Spookers Review (Film, 2017) #31DaysOfHorror
content warning: blood, gore, flashing lights, mental wellness
Spookers is a documentary about a haunted attraction in New Zealand. The Watson family runs the largest scare park in the southern hemisphere. Spookers is set in a former psychiatric hospital, featuring multiple haunts that run year round (weather permitting). The documentary looks into the people who make the haunt happen and the industry of professional haunted attractions.
The documentary switches between interview footage recorded while the subjects are getting ready for the haunt and performance footage inside the haunt. It’s really well put together. Filming in a haunted house can be quite the challenge because of the lighting and all the moving parts. The footage in Spookers is clear and terrifying. You really get a feel for what makes this haunted attraction stand out so much.
The interviews are pretty fascinating. Some of the subjects are in full costume and makeup and talk like their normal selves. Others are fully in character when they’re interviewed. It’s this bizarre mix of reality and fantasy that tells you so much more about culture of the haunt and its success.
The team behind the Spookers attraction clearly has a love for haunting. The Watson family discusses the early days of the haunt, which includes a time where they ran a haunted corn maze from January to April on their own farm. I can’t think of too many professional haunts that succeed outside of September/October, let alone ones that can successfully run year round. The family saw the opportunity to fill a space in the market for this kind of attraction, tailored it to a mix of all ages and more adult programming, and got off running.
Spookers does touch on the history of the building itself. The hospital was already closed down when the Watson family invested in the property. They didn’t even realize it was a former psychiatric hospital when they were looking for a permanent space to host the haunt. There are questions that pop up when you set a horror attraction in a space like this, and the documentary doesn’t shy away from that.
The Spookers attraction does have a hospital-themed haunt and that should lead to discussions about exploitation and representation in the haunted attraction industry. Mental health patients are often vilified for entertainment in these venues, and there is a growing movement in America now to retheme or relocate these attractions from former hospitals. Director Florian Habicht does a great job providing a voice to former patients and other people connected to mental wellness to express their concerns without vilifying the Spookers staff and owners for engaging with the material. It is a complicated issue with a deep-rooted history in horror media.
Spookers is a fascinating documentary about the haunted attraction industry. It provides a voice to the workers and the guests--fans and critics alike--and doesn’t try to talk down about anyone’s views of the industry. It’s a glimpse into the culture of a professional haunt that’s not afraid to explore important questions about the industry.
Spookers is streaming on Shudder.
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