By Dave Woods
dwoods@joplinglobe.com
BRANSON, Mo. — It’s open season on zombies in Branson. The undead have a price on their heads in the Midwest’s Music City.
Zombie hunters from near and far are lining up for the chance to unleash their laser weapons on the creatures of the night and feel the cold splash of fresh blood on their cheeks as zombie chests explode and splatter. They compete against friends, family and fellow zombie hunters for the title of Zombie Killer Extraordinaire.
Here’s the catch: The lofty title lasts only as long as it takes to get back in line and take another spin in Branson’s new attraction, Castle of Chaos, 3030 West Highway 76.
Jason Cooper, 36, and his 14-year-old daughter, McKenzie, didn’t really know what to expect when they strapped themselves into the ride and slipped on their 3-D glasses.
“I enjoyed it,” Jason said, exiting the ride. “I’ve played video games similar to this before, but never anything like this. It was really unlike anything I’ve ever done. You can actually shoot monsters … that’s pretty cool.”
Jason’s daughter agreed.
“Man, that’s the first time I’ve seen anything in 3-D. It’s pretty amazing.” she said. “I liked the cool effects like the blood spatters and the stuff that grabs you from behind. I thought it was going to be some sort of a haunted house walk-through thing.”
McKenzie said she wants to bring her friends from Kirksville, Mo., to Branson to experience the chaos for themselves.
“I wouldn’t tell them anything about it,” she laughed. “I’d just say, ‘Go and see it for yourself.’”
The story unfolds
The year is 1925. Horror film starlet Carli Winepeg and her movie crew have disappeared from a 15th century castle where they were shooting her new movie, “Castle of Chaos.”
Locals say the castle is cursed. A search party finds the crew’s film equipment still operating. A roll of film in the camera shows only shadows, light, chaos and fear. There is no explanation, so the back-story goes.
The challenge: Discover the fate of Carli and her crew, and live to tell about it.
Chuck O’Day, who manages Castle of Chaos and its sister attractions Hollywood Wax Museum and Hanna’s Maze of Mirrors, said the idea for Castle came from the attraction’s owners.
“They were infatuated with haunted houses and had been wanting to create a haunted attraction,” O’Day said. “We decided to go this route, rather than a haunted house.”
O’Day called the one-of-a-kind ride a “haunted house plus.” — it’s the first interactive dark ride, he said.
“It’s 5-D sense based,” he said. “It has a 3-D screen and the fourth D is the movement of the platform. It’s interactive and different things move or drop down or grab you from behind.”
‘The scariest part...’
The fifth D, O’Day said, is the gun that you use to shoot zombies on the screens.
“We actually keep your score so you can go and try to better it each time or when you compete against family and friends,” he said.
O’Day said that Branson’s newest year-round attraction has been well received by zombie hunters of all ages.
“I’ve had 4- and 5-year-olds go crazy and love it, and I’ve had 10- and 11-year-olds go in and get scared,” he said. “It’s all based on the parents’ discretion. As long as they can sit in the seat with a seat belt on … they can ride.”
Katrina Rust and her husband, Daniel, said they were glad they decided to give Castle of Chaos a try before heading back home to Willard.
“It was pretty cool and very unexpected,” said Katrina, 24. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Stuff kept touching my butt. It scared me bad. I’d pay for my parents to go, just to see them get scared.”
Daniel, an avid video gamer, said he too was a little scared and surprised at the experience the Castle ride offered.
“It would be great for video gamers to train on,” he said. “The scariest part was when the seats start moving and start touching you and you could feel the bugs crawling up your legs. That was unexpected.”
Five-dimensional?
Castle of Chaos is billed as “The world’s first 5-D film, ride and shooting game in one terrifying adventure.”
3-D: The original film was shot in 3-D HD in a medieval castle in Europe. The company’s ride team conceptualized and created the spinning, theatrical, 25-seat ride.
4-D: The company’s special effects crew developed a ride equipped with devices that emit smoke, water, foul scents and sound effects.
5-D: The Castle’s gaming team programmed the interactive system which allows riders to compete against each other. Scores increase as they kill zombies.
Want to go?
VIP passes for the Castle, Hollywood Wax Museum and Hanna’s Maze of Mirrors are $24.94 for adults and $14.95 for children 4-11. Pay an additional $5 for another trip inside the Castle. Admission includes unlimited access to Hollywood Wax Museum and Hanna’s Maze of Mirrors for the day of purchase. 1-417-337-8700. Open at 8 a.m. 365 days a year.
