Dead Rising 4 Black Friday Trailer

Need game for Christmas!

Free Fire Trailer

 Though I didn't fall in love with High-Rise by Ben Wheatley, I can't look away from the gun fights in his next film, High-Rise.

Akibafest 2016 Updates

AkibaFest
Oct 15-16
Little Tokyo
Admission
$25 for both days
$15 for each day separately
$30 for both days at the event
Films will have their own admission


Akibafest just revealed its events and schedule. They'll have some anime industry panels, a cosplay contest and more.

From reading through it looks like the event will have a major portion outside with tents.


Oh, Greg, I see you there!

Knott's Scary Farm 2016: Keeping It Ghoul

The mother of all monster bashes is open for a new season of scares! Knott's Scary Farm opened up to the masses like a doorway to a new dark place. New scares await you with some old thrills, we break them down like bones going through a grinder for you. With the re-opening of the other worldly park comes the return of Elvira and the long time dread that Knott's has given to SoCal residents for four decades. They know their scares.

Knott's Scary Farm
September 22 – October 31 Select Nights
Knott’s Berry Farm
8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620
$tarts at $40 on select nights.

"I've had to much Frankenstein, thank you, " that's was what I was telling an associate at the reception for press and special guests on the opening night of Scary Farm. A delectable assortment of Halloween treats, sadly not for public consumption, were presented including a chocolate candy Frankenstein head with boysenberry brains with boysenberry blood and cream leaking out. It was to die for. Other treats included chocolate coffins filled with fruit and a skull chocolate version of old Frank.

After filling up, we needed a chance to throw up from fear. Luckily, we managed to keep our food down while getting frightened.

New Mazes:

Special Ops: Infected; this one arms you with a gun as you shoot the brain-munchers in some zombie epidemic. It's fast-paced fun. They want you blasting the undead on the go, you're a soldier in this scenario. Maze tenders hark orders like you're a commando in a war with walkers. You feel, briefly, like you're in a zombie shooter.

It uses a kind of laser tag technology; shoot zombies and their collars change color. I'm not sure how well it works. More targets or some sort of better scoring may need to come into play. At the end I thought there was going to be a scoring system, nope. Another ride open at the park does this quite well, the Iron Reef, it keeps your score and even takes your photo.

We don't know of any other mazes that arm you, so props to Knott's for trying something new.

The Red Barn;You have to love the farm concept at Scary Farm. Creeps are cooking up people, yes, cannibalism, the way to lose and gain friends.

You have to let yourself go while walking through the unclean sheets blowing in the wind to banjo music.

From what I was hoping, which was animals gaining intelligence, speech and eating people it wasn't that at all, just farmers feeding people to their livestock. That old gem.

Shadowlands: Dishonored samurai want your soul in this somewhat 80's movie maze. A path must be chosen, this is how it  start as you wander in the woods watching out for samurai. Many heads are getting chopped off in this one. I could've spent more time in the Geisha room. It's like an 80's cheeseball movie became real.

Elvira and her boobs are back and she has no problems telling you about her bosom's return, it's part of her act/stage show running twice nightly for Knott's Scary Farm. The show features the buxom babe sharing the stage with a dance troupe in, "Elvira’s Danse Macabre."

Updated was the hunting of you in The Dead of Winter: Wendigo's Revenge. This chilling maze has some of the nicest looking death scenes;  some wonderfully mastered icicle deaths. Love the falling snow.

Nearby was suppose to be the new FearVR, virtual reality horror, but we were unable to find it, staff seemed to not understand what we were talking about when we tried asking about it.

Staff fell into some other problems with the new Skeleton Key Rooms; special rooms that require extra payment, but you snag a very nice-looking glow-in-the-dark key. When trying to enter them you have to have your pass punched, by a hole puncher. These passes were laminated and let's just say it was sad to see staff trying so feebly to cut through plastic, add to that it was dark and they had to hold flash lights. You beg the question, why not use permanent marker?

Some of the Skeleton Key Rooms are marked poorly or unmarked as Zozo had no signage when we tried to find it. These are easy fixes with signs marking paths and locations. Two out of the four special rooms were missing signs. 

The rooms themselves are well worth the experience as we got to try and find ghost via augmented reality tablets in Visions and were stuck in a room with a serial killer in Slasher.

