Delusion: Harrowing of Hell

Hades is the destination and for some the final stop

There are certain productions that fans of immersive Halloween entertainment eagerly await each fall.  The company of Delusion is one of them, having produced many top-quality “moving theatre” productions in the past.  Delusion is a must-see ticket in most years. 

The 2025 version, though not without its isolated charms, doesn’t quite rise to the quality and story-telling creations of years past.  Harrowing seems to be light on story in favor of a more maze-like approach similar to other lead-thru haunt events this season in Los Angeles. 

It probably won’t matter much to the faithful (I know because I’ve been one of them) or first-timers who won’t have had the benefit of measuring the quality of the 2025 production to the excellent shows from 2023 and earlier.  I leave out 2024 because that presentation too was a bit underwhelming.

The 2025 show has small groups (always a strong suit with Delusion productions) taken through various levels of sin as they descend toward the underworld of hell. Yes, it’s very loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, Alighieri’s 1321 allegorical poem about the wages of sin. In this modern iteration you’re first approached by what must me the Beatrice character, a mysterious woman sheathed completely in white who sends you off to hades via...an elevator.  Nice 21^st Century touch. Her eerie welcome starts your journey from Limbo to the darkest pit of hell.  While Dante’s trip to the netherworld was one of seeing sin before being able to find his way back to God and salvation, the characters that you encounter in Harrowing tend to seek hell as the salvation. The further they (and you) descend the more anticipatory they become.  Talk about a twist.

The issue, though, becomes that in the trip downward there just aren’t enough meaningful set-pieces or actors to ground you in the narrative, a thing past Delusion productions excelled at.  Yes, you’ll have a few meaningful moments with some of the tag team actors, but it isn’t until you’ve gotten deep into the descent that you feel connected to anyone in the cast. This was another conceit of past Delusion shows that has worked much better in previous iterations - getting time to really know those characters that will lead you through the narrative. 

Although I have heard more than a few people over the years talking about the hell of driving downtown, the Variety Arts Theatre smack in the middle of the city center seems an odd choice for an eerie, Halloween-season production.  Crypto Arena and the hustle and bustle of urban streets are all too close, but once you’re past security and inside the 1925 Italian Renaissance masterpiece you quickly leave outside behind. Post signing in, you’ll find yourself in the large lobby where a nice bar and seating areas allow you to lounge a bit before you’re notified via text that it’s your turn to proceed.  After climbing some stairs and killing five or ten minutes watching a great close-up magician, your trip to hell truly begins.  Our group was just six and the perfect number of visitors to enjoy the best elements with an intimate, “we’re in this together” mentality.

Up you’re whisked (or was it down) in that pitch dark elevator before arriving at balcony level just above the first set piece scene that unfolds below you. The lavish dining hall is filled with activity of both a human and non-human nature that is stunning.  It is one of the highlights of the night.  Watching the macabre scene from an overhead perch gives a special eeriness to what’s unfolding a safe distance away. Soon after, you’ll move down to that room to see the results from another perspective. 

It’s a few hallways and small vignette encounters later before you’ll discover the first fully realized immersive character of the night. This perhaps is Dante himself, desperately trying to find his way out of this place. These types of in-your-face performances are a hallmark of Delusion, and I wish there had been more of them.  The actors you do encounter and spend a few minutes with are all fully committed to their roles as they take you through their leg of the story before smoothly handing you off to the next person who becomes your guide forward. 

On a giant property of this size Director Jon Braver clearly has his work cut out for him managing the perpetually moving play, cast and customers moving through, and overall he succeeds.  I only wish we’d had more time to soak it all in, feel the emotion that never had a chance to take hold, and get to know the characters and narrative on a deeper level.  As the ending too-quickly approaches you’ll travel down the River Styx (Fifth Circle of Hell for you statisticians) where another character excitedly anticipates getting you all to hell.  A shocking event, though, might alter that journey.

The theatre itself is the shining star of the proceedings, a cavernous behemoth that feels spooky all by itself. The circles of hell, (i.e. rooms), you’ll visit are art directed well and lit minimally but effectively. This show does a lot with dry ice as you’ll find in the muck.  A few other spaces seem underwhelming, and all too often are in want of more actors.  The special effects, though somewhat sparse, are crowd pleasers when they roll in.  No spoilers here but fans of Delusion will see one familiar stunt redone in a shocking style as the play nears its climax. 

Nothing to do with the play, but yet taking you out of the mood the night we visited, was seeing an actor pre-show, or maybe a stage technician, dressed as a bush walking in front of us as we were given the pre-show rules (no phones, no touching, etc.) by our affable greeter.  Perhaps a curtain to separate the movement of personnel from the guests could easily prevent this type of thing from happening at future shows. 

Delusion, now part of the 13^th Floor Entertainment Group (Dark Harbor, Haunted Hayride, et al) has clearly gotten a more corporate vibe to it that inevitably seems to happen to all haunts, shows and attractions that come under the fold of the giant company.  Let’s hope in future productions, the elements that have distinguished and been the guiding principle of Delusion shows – superb scripting, large and prolific casts and a non-rushed theatrical atmosphere as very special entertainment – remain the guiding focus. 

Halloween Scene Los Angeles will no doubt be there to find out.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Tickets: $113.00 and upward

Delusion: Harrowing of Hell