Returning to review annual scare attractions – even ones as reputable and renowned as Burton-Upon-Trent’s Screamfest – always runs the risk of coming up against that true Halloween horror; the law of diminishing returns. It isn’t the first time (and likely shan’t be the last), that we’ve posited this at the outset of one of our Halloween Horror Visit ‘regulars’, but that’s often because it bears repeating.

It’s a fair assumption that we aren’t alone in returning to the thrills and chills of yesteryear, and events such as Screamfest have to routinely innovate and expand, to ensure they aren’t catering their scares to newcomers alone.

“Screamfest feels bigger and more expansive than ever.”

It’s a particular curio for Burton’s 2023 offering, because on the one hand, they have done exactly that – introducing two fun and very welcome new side offerings, whilst continuing their excellent work in essentially stretching out the floorpan of their event into multiple, complementary hub areas. Screamfest feels bigger and more expansive than ever.

On the other hand, not only does this year’s offering present no new mazes, the team at the National Forest Adventure Farm have actually undone some finality and marketing of last year’s event, where one of the attraction’s most tightly-themed and reliable mazes, Love Hurts, was pitched as having its final year. Curiously, and with little by way of fanfare or explanation, Hurts returns for 2023 with nary a scratch, and no mention or acknowledgement that it was supposed to have called its ‘last orders’ some twelve months ago.

Which leaves the question – do the two new flourishes, and the overall quality of Screamfest’s five returning mazes, warrant a return visit? And, for newcomers, where does the overall experience fall within the ever-growing scare maze industry here in the UK (and indeed, beyond)?

Having reviewed Screamfest annually since 2015 (bar that one year where a certain pandemic had the unmitigated gall to infringe on the spooky season…), it’s a genuine delight to say that 2023 offers up probably its strongest year to date. Although much of this praise comes with the caveat that we attended on its opening/preview/media night, so energies were high and could potentially wane further into the month, we review as we experience, and this year’s Screamfest offers up five strong mazes that were densely populated with spirited, game scare performers giving it their all across-the-board. Plenty of ‘street’ performers and a variety of entertainment and side attractions (including some returning fairground rides and even a ‘Death Slide’) along with the aforementioned sideshow ventures make for the fullest, funnest ‘fest to date.

It’s a trifle old hat going into detail on some of Burton’s mazes for what will now be the sixth or seventh time, but as a general recap for those unacquainted with either Screamfest or our takes on it, Hillbilly Joe’s Zombee Zoo and the award-winning Insomnia remain the best of the bunch, though in truth, all five mazes are solid. Zoo guides visitors around a hillbilly shanty town that seems to be perpetually stuck somewhere between Christmas and purgatory, as deranged locals (see: yokels) hurl insult and abuse aplenty. It’s a well-themed adventure into tubthumpin’, rootin’ tootin’ chaos, bursting with character and some great environmental storytelling. The same is true of Insomnia, perhaps Burton’s most outwardly and explicitly horror-laden offering; a venture into one child’s terror – haunted by the demonic ‘Crackerjack’ figure who regularly pops up amidst a twisting, time-travelling (and in some cases, literally back-bending) nightmare.

The death-defying Love Hurts presents a singles night gone horribly wrong, descending as it does into a suitably grotesque trip into the sewers and waterworks belonging to a deranged, chainsaw-wielding professor. Hurts is another maze that is fairly immaculately themed and plenty immersive, even if, like the circus-themed Freakout, parts of it are beginning to feel a little long in the tooth. Lots of praise again to the maze actors who, on the night reviewed, were giving it their all and really injected a lot of energy and fun into these two older attractions.

“Lots of praise again to the maze actors who, on the night reviewed, were giving it their all and really injected a lot of energy and fun into these two older attractions.”

Elsewhere, Creed Farm quite literally takes you out into the corn fields of the site, with some welcome new inclusions to the maze puncturing its walkways and outdoor corridors with unsettling moments of genuine paranoia and uncertainty. Are those scarecrows blocking your path real? At one stage, Burton’s ‘outdoor maze’ was in many ways its USP, as there was a time when you would board a tractor-pulled livestock carrier and be driven out into the dark beyonds of the farm in order to reach Creed’s predecessors, which always leant an incredible atmospheric, remote and foreboding air to proceedings. The only ongoing (and admittedly minor) critique of Burton is that they have still not reinstated this excellent, absorbing prelude.

With this being said, 2023 does offer visitors a chance to head out into the recesses of the farm’s boundaries, with the (unsurprisingly) Alien-themed Area 52. With a decided emphasis on campy fun over horror, 52 sees those willing to pay an extra £10 for admission driven out into the fields to open fire with paintball guns on what is pitched as an alien invasion. It’s good, hokey fun shooting at the actors padded up to the nines and sporting suitably B-movie worthy alien masks, even if the understandably restricted number of paintballs meant that pretty much the entirety of our troupe had run out of ammunition before the final set piece. It’s completely understandable why 52 is not included in entry, given its requirement of paintball ammunition (and indeed, additional paintballs beyond the 60 you start off with require additional purchasing, too), and it does prove a lot of fun. If you go in prioritising goofy, schlocky silliness over anything resembling scares, it’ll likely be worth your time and extra investment, but it’s by no means an absolute must-do.

What is definitely worth a visit is the free, short but enjoyable slice of macabre-lite variety that the new Psycho Circus offers. Featuring a handful of horror-themed performers serving acrobatics and other freewheeling hijinks, it’s a relatively short but entertaining wrinkle of spectacle. Themed around the concept of a globe-trotting (and seemingly centuries-spanning) collector whose steampunk gubbins trap all manner of beasties, there’s a neat storytelling bent to the show, even if some of the spoken delivery is gloriously hammy. It ratchets up nicely, too – with some genuinely wince-inducing moments later on that received palpable, audible reactions from the audience.

It rounds out what is a full, hearty offering for Burton this year. As mentioned, the conscientious planning of the event’s site map and layout has continued and is greatly appreciated (long gone are the years when everything sprung off from one, over-congested central hub). Psycho Circus complements a strong, existing lineup of mazes, and whilst Area 52 is a quirky but fairly inconsequential side distraction, it is entirely optional.

There was a modicum of grumbling on social media when Burton’s prices seemed to have hit a bit of a noticeable hike this year… but, quite frankly, welcome to 2023. Your need and mileage for other costs, including the extra ‘Fast Track’ passes, continues to vary considerably from maze-to-maze. As advised in previous years, this will likely only be amplified by what day and date you decide to visit on. For some, entry was immediate, fast track or no, whereas others (most notably, Love Hurts) they will likely save you up upwards of half an hour (or more) in queuing time. When trying to fit five mazes plus the extra side distractions in within a single evening’s visit, there’s certainly a case to be made that they’re worthy ‘peace of mind’ purchases.

“It’s an admirable move, and one which we’d love to see all large-scale scare attractions adopt.”

One very welcome change to proceedings is that, irrespective of whether you go for fast tracks or not, Burton have made entry to all five of its mazes – and Psycho Circus – unlimited, whereas previous years saw you capped at five tracked entries. For 2023, you can essentially go in as many of the mazes as often as time allows. It’s an admirable move, and one which we’d love to see all large-scale scare attractions adopt (provided that they logistically can).

Though it may not summon up a new maze for 2023, and one previously destined for the chop makes a slightly unexpected (and relatively unexplained) resurrection of its own, Screamfest reminds us, with an energised, well-populated ensemble of performers, some fun and diverting new side adventures, and an admirable decision to take the shackles off of its entry limitations, why it remains one of the UK’s go-to scare attractions this – and indeed, every – Halloween.