In just under a week Pennywise returns to the big screen to terrify us once again! A mere 27 years after the events of the first movie Pennywise is back again to haunt the streets of Derry.
To celebrate Warner Brothers have created a pop-up IT Chapter 2 Vaults scare maze/funhouse experience in London’s Waterloo.
A carnival of horrors that certainly throws you headfirst into the theme of the movie.
Taking place over 11,000 square feet of underground tunnels, the vaults are filled with stunning sets and terrifying scenes.
An experience that feels as though you’ve just stepped into the movie and have been initiated as a member of The Losers Club.
Upon entry, you step forth into a carnival. A giant funhouse stands before you with a hook-a-duck and a shooting gallery in the same area.
Before you go in we were asked to have a go at the carnival games that were hosted by very enthusiast actors.
The detail in this room alone was impressive.
Littered with red balloons and carnival lights you could be anywhere in the world.
I could have stayed there all day!
To enter the funhouse you must either explode a balloon or hook a duck from the pond.
Hooking a duck whilst holding a camera proved difficult but we got there in the end!
We were given our admittance ticket and the fun began.
Into the funhouse we go…
Surrounded by kaleidoscopic walls that rotate you walk across the bridge and down the black corridors.
Crying children were echoing through the Soundsystem as we approached an ultra-violet room with two swinging neon clowns.
A pop-up event in Hollywood for IT: Chapter 2 follows the same entry pattern but a morphsuit dressed figure pops out at you during that experience.
This one was a little easier on the old blood pressure.
A few more dark corridors later and we arrive at the Neibolt house. What an incredibly detailed set this was, the house looked absolutely perfect surrounded by the Losers Club bikes.
Two actors play out a scene debating whether or not to go into the house to save the children.
It was at this point we were told to stop filming which is a shame as we had only just started.
The detail of the house and the scenes thereafter were the most photogenic and content worthy too!
Typical.
“The Level of set detail was incredible. It looked as thou it had been lifted straight from the movie set!”
Inside the house, we saw the infamous three doors from the first movie. Each one labeled with Not Scary At All, Scary and Very Scary.
Jim instantly went towards the Very Scary one that I wanted to do, I got stuck with the mediocre Scary door and the other couple we were with had the Not Scary At All Door.
From their reviews the Not Scary At All one lived up to its name, a simple funbox that you wind up and the lights go out.
My door had a little Georgie actor standing in a corner of a room full of red balloons, I had to swim through the balloons to escape.
The Very Scary door contained a mirror maze where Pennywise would jump scare you midway through which sounded awesome!
I was a little disappointed with my room of balloons and I was the first person to escape.
“You have no idea what to expect. A spontaneous and creepy journey through the underbelly of London”
On the other side of the door was the Jade of the Orient Restaurant. We sat down, had a fortune cookie and were asked to put on headphones attached to oversized walkmans.
An American tour-guide came through the door and took us on the Derry sewer tour. The Vaults are disused underground station tunnels so this scene was the strongest of them all.
We were asked to pick up yellow torches which cut out in the middle of the sewer. Over our shoulder, a little Georgie kept following us in the shadows and the final scene begins.
Pennywise emerges from smoke and shadows, his silhouette cast on the sewer walls edging close to you before popping up in front of you.
Such an epic scene that absolutely blew everything else before it out of the water!
The mix of audio effects through the headphones coupled with the set design and jump scare was a perfect addition to the experience.
The IT: Chapter 2 Vaults experience is a free pop-up and the level of detail and effort that has gone into this production is impressive indeed.
I only wish that we were allowed to film more and the black spaces between the funhouse and Neibolt were filled with another scene.
I felt another scene would have really made it.
Overall
Scaled-down in comparison to the Hollywood pop-up the IT: Chapter 2 Vaults experience is certainly worth the visit.
It’s something so different and so well put together and it had me even more excited about the upcoming movie.
I can’t wait until the film’s release, I’m ready to float!
The IT: Chapter 2 vaults experience is open to the public from 31st August, ahead of the films UK cinema release on 6th September.
