Halloween season brings out the best in L.A. immersive scene with ‘The Willows’ and ‘Witch!’ The former is the most elaborate of all our current haunted house attractions, a haunted house by the same name that has been open in Southern California for a couple of years now, and the latter is the new show to bring in an altogether different style. Both shows are currently at the AMC Loews Hollywood in Pasadena and they’ll be on and off throughout the weekend, which means they go at their own speed.
Now before you turn your nose up at ‘The Willows,’ which was based on the book by Stephen King, let me tell you that it was a very impressive production. It was a three room, seven story house where the actors were dressed up in period costume. You could imagine them walking down Main St, looking around, or just passing out of a doorway right in front of you. Of course, once they got into the house and you could hear them moving from room to room, I was right there with my camera.
And the sets were just incredible. When you opened the back door to the first room, you’d be greeted by this huge room covered in black and white checkerboard tiles and the actors stepping in and out of these giant vases from the 1800’s. And then you’d see these three girls dressed in period costumes, just sashaying about and making their way around the room as though they were enjoying themselves for hours. But I’d say it was all worth the price of admission. The main stage was a big room with a black table tennis table and a big green door that opened up onto a balcony. So you could imagine this movie set that’s completely black and white. And then when you walked through this door, you felt like you were at an old-time movie premiere.
The first room of the set was pretty much the same as the one used in ‘Witch!’ and you’d walk through the door and it was like coming into your grandmother’s house. It had black and white checkerboard walls, and furniture. And then you’d walk down this long hallway with these black and white checkerboard walls, a black fireplace, and on one side there were these giant mirrors with black wallpaper