If you want to be scared the old fashioned way the roller-coasters and a few favorites are open including Big Foot Rapids, the Log Ride and Iron Reef during the night. Night coasters!

We're sad they're weren't any special Hallowen decorations for these rides, put Big Foot at the Big Foot Rapids. Decorate the log ride again!

Knott's has kept it's horror tradition in tact. It's a spook circus of thrills to keep you busy all night. We stayed until closing as Knott's brilliant team of clowns and other spooks scared us every few steps.

This Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!

Expect a new episode of Things To Do In Games later this week!

Halloween 2016 Master List

Here's our master list of activities for Halloween broken down into different subjects for faster paced finding of fun.


Theme Parks, Haunts and Experiences
Events and Parties
Horror Festivals, Screenings & Entertainment

This is an undead list, continue to check back as new events and scares will be added.

Halloween 2016: Theme Parks, Haunts and Experiences

Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort
September 9 - October 31
Disneyland 
$Admission
Mickey's Halloween Party
Select nights from September 23 through October 31
$79


Beating every other theme park by a few days is Disneyland. Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort starts making the park look festive starting September 9th. Activities and special events happen on top of that starting September 23rd at Mickey's Halloween Party, which requires extra admission.

Creep Los Angeles
September 15-Oct 31
2316 N. San Fernando Rd in Los Angeles.
Weekends with some weeknights available
Tickets range from $40 - $50 dollars

Creep LA has expanded  this year with the new theme of the dark and tortured mind of 1970’s artist, Erebus Burwyck. Groups of 8 will explore this twisted individual's mindscape on 45-minute trip into his nightmares.

Six Flags Fright Fest
Select days Sept 17-30
Six Flags Magic Mountain
26101 Magic Mountain Parkway
Valencia, CA 91355
Admission $54.99, save up to $25 when you purchase at least a day in advance.

An exciting line-up of new haunted attractions includes a new scare zone, Suicide Squad: The Six Flags Fright Fest Experience, and the largest outdoor maze in the Park’s history, Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising.

Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights

September 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, October 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and November 4 and 5, 2016.

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608

Admission

This year we get some crazy themes from horror films and TV that just look darn fun. We get The Exorcist, Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield, Freddy vs. Jason, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers, American Horror Story and The Walking Dead. We even get which I hope can stay til' Christmas, Krampus. Yes, a horror Christmas maze.





Knott's Scary Farm 
September 22 – October 31 Select Nights
Knott’s Berry Farm
8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620
$tarts at $40 on select nights

The Scary Farm has a fresh new crop of scares for you this Halloween season. New mazes include: Shadow Lands, Japanese-themed horror with samurai demons wanting to cut your soul in two. We here at TTDILA are looking forward to seeing how gruesome Knott's can make ancient Japanese culture. Red Barn is less of an Orwellian take on communism taking the form of animals and more on animals taking up eating people. That's only the start of what's been growing at the farm. Black Ops: Infected brings back the fun of getting to shoot zombies with guns in a video game made real.

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor
September 29 - October 31
1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802
Starting at $20, does not include parking 

We have The Iron Master, a new scary ghost with a back-story and his new maze The Intrepid. Joining the Intrepid maze will be Panic 4-D and Voodoo House Bar & Tasting Room, with more info coming for each later.Returning from last year: Mazes:Circus, Lullaby, Deadrise, Soulmate and B340. Joining them are the following attractions. Hex Paintball Gallery,  Sideshow, Neverland Ranch’s Sinister Swings, R.I.P. Lounge, Big Top Bar, demonic DJ’s and other main stage mayhem make for a freakishly good time.

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride Secret Society
Oct 1-Oct 31st
Griffith Park

4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Price varies by night $27-$40

Back again for another year of playful hi-jinks on a ride...for the dammed! A new theme means a new collection of horror to frighten us on are slow moving ride of fears. One of our top chocies, let's hope they finally figured out to end on a climax though.

Wicked Lit 2016

Sep 29-Nov 12

All performances begin promptly at 7:30 p.m.

(pre-show starts at 7:15 p.m.)

