Interactive theatrics terrorize

If you’re looking for a thrilling, hair-raising way to get into the Halloween spirit, look no further than Delusion, a one-of-a-kind, interactive “haunted” play. Running through Halloween, Delusion takes place in a historic mansion on Harvard Boulevard in West Adams, just a few blocks from USC.

 

Unlike a typical haunted house, Delusion has a full plotline, making the experience a performance that thrusts the audience right into the action, successfully achieving the interaction many other Halloween attractions, like Knott’s Berry Farm’s Halloween Haunt, merely feign.

Set at a conspicuous mansion in a quiet neighborhood, Delusion tells the disturbing story of a delusional psychiatric doctor who goes too far in experimental treatments, resulting in a haunting madhouse of lunatics.

Audience members are led into the house in small groups with Charles, the unwilling tour guide who introduces himself and explains the ghastly situation at hand, issuing caveats about dangerous and disturbing characters who lurk around every turn and corner.

The actor playing the role of Charles exudes authentic trepidation — not an easy task in the face of a group of giggling and screaming playgoers.

As patrons progress through the mansion, they encounter eclectic and terrifying “mental patients,” most of whom are bloodthirsty, with each one more bone chilling than the next.

Audience members are also chased by a cannibalistic brute, seduced by a psychotic nymphomaniac, attacked by a deformed giant, mocked by a possessed little girl and tormented by many other characters until they reach the basement where they meet the delusional doctor and his latest creations in the scream-inducing climax of the play.

One of the standouts from the blood-curdling bunch is a rotund, knife-wielding woman who sits spectators down at an ornate kitchen table to dine. The proviso: She scouts a member of the audience — which, during my experience, happened to be me — as her meal.

Much to my delight, I made it out alive, but as she cooed her detailed plans to dismember me in my ear and slid the side of her glinting butcher knife across my shoulder, I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. That brings me to another of Delusion’s highlights: The actors are allowed to touch you.

And touch you they will. Participants will be grabbed, petted, poked and prodded by actors, catapulting the experience to a whole new level of terror.

Frightening characters can reach and point to their heart’s content, but factor in physical contact, and the fourth wall suddenly dissolves, making the play seem more real and horrifying.

Furthermore, the actors’ makeup and costumes are superbly grotesque and authentic. From the blind brute, with bloody sockets in place of his eyes carrying around a remarkably realistic human head on a stake, to the monstrous baby with a face rivaling Chucky’s, each character is crafted meticulously from head to toe with no limits on the gross factor.

The play also features remarkable special effects, such as characters dangling from the ceiling and being dragged across the floor by unseen forces.

The only downside, at first, is the price: At $40 a ticket, it might seem a bit expensive for a half-hour-long show. But in the end, it’s well worth it.

All in all, the performance is exhilarating, scream inducing and truly unique — so much so that it will make viewers want to crawl back for more.

Be advised, however, it’s not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking for a family-friendly, lighthearted Halloween activity, steer clear of Delusion and stick to trick-or-treating. If you crave a substantial dose of adrenaline-pumping fear, guaranteed to make you scream, definitely check out the haunted play.

Just be sure to use the bathroom beforehand.