Face Your Fears ~ SAW Alive..

Thrill seekers will experience the ultimate terror at Thorpe Park from March 18. Working in conjunction with Lionsgate & Twisted Pictures, Thorpe Park aims to create the worlds first realistic and most extreme horror maze.

Thorpe Park promises an ‘atmosphere of fear’ and the attraction has been designed to make the participant feel as if they’re in a real life horror scenario; navigating through six traps depicting the most grisly and iconic torture scenes realistically reinacted from the 18 certificate horror movie series SAW, according to a spokesperson for the park.

The park advises the attraction isn’t suitable for under 12s. However, with heated discussion already underway about the certification and content of video games and films and their effects on children it is suggested that ‘the links may be stronger with this interactive experience’, said clinical psychologist Dr Angela Wright.

Laura Sinclair, Thorpe Parks Entertainments Manager said: ‘We want SAW Alive to be as authentic and terrifying as possible.’

Alongside the reenactments, the attraction will feature a shock-emitting electric corridor and lighting and audio effects which simulate gun fire and create the fear of being decapitated by a swinging razor sharp pendulum. The attraction will also incorporate vibrating floors, strobe lighting and most controversially, putrid, nerve-wrenching stenches of urine, burnt hair, rotting meat and embalming fluid throughout, said a spokesperson for the park.

Brendan Walker who studies the changing physiology of a person during high-adrenaline forms of entertainment, added: ‘Smell is a very powerful sensory stimulant that can elicit unexpected emotions, and violently change human experiences and will, therefore, play a crucial role in an attraction like SAW Alive.'

As with any attraction, it’s up to the individual as to whether or not they choose to participate. In this instance, if all the hype is to be believed, this attraction should only be suitable for adults. On the other hand, if the age restrictions are merely advisory, how realistic can it be? There’s only one way to find out…