Corpses are being slung and chainsaws sharpened at the old Dunedin Prison in an attempt to "weed out the weak".
Fear NZ director Rory Foley has been transforming the prison into a "military-style asylum" for a charity fundraising event for Heart Kids Otago over six nights — tonight and tomorrow, May 12 and 13, and May 19 and 20.
Mr Foley, of Timaru, said participants should expect to be "yelled and screamed" at and "treated like rubbish".
"You have to do what we tell you to do."
The first stages of the immersive experience were scary enough to "weed out the weak".
Spaces in the prison were being renovated yesterday to ensure darkness and induce claustrophobia. What happens in the tight space remains a secret but the scare floored "a big Samoan boy" recently in Wellington, he said.
As thrill-seekers make their way to the psychiatric ward, past the cells crammed with clowns, the masked patients await the visit.
"If you make it through those three levels, you’re doing well," Mr Foley said yesterday.
A team of actors from across the South Island, mostly women, would unleash "their inner darkness" during the performance.
If the "full-on intense" experience was too much, participants could yell a "safety word" to stop the scary ride immediately.
Those who failed to finish the experience would not be given a refund, he said.
Ticket sales had been so strong in Dunedin, door sales would not be available.
He expected about 200 people to start the experience each night but fewer to finish it.
Fear NZ had been running for five years in New Zealand and it was the first time it had been held in a prison.
Mr Foley had been working late by himself in the prison, ensuring the blood cascades down cell walls and cockroaches crawl across ceilings correctly.
"There’s been a few bumps in the night ... There’s an unfriendly feeling in this place."
