Jan Baalsrud and His Wintertime Arctic Escape

Photo By dokaspar

It almost feels like it’s threatening to snow here in Vancouver, and while other Canadians might say we never get any “real” cold here on the West Coast, it’s sure plenty chilly enough for us at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game. And hey—it’s a wet cold here, all right?

It’s gotten us thinking about people who have been forced to make escape attempts in the dead of winter, into icy banks of snow and freezing cold waters. There is one particular wintertime escape—a story of ingenuity and perseverance—that stands out above all the rest: that of Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian resistance fighter in World War II. 

After the Germans invaded his home country in 1940, Baalsrud fled Norway, eventually landing in Britain, where he was trained in combat. He and eleven other Company Linge men undertook an operation in early 1943, with the goal of destroying a Nazi control tower in the extremely northerly town of Bardufoss.

To say the least, things did not go as planned.

Baalsrud and company approached the tower by fishing boat (laden with explosives), but they were detected—and forced to bail out into the Arctic waters. Baalsrud was the only soldier to escape the clutches of the Germans. However, he now found himself in enemy-occupied territory, in the depths of winter, in wet clothes, and with no provisions.

He spent two months (two months!) evading capture in the Arctic environment, taking shelter with sympathizers when he could. In his weeks-long escape, Baalsrud suffered frostbite, snow blindness, and more than one self-operation (to alleviate what he thought was blood poisoning and to get rid of several frostbitten toes).

Finally, on April 8, 1943, Baalsrud made it to a resistance-operated house, near the Finland border. But his ordeal was not over: because of German patrols and weather conditions, to avoid detection a sickly Baalsrud was placed outside, in the snow, on a stretcher, for weeks. Then, finally, on May 30, two Sámi reindeer herders smuggled Baalsrud across Finland and into Sweden—neutral territory. 

Following his two-month escape ordeal, Baalsrud spent seven months in a Swedish hospital. Then, he went straight back to the UK to help train other members of the Norwegian resistance.

Though our Nightmare Before Christmas room has a frosty theme, we can assure you it’s nice and toasty inside. Book your freeze-free winter escape at our Vancouver escape rooms here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Zombies and Puzzles and Swift! Oh my!

Pop singers routinely do intensive vocal exercises before preforming on tour. Actors repeatedly rehearse their lines before going on stage. Professional athletes practise and practise and practise some more. But how does one prepare for the thrilling challenge of the escape room? 

For success in our Vancouver escape room, Krakit has compiled a list of our top ten escape preparation tips. 

10. Sudoko 

There's a reason seniors snatch up Sudoko puzzles like they were free viagra. Sudoko keeps your mind active and alert.  The simple but challenging mind puzzles offer a break from the tech world. They also demand that your brain rely more on your memory than on your bandwidth. Think of them as yoga exercises for your mind.

9. Sit-ups

Killer abs are essential for escape room success. Tone them with simple sit-ups.

8. Source Material

Jack Skellington's adventure to Christmas Town is the source for this year's holiday escape room. Study up on the Oogie Boogie and all things Burtonesque. 

7. Pre-escape meal

Tis the season for turkey indulging, but make sure to stay away from the tasty bird before entering the escape room. Turkey is full of tryptophan, an amino acid that is renowned for inducing sleep. Load up on protein rich foods like eggs, nuts and yogurt instead. Raw vegetables are also good choices. Avoid fatty foods and sugary drinks.  

6. Sharing Circle

All of the escape rooms at Krakit in Burnaby are group orientated. Knowing your fellow players can be important for delegating tasks. A pre-escape sharing circle might shed some light on Brandon's coding talents or on Suzy's inability to handle pressure situations. 

5. Taylor Swift 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22. Keep your youthful spirit jacked.  YOLO.

4. Hydration

Dehydration can seriously limit your body's ability to preform. Stay hydrated and keep your energy enzymes active. 

3. Mad Libs

You gotta stay loose before the big event. Don't let the room get in your head. Relax with some fill-in-the-blank fun. Houdini was a huge fan. Just saying...

2. Zombie Do's and Don'ts

Rule 1: Do your homework. There are plenty of movies out there to help you prep. Your list should definitely include "Dawn of the Dead," "World War Z" and "28 Days Later."

Rule 2: Don't turn your back on your friends. Especially Eddie.  

Rule 3: Do keep it together. Your first urge might be to scream in absolute terror, but where will that get you? Killed. That's where.

