Remember the horror and mystery Korean film, ‘Train To Busan’ that hit the box office worldwide? Now, that you’re spooked by reminiscing on the movie, the horrendous zombies are making your way to Resort World Genting this coming Halloween day (31st October, 2019).
A collaboration with Vividthree, a digital content production powerhouse from Singapore, the Train to Busan Horror House experience is a superlative result of what location-based entertainment technology can achieve. Drawing from Vividthree’s feature film experience – which include the Singaporean box-office hit trilogy Ah Boys To Men and the Hollywood animated movie Robotropolis – Vividthree has managed to create a compelling horror experience that it considers its crown jewel. How was it made? The production team from Vividthree takes us behind the scenes and show how the magic of the Horror House is created.
Creating the Horror House
The Horror House will be heightened with a cast of 50 actors and scare point operators, who were meticulously selected for necessary physical attributes and acting skills. Working in shifts, the acting cast – who are all Malaysian – will play the role of zombies and survivors in shifts, bringing the story line crafted by Vividthree to life. The attention to detail going into the cast and costuming is immense; lead by an award-winning Malaysian artiste, the makeup for individual actor takes up to 2 hours to complete, while the costumes have been styled specifically to be recognizable to fans of the movie.
Train to Busan Behind The Scenes – Left to right – Roger Ong, Assistant Vice President of Entertainment & Events of Resorts World Genting & Jed Mok, Chief Executive Officer of Vividthree
“We asked ourselves: what we would do if we were one of those ordinary, everyday Koreans that somehow got caught up in a zombie apocalypse? What would have happened if we made a different choice in those scenarios, compared to what was done by the movie’s characters,” says Jed Mok, Chief Executive Officer for Vividthree.
The preparation for the Train to Busan Horror House took months to complete, covering art direction, set design, prop theming and technical considerations that bring the world to life. Each aspect of the experience came with its own challenges, and the team at Vividthree has been careful to accurately capture the atmosphere of the movie, using custom audio soundscapes and video assets to heighten realism. The haunting mirror maze, for example, draws inspiration from the 2008 movie Mirrors and the final fight sequence of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, creating a disorienting room full of broken reflective surfaces and creepy mannequins.
The VR zombie shooting game – available at the Base Camp area – takes things further by allowing guests to take on the role of Korean army soldiers, defending the Busan quarantine zone from an army of ravenous zombies as seen in the finale of the movie.
The Train To Busan Horror House experience will be accepting passengers from 31 October 2019 to 1 January 2020, running from 12 noon to 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 1 November to 1 December 2019, and daily from 2 December 2019 to 1 January 2020. The Streets of Seoul runs from 10am to 10pm over the same time period. Tickets to the Horror House are priced at RM90 for regular admission (RM80 for Genting Rewards Club members).
A combo Horror House single admission and Skytropolis Preview Pass is available at RM128, and guests looking at skip the queue can opt for an additional Express Pass at RM30. For more information, visit www.rwgenting.com or call +603 2718 1118. For AirAsia BIG members, please visit airasia.com to purchase tickets.