The Age of Commercialism

i must have seen a different film!!

As Good As It Gets

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

In the past few years, I've become very interested in the subject of this film. Haunted houses, extreme haunts, immersive theatre productions, they're all the same thing. They're all about creating exciting and visceral experiences for their audience members. Here, Jon Schnitzer has done a remarkable job documenting "The Art of the Scare." He has shown us three examples of people that have dedicated their lives to something that they truly care about: scaring the hell out of people! Each person has different opinions on how much they should scare people and I would have to say that I agree with Shar Mayer more than Russ McKamey on this (watch the documentary and you'll know what I mean). And by following these people, we the audience come to understand them and discover why the art of the scare is so important. We also learn about this scene of interactive horror, which has been around for some time, but only recently has begun to blow up. The documentary showed me that there are so many people out there, just like me, that are obsessed with these crazy experiences. Like me, they seem to understand that in some weird way, these experiences are about facing your fears. With "Haunters: The Art of the Scare" Jon Schnitzer has clearly demonstrated a respect for horror and this scene of crazy, passionate, and supportive individuals.

Jon Schitzner has taken a look into the haunt industry. He has put it out for everyone to see and asks what is too far? Beautiful filmed. Thanks for letting everyone peek into the world of haunting,

Jon Schnitzer unexpectedly but also beautifully lures you into the subculture realm of haunters were you will be drawn eerie close to the creators of a wide range of different haunts. The documentary is well put together and lacks nothing. The cinematography, score, and the 3D graphics, blend scarefully well together.

We've all been to "haunted houses." Most of these places seem to appear out of nowhere about a month or so before Halloween. Most of these houses are pretty innocuous. This film is about those that are not."Haunters" is about some notorious haunted houses that go (what I would call) "beyond safe." Those involved are NOT interested in just scaring people; they want to literally torture and victimize those who may dare to venture through the confines. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy a good scare as much as anyone. However, I found what was done in these haunts went way beyond a safe level. I do not care how many "waivers" a person may sign, that doesn't make these side-shows any safer. It's one thing to have a jump scare, but there is no rhyme or reason as to why the participants are holding peoples' heads below water, putting putrid stuff in their mouths and (when they vomit) have been so lovingly instructed by the proprietors to "pick up the vomit and put it back in their mouths." One experience called "Blackout" is literally a one-on-many torture encounter. Interviewing one participant who made it through, the viewer learns he "did things that would cost him his marriage" and "thing that would cost me my freedom." Now, think about that for a second. The guy had earlier referred to "rape"; I wonder if that's what he did. With enough loose canons out there already, these places would be just what they'd need to unhinge completely. What was even more frightening to me were the participants who seemed to experience orgasms while wallowing in the carnage. The movie is not rated and I personally do not recommend it. Mark my words, people are going to wind up getting killed in one of these "abodes" because they are hell-bent on out-doing their rivals. Then--and only then--will something finally be done to control these idiots.