1. Get some sleep

Escaping the City: Haida Gwaii Fishing Charters

At Krakit we talk a lot about escaping. That’s no surprise: it’s sort of what we we’re all about.

But we’re fans of all kinds of escaping—not just the kind that involves clues and puzzles and locks and keys. Playing a round at our Vancouver escape rooms not only gives you a chance to literally escape a locked room, but a chance to escape into your mind and forget about the real world for a while. A bit of classic escapism, one might say.

But sometimes you need an even bigger escape. The holidays are hectic enough on their own, then work starts to pile up while you’re away (beware the inbox avalanche!), and the rains of Vancouver just never seem to cease as January and February roll by. Luckily, we know of a spot that’s sure to wipe the brain-slate clean.

Just a two-hour flight north of Vancouver lies the island of Graham in the Haida Gwaii, and on it, Escott Fishing Lodge.

As much as we at Krakit Escape Game love delving into the worlds of zombies and Jigsaw and Halloweentown, sometimes you just can’t beat the total escape offered by spending an entire day out on the fishing boat, casting the old rod, and pulling in a salmon or halibut or two. Then, passing the evening back in the lodge by playing pool, eating and drinking with friends, and hunkering down in a big comfy bed.

Ah, we’re making ourselves relaxed just thinking about it.

Maybe you need a chance to unwind far away from the city, surrounded by some of the best Mother Nature has to offer. Maybe you just need an escape from all the zombies and monsters in your life (OK—that may just be us, maybe the cast of iZombie, too).

Either way, a voyage out to the calm and beauty of Haida Gwaii and Escott Lodge, where there’s nothing to do but fish, will do you just right.

We’d be remiss if you didn’t let you in on this little secret of ours. But we still expect to see you back in our Vancouver escape room, when you get back!

Christmas Miracles: Five Daring Holiday Escapes

Now that we’re fully in holiday mode here at Krakit—with our newly opened Nightmare Before Christmas room and a general feeling of good (if spooky) cheer—we’ve been thinking of other daring Christmastime escapes.

Though we usually associate this time of year with lazily sitting around in darkened living rooms, with a cup of cider in hand, there’s more escape action at the holidays than you might think—not only in pop culture, but also in real life.

Ancienne prison Winter à Sherbrooke, Québec (Photo: Michel Gagnon CC)

1. Marv and Harry’s escape from the house in Home Alone

Let’s start the list off with a bang (and a fall and a blowtorch to the head). Young Kevin McCallister was clearly ahead of his time, making a topnotch escape room from things he just happened to have lying around the house.

Marv and Harry do manage to escape Kevin’s house of horrors, but ultimately are nabbed by the popo and placed in the clink.

2. Four Orlando prisoners bust out Christmas Day 1955

Prison escapes seem to be a much more common thing back in the day, with lots of planning on the part of successful inmates. This particular Florida crew—all imprisoned for cheque forgery—knew that their best chance of escape was Christmas day.

Why? Because the carol singing would drown out the sound of their hacksaws and drills. The glory didn’t last long, as they were nabbed a few days later.

3. The Von Trapps escape Nazi-occupied Austria

We all know the film Sound of Music as a holiday staple, but the real Von Trapp family actually did escape to America during the holiday season.

The family didn’t tramp through the Alps as the film shows, but Maria, Georg and their ten kids did use their musical act to fool the authorities. The Von Trapps told people they were going to America to perform, heading for Italy by train one day before the Austrian border closed, eventually landing in the US on December 30, 1942.

4. Red Hugh O’Donnell bests Queen Elizabeth I on Christmas Eve 1591

A much older Christmas escape comes courtesy of Red Hugh O’Donnell, or more correctly, Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill. The future Irish rebellion leader found himself imprisoned in Dublin Castle, after falling into an English trap at age 15. Three years later, O’Donnell and other inmates used the distraction of Christmas Eve to escape their captors, climbing down the castle by rope and swimming the freezing cold moat.

Although he lost his friends (and a toe) to frostbite, Red Hugh lived and went on to lead the Nine Years War (1594–1603) against England and Queen Elizabeth I.

5. John McClane wins freedom for all in Die Hard

When terrorists overrun a Christmas Eve party at his estranged wife’s work, NYC cop John McClane has none of it. Hans Gruber takes all the festive cheer right out of the event by taking everyone hostage—except for John, who manages to get away and save the day in what many people call their favourite Christmas film.


