By David Dent
With a name as close as that a director is honour bound to make a documentary like this!
Meyer’s fabulous high speed look at the US ‘haunt’ phenomenon may suggest that this is a uniquely American phenomenon, so it’s good to see the documentary acknowledging that the first such attraction, all the way from 1915, was based in Hampshire, England!
The Fright Stuff charts the development of the haunt from the original ‘dark rides’ (often utilising and re-purposing abandoned mines which already had supplies of passenger cars) to the rise of home haunts and eventually professional haunted houses, an industry that remains incredibly popular but economically precarious, and which was at one point co-opted by the charitable sector and even Christian organisations!
Eschewing the often-held belief that the people who run these things are just, as one interviewee comments, “Carnies that make money” the documentary is keen to emphasise the often family run nature of haunt outfits and the camaraderie enjoyed by those working in them. Such attractions are now an almost year-round business, employing scores of people now relishing the ability to let their freak flag fly in a country now more accepting of geekdom.
The Fright Stuff also focuses on the ‘haunt’ industry, complete with ‘haunted house’ trade shows and the need for installations to constantly up the ante to attract crowds who may, because of social media, be more cynical about being scared.
Although home haunts are still a thing in the US (a subject covered in a very good 2012 documentary The American Scream) it’s clear that the big attractions are where it’s at, and Meyer’s film is an excellent homage to the crazy people who often invest all of their savings to realise childhood dreams, while roping in their entire families – willingly or otherwise – to make it happen.
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