Mountain View Mausoleum

2300 Marengo Ave, Altadena, CA 91001

Wicked Lit audiences will experience three short plays; H.P. Lovecraft’s FROM BEYOND, ANANSI AND THE DEMONS &  Ellen Glasgow’s THE SHADOWY THIRD. They will do this as they are led through the grounds of the mausoleum and cemetery by Storyguides. Wicked Lit is a walking show – patrons must be able to comfortably walk a minimum of 2,000 steps and climb stairs in order to experience this production. Wicked Lit  contains mature themes, adult language and theatrical violence – the production is recommended for audiences ages 13+. The running time will be approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes including two intervals.

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch

October 1 – 30

Sunday – Thursday 9 AM – 8 PM

Friday – Saturday 9 AM – 9 PM

10100 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA

For the kids-

This year, Mr. Bones is back and better than ever! We will be bringing you new activities, more fantastic photo ops, and more fun than ever before!

2016 Reign of Terror* sound
Select Dates in October

Janss Marketplace (above Gold's Gym next to Art Museum)

197 N. Moorpark Road

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 

$19 

95 Bone Chilling Rooms!

8 Terrifying Attractions! 

Over 21,000 Square Feet!

The Hex Room
Starts Oct 1

Cross Roads Escape Games

4245 E. La Palma Ave. Anaheim, CA 92807

$35

16+

Can you survive a horror film? This murderous horror movie fan wants to watch you try. Each player will take a quiz before the game to find out which character they are: The Nerd, Virgin, Jock, Rebel, Prom Queen, or Detective. Your team will be divided up into separate rooms where you must work individually and as a team. Not only do you need to escape, but you must also survive! Who will live? Who will die?

Brick-Or-Treat

October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 from 5 - 9 p.m.

Legoland

1 Legoland Dr, Carlsbad, CA 92008

$35 and up

Brick-or-Treat Party Nights at LEGOLAND California Resort is back with more Halloween excitement and extended Park open hours! The entire Park is open every Saturday night in October and filled with Halloween activities.

Boo at the L.A. Zoo

October 1–31, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Free with paid Zoo admission or GLAZA membership

The Los Angeles Zoo

5333 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Treat the imagination, not the sweet tooth, at Boo at the L.A. Zoo, where you’ll find Halloween adventure every day in October and special entertainment—including roaming costumed characters, pumpkin carving, a musical puppet show, crafts, and more—on weekends. Costumes encouraged!

Sinister Pointe Haunted Attraction
Select Nights in October and a few nights in Nov
1851 W Orangethorpe Ave, Fullerton, CA 92833
$18-$26

Sinister Pointe has opened a portal between our world and the next. Upon multiple experimentations we have discovered 4 separate dimensions within this dark and vast oblivion.

Trap House LA 

October 8-31

Think Tank Gallery

939 Maple Ave, Ste 200, Los Angeles, California 90015

$

The Think Tank’s Trap House is a scary movie buff’s dream, welcoming a nightmarish trip down memory lane with some of the industry’s most legendary monster and SFX makeup artists while drawing patrons into an immersive escape room experience designed by one of the best in the emerging industry. From October 8th-31st, patrons can experience art and horror in a way never done before.

Resident Evil Escape Experience
Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 6:30 PM –
Sun, Nov 6, 2016, 11:00 PM
iam8bit
2147 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
$35

From their eventbrite page:
As part of the Resident Evil series’ 20th anniversary, Capcom has teamed up with iam8bit to bring the franchise to life as an interactive escape room with the Resident Evil Escape Experience! This unique escape game experience is themed around the popular survival horror series, including some obvious and some not so obvious nods to various Resident Evil games, as well as the upcoming Resident Evil 7 biohazard. This escape game experience will ONLY run for a limited 3-week engagement, so act fast!

There’s more to see than just the escape game itself – iam8bit will have an art gallery featuring Resident Evil-themed art in a celebration of all things Resident Evil. Limited edition prints of the art and other exclusive merchandise will be available for

Rotten Apple
Oct 22-weekends and Halloween
907 N. California St., Burbank, CA 91505
Free

A free haunted house in Burbank

The Thirteenth Annual Mourning Tours and the Halloween Tours

Oct 22-23, Noon – 4pm
Heritage Square Museum
3800 Homer St, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Free with museum admission: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors over 65, $8 for children 6 to 12 years, and free for children under 6 and museum members.

