review: murder house productions presents Cemetery

September 21, 2020

review: murder house productions presents Cemetery

The sounds of owls hooting echoed into the shadows of the night as we approached Murder House Productions’ “Cemetery”: Aurora Persichetti and Kyle Warner’s final annual holiday home haunt at their original Thousand Oaks location. Even though there was no maze this year, MHP instead created an elaborate yard display incorporating marvelous props, cinematic lighting, and a complex sound installation - altogether forming a breathtaking cemetery for visitors to admire during its 24-hour run.

The interactive nature and exceptional detail of this suburban front yard display was a sight to behold, enhanced by the fact that most of the props were handcrafted. Decorative candles and lanterns ornamented the cemetery, while a giant full moon loomed - offering a dim light to gaze upon the blood-spattered graves. A dead tree silently lurked in the background, drawing sudden attention when it shot smoke into the night sky only to suddenly become dormant again as the wind began to howl. An animatronic crow began to caw into the night from atop the massive cemetery gates while its eyes turned a glowing red. Lightning illuminated an incoming thick blanket of fog, temporarily disrupting the creeping shadows emanating from the handcrafted tombstones and jack-o’-lanterns inhabiting the cemetery.

As per tradition, there were plenty of “blink and you will miss it” nods to their past haunts sprinkled throughout the display. Aurora and Kyle excel at incorporating magnificent details into their work, including fun easter eggs. A perfect example of this was Sam’s jack-o’-lantern lollipop/shiv (a reference to their legendary home haunt dedicated to Trick ‘r Treat) resting on top of a tombstone whose inscription combined both names of the haunt’s creators into ‘Aurora Warner’.

The setting of this display was beautifully somber and suspenseful, which fit the mood of this Halloween season being severely disrupted by the pandemic. We greatly respect and appreciate MHP’s choice to do a yard display instead of their traditional haunt so that the safety of visitors is protected. This haunt was a wonderful way to start this Halloween season, and we eagerly anticipate the next incarnation of MHP - wherever their future location will be.

VC

September 21, 2020
Hauntsofla.com
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