One of the first star villains you encounter is the Scarecrow, who attempts (and succeeds) to spray you with his fear gas.
It scared me, but it also helped set appropriate ambiance.Īs we left the elevator, we found ourselves wandering through a series of cells surrounded by hostile inmates in what’s clearly an outbreak. My first real scare of the maze was when an insane inmate jumped out at us through the walls of the elevator while rambling something crazy. Harley then leads you to an elevator which takes you “down” into the depths of the Asylum where the maze proper begins. When we first meet the Clown Prince of Crime, he’s sitting behind a tall desk and sentencing you as judge, jury and executioner to your fate: A permanent stay at Arkham. Heck, even the Joker’s voice is eerily similar to Mark Hamill’s, who voiced the Joker in the first Arkham games. The costume, make-up and hair are all spot on.
You remember what the Joker looks like in the Arkham games? Well, he looks JUST like that here. As Harley interacts with guests in her Arkham Asylum nurse costume (which anyone who’s played Arkham Asylum will recognize instantly), she leads you to none other than “Mistah J.” When you first enter the experience, you’re asked to hold up an Arkham inmate sign and get your mugshot taken before being led into the main antechamber room by Harley Quinn herself. You see, the Arkham Asylum maze is quite literally a show and a theatrical experience, not just a jump and scare haunted house. (That’s not nearly enough to hide behind.) And second, it’s not arbitrary at all. Plenty of time to muster up some courage while I waited.Īttendees are shepherded inside the asylum in groups of about ten, which seemed arbitrary at first until it was my turn. And besides, there was a good-sized line outside. Yes, I was a bit scared, but I didn’t come this far to turn back.
However, it’s another thing entirely to see it looming before you, screams and maniacal laughter echoing out from within its brick walls. It’s one thing seeing Arkham Asylum in comic books, movies or games like Batman: Arkham Asylum. In the midst of it all, standing tall and ominous, is the iconic wrought iron gate of Arkham Asylum, complete with a full-sized Batmobile parked outside. has completely transformed their iconic backlot for Horror Made Here, and from the moment you enter, you’re instantly transported to a Halloween fantasia of scary clowns and carnivals, haunted houses and fog. I mean, who wouldn’t want to explore a living recreation of the infamous Gotham City institution? Recently, I had the chance to explore Horror Made Here and was asked to report on this one-of-a-kind DC maze-to file a report from Arkham, as it were. Studio Tour Hollywood is offering scares and haunts galore at their “Horror Made Here” event, where adrenaline-seeking fans can visit the studio lot and get scared by the likes of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Pennywise, Annabelle and (of particular interest to me and all of you DC fans) all of Arkham Asylum.