this is a Bed and Breakfast with memorabilia and photo ops. This really doesn’t seem like it would be all that scary, and is more of a fun experience for huge fans of the movie. Perhaps there is more on the advertised hour and a half long tour that would be more akin to the experience of being chased through a haunted house, but from what is described in the article it feels like more of a walk through of intricately recreated scenes, which is potentially even more impressive. I would absolutely get nightmares either way, but I’d be much more inclined to see something like this than go through a house with jump scares waiting for me every few feet. I wonder what rights issues Rowan had to consider when putting all of this together as he is directing profiting off of the fame of the movie.
Silence of the Lambs, an incredible classic, and now, a scary tour that people can imagine they’re in Buffalo Bills house dancing and sewing suits with the famous murderer himself. I suppose in some twisted way, I get how it can be fun for some people but at the same time are you mad??? I understand how this cult classic can resonate with some people in the queer community but at the same time, people!! THIS MAN SEWS THE SKINS OF OTHERS. As much as I hate how closeted this man was for his own good, that’s still not okay!! I think the immersive experience however will not be flaying anyone, rather just letting them enjoy the thrill of being trapped in a well rubbing the lotion of our skin or else it gets the hose again. Overall, will probably not be going to this but will be looking out for any reviews on it.
6 comments:
This seems like a great idea for the spooky Halloween season. The Silence of the Lambs is obviously a classic horror film and definitely fits the mood of the time of year and having an interactive exhibit seems like a fun time for folks who enjoy being frightened. Personally I do not enjoy haunted houses or anything in that sort of realm, but this might be more creepy than jump scary. At the same time, it does feel a bit like it exploits the real victims of domestic violence and other such crimes that are similar to situations like this because it is not something to be made fun of, but it is based on a movie. I would be interested to hear that perspective on this experience to know how someone who might have gone through something like this might feel about how this might work. If that is not a problem, perhaps this will be successful.
This is a really cool example of how entertaining engagement art can be. There are definitely ways to do it wrong, but in this case, I think they really knew their audience. For Halloween season, a lot of people are definitely going to want to get scared and to set this up in their house was a huge financial opportunity for them to take. I do wonder how the costs balance out though. Between actors, props, redecorating, and other needs is this really making that much profit? Or is it more for the fun of it?
In Universal, there is an interactive Walking Dead ride and it is super real. It definitely scares you as zombie creatures reach their arms out, chase you, and growl at you. But thinking back, being scared at the moment was not fun. But I am left thinking about what I should have said, could I get them to break character, and whether should I do it?
This is a really cool example of another abstract way the things I’m learning at this school can be used to create outside of the theater setting. Being able to use set design, lighting design, costume design, and other design aspects to create a really creepy immersive experience for an audience is such a cool way to use these talents. When I was in high school, my student council would always put on these holiday themed drive events and we would have to create scenes with our class. I remember my sophomore year, we were given the task to recreate the toy store from Elf the Movie, and I took on huge leadership roles doing so. Not necessarily because I wanted to lead, but because I really found creating this scene super interesting and fun. We found ways to make snowflake chains withstand a rain storm using waterproof paper, and put together a bunch of gift displays. I didn’t really realize it until now, but it’s one of the things I learned in the theater that I translated to a real life situation.
I hate to admit it but I’ve never seen the iconic film The Silence of the Lambs but honestly this whole experience makes me want to watch it just to be in on the references. I am a huge fan of any sort of immersive experience and I even worked on an immersive horror one act so this seems right up my alley. The one thing that is not quite clear from the article is how much is this just a tour of the property/show memorabilia from the film/photo opportunity and how much “performance” there will be if any. There is some reference to recreating one of the scenes but that’s it. I guess what I’m getting at is what is the vibe when it comes to the tour? Are they a fellow fan excited to show off things related to the movie or are they trying to make you scared and on edge the entire time?
oh interesting. I was expecting a haunted house experience that is just Silence of the Lamb Themed. Instead, this is a Bed and Breakfast with memorabilia and photo ops. This really doesn’t seem like it would be all that scary, and is more of a fun experience for huge fans of the movie. Perhaps there is more on the advertised hour and a half long tour that would be more akin to the experience of being chased through a haunted house, but from what is described in the article it feels like more of a walk through of intricately recreated scenes, which is potentially even more impressive. I would absolutely get nightmares either way, but I’d be much more inclined to see something like this than go through a house with jump scares waiting for me every few feet. I wonder what rights issues Rowan had to consider when putting all of this together as he is directing profiting off of the fame of the movie.
Silence of the Lambs, an incredible classic, and now, a scary tour that people can imagine they’re in Buffalo Bills house dancing and sewing suits with the famous murderer himself. I suppose in some twisted way, I get how it can be fun for some people but at the same time are you mad??? I understand how this cult classic can resonate with some people in the queer community but at the same time, people!! THIS MAN SEWS THE SKINS OF OTHERS. As much as I hate how closeted this man was for his own good, that’s still not okay!! I think the immersive experience however will not be flaying anyone, rather just letting them enjoy the thrill of being trapped in a well rubbing the lotion of our skin or else it gets the hose again. Overall, will probably not be going to this but will be looking out for any reviews on it.
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