Beside Oakville’s Film.Ca Cinemas is a studio with a haunting makeover just in time for Halloween, debuting their new immersive experience titled The Curse of Knoll Studios.
Haunted houses are a popular Halloween tradition, but this year the staff of Film.Ca Cinemas is flexing their creative muscles to create one of the largest Halloween attractions ever built in town as a holiday pop-up.
The attraction, set to run on select days from now to Halloween night, Oct. 31, offers spine-tingling tours where visitors enter a place of cinematic horror and learn the tale of an ambitious producer whose cast has spiralled into madness.
"Our inspiration was to have a cool mix between a horror movie and a real haunted tour," says show writer and co-director Eric Genier.
"Everyone who worked on this has a background in film, so as an attraction, this haunted house is a combination of a Disney ride, live theatre, and a Wes Craven movie. It's a really cool mix that we think visitors will have a lot of fun with."
Starting with a creepy tour from your guide, Taylor Knollson, the son of a man who has lost control of his actors, you will be guided through Knoll Studios and find yourself learning the dark events that have plagued its productions.
Taylor Knollson, haunted by his father's legacy and desperate to salvage the studio, reveals that the cast's dedication to their roles has gone too far and actors now believe they are the very characters they portray. But will you trust him?
As you weave through dimly lit corridors, eerie film sets, flashing lights, pitch black, and shadowed backrooms, you’ll encounter these unhinged actors up close and find that they seem to know something about Taylor you don't.
While these actors will threaten you, there are still strict safety rules: no one will not touch you, and the crew asks that nobody touches them in order to make sure that everyone stays safe and not to break the immersive experience.
In addition to being a unique creative project, it's also part of Film.Ca's business. The staff say they're trying to inspire people to go out and have fun locally, bringing more varied entertainment to the Oakville crowd.
"This is a creative way to support a local business," continues Genier. "Visitors will be immersed in the story of the studios, and the actors are scary, but it’s also beaming with creativity you can’t find anywhere else in the GTA.”
This event is far from a visit to a neighbourhood haunted house. The Curse of Knoll Studios brings you into an unnerving narrative that feels disturbingly real.
This Halloween season, Oakville’s Knoll Studios dares anyone who is brave enough to step into a place where fiction and reality collide. You will have a front row seat to a horror movie as you interact with some of the most talented actors Oakville has.
Tours run every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on select dates from now to Oct. 31, 2024. Single event tickets and combo tickets including a movie admission to Film.Ca Cinemas next door are available.
For more information or to book your visit, visit the event's booking page online here.
Tyler Collins contributed additional reporting to this story.