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Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin Let's Live Out A Japanese Horror Film

Over the weekend we went to three haunts and without a doubt, Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin was the most immersive. If a fan of Japanese horror movies or just for a new kind of haunt you have to take a turn down an alley and head to Mori Storage to find your missing friend Kana Mori. She's the owner of the storage business and her workers haven't found her in the last six weeks. A letter has your name on it with some of her other friends. Are you up for finding her?

Spoilers

You'll start of getting an e-mail for the location of Mori Storage, located somewhere in Mid-City. When you get there, be prepared to walk a little. it's basically near a residential area, so street parking. Once there, you'll enter Mori Storage and wait in a lounge area where employees will tell you what's been going on and its been weird.

While there, why not try some Red Vengeance soda? I heard it's Kana's favorite drink. Weird brand, we've never heard of. But, if we don't get anymore we'll just die.

The employees are wearing the silliest outfits for a storage company, they all look like little Luigis from Super Mario Bros. One of them will lead you to Kana's office and you can tell something was troubling her. Troubling her bad. Her walls our filled with bones, photos and fox masks?

Looks like ya' got a magical ghost fox manifestation infestation here. You gotta call ghost busters. Oh, but she asked us to help... So now you and a group will go through Mori Storage on a quest to find and help Kana. Easy...not so easy.

Right after that, you'll board and elevator that raises you up and takes you to another floor. There you'll meet a very friendly looking fellow. (Loved this guy's messed up face and voice) He'll tell you a story using unconventional means and you'll sort of be in The Ring for a little bit. It was one of the best parts of the show.

Also, we're not sure if you'll experience a different story as part of our group was separated and went on a different path.

Soon you'll meet up with Kana and ...oh no! It's the Fox Spirit and it does not look friendly and we don't like the sound it makes. Let's get out of here. And we do, following Kana into other ghost stories.

You'll be scrambling into other spirits own Hells. Stories that have a basis in Japanese culture and some trying to promote a soft drink. It's a strange mix and it's even confusing to poor Kana whose been living in this spirit world within her storage house.

One section allows for more freedom and made us feel a little off track, like being in the eye of the storm. It made us feel uneasy as we were going through a hallway of Kana's memories.

All throughout the experience you'll be collecting items from the ghost stories you wander through and escape from. It all makes sense as you'll have to use them in the end to drive out the Fox Spirit!

The conclusion of this haunt is one of the best we've seen in the long time. Let's just say you'll be facing something and it's something big and it doesn't want to leave.

End of spoilers

An utterly fun mash-up of different Japanese ghost stories and techniques to tell a story while your trapped in the story in a haunted warehouse. We haven't experienced anything quite like that before. A quest, a mystery and a horror movie all in one. This is done by a strange cast of characters that'll interact with you throughout the night.

 We have to extend props to both the East West Players and Rogue Artists Ensemble for both creating and acting in such a strange new haunt. It's not just licensed characters mazes, those are fine, but this is its on really strange story. They've created something really different that horror fans can enjoy this Halloween season.

What can we say, we love it when a haunt is story driven! You've got to collect items from different ghost stories that take place within yours. You've got to figure out why Kana is missing and how to help her out. All the while you'll be on a quest wondering what is exactly going on.

It's not without flaws. There's some moments we think drag on. Like when left to wander a hallway with many doors leading to memories. We think that may need some more control. And though there are some dark moments. You can always add a little more scares here and there. Jump scares are just fun.

This is a long haunt. It's gonna run past an hour. So, be prepared for something much longer than your average maze or haunt. And there's only six shows a night so, we'd plan on what night you'll want to go.

Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin is an amazing piece of performance art at a haunted warehouse that's willing to take you on a ride in an elevator of a six floor building. This place has space and let's you travel through it, yet still smooshes you up in close proximity to some spooky yokai. One of the best new haunts of SoCal's Halloween season.

Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin
Performances: Now - November 5, 2017
Special Performances: October 30 & 31
Secret Mid City Warehouse, 90019
$65-$75 Now- November 5