So, what do you think? Honest mistake or fabricated malfunction? Mechanical breakdown or publicity stunt?
Check the facts:
1) Late 2008, SAW 5 is dead on arrival at the box office, continuing the downward trend of the franchise as it grosses (no pun intended) the least amount of money since the first movie (dis)graced the big screen.
2) Adding insult to injury (again, no pun intended), the G-Rated High School Musical 3 releases simultaneously with SAW 5 and hammers the torture porn flick to claim the number one spot for the week by a substantial margin.
3) Economic turmoil domestic and abroad threatens to dismember attendance at all theme parks.
Speculation:
Thorpe Park officials concerned about waning interest in the source material for their $19 million dollar Mystery Mine rip off (darn puns), stage an accident to garner publicity.
Far fetched? I dunno....
1) Is the ride cursed?
2) Was this accident really just a huge programming choke, or was it a well-manufactured publicity stunt?
3) Most importantly, why the heck is a ride based on a supposed horror flick not indoors, in the dark where it belongs?
I say we put the pieces of this Jigsaw puzzle together and see what we find!
And before you decide to sabotage this thread debating whether or not a ride based on a series of torture porn flicks should have ever been made, just know that it has already been discussed ad nauseam, and does not need to be debated further.
I am looking forward to your tongue in cheek responses! Try and come up with something that is a cut above the ordinary!
But, any way you slice it, I messed up.
Any feedback on the ride from TPI regulars?
How was the indoor (dark) part of the ride?
How were the crowds?
Any more break downs or issues?
Was the SAW theme essential to the narrative, or could the ride easily be adapted to any horror movie franchise?
Overall, how would you rate the entire ride experience?
Just thought I'd get that out of the way for you, James.
And I'd argue that it absolutely wasn't a staged thing. I don't care what you're trying to accomplish, you do NOT make a ride sound unreliable.
(sorry, not in the mood for puns)
Still wanna know if the darn thing is any good or not...because in five years when the SAW franchise has faded into oblivion where it belongs, it will be interesting to see if the ride is re-themed to something a little more appropriate...like a long-abandoned coal mine with an eerie past, perhaps?
But hes not really a coaster nut like me lol
will keep you in the know
Although, it does seem odd that the incident in question happened at the very tail end of the night, just before the ride was going to close anyway...and that the malfunction occurred in a very safe part of the ride...and some lady, for no apparent reason, had a panic attack...voila, free publicity!
Incidentally, I may be going with the idea that the ride is "cursed" instead. Apparently, there were more problems on the OFFICIAL opening day for SAW - The Ride because just a few hours after the park's opening on March 14th, the coaster was shut down due to technical difficulties, and did not re-open for the remainder of the day.
Engineers at Thorpe Park better revisit this ride's inner workings before someone really does get hurt.
The Sponge Bob coaster at Mall of America is in the same mold, so you can check it out too.
