Review: On The Rocks – Zombie Apocalypse

I don’t often visit dark, cold parks on Saturday nights; I certainly don’t hide behind bushes in them, dressed in hospital overalls and caked in blood.  However, that is precisely what I found myself doing last Saturday evening as I took part in probably the most offbeat event St Andrews has ever seen, The Zombie Apocalypse as part of the On The Rocks’ Festival.  In stark contrast to the glitz and glamour of the various balls and fashion shows that dominate the St Andrews social calendar, this was an event designed to make the audience absolutely petrified. Judging by the amount of running and screaming that took place, it was an enormous success.

After intensive training in the weeks before, the zombie participants were separated into different categories depending on their state of decomposition.  The costumes were remarkable from mildly decaying gaping wounds to shredded flesh – casual.   The liberal application of face paint, fake blood and revolting prosthetics was one of the main reasons for the success of the event. Huge thanks must go to Adam Hodges-LeClaire and those who helped him turn a bunch of students into incredibly realistic, ravenous zombies.

Once everyone had been dolled up and shipped out to Craigtoun Park, the event was ready to begin.  Groups of students were welcomed to the park one at a time by a soldier and doctor. Attendees were told that they were being taken to a safe containment facility, away from patients suffering from a strange infection. No sooner had the doctor tried to soothe each group’s nerves by informing them that there was no such thing as zombies, than the first zombie attack occurred – a particularly messy assault on the poor doctor’s neck.

After this, each group was led by the soldier on a rollercoaster night time tour of the park, chased and pounced upon at every turn by members of the living-dead, eager to have a late night feed.  My role as part of a group of light-sensitive zombies was to lumber towards the group, before being warded off by torches.  At other points, zombies came flying out of a slide, ran after the fleeing group and came crawling out from behind furniture in a tiny cabin.  It was a brilliantly designed course which offered a constant stream of frights for the groups, and which provided an enormous amount of childish fun for the zombies as well.

It might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but despite the freezing temperatures and pouring rain, The Zombie Apocalypse was a huge success.  The organisers did a fantastic job setting this event up and making sure it all ran smoothly. They made it easy for all the cast and groups to really get into the spirit of things.  It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had in St Andrews, and I hope that it will run again in the future.