Trapped in a creepy, industrial building with a murderous minion on your tail, with only 60 minutes to escape? Seems like a typical Sunday afternoon to us!

Yesterday, we drove out to Upland, CA to visit Black Market Escape Rooms, the much-anticipated attraction from Jon Cooke, Ted Dougherty, and others. Cooke has blown us away the past few years with such incredible mazes at Knott’s Scary Farm as Dark Ride, Shadowlands, and Special Ops: Infected, while Dougherty is also no stranger to the dark, having worked with Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm, Cedar Fair and Hollow Studios.

The two teamed up to create something that is definitely outside the bounds of what you could achieve in a theme park environment. Their first room, MurderCo, definitely pushes the boundaries and goes to some pretty dark places.

Billed as the first R-rated escape room, MurderCo blends elements of escape rooms, theatrical performance, and immersive experiences to make one hell of a story. Sure, the typical “You have 60 minutes to escape” element is present, but Black Market goes well beyond that, bringing you into a story that is not for the faint of heart. While not an extreme haunt, it is definitely not for those easily offended, disgusted, or sensitive. There are some really mature themes in here…

What do I mean by that? Well, the story behind MurderCo is that it is a company that specializes in murder. You’ve paid your dues, earned your membership, and now you are there to watch a real-life murder before your very eyes! Of course, you don’t get to do it. Instead, at the beginning of your experience, you get to choose one of four “artists” to do the deed.

Despite the incredibly plush, and comforting, lobby that you are invited into when you arrive, the second you pick your “artist,” you are whisked away into a very dark, very dirty industrial back area to watch the events unfold. But of course, things go wrong…and you learn of the dastardly plot behind MurderCo. Now, you and your friends only have 60 minutes to escape before you become the next victims…

I will say that Team HorrorBuzz had an incredible time within the halls of MurderCo. Not that we expected any less, but we were thoroughly impressed with the amount of detail that went into it. Every inch of the place was covered in incredible features…to the point where I had to remind myself at certain points that I was in an escape room, and didn’t have time to go through it all! But the space was chock full of details, all feeding into the backstory of the room.

On top of that, the set design was top notch. It looked and felt like a place people went to watch murder, from the public rooms to the private areas. They went above and beyond to make it feel like a real, functioning (albeit incredibly messed up) business. I felt like, at any given time, just beyond the walls, other artists were hard at work. Really, really impressive work. And it kept going, and going, too! Every time I thought we had reached the ‘end’, there was one more surprise around the corner.

The puzzles themselves were pretty great, too. I loved the fact that not only was there technology based puzzles, but there were also some good, old-fashioned ‘physical’ ones as well. It was a nice blend of old and new, and a refreshing change of pace! But speaking of new, MurderCo used some pretty state of the art technology to create some fun stuff that was unique. There were two or three things I had not seen done before in rooms, so kudos to them for that!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our wonder artist, Maneater. She was a real gem, and was simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. I wouldn’t want to meet her within the MurderCo halls again…or elsewhere, for that manner. The acting overall was fantastic, honestly. From the moment you set foot inside and are greeted by your host, to watching the artist at work. Everyone played their part incredibly well, and added even more to the overall experience. Hell, despite being scared out of my mind at points, it also included some hilarious moments as well. The new friends you will make at MurderCo will definitely have you running the gauntlet of emotions.

Seriously, Black Market Escape Rooms was an unbelievable amount of fun, and now ranks in my top escape rooms, ever. From top to bottom, it excels in every way, and will delight even the most seasoned of escape room fanatics. What Cooke, Dougherty, and their team have created is one hell of a ride, and definitely one that haunt and horror fans will enjoy. I loved seeing what they could do outside of the theme park box, and they really stretched their creative muscles. This proves that they definitely have what it takes to take it to the next level. Murder has never been so fun!

Do yourself a favor, and get out to Black Market Escape Rooms. You won’t regret it.

For more information, and to buy tickets, visit them online at: https://www.blackmarketescaperooms.com