Give the gift of a thrilling Krakit escape this year with our Vancouver Escape Room gift certificates, which you can pick up in person or have emailed in digital form.

What’s This, What’s This? Nightmare Before Christmas at Krakit

We’re officially in December, and the holiday season is fully upon Vancouver and the rest of the Lower Mainland. The Lights of Hope at St. Paul’s hospital went on with a bang, the Stanley Park Christmas Train is running every weekend, and the Christmas caterpillar has moved into Coquitlam Town Centre Park.

Though Halloween may be our favourite holiday at Krakit Escape Game, we’re equally given to holiday cheer. And, so, we’re really excited for the return of our popular Nightmare Before Christmas room.

There’s broken toys and missing stockings—and Oogie Boogie tricks are everywhere. It looks like Halloween is here to stay. But not if you have anything to say about it! You and your team get 45 minutes to stop Halloween from taking over and save the true spirit of Christmas.

Though it didn’t take us quite as long to build our Nightmare Before Christmas escape room as it took Tim Burton to film his stop-motion masterpiece (two years!), we’ve put tons of effort into making it equal parts Halloween scare and Christmas sparkle, just like Halloweentown. Plus, we threw in some brian-scratching riddles for good measure.

Also, families should take note that we’ve made a few changes for the 2015 version, with one of the biggest being that we’ve dialed the rating down from “hard” last year to “average” this year.

However, you’ll be relieved to know that, unlike Jack Skellington, we at Krakit aren’t at all bored of frightening people. Our Zombie Apocalypse, Saw, and Asylum rooms are also open through the holiday season.

Book a session at Krakit Escape Game, located on the border of Burnaby and Coquitlam and near to Lougheed Town Centre Station, here: http://www.bookeo.com/krakit.

Three Benefits of Escape Game Play (Besides Fun)

Escape games are skyrocketing in popularity around the world, and there’s good reason for it. Far from a simple form of entertainment, an escape room is an activity that offers a lot to its players. And with hundreds, if not thousands, of escape rooms popping up all over the world—from the first one in Japan (built in 2007) to Brazil, Australia, India, the UK, Singapore, and, of course, Canada—it is clear escape games have wide-ranging appeal.

The most obvious reason escape rooms are so popular is because they’re fun. But it’s not the only one.

Escape rooms are great for team building and bonding

Workplaces looking for a way to get their employees to work together—without the high stakes of a real-world project—are no strangers to pushing their staff into an escape room and throwing away the key. Why? Because there’s no way around teamwork in an escape game. If you don’t work together, you’re not getting out.

Plus, there’s scientific proof that experiences like escape games bond groups of friends and families by creating memories and genuine happiness. 

Escape games spark new neural pathways

Sure it’s fun to pretend you’re saving the world from the Zombie Apocalypse, but as you’re doing it, you’re also strengthening the problem-solving faculties of your brain. More specifically, escape games help to build highly important “fluid intelligence,” which you can learn more about here.

Escape rooms give you a rush of adrenaline—without the danger

Not all of us get our kicks from jumping out of planes. For those looking for a fun challenge and a completely safe way to get their heart rates elevated, an escape game is it. You’ve got limited time to get yourself out of a (fictional) dangerous scenario and the pressure is on—trust us, your fight or flight response will definitely kick in.

Book a genuinely fun, experience-making, brain-building outing at our Coquitlam escape room here.

Coquitlam Escape Games

As winter closes, we all start looking for ways to escape: escape the dreary city, escape our daily routines, and escape boredom. Never fear! We’ve rounded up five foolproof ways to get out of the fall funk in our Coquitlam ’hood—and put your escape skills to the test.

Coquitlam Skyline Photo: Greg Salter (CC BY 2.5)

Defeat the IKEA maze

We’ve all had to go to IKEA to do something boring like buy cutlery or a lamp shade, but let’s be honest: at its best, IKEA is basically Disneyland for grown-ups. Instead of heading to IKEA Coquitlam to squabble you with your partner about a lime green rug, turn it into an adventure by creating a scavenger hunt and seeing who can make it through the IKEA maze to win the day.

Take a crash course at Crash Crawly’s

Let’s not forget the younger escape fans out there: get your tyke prepped for a future as an escape game master by taking them to Crash Crawly’s. It’s basically an obstacle course for pint-sized people, with plenty of challenges to help develop their problem-solving brains.

