REVIEW: Finding a place to belong at Arx Mortis haunted house
Photo: Family of Fear follows the volunteer actors of Arx Mortis, a haunted attraction in Alabama. Photo courtesy of Foundry Communications / Provided with permission.
Experiencing Alabama’s Arx Mortis haunted house may not be for everyone, but for those Halloween fans who like their entertainment a little darker and a little scarier, the nationally recognized attraction of deranged fun is now open for business. For those who cannot make it down to Killen, Alabama, (that is the real name of the town) there’s a new documentary that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the volunteers who perform each night in the shaded hallways of this eerie location.
Surprisingly, the film Family of Fear, directed by Stephen Lackey, is not only about the scares on this 50,ooo-square-foot property. Sure, the frights are there, and some of the footage offers viewers a chance to understand the minds behind the menace. But the real draw of the 90-minute film are the testimonials of the actors, all of whom have unique stories on what first drew them into the haunting business and what drives them back year after year.
Many of the stories involve bullying at school, dysfunctional families and bad relationships, but when the volunteers head for Arx Mortis, it’s almost as if their personal worries are forgotten. They enter a community of like-minded, accepting family members, and they have a blast releasing their energy on paying customers looking for a thrill. It’s touching hearing their tales of overcoming the odds.
Lackey spends a lot of time with the volunteers and staff in the 2017 season, a time period when Arx Mortis tried to rebound from less-than-stellar reviews the previous year. Their quest was to become another top-rated haunted house, ranking among the best in the United States. Throughout the season, the staff and volunteers encounter many setbacks, including dousing rain that shuts part of the attraction on a busy night. However, the “family” powers through the obstacles, mostly sticking to the principle that the show must go on.
The documentary is rough around the edges and could use some fine-tuning. For starters, the narrative doesn’t unfold in a perfectly chronological order, and the jumping back and forth can be distracting. Also, it’s difficult comprehend the full scale and scope of Arx Mortis because so many rooms and hallways are filmed in the dark. It certainly looks claustrophobic, but it’s full potential remains a mystery (perhaps that’s an incentive to have people experience the property in person).
For Halloween lovers, this month poses a crowded calendar of options. There are so many haunted attractions, so many horror films, so many TV specials and so much to do. Family of Fear caters to this macabre love, but it also goes deeper and tells the story of those who thrive when the lights go out and the shrieks start cascading from the depth other people’s lungs.
There’s heart in this film — it’s bleeding profusely and locked inside a zombie ribcage, but it’s still a heart.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Family of Fear (2018), directed by Stephen Lackey, is available Oct. 23 exclusively on iTunes. Click here for more information. Rating: 
