INTO THE BLACK Is a Beautifully Crafted Crucible of Constant Terror

There are rumors of dark happenings at the Pomona Fairplex. Some say that a wicked family has opened a door to the underworld and demonic forces are rising from the bowels of hell. Are you ready to venture forth on your own, discover the fate of the Black family, and go Into the Black?

In this brand new haunted attraction from Larry Bones and his team at Bone Yard Effects, guests enter in one at a time (though small groups seem to be allowed), making their way through a dilapidated manor before delving further into the sacrificial chambers and demonic rifts that make up the inner sanctum of The Black House. The exterior is rather conservative, with little to suggest a haunt is occurring outside of a rickety, overgrown ticket booth. Much of the Fairplex staff doesn’t seem to even be aware of it, so it was a bit tricky to find, but once I arrived, it was time to begin my experience with the VR portion of the haunt.

After being lead in by a woman in a lab coat, a short introductory video played, informing guests that they are to take part in a paranormal experience where they connect psychically (via a Samsung Gear VR) to a doll owned by the daughter of the Black family, taking its place to gain insight to what lead the family such an evil path. The intro video itself is in black and white and has a nice retro instructional film feel with a Dr. Lutz running you through a short intro to the story before guiding guests through using and adjusting the VR headset. This is a nice touch, as it ensures everyone is aware of the focus wheel and is able to get a nice, clear video. There were a few initial hiccups with another guest, but after a quick adjustment, we were on our way. As someone who has somewhat strict standards with regards to VR video, I’m glad to report that Into the Black gets it right. The video is high quality, and most importantly, stereoscopic, giving a real sense of being in the space versus just watching a 360-degree video. The film itself is fairly short and simple, following the daughter who sneaks into the family’s sacrificial chamber and her attempts to escape the wrath of her parents. There isn’t as much in the way of physical sensations as in some other VR experiences I’ve tried, but there is some use of air and even feathers being brushed against your skin to heighten the experience.

After surviving my virtual encounter with the family, it was time to enter the manor for real and after passing through the black veil separating the evils inside from the comfort of the Fairplex, the anxiety sets in quickly. As I mentioned, you’re alone, or at least you should be. They are allowing guests to enter in small groups, but as far as I’m concerned, unless you feel as though you will be unable to handle the experience solo, that is how Into the Black is meant to be experienced. It’s just such a different experience from any of your typical cattle drive style haunts in the atmosphere that is created from the very beginning. There is no comforting chatter, no screams of those ahead of you or glimpses of monsters resetting back into their positions, just a sense of complete hopelessness as you become the sole target of the evils within. The first impression leaves a bit to be desired, as the crumbling manor setting feels a bit too familiar with walls that don’t quite reach the ceiling breaking the sense of immersion to some degree, but as soon as you get your first few scares, that sense of where you actually are starts to fade and you become lost in the world Bones and his team have created.

This is due in no small part to the constant threat that you under by the impressively large cast of monsters. Every few feet something pops out of some well-disguised hiding spots that are further obfuscated by the pervasive darkness. The scares are the highlight of the haunt and some of the best I’ve seen not just this year, but throughout my haunt enthusiast career. I’m far from a haunt tough guy, but perhaps due to the desensitization I’ve experienced over my years of going to them, it’s rare for a maze to get more than a few screams out of me. Not here. This is one of the few haunts I’ve been to that had me screaming my head off at nearly every turn. When you combine the incredibly well-paced experience, that allows in guests roughly every minute but gives you the impression of being completely isolated by using the monsters to hurry or slow guests as needed, with perfectly-timed scares from all angles, it creates the perfect conditions for a constant state of dread. Part of keeping the experience moving is a healthy bit of implied insistence from the actors. The demons will chase you, they will chase you throughout almost the entirety of the maze, and while I’m pretty sure they will not eat you if they catch up to you, playing along and trying to stay one step ahead of your pursuers ratchets up the intensity considerably. The makeup and costuming are what you might expect from the team that was for many years responsible for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, with all of the monsters wearing full body suits and makeup that looks quite convincing in the darkened hallways. There is some lack of variety in the sense that with a few exceptions, you’re going to see a lot of grey demons, but there is enough divergence if the various body shapes and facial configurations among them to keep it interesting and the consistent motif creates a sense of cohesion that feels like an intentional visual narrative rather than someone going to a costume store and picking a bunch of different masks off the shelves.

In certain areas, the darkness can almost conceal some of the work put into the set pieces, but this also leads to a greater sense of immersion as any seams or imperfections in the design become invisible. The set pieces themselves are of the same high quality as the makeup work and while some of the early rooms are a bit too familiar, featuring candlelit walls, blood-soaked wallpaper and somewhat haphazardly arranged vintage photos in the upper levels of the home, as you descend deeper into the areas they have kept hidden away, there is a great deal of variety from glowing Ouija boards to Lovecraft-inspired demonic worship spaces and rocky caverns, with large-scale animated panels throughout showing the Black Family’s attempts to claim the soul of this uninvited interloper. The hallways connecting these impressive showrooms is at times visually repetitive showcasing a lot of the same elements throughout, but the narrow, winding hallways create ample opportunity for the monsters to catch you off-guard.

It’s just a hell of a lot of fun. At $29 a ticket, it’s competitively-priced, relatively expansive (roughly equivalent to 1 ½-2 theme park mazes with a briskly-paced walkthrough coming in around 10-15 minutes) and the entire experience is catered to a single guest makes this a pretty solid value in my book. The $13 VR upcharge being worth it is going to depend on your experience and interest in VR. It is a quality experience and if you’ve never witnessed well-made stereoscopic VR video (currently available on the HorrorBuzz Youtube channel), it’s worth seeing to witness the potential of this technology, but the price might be a little steep for what is ultimately a 3-4 minute video. The Into the Black team have left a strong impression in their first outing, creating an intense haunt experience that is more terrifyingly intimate than your typical haunt, while remaining more approachable than what one might expect from an extreme haunt, a niche that I have long felt needed filling. Parking at the Fairplex is an additional $10 and most of the staff don’t seem to be aware that this is even a thing, so plan some extra time to track it down (look for the neon Avalon sign) but for the brave souls that can handle facing the denizens of hell without the comfort of others to share in your terror, it’s something that must be experienced and I sincerely hope to see the wicked conjurings of the Black Family rise again in 2018.