NEW FOR 2025 is the Shellton Motel, and you certainly won’t want to spend the night here. The impressive motel façade, standing in the middle of the woods, truly sets the scene, but nothing can prepare you for what is within.

We must truly congratulate the event for producing an attraction that is a masterpiece in actor utilization, delivering scare after scare from every angle. The experience was a genuine shock to the system with not a moment to rest, as the cast took full advantage of distraction techniques and teamed up for multiple scares.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint a flaw in this attraction, we do believe there could be more special effects elements to complement the actor-led scares. That being said, it does include eerie smoke effects, and you may even come face-to-face with a chainsaw.

What stands out to us is the cohesiveness of the storyline and theme. From the audio announcements around the event hub to the escaped prisoner roaming character, everything links back to the maze. Once inside the attraction, a detailed introduction builds on the story, leaving you no choice but to make your way deeper into the motel to find safety. We love how the story progresses throughout, offering a bit of humour along the way before the intensity rapidly picks up in this fast-paced experience.

Friargate Foundry is the first maze you see upon entering Doncaster Fear Factory, with its striking industrial façade. However, as one of the more intense attractions, you may want to build yourself up to it first.

The introduction of the operator character to both the event and the maze is a fantastic concept, conjuring up everyone’s greatest fears. The attraction features a large number of different themes which, despite being completely different, work cohesively with the central idea of entering the factory. Utilizing themes from past and present mazes, as well as other popular horror tropes, it is a true attack on the senses.

As this is already a strong attraction, the main improvement we can suggest would be in the utilization of the actors. It feels like some scenes are over too quickly, with the performers only getting a short time to interact with you.

The maze also knows not to take itself too seriously at times, featuring lots of interactive and humorous moments within the group, making it an equally terrifying yet enjoyable experience.

You won’t be able to miss the large abandoned church that houses Diabolus Visum Mortis. As you enter, you learn of urban explorers going missing, but will you find them, or become part of the ritual within?

The actors truly carried this attraction with their strong understanding of the different spaces and the techniques needed to create the best scares.

Due to the nature of the maze, with a large portion of it taking place in pitch-black darkness, we felt that the theming was the weaker element of the attraction.

We particularly liked the updates to the maze for 2025, which flow very well across its three distinct scenes: from following a rope in the dark to being outside, then heading back into the chapel for the grand finale.

There’s no avoiding the Harvest, as you must enter through this scare zone to get into the main event arena. It’s open all night if you need an extra scare or want to head back through to find the Crows Nest Bar.

These scarecrow creatures lurk in the woodland pathway, creeping up on you when you least expect it. The actors were great at creating that uneasy feeling that something is watching you, but they were also effective at delivering jump scares when needed.

The weaker element of the scare zone was the lack of special effects; however, a smoke-filled tunnel did feature and was executed well with scares.

Although small in size, the scare zone had a sufficient number of actors to ensure everyone came face-to-face with one. Furthermore, the different elements within the scare zone allowed the actors to effectively play hide-and-seek with you.