2.8 hours later - a zombie experience

Ok, I admit it. I am a zombiephile. I loved Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland and I'm addicted to AMC's show, The Walking Dead. Even my favourite Wii game was zombie-based, Resident Evil 4. But even better than that was taking part in 2.8 hours later.

What am I talking about, some of you may ask? Well, 2.8 hours later - the "city wide zombie chase game", as it's billed, is basically a massive game of tag, through the streets of the city, where you are chased by groaning/shrieking/shambling/sprinting zombies. More information here, or to view trailer, click here.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the closest thing you can get to a real zombie apocalypse without the occurence of a...well, a zombie apocalypse.

Aftermath of 2.8 hours later 2011

My first zombie experience was in 2011, which took place in the streets of Southwark - a tension filled evening, running away in terror from the undead lurking in multi-storey car parks (unbelievably creepy), pubs, and well, pretty much everywhere! I did quite well that year, only being caught in the kill zone (the last zone, filled with many, MANY zombies). It was intense, it was scary, it was thrilling, it was exhausting...and I loved it!

Would Halloween 2013 live up to the experience I had two years ago?

Well, to begin with, I was already walking around with a strained groin muscle (thanks to some overzealous stretching - I actually heard something pop/click...) so I knew I was going to be pretty useless running, but I was eager to see where the story would take us this year.

We started in an empty warehouse in Stratford, where we were checked for signs of infection, sprayed with decontaminant (mostly on my shoes??? come on, what help is that going to be?!) and told that we could enter the "safe city of London" - just go down the road to the Immigration office. Alas, when we got there we found out we didn't have the required documentation and so were meant to be ejected, but not before a helpful medic told us where we could find a friend of his that could organise fake IDs. Where? Wait for it...a multi-storey car park. Cue images of a dimly lit car park with flickering lights and narrow stairwells, and jumping down those stairs five steps at a time, chased by bloodthirsty zombies. Unfortunately, this time the car park was at mega shopping centre Westfields, and there were no zombies in the stairwell. Probably something to do with health and safety of players and the general public. Boo... We were sent to pick up medical supplies scattered across the car park - around which half a dozen zombies were shambling, of course. From there we were sent round the houses, encountering groups of zombies along the way, the most exhilirating section of which was running the gauntlet down the Greenway, where zombies were dotted all the way along this corridor. The final destination was the safe house, Asylum, where a zombie disco awaited us.

All in all, we had a good time, even though I was walking it by the end, thanks to my gammy leg (and needless to say got caught many times). However, I felt it was all so much less than 2011. Less scary, fewer zombies and zombie zones, the atmosphere less chilling and opressive too. There were too many busy places - the shopping mall, the busy roads and the long walks between zombie zones all detracted from the feel of it this year.

Zombie in the making

However, I did get another go at the game, this time as a volunteer zombie dressed in oversized overalls (apparently I used to be an employee of Alec Jarrett's meat processing plant), and it was so much more fun than I expected! It was immensely enjoyable chasing strangers round an industrial estate, jumping out from my hiding place in the bushes and shrieking at them before giving chase, in between ambling around with a floppy head and a pretend broken ankle. After being called "the chick from the Ring" a few times, I got pointed at by a slightly freaked out youth saying "Fuck! What is that?!" - highlight of my evening, I tell you. At the end of the night all us zombies managed to get a hold of the (actor) security guard and devour him in front of the last group of players. A great ending for a great night! I'd definitely do it again!

Giz a kiss!

Future cinema's Shawshank Redemption: an interactive experience

Last Saturday I spent the evening in prison. Even paid for the privilege. I probably wouldn't do it again and definitely won't be paying £50 for the experience!

It was all part of Future Cinema's (or Secret Cinema - they seem to be the same but operating under two different names - not sure, bloody confusing) interactive cinematic experience. The idea is you get to experience the movie and not just watch it. In this case the movie was Shawshank Redemption, hence the prison themed evening.

I was a little apprehensive, not knowing what to expect, but this video will give you an idea of what happened.

We were instructed to meet at Bethnal Green library (functioning as a courthouse) where we were ushered into a room, greeted by a sleazy lawyer (Slick Rick I think it was) and sent upstairs for a speedy sentencing (I got eight years for battery). At this point there was a lot of waiting as I guess there are only so many people they can fit on the prison bus. We eventually get told to line up by a verbally abusive prison guard (come to think of it just about everybody we encountered was verbally abusive) and are led, single file with hand on the person in front's shoulder, to the bus. This is vaguely reminiscent of primary school - constantly told to stay in single file and to shut up and stop giggling.

When we arrive at Oakhampton penitentiary, we are are sworn at some more and told to form lines grouped by body size, strip to our long johns/tights and vests and grab a bag of prison fatigues. I lose the rest of my group here and wonder if I will have to endure the rest of the evening on my own. We are then led, barefoot and in our undergarments, through freezing corridors and then through the prison showers (where a naked man was lying on the floor, presumably halfway through a good beating) to our cells.

After being allowed to put on our standard issue prison clothes, which was way too big for me, we were let out of our cells and led out to the prison canteen. Here things get a bit confused for me, as it seemed we were allowed to just wander around pointlessly for a while. At least I found my husband and his friend again, who seemed just as confused as I was. After a few "set pieces" - a rendition of Let Your Hammer Ring, a staged fight in the yard, which I missed, and an inmate uprising, we were again led single file, hands on our heads (there's that school thing again) to the hall where the screening of the movie took place.

The movie was great. The experience? I can't say it was enjoyable (is being incarcerated ever enjoyable?) but it was definitely unique and the actors were incredible and did an excellent job. Perhaps if the theme was different I would've enjoyed it more. Would recommend this if you had a tendency towards masochism. Otherwise just rent the DVD.