To say that Delusion has become legendary is not hyperbole. In its first year NPR called it, “The hottest ticket in town, Delusion’s story is gothic and twisted.” After experiencing the show during its second year we were instantly drawn into this romantically horrific realm of textured, three dimensional horror that stood out from the run-of-the-mill haunted houses.This was not a conga line though claustrophobic hallways. This was an intimate journey though a three dimensional play. Audience members were not observers, they were active participants in a fully realized story-line, in an actual location. This was new territory in the realm of horror entertainment, one that thinned the veil between reality and fiction, allowing guests to disappear if but for an hour.
The first show in 2011 was simply titled…
Delusion (2011)
The brilliant and now banished psychiatrist, Dr. Frederick Lowell, took seclusion in a decaying mansion where he could continue his dark experiments in peace. The audience played the part of Dr. Lowell’s hated colleagues; those who banished Frederick long ago. In the unfolding story, the lead character and audience fended off patients that crawled on ceilings, leapt up stairways and occupied their minds. In the end, the lead character turned on the audience and sought to use them to fully realize Dr. Lowell’s great work.
The next year, Braver teamed with Neil Patrick Harris to produce a full-blown sequel to Delusion in the same mansion.
Delusion: The Blood Rite (2012)
In 2012, based on the production’s overwhelming success, braver wrote a stand-alone sequel in the same venue, titled delusion: the blood rite, bringing the interaction to a truly terrifying new level. After Dr. Frederick Lowell was murdered, his patients and family scattered. Years later, after WWI, the patients, played by the guests, have returned to the mansion after repeated visions of their former master calling out to them from the dead world. With the help of Lowell’s daughter Anna, the guests embark on a disturbing adventure to resurrect their once beloved master. Yet, resurrection rarely ever ends well.
After two years in the same Los Angeles mansion (2011, 2012) Delusion then moved to a church in Silverlake to tell a new story. Delusion’s next play was called Masque of Mortality.
Delusion: Masque of Mortality (2013)
In a dilapidated church and nunnery in the eclectic Silverlake neighborhood in Los Angeles, a haunting tale unfolded. The 50 minute experience led groups into a dark and mysterious refuge from a plague-ridden world in 1931. Yet, this purported “refuge” proved to be far from the truth. Rumors of a cult known as “The Plague Doctors” have promised a remedy to our pitiful existence as well as the blight. This false hope has led the audience into the depths of a nightmare unimaginable.
The next year Braver upped the ante with another jaunt through the expanded universe of Delusion with their most brilliant creation yet, a play called Lies Within.
Delusion: Lies Within (2014)
Diving into creator Jon Braver’s roots in fantasy adventure, Lies Within placed the audience in the role of rabid fans of Elena Fitzgerald; a reclusive, dark fantasy author who has gone missing, along with her daughter Mary. Determined to uncover the whereabouts of their favorite novelist, the audience chooses to break into her manor. Once inside, the fabric of reality tears apart as Elena’s literary characters come to life, sworn to protect and guide their creator toward finishing her greatest novel.
After a wildly successful 2014 run the demand for Delusion had reached fever pitch. Enjoying unanimous critical acclaim and audience reception the horror community wanted more, as did mainstream theatergoers. Alas, in 2015 Braver and his crew took 2015 off promising the development of a new, year-round venue that would satisfy the rising demand for immersive theatre. Then that fell through.
By mid 2016 speculation ran through the Los Angeles horror and theatre communities. Would Delusion take another year off? Would they ever return? Then, at the recent Midsummer Scream convention, Braver, along with his creative team, announced their next story, His Crimson Queen.
We had a chance to speak with writer director Jon Braver about this next chapter in the Delusion universe: what led to its development, where the story is headed, and what we can expect from His Crimson Queen.
His Crimson Queen expands further the gothic world of Delusion, taking place in 1933 in an a sprawling spanish villa in the hills near Los Angeles. As participants in the story we play the children of Berke and Selene Sullivan. For most of their lives, the children believed that their mother died in a fire long ago. Yet, their father now tells a darker story than this. With Berke now missing, the guests are led to a strange villa to embark on a dreadful tale of love and the supernatural as they search for their parents. Along the way, they learn more about their mother’s bloodline, their special abilities that come with it and Selene’s old lover who never gave up the search for his queen.
If the story feels a little layered, that is intentional. Delusion is never simplistic, oftentimes giving guests plenty to decipher long after the experience ends. Braver says of this year’s story, “It’s got a real elegant feel, a lot there to absorb.” But that is true of any Delusion show. Then he explains that, “His Crimson Queen is basically my own take on vampire lore. It’s centered around the very first vampires. It’s a truly dreadful story. A horrific love triangle of sorts.” A vampire love story that puts the audience at the center of a very dangerous custody battle? Only Delusion would take the high road on blood suckers, making it sorrowful and romantic.
Inspired by such films as The Shining, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Alien, Braver’s approach to horror and the staging of it, veers away from the trend in extreme haunts of late. His tales, centered in the obtuse Delusion universe, are characterized by lineage, a fantastical nature of the world the characters live in, unique story lines, and unique abilities that certain characters have.
Each production is staged, not in a temporarily constructed maze of rooms. Braver instead chooses to scout actual locations in order to tell just the right story. Braver explains that he has a book of ideas and notions that he keeps under lock and key. In looking to stage the next show, Braver and crew searched for the perfect location in which to tell a story. What comes first though, the story or the location? In the instance of Crimson Queen Braver said, “It was the Villa” that did it.
Certainly the most technical of all Delusion shows thus far, His Crimson Queen will feature a rotating cast of 19 people. It will once again feature a lush, original score from Delusion veteran, Siddhartha Barnhoorn, and, as Braver touts, “This is the strongest group of actors yet,” for any Delusion show. Expected to run an average of 55 minutes long, the story-driven horror experience will also feature a character named Amelia Callidora. “This woman is one of the most complex characters I have ever written.” explains Braver, “She is trying to keep it all together. She has to put on a happy face in order to take on the dangers around her.”
All of this seems like a tremendous amount of effort just to put together a haunt. To call Delusion a haunt would be like calling the QE2 a boat. Braver and his team actually bristle at the term, instead preferring to be called a haunted play. The efforts to create a layered, dimensional world of intrigue and suspense during the Halloween season has certainly touched a nerve with fans with this years show selling out in a mere 20 days, over a month before opening night. What is it that keeps fans coming back, religiously, to this deliciously gothic world created by Braver? He explains his one goal in the development and execution of each show is “To get people back to a childlike state, get people to tap into that playful suspension of disbelief and just go for it.” The sold out performances and inevitable extensions rave that Delusion has, in fact, done that and connected with passionate audiences longing to escape their worries if but for just an hour.
If you are still looking for tickets to His Crimson Queen you are invited to snap up the last remaining tickets for our HorrorBuzz meet up at Delusion on Saturday November 12th at 10:30pm. There are only a few spots left so you had better get yours now!
The most sought after ticket of the Halloween season, Delusion is already sold out of its initial run for the most part. Lucky for you we have 25 tickets set aside for you lovely HorrorBuzz readers. You WILL have to act fast as these will be gone in an instant.
The night will consist of a separate meet up at a nearby restaurant (MEAL NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE) then we will convene at Delusion precisely at 10:30 to begin our journey. After which time you will have the chance to meet writer director of Delusion, Jon Braver.
$77.00