Escape the city at Minnekhada Regional Park

Though the rain may follow you here, the dreary greys of the cityscape will be replaced by the bright greens of pine trees and deep blues of the water. You don’t even have to go very far to make your great escape, as Minnekhada is just on the outskirts of Coquitlam.

Shake-up routine at Krakit Escape Room

Gathering a group of friends for an outing to Krakit’s Coquitlam escape room offers a chance not only to literally escape the room, but to escape into your imaginations for 45 minutes. Just like the books you read as a kid, you can choose your own adventure: Will you escape from the Zombie Apocalypse, the Asylum, or the Saw Room?

Sail away at Cloud 9 Float Spa

Speaking of escaping into your mind—you can take it one step further and forget you even have a mind at Cloud 9 Float Spa. Climb into a big vat of mineral water, with no light and no sound, and float away into nothingness.

Not a Horror Fan? 10 Escape Films Just for You

Though we’re huge fans of horror (you might have been able to tell), we know that not everyone enjoys having the living daylights scared of out of them.

That’s why alongside our horror-themed escape games we have one that has all of the brain-teasing fun without all of the hair-raising chills. Currently, that’s our One Night Stand room—which offers a different kind of horror as motivation: You need to find out what exactly happened “the night before,” before your 45 minutes is up and the game is over.

For those who prefer the excitement of escape with minimal gore, we list 10 of our favourite non-horror escape films, with a title for every taste.

Labyrinth (1986) 

A selfish teenager has to solve a magical labyrinth to save her brother from goblinhood. Plus Davie Bowie, Jim Henson puppets, and a baby in a stripey onesie. What’s not to love.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 

Tim Robbins plays the long game in this prison-escape film that comes from Stephen King’s sentimental side.

The Martian (2015)

Another long-game escape. Matt Damon’s only hope of getting off the desolate planet of Mars is some serious scientific calculations and quick-thinking problem solving. And lots of waiting.

Battle Royale (2000) 

This classic Japanese film sees ninth graders pitted against one another, fighting for the chance to be the one who escapes a deserted island with their life.

The Matrix (1999)

Yes, a sci-fi masterpiece, but also a tale of ultimate escape. For what is the Matrix if not one giant hallucinatory prison from which humanity must break free?

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Though it’s been decommissioned for decades, Alcatraz is still known as being the inescapable prison. Clint Eastwood begs to differ.

Papillon (1973)

Another prison break film, set on another island. This time it’s Steven McQueen who attempts to escape his cell—over and over again.

The Maze Runner (2014)

A bunch of boys and one girl are tasked with navigating a shifting maze full of deathbots. Poor things are destined to run into even more obstacles in the forthcoming sequel, The Scorch Trials.

Chicken Run (2000)

Chicken run? More like chicken prison. This family-friendly claymation sees a bold chicken attempt to lead his fellow fowl to freedom.

The Hunger Games (2012)

An unsurprising entry, but one we can’t leave out. The first of the popular franchise has Katniss trying to escape the Hunger Games with her life, before going on to attempt freedom from larger political shackles.

Book a round in our One Night Stand Vancouver escape room here.

Hijinks at the CIA: The Unsolved Kryptos Sculpture

Kryptos by Jim Sanborn, at CIA headquarters in Langley

Photo: Jim Sanborn (CC BY-SA 3.0)

When you think “CIA,” the first thought that pops into your head usually isn’t “fun guys.” But the notoriously stern-faced organization must have some sense of fun (or maybe even a sense of humour?), since their headquarters at Langley is home to one unusual and perplexing work of art: the Kryptos sculpture.

Here at Krakit, we know that art and logic combine to highly fun ends—that’s our Vancouver escape room in a nutshell—and the Kryptos sculpture is testament to that.

Created by artist Jim Sanborn in 1990, the copper and wood sculpture features four ciphers, or coded messages. Composed of 2,000 letters in total, the ciphers presented a challenge not only to the codebreakers and logicians employed by the CIA, but also to the public at large.

It took five years for a group of clever clogs at the National Security Agency (NSA) to break the first codes (although this was kept secret), with the first member of the public, computer scientist Jim Gillogly, announcing his computer-aided solution a year later, in 1996.

However—only three of the four ciphers have been solved to this day.

