The Basement

There are a number of things one would find frightening about being trapped in a cannibal's basement. The imminent sense that the end is drawing near, the ticking of a clock counting down to your demise and the various atrocities your everyday homicidal killer would have in his personal space. Edward Tandy is the serial killer in question, and the popular Los Angeles attraction, "The Basement," will throw you into his world and into a situation that will require you to overcome your personal fear and use your wit and intellect to escape. I don't know about you, but any scenario that requires you to put a black bag over your head before being tossed into a dingy cellar is worth trying in my book.

And I was not disappointed. "The Basement" is a real escape experience, a completely immersive game where you will find yourself locked in a room for 45 minutes with a small group. You will be left to your own devices to find a way out, using hidden clues and items found within the space. Make sure you leave no stone unturned, because clues will be anywhere and everywhere.

There will be numerous startling occurrences that happen while you're desperately trying to find your way out, but don't overlook them as sometimes they will hold the answers you are seeking. For instance, keep your distance from the dead body in the middle of the room, but listen closely as he might be of help throughout your adventure.

There will be plenty of distractions, but keep focused on the task at hand. The clock counting down to your untimely death will forever loom over you and perhaps the ominous reminders that your time is running out will be the biggest distraction of all. Keep your cool and work together, and you just might make it out.

"The Basement" is not a haunted house; in fact, very early on the horrific decor in the room, skin suits, random body parts, blood splatter, etc., quickly became an afterthought as we scrambled around trying to find clues. In the end, the scariest thing about "The Basement" was perhaps the shady strip mall in the Valley where the attraction takes place.

"The Basement" is not an easy puzzle to solve, and I think this is what makes it so great. I personally would have preferred to experience it with a smaller crowd (we were at the max of twelve) because I felt that there were many things to solve that were lost on me due to another part of our group working on it.

That being said, we still failed. I have this hilarious image stuck in my head of all of us running around the room during the last few minutes desperately trying to fit all the pieces of the gruesome puzzle together. The whole experience is so much fun and will put your puzzle solving skills to the ultimate test.

We weren't the only group that failed. According to the creators, only a couple of teams were able to make it out on their first attempt since its opening night on October 1. You will find a scoreboard in the main lobby with individual success rates based on first, second, third and even fourth attempts! The fact that participants continuously return to finish what they started says a lot about this ingenious attraction.

I highly recommend giving "The Basement" a shot, a mere glance at their excellent Yelp reviews should do away with any doubts you may still have. Just make sure you leave your fears at home, bring your thinking caps and remember, the game starts as soon as the door slams shut behind you. Good luck!

"The Basement" runs year-round at 12909 Foothill Blvd in Sylmar. For information or tickets, call 818-741-2864 or visit www.thebasementla.com.