Warning: This post discusses an 18+ overlay for The Haunted Road, a local horror-themed attraction. The subject matter is for mature audiences only.Material may be inappropriate for those under 18.
What is The Haunted Road?
The Haunted Road was a drive-thru, horror-themed attraction located in the Orlando area. Formed in response to COVID-19, The Haunted Road offered socially-distanced thrills and scares during the 2020 Halloween season. While this attraction is now closed, (and we don’t yet know whether performances will resume next year), there’s still a bit more to say about this incredibly fun experience!
What are Unrestricted Nights?
During the final weekend of The Haunted Road, creators added an “adult-only” twist to the performances. Called “Unrestricted Nights,” the attraction’s Facebook page describes them as, “an edgier version of the experience with new characters and additions to scenes.” The storyline and much of the dialogue remained the same, but the extra adult content included violence, gore, sexual content, and a bonus scene.
If you didn’t get to experience the “normal” version of The Haunted Road, you can read our synopsis and review here or watch the video below.
Having experienced the tamer version of The Haunted Road, my friends and I were curious what an 18+ version would really entail. Take a look at the added content below!
Attention: Because this event has closed for the season, I will be revealing a few spoilers.
Violence/Gore
Certainly the most expected “adult” aspect of the new Haunted Road, the attraction added two gruesome sequences depicting brutal attacks.
- A young girl is “stabbed” in the face with a mirror shard. The victim is hidden from view, though you can clearly see the attacker’s actions and “spatter” coming from the wounds.
- The second (and far bloodier) attack sequence occurred in a scarecrow themed scene when a man is literally torn apart! After this scene’s victim is thrown to the ground, the aggressor proceeds to visibly pull “organs” out of a bucket next to the actor. This produces a believable effect and elicited an audible “WHOA!” from all three individuals in my car!
While the rest of the scenes were generally creepier than the original version, these two additions were the most obvious 18+, violence-related content on the road.
Sexual Content
While I expected this unrestricted version of the show to feature more violence and gore, I was surprised to discover that the creators added a fair bit of sexual content as well. There was no actual nudity, but there were some pretty heavy sexual themes.
- Instead of the Big Bad Wolf simply looking for his next meal, he’s now dressed in bondage gear and apparently enjoys a little pain. You can tell because he makes several breathy comments to that effect during a chase scene.
- In a separate area, the king and another character are discussing the imprisonment and eradication of all witches and wizards while multiple female dominatrix (dominatrixes?) beat up a defenseless man tied to a pole.
Extra Scene
The Haunted Road Unrestricted did include one bonus scene that was not featured in the original show. There is no dialogue. Your car stops in the middle of a dark woods where killers, victims, and (maybe zombies?) terrorize those who trespass. Basically this means that actors are walking up and down the line of cars and interacting with the occupants. It’s super gory (actors are carrying around body parts and there are several “bodies” displayed in various stages of dissection) and did include one instance of “mannequin full frontal nudity” from a male “dead body.”
Final Thoughts
While the Unrestricted version of The Haunted Road maintained the same story line and scene sequence as the original production, there were enough extra additions to make it worth the price of an additional ticket. I was incredibly impressed by the added special effects, and it was fun to see the “adult content” added to each scene.
If The Haunted Road returns (maybe with a new storyline?), I hope they bring back Unrestricted Nights with all their sinful glory. This was a unique experience that you can’t find anywhere else in Central Florida. Thanks, Haunted Road, for making the 2020 Halloween season a little bit scarier, gorier, and more terrifying!