The final cipher, a mere 97 letters, has yet to be cracked. Sanborn, one of two people who know the puzzle’s solution, has released two clues since the sculpture was unveiled. In 2010, he revealed that letters 64 to 69 spell “BERLIN.” Still, nada. So in November 2014, he doled out another clue: letters 70 to 74 spell “CLOCK.”

It’s been a year since the second clue was given—and 25 years since Kryptos was unveiled—and, still, even the CIA has yet to crack the code that sits on its grounds. (Or, at least as far as we know. They kept their solutions to the first three ciphers secret!)

The cherry on top of this most mysterious of artworks? Solving the final cipher isn’t the end of the puzzle: the code’s solution will complete a riddle, which will then also need to be cracked.

If you want to try your hand at being the one to solve the final 97 letters, the full transcript of the sculpture is online here, along with many other facts about the work, compiled by Elonka.

Last-Minute Group Costumes for Halloween

So you’ve booked one of our horror-themed escape games for Halloween, and you’ve just realized it provides the most excellent opportunity to do a group costume. Unfortunately, you no longer have time to papier-mâché, sew, and blacksmith Game of Thrones costumes.

Never fear! We’ve got you covered with some ideas for easy group costumes that you can throw together with very little preparation.

Photo: Eva Rinaldi (cc-by-sa-2.0)

Ghostbusters

With the new Kristen Wiig reboot coming out soon, this costume is both classic and timely. You’ll need grey or beige coveralls, black backpacks, and some reflective tape for the new cast’s striped outfits or some paper for the old ones’ arm badge.

Cast of Orange Is the New Black

Coveralls win again here. Either orange or beige will do you. Each style your hair like your favourite character—or don’t and just claim you’re an extra.

Photo: Kelly (cc-by-sa-2.0)

Minions

Got a large group? Great, you can all be minions! Blue denim overalls, a yellow shirt, and a yellow toque get you most of the way there. Then, for the eyes, put glasses on your head or get inventive with craft paper.

Cast of Arrested Development / Seinfeld / Friends / Cheers 

aka People Dressed Normally

The trick to these group costumes is that the strength is in the numbers. You don’t make a whole lot of sense on your own, so united you must stand. The most effort is figuring out whose personal wardrobe best matches each character.

Photo: Jeff Christiansen (cc-by-sa-2.0)

Peter Pan and the Lost Boys

One person needs to wear a pointed paper hat and all green clothes (yes, tights required), and the rest can just look scraggly and dirty, if you’re going for the Hook look. This is also an opportunity to have a Play-Doh food fight like you’ve always wanted. Or, if you want to go Disney, the Lost Boys should wear animal onesies.

Photo: Arbitraily0 (cc-by-sa-3.0)

Ghostface and Victims

One person needs to commit to wearing the ghost mask and black cloak of the classic Scream killers, but everyone else gets away with wearing regular clothes—plus a large amount of fake blood. Extra ideal if you still have all of your ’90s clothes and a clunky cordless phone to carry around.

If you haven’t yet booked your Halloween spot at Krakit’s Vancouver escape room, you can nab a slot here.

The Stock Characters of Horror—And Escape Games

We all know (and love) the stock characters that show up in almost every scary film. They’re what make the horror universe go round. 

When you’re plunged into Krakit’s horror-themed escape games, you might just find yourself taking on one of these personas—it’s hard not to, really. The question is: Which character will you become when put under pressure at our Vancouver escape room?

The Jumpy One

The first one to know something creepy is going on—yet no one ever believes them. Maybe you’ll figure out the first clue in our Saw Escape Room, but no one will listen. Luckily, you can just wait until the end to brag about your intuition, instead of being the first one picked off.

The Backstabber

The person in the group who does not have everyone’s best interest at heart. They’ll push you down so they can get away from the zombie hoard. Let’s hope no one on your escape game team gives into these tendencies …

The Know-It-All

The one who is so sure they’ve got it in the bag, only to find out they have no idea. Their demise in horror films is often met with cheers. Remember: It’s not always the classically “smart one” who gets escape game clues first. It takes all sorts to solve Krakit’s puzzles.

The Clever Fool

The pal who’s a solid good time, but who isn’t really much help when it comes to getting work done—like dodging a savage serial killer, for example. Or, at least that’s what everyone thinks. More often than not, The Clever Fool offers up an unexpected epiphany that saves the day—or cracks the code.