Join a funeral party and see how Victorians grieved their dead at Heritage Square Museum’s popular Mourning Tours from noon – 4pm on October 22 and 23.  Funeral-goers will be immersed in mourning etiquette, learn how Victorians showed their loss of a loved one through clothing, and participate in an reenactment ceremony inside a historic home. In addition, funeral-goers will also discover details about the turn-of-the-century movement of Spiritualism and the lure of séances complete with a reenactment and a discussion on the “tricks of the trade.”

Finally, step into a typical 1920s Halloween party and play the game that lets fate decide if you get a treat…or a trick.

A more family-friendly program takes place on Sunday Oct. 23 also from noon – 4pm. Halloween Tours welcome children ages 2-12 to play period games, make 19th century harvest crafts, choose a pumpkin for the pumpkin patch (while supplies last) and listen to spooky stories on the lawn by the San Gabriel Valley Storytellers.

Horror Made Here: A Halloween Screening and Twilight Tour
Friday, October 28^th -or- Saturday, October 29^{th
Warner Bros Studio}
3400 W.Riverside Dr.
Burbank, CA 91505
<sup>$75

After taking a twilight-tour on the Warner Bros. Studio lot, guests will watch a special screening of the supernatural horror film The Conjuring (on Friday, Oct. 28th) -or- The Conjuring 2 (on Saturday, Oct. 29th). Movie themed refreshments and treats are included. Additionally, guests can get up close to props and costumes from some of studio’s best-known horror films at our immersive Stage 48 attraction.</sup> 

4th Annual Theatricum BOO-tanicum
Saturday, Oct. 29 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum

1419 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, California 90290

General Admission: $15
Children 5 and under: free

Theatricum BOO-tanicum — Unique outdoor theater garden Theatricum Botanicum transforms into the haunted BOO-tanicum with the theater company's 6th annual Halloween extravaganza. Wander Theatricum’s wooded grounds in the heart of rustic Topanga Canyon, where the stage and sets are converted into a frightening maze and haunted house. Enjoy delicious food and spooky drinks; actors telling ghost stories; pumpkin and face painting; game booths; performances by Creative PlayGround, Peter Alsop, comedy improv group Off the Grid; and more. Come on down… if you dare. Perfect for ghosts and goblins of all ages.

The Tension Experience:Ascension
Now through Oct 30, 7pm – 11:30pm
Unknown location in Boyle Heights until tickets purchased
$125 per person
18+

You'll be able to solve puzzles with different outcomes in a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Boyle Heights if you sign up for this new strange horror idea. You'll be finding out if the O.O.A. Institute offers spiritual enlightenment or is just a cult.

*Delusion: His Crimson Queen Already Sold Out

Spider Pavilion
Opens Sunday, October 30, 2016
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Museum Members and children age 2 and under are admitted to the Spider Pavilion for free. Prices for General Admission plus the Spider Pavilion are as follows: Adults, $17; Students and seniors, $14, Children (3–12), $8.

Regular museum admission is: Adults, $12;

Students and seniors, $9; Children (3-12), $5. Museum members and children age 2 and under are admitted for free.

Advance timed tickets are highly recommended and available at

The Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) will open on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in NHM’s new airier and roomier outdoor pavilion. The first exhibit of its kind in the United States, the Spider Pavilion has been a seasonal highlight at NHM since its inception in 2004 and is now being emulated at other institutions across the country. Guests will have the rare opportunity to immerse themselves in the spiders’ habitat and witness the day-to-day lives of these often misunderstood, but uniquely talented creatures. A Spider Den will house various species –including the pink toe tarantula and the jumping spider –in enclosed habitats. Inside the pavilion, visitors will walk among orb weavers and their intricate webs while learning from Gallery Interpreters about these remarkable arachnids.

Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters

August 1, 2016–November 27, 2016 

LACMA

5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
$25 Read our full preview of the exhibit here.

Dark Visions: Mid-Century Macabre
Now until January 16, 2017
Norton Simon Museum
411 W. Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91105-1825
Adults $12

Lurking on the fringes of the 20th-century art world was something sinister, something not necessarily identifiable or easy to fit into a specific movement such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art or Minimalism. The exhibition Dark Visions: Mid-Century Macabre looks to mine the dark recesses of the mid-20th century and explore the creations made to exorcise the demons that plagued artists.
  
Vertigo screens as part of the exhibit Friday, October 28, 5:30 pm - 7:40 pm, free with admission