The Final One

They’re the one at the centre of the story, the person featured on the film poster. Yet without the efforts of everyone else in the group—yes, even The Know-It-All—they’d never make it out alive. Happily, everyone at Krakit Escape Game makes it out alive, so everyone gets to be The Final One.

Looking to star in your horror flick this Halloween? Book one of our horror-themed escape rooms online here—before it’s too late!

Why Is Halloween So Scary?

Canadian actress Mary Pickford lights a jack o’lantern

We love giving a scare at our horror-themed escape rooms, so it should come as no surprise that we’re big fans of Halloween. But why is it an international scarefest?

The origins of Halloween are somewhat foggy. Though often thought of as a North American holiday, its origins come from across the Atlantic, in Ireland and Scotland.

Most people agree that Halloween is a melding together of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marks summer’s end, and of All Saints’ Day, a day celebrating Christian saints, which itself might have origins in the ancient Roman feast of the Lemuria—a rite to banish vengeful ghosts from your home.

Though they come from separate cultures, Samhain and All Saints’ Day have two important things in common: they both take place October 31/November 1, and they both mark a time of year when there’s a particularly strong connection between the dead and the living. Coincidence? Probably not. Let’s face it: the dead hang about at the end of October, which is something we just need to deal with.

When you’ve got some potentially vengeful spirits hanging about, what do you do? You disguise yourself so they don’t recognize you, of course.

Another practice brought to North America by Celtic Irish immigrants is mummering, or guising. Mummering, as any good Newfoundlander knows, is dressing up in a disguise—any old burlap sack used as a mask will do—then knocking on your neighbours’ doors and asking for food and booze. Though Newfoundlanders mummer at Christmastime, kids in Kingston, Ontario, began mummering on Halloween at least as early as 1911.

Now, we’ve got ourselves some ancient rituals, combined with lengthening autumn nights, a thin veil between the human and spirit worlds, and disguised people knocking on your door asking for treats and threatening tricks. Creepy enough yet?

We’d say so. But that scariness is far from a bad thing. Being afraid makes us feel more present and alive, and rituals that force us to confront ghosts and demons (whether they’re just costumed children or not) is a good way to do just that.

Halloween, the day when the human and spirit worlds are closest, just happens to be the most appropriate day to scare the bejeezus out of ourselves.

Book yourself a good Halloween fright at one of Krakit’s three horror-themed escape games here.

The Three Most Ingenious Traps from the Saw Franchise

There’s a new room at our Vancouver escape game, which takes all the panic and urgency of the Saw films and gives you 45 minutes to escape a life-or-death trap. Think you could think straight under such intense conditions and make it out alive?

In celebration of Krakit’s new Saw Room, we’ve crowned some of the series’ best traps below. (Spoilers ahead!)

Best motivation for teamwork: The Sewer in Saw V

The five people trapped in a sewer in Saw V must pass not one, but four, tests. Each of the tests requires teamwork to escape alive—but unfortunately this group isn’t the best at putting their heads together (har har har). They have to dodge group decapitation, search through glass-filled jars for keys, drain their own blood, and climb into a coffin. No big deal, right? They all could’ve survived if they just worked together but, uh, they don’t.

Most likely to happen in the real world: The Bathroom Trap in Saw I

The scenario that originally captivated audiences is still one of Saw’s most powerful: Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon are faced with cutting off a foot to escape death. This trap is extra simple compared to the traps later on, yet it’s still one of the most shudder-worthy—because it’s something we can viscerally imagine doing ourselves. Being forced to cut off one of your limbs to survive could actually happen—as Aron Lee Ralston, the inspiration behind the film 127 Hours, knows very well.

Worst game of “Would You Rather”: The Angel Trap aka The Rib Spreader from Saw III

Allison Kerry, a detective who has had the bad luck to have been working on the Jigsaw case, awakes in in a metal contraption hanging from the ceiling. There’s a jar of acid next to her, with a key inside. Billy the Puppet tells her she either has to unlock the contraption by reaching into the jar of acid, with her bare hand, before the key dissolves, or the metal straightjacket will pull off all her ribs. Unlucky for her, this game of “Would You Rather” makes her sample both options.

The 10 Creepiest Captivity Spaces in Film

The struggle to break free is what makes the countdown clock at Krakit tick so loudly—even though there’s no real danger, there’s still a lot at stake. There’s just something about being locked up, no matter the situation, that brings out our primal urge to get the heck out.

We previously covered the best cinematic captors to scare the dickens out of us, counting down “The 10 Best Alien, Beastly, and Supernatural Captors” and “The 10 Best All-Too-Human Captors” to ever terrorize the big screen.

Now we dive into the situations and places where the only option left is to escape—or perish.

10. The dome in the Hunger Games series

Twenty-four randomly chosen kids are forced into a dome of death constructed by sadistic adults for entertainment purposes, where the only escape is by murder. Not fun. 

9. The house in House

This late-’70s Japanese gem sees a pack of teenage girls trapped in a bloodthirsty house that boasts possessed appliances and other supernatural traps.

8. The maze in Cube

A grid of interconnected cubes leaves its prisoners wondering which is just a regular old cube and which is an instant death trap.

7. The pit in The Silence of the Lambs

You’re kept at the bottom of a mouldy well and the only thing to think about all day is when the crazed lunatic who put you there is going to use your skin for his next outfit.

6. The town in Groundhog Day

This may not be a scary movie, but Bill Murray does resort to suicide (multiple times) just to get out of Punxatawney. Here, charmingly, the only escape turns out to be love.

5. The serial killer’s brain in The Cell 

Not only does the serial killer in The Cell keep his victims in a Plexiglas case that automatically fills with water, but poor Jennifer Lopez spends the film desperately trying to escape his bizarro mind.

4. The panic room in Panic Room 

Nothing bonds a mother and daughter (who’s asthmatic, naturally) like being trapped in a concrete- and steel-encased panic room while a team of thieves do their best to kill them from the outside.

3. The Overlook Hotel in The Shining 

Tired of hanging out in a haunted and shifting hotel in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter? Where you going to escape to, Danny? Oh, a snowy hedge maze? Good luck with that.

2. The coffin in Buried

As horrible as it would be to be trapped in a creepy sprawling hotel, waking up in a tiny coffin, deep underground, with only a lighter and a cell phone to save you, would be substantially worse.

1. The multiple traps of the Saw series

Nothing compares, however, to the many, many traps laid by the vindictive and philosophizing serial killer known as Jigsaw. Sorry, pal—there’s probably a really good chance you’re not getting out of that head-slicing machine.

Be sure to get a taste of Jigsaw’s house of horrors at Krakit’s new Vancouver escape room inspired by the Saw series.

Zombie Taxonomy: A Guide to the Undead

Madge Bellamy, the first zombie of cinema (United Artists, 1932)

There was a time when there was just one type of zombie: the kind raised from the dead by a voodoo doctor. Though it’s easy to forget these days, witchcraft is indeed the origin of the zombies we know and love today—virus-infected, fast-running things that they are.

Recognizing your zombie can all get a bit confusing, seeing as how the species has really fleshed out in the last few decades. Below is a guide to classifying your zombie—highly important for choosing your weapon and plan of escape.

Origins

Raised from the Dead: Zombies seemed to have to evolved away from this, but they still pop up from time to time. Look for suspicious-looking altars, emptied cemeteries, and religious apocalypses. See: White Zombie (1932), George A. Romero’s Dead series, Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993).

Infection: Whether created in a lab or carried by a monkey, viruses that make people want to eat other people are rampant. Evidence includes strange children randomly appearing in your bedroom and waking in an abandoned hospital. See: 28 Days Later (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Walking Dead (2010–).

Speed

The speed a zombie has is usually directly related to its origins. Raised from the dead? You’ve likely got a slow one on your hands. See: Night of the Living Dead (1968), Michael Jackson’s Thriller video (1982), Shaun of the Dead (2004). Overtaken by a rage-inducing virus? This zombie is probably super fast. See Resident Evil (2002), [Rec] (2007), World War Z (2013).

Remember, there are exceptions to this rule. See: The Evil Dead (1981), where witchcraft still makes for some pretty agile zombies.

Brains

Semi-aware: This is the most important zombie factor to identify quickly, because if there’s a bit of the person still left in there, you might be able to convince them not to bite you—at least momentarily. See: Day of the Dead (1985), Hocus Pocus (1993), Life After Beth (2014).

Blank slate: Unfortunately, most zombies don’t remember anything of who they were—including the very first voodoo zombies and the more modern virusy ones. Alas, it’d be best to place your bets on this type and just start severing brain stems. See: 98% of zombie films.

What kind of zombies lurk around Krakit’s Vancouverescape room? You’ll have to come and find out for yourself.